Women’s hockey team finds footing with 7–4 win over Carleton
After starting the regular season with a heartbreaking shootout loss to Concordia, the Gee-Gees women’s hockey team was looking for redemption on their home ice.
Of course, their home opening match-up on Oct. 22 wasn’t a cake walk. The Gees had to contend with a hungry Carleton squad who were looking to avenge the four losses they suffered at the hands of the U of O last year.
Despite putting up a great fight, the Ravens were no match for a motivated Gees offence, who outpaced the Ravens to a 7–4 victory.
After a pair of quick goals to take an early lead in the first period, Carleton’s defence eventually crumbled in the face of powerhouse forwards like Mélodie Bouchard and Marimée Godbout-Parent, who helped the Gees find the back of the net four times to take the lead.
During the second period, both teams slid into defensive modes, only managing one goal apiece to keep the game close at 5–3.
While Carleton mounted a valiant comeback in the third period with a late breakaway goal, the Gees were able to thwart the attack and capitalize on a few late opportunities to secure a definitive 7–4 final.
Outside of Bouchard and Godbout-Parent,who both managed two goals and a handful of assists each, head coach Yanick Evola believes that his team’s offense really got to shine while Carleton was stuck in the penalty box.
“Of course, the power play helped us out big time tonight,” said Evola, talking about how his team managed to score three of their goals as a result of these opportunities. “I’m really proud of the results and we have to keep working to ensure that solid performance next week.”
This latest win was particularly exciting for newcomer Bryanna Neuwald. Not only did the defender pick up her first goal as a Gee-Gee, but the matchup was her first official home game at the U of O since transferring from Ohio State University.
“We obviously had a lot of fun out there. We had a lot of smiling, a lot of cheering, so that always makes it more fun to play at home,” said the Oakville, Ont. native, comparing this bout to their recent away game in Montreal.
“There were so many things that were better … communication, power play, our breakouts and forecheck was all working really well. Sometimes you have those games where everything is working.”
Despite the favourable result, Neuwald said the team can’t let this big win go to their heads this early into the season. Instead, they should use the momentum from this rousing home opener to guarantee continued success in the coming months.
“I want to get some more wins under our belt, especially at home. I think if we get some wins that people don’t expect it’s really going to help us in the long run. So I’m just looking forward to seeing what this team can do at our full potential in January (and) February.”
The Gee-Gees’ next home game takes place at the Minto Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m., where they will take on the McGill Martlets. Tickets can be purchases here.
