By: Devin Jones
The women’s hockey team lost their second straight game 4-0 Thursday night against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The Rams’ sluggish start allowed the Ridgebacks to dominate the Ryerson zone and score three goals in the first period.
The first goal came quickly when forward Jaclyn Gibson found the puck in a scrum and ultimately the back of the net — scoring shorthanded only 4:18 into the game.
“We knew the last time that we played UOIT the first shift was the deciding factor, so it was important that we had a good start,” said team captain Janella Brodett. “Unfortunately the game didn’t go our way today.”
Goalkeeper Emma Crawley was pulled from net after the third goal in the first period.
Down 3-0 at the start of the second period and a new goalie in net, the Rams seemed to have found their stride with notable offensive threat Melissa Wronzberg playing double shifts and creating scoring chances.
But this surge of energy in the second period proved less than enough when Ridgebacks’ forward Mikaeli Cavell extended their lead to 4-0.
“We had a couple of bad breaks, but I think overall we played a good game as a team,” said Wronzberg. “I think we picked it up in the second period, we just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net.”
The Rams spent the third period firing on all cylinders but despite some offensive chances, they were unable to score.
Coming into tonight’s game the Rams were five points out of playoff contention with only nine games remaining in the season. But despite the Rams’ first two games of 2014 ending in loss, the team still has their eyes set on a much higher personal goal.
“Over the break we sat down and figured out that we [wanted] to achieve 10 points out of nine games,” said head coach Pierre Alain. “Its not over we still have eight games to go, so now we need 10 points out of eight games.”
The Rams are back at the MAC on Saturday to face the nationally ranked Toronto Blues for a 7:30 p.m. game.
“We played [the Toronto Blues] earlier in the season and lost five to nothing, but we’re not the same team,” said Alain. “We’re looking forward to that game and we’ll be ready.”
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