The Varsity Blues women’s hockey team went 1-3 at the Carleton Raven’s preseason tournament, September 22-25, in Ottawa.

The Blues kicked off the tournament with a narrow 3-1 loss to the Calgary Dinos.  Veteran forward Amanda Fawns of Scarborough, Ont., tallied the Blues lone goal, assisted by sophomore Amanda Ricker.

First-year head coach Vicky Sunohara then earned her first win as the Blues full-time bench boss in a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the host Carleton Ravens.

The Blues played catch-up, as the Ravens held a one-goal lead for the majority of the game. Ricker opened the scoring early in the second after receiving a beautiful cross-crease pass from Brenley Jorgensen. Rookie forward Jacqueline Scheffel then notched her first career goal, tipping a Marlie McLaughlin shot into the net, to make it 2-2- heading into the third period.

An early Carleton goal would once again see the Ravens ahead by one, but the Blues quickly responded as April Looije, another U of T rookie forward, scored her first goal to even things up.

With just under three minutes remaining, a flurry of players went to the penalty box, leaving the Blues with a 4-on-3 advantage.  U of T made no mistake, as Vancouver native Brittany Kirby hammered it in and found the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

In her first career start, rookie goaltender Krista Funke made 30 saves in the win.

The Blues went on to fall 3-2 in a shoot out to the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday.   Sonja Weidenfelder, a first-year forward from Toronto, opened the scoring early in the first period. 

Two early goals from Ottawa in the second period would put them up by one, but the Blues quickly responded, thanks to a goal off the stick of Ricker.

A scoreless third and overtime period would result in a shoot out.  Ricker, Kriby and team captain Karolina Urban all missed on their attempts and it was Ottawa’s third shooter, Jodi Rein Holcz, who would be the first to score to seal the win.

The Blues ended the weekend with a 3-0 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds on Sunday morning. Despite their best efforts, U of T could not solve UBC goaltender Carly Butcher.  Second-year Blues goalie Nicole Kesteris made 26 saves in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action on Saturday, October 8 as they travel north for their 2011-12 season opener versus the York Lions.

The Blues return home the next day, Sunday, October 9, as they host the Ryerson Rams at Varsity Arena.  The puck drops at 4 p.m.

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