By Ben Okazawa
Looking to put a stop to a three-game losing streak, the Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team squared off against the Guelph Gryphons but were out of luck in a 3-1 loss at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Jan. 31.
After a strong first period that saw Ryerson leading 1-0 on the scoreboard, Guelph bounced back with three unanswered goals in the second and third periods to win a crucial game on the road.
“We used our speed really well, I thought we were really buzzing out there,” said Rams head coach Lisa Haley on her team’s first period performance, “Couldn’t get the momentum back, we had a real tough second period, and just couldn’t find our way.”
With the loss, the Rams have now lost four games in a row. Ryerson is also 0-10 all-time at home against Guelph, who now sits fifth in the Ontario University Athletics standings.
Ryerson came out of the first intermission and picked up right where they left off. They did a great job of controlling the possession as they outshot Guelph 15-4 in shots on net.
The possession time got more even as the period went on and eventually, Rams forward Madison Lalonde got booked for slashing.
Taking advantage of the power-play, Gryphons forward Stephanie Gava netted a goal with 9:06 remaining in the second period off an assist by Miranda Lantz and Kristen Jay.
It was the third period where Guelph would take over and continue to put the pressure on Ryerson.
Gryphons defender Miranda Lantz scored her sixth goal of the season just 4:10 into the third period to give Guelph the lead.
Shortly after, Madison Melo gave the Gryphons a commanding 3-1 lead with 8:20 remaining on yet another power-play goal, assisted by Karli Shell and Nicole MacKinnon.
“I felt like we played a disciplined game and had moments to get a big kill and get the momentum, but didn’t quite seize those opportunities,” said Haley.
The Rams put a ton of pressure on Guelph’s defence and goalie in the final minutes of the third period after pulling goalie Rachel Seeley, but were ultimately unable to capitalize, leaving the final score at 3-1.
Ryerson will look to maintain the seventh seed in the OUA standings with five games remaining in the regular season as they look to lock themselves in a playoff position.
UP NEXT: Ryerson will be travelling to St. Catharines with hopes to snap their four-game losing streak against the Brock Badgers on Feb. 1. Puck drop is set for 7:15 p.m.
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