By Kintaro Skinner
The Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team celebrated their senior night in style on Feb. 8, defeating the Nipissing Lakers with a 3-0 shutout victory at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Highlighted by captain Kryshanda Green, the Rams held a ceremony for six of their seniors in their final home game of the regular season.
Defender Laura Ball, forward Karli Nummikoski and goaltender Emily Marshall also shared a special moment with their families and teammates.
Two former players turned team officials—goaltender Sydney Authier and defender Rachel Dowdall—were also recognized for their contributions to the program.
“Our seniors have been through the transition of the program, from a new team to a team that can hopefully challenge for a conference championship. We’d love to find a way to nationals before they leave,” said head coach Lisa Haley. “It’s been exciting times and hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Green, the leading assist and point-getter in Rams program history, showed why she’s at the top of those lists, as she potted the first goal of the game seven minutes into the first frame.
Ryerson entered this matchup, having only won one of their last six games, as they sat one spot out of the eighth and final playoff position.
The victory moves Ryerson up to seventh in the OUA, giving them some slight breathing room before their final two games of the season.
“It’s hard to not to look at the [standings]. We also want to go into every game knowing where we’re sitting, I think we’re all taking a peek at it for sure, but we knew coming into this game that we control our own fate,” said Haley.
With all of this in mind, the Rams came out with a sense of desperation as forward Madison Lalonde also scored in the first period after Green’s marker to take a 2-0 lead.
Eventually, Nipissing responded to the Rams’ intensity to start the game as they produced everything from point shots to crashing the net hard.
“I think Nipissing is a team that plays very physical and I think we’re a team that loves to go up against those kinds of teams,” said forward Brooklyn Gemmill. “The feeling in the dressing room before the game was we’re going to win this one and we needed these points.”
Gemmill led the charge offensively, as she finished with a goal and an assist on the night.
On the back end, Rams goalie Rachel Seeley stepped up and produced her third shutout of the season with 19 saves.
UP NEXT: Ryerson will now close out the season with two road games. They’ll head to Windsor to face the Lancers on Feb. 14. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
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