Gee-Gees fall to Ravens in first women’s Colonel By Classic
On Nov. 16, the University of Ottawa’s Minto Sports Complex hosted the Carleton Ravens in the first women’s Colonel By Classic. The rivalry game also called for the return of the Alerts Cup.
Last time the teams met this season, the Gee-Gees came away with a 3-0 win. This time, it was Carleton who came out on top 5-2, securing their first win of the season.
“You have to respect Carleton, they have a good team,” U of O head coach Yanick Evola said. “They had a few scoring chances and they scored. We had lots of chances, we didn’t.”
Less than a minute after puck drop, the Gee-Gees were up a man after a Carleton penalty. But the advantage didn’t last long, as the U of O would be charged with a penalty of their own.
Halfway through the first, Gees goaltender Maude Levesque-Ryan was left alone with Ravens skaters in front of the net. With a nice move, they were able to slip the puck through the pipes to put a goal on the scoreboard for the visitors.
After 20 minutes, the score would be 1-0 for Carleton.
In the second period, the Garnet and Grey would create a great short-handed 2-on-1 drive, but Ravens goalie Katelyn Steele was able to get in front of it.
The Ravens would then take it back to the Gee-Gees’ end, shooting from just in front of the blueline with a deflection that would make it 2-0.
But the home team refused to be counted out. Transitioning quickly, the Gee-Gees attacked the zone. Off a centring pass from Mélodie Bouchard, Alexe Druin was able to bury the puck in the back of the net to put the Gees on the board.
The Ravens responded quickly, moving the puck amongst their power-play unit until they found the mesh to put themselves up to 3-1, forcing the U of O back into a two-goal deficit to end the second period of play.
Scoring didn’t start up again until there was only 4:11 left on the clock.
The Ravens shot one into an empty net, bumping the score to 4-1, sealing the win at that point, even after Andrea Elia got a potential comeback goal a few seconds later.
“Getting that goal was kind of a little push for us,” Elia said.
It was Carleton who delivered the final blow to make it 5-2.
“We didn’t play badly, we battled through,” Evola said. “We had momentum at some points during the game but we need to be consistent for a full 60 minutes.”
Elia echoed Evola.
“We’re a very fast team, we move our feet, we have a great forecheck, everybody puts in the effort full, 100 per cent,” Elia said. “Finding that consistency and carrying it throughout the game is what we need to do.”
The Gee-Gees are now 2-5 in the regular season and will be on the road for the remainder of their games before after the winter break break, starting with Concordia University on Nov 18.
