The final score of 5-2 in the Ryerson womens’ hockey game on Saturday did not define how closely fought it was against the Guelph Gryphons.
While the game ended in favour of the Gryphons, who are currently ranked first in the league, the Rams were able to counter-punch almost every goal that the Gryphons scored.
With the Rams currently sitting in last place and missing players due to injuries, they were able to hold their own.
“For us it was about putting in a proud performance on the ice,” said head coach Lisa Haley. “I would have liked to see one more bounce go our way so we could get some points out of it but performance wise I think it was a step in the right direction.”
The game started with a reality check for the Rams as the Gryphons scored in the first minute of play.
As the first period carried on, Ryerson had trouble finding the net until the final minutes when the Rams started to turn up the heat and taking some shots.
At the beginning of the second the Rams kept their tempo up and answered the Gryphons with a score in an ironic fashion – in the first minute of play made by Alyssa Connolly.
As the two teams were at par with each other for shots on goal, the Gryphons respond with a second goal at 15:29 in the second.
The Rams returned to the opposing net under two minutes later to score another goal.
Third year Amanda Grant scored her first goal as a ram and was swarmed by her teammates, cheering her on.
“I feel like I lucked out, my line-mates really did all the work down the corners there and I got lucky with that shot out front. Definitely feels good though,” said Grant – who was assisted by Clare Sabine and Victoria Chapman.
With Rams goalie Alex Armstrong making countless saves, she was able help to keep the score fairly even despite many of the team’s first-string defensemen unable to play due to injuries.
“We’ve got so many injuries that everybody is in,” said Haley. “To be honest I thought [Armstrong] gave us a chance to stay in the game and made big saves when we needed her.”
Haley said those that are out of the lineup injury wise are probably longer term and that we might not see the team healthy for another two weeks.
It was the Gryphons’ score at the end of the second, which spelt the beginning of the end for the Rams.
With the rams unable to counter before the end of the second, they fell victim to another goal at the beginning of the third period.
When the team elected to pull Armstrong from the net in a final effort to put more points on the board, the Gryphons scored their 5th goal, effectively sealing their fate.
The game was the main event of Do It For Daron Night where fans wore purple swag in support of the Do It For Daron Fundraiser, which goes towards youth mental health.
“It’s pretty close to our hearts here with mental illness within our team, I think that we want to do our part and lead from the front in terms of awareness around mental illness and make sure that more conversations are had that need to be had,” said Haley.
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