Gee-Gees win in front of empty stands, drop game to Carabins
While the Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens’ basketball teams did battle at the Canadian Tire Centre for the Capital Hoops Classic, their women’s hockey teams were facing off across town at the Minto Sports Complex.
While 10,105 fans packed the stands in Kanata, a grand total of 36 people showed up to take in the hockey game.
Status of sport is an important distinction when looking at the difference in attendance, as Capital Hoops showcased two of the absolute best teams in the nation, while the hockey game was a surging Gee-Gees team against a struggling Ravens squad.
It’s likely that very few fans attending the basketball game even knew there was a hockey game at the same time. One present issue is that the women’s hockey teams compete in Quebec’s Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), so the league is unlikely to change its schedule for an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) basketball event.
While the Gee-Gees men’s team pulled off a solid win on the court, the Garnet and Grey women thoroughly obliterated the Ravens 8-2 on the ice.
Mélodie Bouchard was the star of the night for the Gees, as she scored twice and picked up four assists. Carling Chown and Cindy Laurin also scored two goals in the blowout.
he win kept the eighth-ranked Gee-Gees on a solid pace for the playoffs, upping their record to 10-5.
Unfortunately for the Gees, they had to faceoff against a familiar foe in the nationally second-ranked Montreal Carabins soon after the victory.
The Gee-Gees were no match for ‘les Bleus’ as the Montreal team lit up the Gees, resulting in a 6-1 final in the Feb. 7 matchup.
Cindy Laurin picked up the Gees’ first goal to give them a 1-0 lead in the first period before the Carabins stormed back with six unanswered goals.
The loss shouldn’t affect the Gee-Gees’ national ranking much as losses to higher ranked teams tend to have less impact on ranking.
The team will have to start finding a way to get wins over top teams for them to have a hope in the playoffs.
However, they will get plenty of practice against elite teams with their next games coming against third-ranked McGill on Feb. 14 and the Carabins on Feb. 19.
