By Kaden Nanji
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s hockey team fell to the Carleton Ravens 6-0 on Wednesday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
After the Bold crumbled in the second period, letting up four unanswered goals in less than ten minutes, the Ravens flew away with the game, putting up a total of six goals with six different goalscorers.
“We didn’t work nearly as hard enough, against [the Ravens who] tapped out every shift they had, while we tip-toed around out there,” noted TMU head coach Lisa Haley on her team’s lack of urgency.
Coming back from Montreal after competing in the Concordia tournament, the Bold got off to a slow start, taking just two shots on target and allowing seventeen in the first period. Second-year goalie Lauren Griffin did just about everything to hold down the fort in the first, saving wrap-arounds, slapshots and even sprawling across the ice to prevent a goal on a three-on-one breakaway.
However, Carleton first-year Abigail Byrne capitalized off an open shot for the Ravens to put them up by one. Coupled with their strong defensive tenacity and the Bold’s mounting turnovers, they finished the first period with a newfound boost.
The Bold started the second period equalling their shots from the first period within the first thirty seconds. Nevertheless, the lack of spacing by the Bold allowed the Ravens to always have an open player, which they quickly took advantage of with a give-and-go goal by Carleton third-year Hayden Serniuk.
Less than thirty seconds later, the Ravens hit again with a goal by second-year forward Cecilia Lopez midway through the second period, increasing the margin to three. From this point, the Ravens put their foot on the gas and didn’t look back, scoring two power play goals to finish the second period with a 5-0 lead.
“Those two [power play] goals scored today just come down to effort plays,” said Haley. “If your goalie makes the first save, you have to be there to make sure they don’t have to make another one and that wasn’t the case today.”
With a five-goal deficit going into the third period, the Bold seemed to collapse further, accumulating turnover after turnover—leading to a breakaway goal less than five minutes after the puck dropped in the final frame.
Attempting to put even one goal on the scoreboard, the Bold took ten shots in the third period. This was to no avail, with the scoreboard displaying a 6-0 win for the Ravens after the buzzer rang out for regulation.
Byrne, who netted the first goal for the Ravens, also finished with an assist, while fifth-year forward Justina Beard racked up two assists. On the Bold side, Griffin put up 34 saves on the night.
Looking out at their final pre-season game tomorrow against the York Lions, Haley emphasized how the Bold will look to bounce back.
“We better put a lot better effort than this one … [there’s a] good chance to bounce back tomorrow and demonstrate the team we actually are,” said the bench boss.
UP NEXT: The Bold will look to rebound against the York Lions tomorrow at the MAC in their final exhibition matchup. Puck drops at 6 p.m.
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