By Casidie Prebianca
The Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team came out guns blazing but fell 3-2 in their overtime nail-biter against the Université de Montréal Carabins at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Sept. 13.
A tip-in power-play goal by forward Erika Crouse complimented by a slapshot assist from Lauren Nicholson gave the Rams the early lead ten minutes into the first period.
“It was a really good shot from the point, just luckily had my stick there, and it went in the net,” said Crouse.
After the goal, the Carabins started to push back in what was already an aggressive period. Rams goalie Rachel Seeley remained unphased throughout, resembling a brick wall and put up multiple close saves.
The second period started off slow but was a continuous back-and-forth affair until defenceman Ye Eun Park scored with less than a minute left in the period to make it 2-0 for the Rams.
Montréal didn’t let Ryerson maintain their strong lead. First-year Carabins forward Joannie Garand secured a goal halfway through the third period to make it 2-1 and not long after, Catherine Dubois tied it up for Montréal just three minutes after.
“Last year, Montréal was one of the top teams in the country, they were a very veteran team. I’m happy to see our group compete hard for a solid 40 minutes. We certainly dove into the deep end this year with our first game out of the gate,” said Rams head coach Lisa Haley.
Those goals boosted Montréal’s confidence as they dominated the Rams at end of the ice for the rest of the period. The Rams continued to fight, acquiring a power play later in the period that would bleed into overtime but were unable to secure a third goal.
Despite two strong periods, Rams goalie Rachel Seeley wasn’t able to fend off the Carabins for long during overtime, as defenceman Audrey Lavallée scored a goal halfway through that would cause the Rams to lose their first preseason game.
“You always try to keep your head in it during overtime, but obviously there’s a little bit more pressure,” said Seeley. “It’s do or die, so you do what you can.”
The Rams ranked sixth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings last season, despite a second-round exit in the playoffs to the Guelph Gryphons.
UP NEXT: Ryerson will take on the University of Toronto tomorrow in their second preseason game
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