TORONTO — The Ryerson Rams women's hockey team will look to get back on track this weekend as they host the Queen's Gaels and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Friday and Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.
A 2-4-0 start to the year leaves the Rams ranked 10th in the OUA just three weeks into the season. The team has faced off against some of the toughest opponents the league has to offer in October, and more difficult teams are set to come down the pipe in November.
Many of their struggles have come during special teams play; Ryerson has failed to score a single goal on the power play on 25 opportunities thus far, and their penalty kill efficiency sits at a mere 78.8 percent. The Rams are ranked last in the league in both statistics.
On a positive note, third-year Rams defender
Mariah Hinds (Toronto) has totalled five points in five games so far this season including a league-best two short-handed goals. Not too far behind Hinds is second-year forward
Erika Crouse (Kirkland Lake, Ont.), who has racked up four points in six games.
The team will have the opportunity to improve their special teams efficiency and secure some crucial points this weekend as they host the Queen's Gaels and the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.
Friday night sees the Gaels come to town to face off against the Rams for the second and final time this season. Queen's ranks second in the OUA with a 4-2-0 record so far, suffering losses to the nationally ranked York Lions and Toronto Varsity Blues.
The Gaels have the second-worst power play in the OUA (80.0 percent), providing the streaking Rams with a top-notch opportunity to snap their zero percent powerplay this weekend. The Rams dropped a 2-1 contest in the teams' first meeting of the year on October 19 and will look to flip the script on Friday evening at 7:15 p.m.
The Ridgebacks will come to town on Saturday evening for a rematch of the 2019-20 season opener. The Ridgebacks have an 0-6 record this season, but five of their six losses have been within a slim one or two-goal margin. The team has had an unlucky start to the season, averaging 1.83 goals per game — the same GPG number as Queen's — and ranking fifth in the league in special teams. The Rams took a 4-2 win on October 18 in their first matchup of the season, and the team will need to stay out of the box this time around if they hope to secure three points and sweep their season series against the Ridgebacks.
The puck is set to drop at 7:15 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in both contests this weekend. Catch all the action live at OUA.tv.
