TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams got their 2020 schedule underway with a well-rounded 3-1 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday afternoon. It was the same Warriors squad that gave the Rams their only loss in late 2019.

The Rams killed off all but one Waterloo power play while three different skaters contributed to the goal column. Kryshanda Green (Brampton, Ont.) opened the scoring, and Olivia Giardetti (Whitby, Ont.) and Erika Crouse (Kirkland Lake, Ont.) added insurance markers while Rachel Seeley (Ottawa, Ont.) made 26 saves. 

In the first, a body checking call put the Rams on the power play early, but their attempts were snuffed out by Waterloo's Mikayla Schnarr in net.

The squad maintained a slim shot advantage, but gave up a body checking call of their own when Laura Ball (Toronto) was sent to the box. Ryerson's penalty-kill unit could all but watch as Waterloo's Taytum Clairmont fired a shot past Seeley through traffic less than 20 seconds into their player-advantage.

Despite their 1-0 deficit, the Rams headed back to their locker room following the first with a 10-8 shot advantage after spending plenty of time in the Warriors' end. 

It took until the last two minutes of the second frame for the Rams to knot things up. Kryshanda Green sped into the Waterloo zone off a bank pass from Keelin Farren (Toronto) and picked the lower corner, putting it off the post and in. 

Earlier in the second, both teams squandered a power play chance. Until Green's snipe, most of the Rams shots were weak and routine for Waterloo's Schnarr. Nevertheless, Ryerson maintained a 23-20 shot advantage through forty.  

Shot blocking helped pave the way for Ryerson's defence. In the second period alone, huge blocks by the likes of Brooklyn Gemmill (Cambridge, Ont.), Lauren Nicholson (Dresden, Ont.), and Laura Ball kept the Rams energized. Fueled by these blocked shots, it was the Rams' successful late period penalty kill which led to Green's tying goal. 

Gemmill got called for tripping early in the third, but a hooking call against Waterloo made things 4-on-4 just thirty seconds later. Neither team could come up with much with the new open ice and the score stayed knotted at one halfway through the frame. 

A burst of offence from the Rams blew the game open just after the ten minute mark. In less than a minute, Giardetti and Crouse lit the lamp to make it 3-1. Giardetti's tally came off a smooth dish from Nicholson, who stripped a Waterloo defender of the puck. Crouse's tenth of the season was a rocket of a shot from the faceoff circle as Schnarr hardly flinched when the puck flew into the top corner. The Rams cemented their victory off of a penalty kill from a Karli Nummikoski (Thunder Bay, Ont.) checking call late in the third. 

When asked of her squad blocking shots, captain Kryshanda Green said, "it's major for momentum on the bench, we just come out flying when things like that happen." 

Scorer Erika Crouse added, "It's always a physical game with Waterloo. When we're physical and it's going well for us it gives us more momentum." 

The Rams stay at home for their next match on Thursday against Brock, with puck drop scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Ryerson students can attend for free with their OneCard.