Women’s hockey: Rams lose alumni weekend preseason game in OT

By Daniel Rocchi

Ryerson scores late to force overtime
Rams fall in 3-on-3 OT after scoreless 4-on-4
Ryerson goaltenders stop 34 of 36 shots against

The Ryerson women’s hockey team lost a close 2-1 overtime decision to the Whitby Jr. Wolves in their preseason alumni game on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The game against the Provincial Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Whitby squad followed the Rams athletics hall of fame induction ceremony on alumni weekend and was Ryerson’s second preseason game in less than 24 hours.

Both teams struggled to build momentum in the first period despite each side having multiple powerplay opportunities. Whitby hit the post just before the buzzer but the puck stayed out for a scoreless first frame.

The Wolves broke the stalemate near the midway mark of the second when Whitby managed to find the puck in a scramble in front of the Ryerson net and bury it on the powerplay. Ryerson was outshot 12-6 in the second but the Rams only trailed 1-0 heading into the third.

Ailish Forfar tied the game with a powerplay goal with less than 10 minutes to play in the third period. Forfar, who joined the Rams this year after playing three seasons with Dartmouth College in the NCAA, roofed the rebound home after Rams blueliner Bethany Clipper’s initial shot from the point was stopped.

After four-on-four overtime solved nothing, Whitby’s forwards found an opening less than 30 seconds into three-on-three sudden-death, skating in off the opening faceoff and scoring to dash Ryerson’s hopes of a comeback. After the game, the teams played a three-round shootout, with Forfar scoring the only goal by either team.

“We got better throughout the game; we started a little slow and by the end we were firing, but it was a little too late,” said Forfar. “We can learn a lot from it.”

NOTE: Both teams made goaltending changes near the 10-minute mark of the second period. Ally Sarna stopped 14 of 15 shots for the Rams before 2016 recruit Rachel Seeley took over. Seeley made 20 saves on 21 shots.

UP NEXT: Ryerson faces UOIT at the MAC in their final preseason game on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7:15 pm. The Rams open their regular season against Brock on Oct. 13 in St. Catharines, ON.