Toronto, ON- Over history, many smart people have walked across the earth, the great Buddha once said “Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, only focus the mind on the present.” That’s a sentence which couldn’t have rung truer in the minds of the Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team over these past couple days, as they strived towards the playoffs.
Buddha’s words go hand in hand with the old hockey moniker of “taking it game by game.” Ryerson needed all the possible points if they were to solidify a playoff position this weekend. With games against a fellow playoff fighter and a nationally ranked team, the Rams were not exactly handed the points on a silver platter.
First was the Laurentian Voyageurs, who has been one of the more up-down teams in the league, having gone on streaks of winning and losing. However, and the interesting stat that plagued the Voyageurs is the fact that they are seemingly unable to win without scoring three goals. The last time they found victory without a trio goal was back in November. To find success, all ryerson had to do was limit Laurentian to less than three. Unfortunately for the Rams, they failed in that department and lost 3-2 in overtime.
On Blue and Gold night, the Rams failed to put on a top-notch performance in front of a larger than usual crowd. The final goal was the a perfect equation of Ryerson’s unluckiness, and skill from Laruetnian forward Megan McCann. The overtime winning shot whistled through the legs of Ryerson senior Laura Ball, before whisking over the glove of Rachel Seely to give the Voyageurs the two points.
With Laurentian getting the two points and ryerson the one, the points gap stayed the same. Not ideal for either team, but nobody came out of the came too harmed in the standings.
It was the second game of the Rams weekend where the rubber really hit the road. They hosted the national ranked (8th) Nipissing Lakers, with the Rams needing all three points to remain in a playoff spot for another week.
Saturday night’s game was also seniors night for the women’s hockey program, as they honoured some of the finest players the program has ever seen. Captain Kryshanda Green, or “Krash” as she’s known by her teammates played with her heart on her sleeve in a game which was brilliant for the Bramptonian. Green scored the opening goal of the night, one which could be her last on the Mattamy Home ice. The assist came from Erika Crouse, who collected her first point in six games.
The home side went on to score another goal, as well as an empty netter for just a little bit more icing on their cake.
“It’s great getting a win like this over a team as good as Lakehead.” said netminder Rachel Seely who collected her fifth shutout of the season. Both Seely, as well as head coach Lisa Haley, spoke about the importance of keeping their minds in the present moment and letting everything falls around them, much like the quote from Buddha mentioned above. However, despite the ideology of not looking at the standings, it can sometimes be too hard not to. “Of course we all know where we stand and who’s games are affecting us,” said Haley, before going onto say that she has to keep reminding both herself and her players to be present in the moment and control the ice which they are on.
With the four of six points claimed, the Rams do find themselves in a playoff spot. They re on the road for the last two games of their season, both of which will be very important if they are indeed to return to Toronto for post-season action. Those games are against Windsor and Western, two teams who are also fighting a similar fight. Nipissing, on the other hand, is sitting pretty in a playoff spot and will likely rest some of their playoffs before a hopeful run toward the McCaw Cup.
Cover Photo: Benjamin Steiner