Desforges, Gee-Gees ground Ravens in overtime
Photo by: Murray McComb
Story by: Jeff Krever
The Carleton University Ravens women’s hockey team fell 3-2 in overtime to the uOttawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Ice House in a wide open, back-and-forth affair.
Fannie Desforges (Fournier, Ont.) scored her second of the game 15 seconds into overtime, while Stephanie Mercier (Smooth Rock Falls, Ont.) outshone her counterpart Tamber Tisdale (Red Deer, Alta.) with an impressive 34-save performance.
The win marked the Gee-Gees’ third straight over their cross-town rivals, moving uOttawa into a fifth-place tie with Concordia in the RSEQ standings.
Desforges opened the scoring on the power play at the 8:46 mark of the first period, giving the Gee-Gees an early lead.
The Ravens struck back halfway through the first period when Jessica O’Grady (Ottawa) buried a loose puck with Mercier out of position for her second goal of the season, tying the game at one apiece.
After stopping 11 shots in the first period, Tisdale was tested with heavy pressure to start the second but she stood tall, giving her team a chance to take the lead.
Claudia Bergeron (Drummondville, Que.) responded with a beautiful highlight-reel goal. She took the puck out of the corner, weaved through the defence pairing and rifled a backhander top shelf over Mercier, giving the Ravens their first lead of the night.
With the lead, Tisdale stopped all 13 shots she faced in the second period, giving her team a narrow one-goal edge heading into the third period.
From then on Carleton carried the play as the Gee-Gees struggled to contain the Ravens’ offence, but halfway through the period uOttawa tied the game when Dominique Lefebvre (Cantley, Que.) jammed a loose puck past Tisdale, who couldn’t find the puck in the crease.
The Ravens responded furiously, firing shot after shot toward Mercier, but the first-year goaltender turned aside all 17 shots she faced in the third period to send the game to overtime.
With the extra point on the line, it didn’t take Desforges long to convert for the Gee-Gees. She broke in early in overtime with a partial breakaway on Tisdale and finished upstairs with her third goal of the season to give uOttawa the win.
Tisdale stopped 30 shots in a losing effort, getting her first action since Oct. 30, a 3-0 loss on home ice to the McGill Martlets.
They Ravens will get a chance to end a four-game winning streak with a visit to UdeM on Nov. 25 before returning to the Ice House for a date with Concordia on Nov. 26. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games.
Score by Period:
Ravens: 1+1+0+0=2
Gee-Gees: 1+0+1+1=3
Scoring:
Ravens: Jessica O’Grady, Claudia Bergeron
Gee-Gees: Fannie Desforges (2), Dominique Lefebvre
Shots:
Ravens: 11+10+15+0=36
Gee-Gees: 12+13+7+1=33
Saves:
Ravens – Tamber Tisdale: 11+13+6+0=30
Gee-Gees – Stephanie Mercier: 10+9+15+0=34
Power play:
Ravens: 0/3
Gee-Gees: 1/3
