Ravens double-up Stingers in spirited affair

Stingers centre Alyssa Sherrard (11) and Carleton Ravens forward Sadie Wegner (44) face off. Photo by Alyssa Tremblay.
Stingers centre Alyssa Sherrard (11) and Carleton Ravens forward Sadie Wegner (44) face off. File photo by Alyssa Tremblay.

With the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey season dwindling to a close they traveled to Ontario for the last time of the 2012-13 season, where they dropped a close game by a 4-2 margin at the hands of the host, the Carleton Ravens.

The game itself was a fundraiser for mental health and the Do It For Daron Foundation, in honour of former NHL defenseman Luke Richardson’s daughter Daron, who would have turned 17 on Feb. 8, but died tragically by committing suicide on Nov. 13, 2010.

The game seemed to start on the wrong skate for Concordia. Just over two minutes into the contest, Ravens forward Sadie Wegner fired a shot on Stingers goaltender Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon, who made the initial save. However, the puck came loose and Wegner potted in her own rebound.

The Stingers applied pressure to get one back quickly and just over three minutes later, off a line change, rookie forward Marie-Pier Cloutier wired a shot from inside the slot that careened off the post and past Ravens goaltender Tamber Tisdale.

“It felt good to score,” said Cloutier following the game. “The end of the year progression as a team really has been great. Our team communication has grown since the beginning of the season, despite the numbers.”

After the Ravens were able to kill off two straight penalties, Ainslee Kent fed a pass right in front of the Stingers goal to Alexandra Yallouz, who buried her first of two for the evening.

A couple of moments later Stingers captain Mallory Lawton escaped alone on a breakaway and tied the game up at two at the 16:42 mark of the opening frame.

“We are a hard working line who isn’t afraid to get our nose dirty,” said Lawton. “It was nice to score in my last game in Ontario. It’s always a good feeling to contribute offensively.”

Early in the second, Carleton’s Kelsey VanderVeen capitalized on a poor line change by the Stingers and backhanded a power-play goal less than two minutes in.

Just over a minute and a half later, at the 3:28 mark, Yallouz struck again despite shouts for a goaltender interference penalty.

“We fell asleep for two minutes, and it cost us the game,” said head coach Les Lawton. “I was proud of the girls tonight. [Brittany] Laing and [Mallory] Lawton’s lines stepped up too. We still played with emotion and intensity, which was solid all through the lineup.”

In the second half of the middle frame, the Stingers had ample time to get one or even two back, as they were on the advantage for just about seven minutes straight with the Ravens making return trips to the penalty box.

The Stingers failed to capitalize on all eight opportunities in the evening. The period ended with Concordia down 4-2.

In the final frame the Stingers carried momentum for the majority of the time, but unfortunately couldn’t capitalize on their seven shots of the period.

“In the third we played in their zone for three-quarters of the period,” said coach Lawton. “We just had to work on getting quality shots on, and have more patience.”

 

Concordia will wrap up the season this Saturday, Feb. 16 against the McGill Martlets at McConnell Arena. The last puck drop is at 4 p.m..

 

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