Hundreds of Toronto public school students packed the Mattamy Athletic Center (MAC) on Wednesday afternoon, as the Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team faced their cross-town rivals the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in the first round of the battle of the 6ix this season.
The whistle was out of the pocket in the opening half of the first period the Varsity Blues were in penalty trouble as Jessica Robichaud taking a tripping penalty at 4:18 and defenceman Bronwyn Brennan boarding at 9:37 While Rams forward Avery Horlock took a penalty at 2:45 for interference.
In a quiet first two periods both Rams goalie Fanny Vigeant and Varsity Blues goalie, Madeline Albert stood tall in the crease stopping 16 and 19 shots respectively, leading the game through two scoreless periods.
In the final half of the third period, both teams traded scoring chances with both goalies making acrobatic saves to keep the game tied.
With 1:14 left in the period defender, Cristine Chao shot a cannon from the point and the puck flew past the glove of Vigeant to score the game-winning goal. Moments later with the goalie pulled forward Mathilde De Serres shot the puck from centre ice and into the empty net to seal the Varsity Blues 2-0 win over the bringing them to their third straight win and keeping their undefeated streak alive, while the Rams fall to 1-2 on the OUA season.
Well I think there’s a lot of good things to build on on that game I mean, U of T is a very talented team and one of the best teams in the country and you know for us we went toe to toe today and it came down to a bounce that we didn’t get” said Ryerson head coach Lisa Haley said to 49 after the game.
Haley’s comments were reflected very clearly from our view, as the entire time both teams were tied up and battled hard.
For U of T, it is always a special occasion to play at the former Maple Leaf Gardens and to have a crowd of this exuberance only added to the occasion. Both these facts were not lost on the U of T coach, who spoke about them after the game saying, “The energy that these kids brought here today is a great experience, a great atmosphere to play a hockey game in such a historic building.”
The Rams will prepare to take on the University of Windsor Lancers on October 25 at 7:15 in the MAC while the Varsity Blues head back up Yonge street to take on top-ranked Guelph Gryphons.
Feature Image: Varsity Blues Athletics