By Mark Staffieri
The IIHF world women’s hockey championships brought about a couple unique opportunities for the local university women’s teams, as both Carleton and uOttawa faced off against Germany and Czech Republic respectively.
Ottawa resident Sara Seiler, a former Raven who’s now an assistant coach for Carleton, got to play against her former mates as a member of Team Germany.
The game wasn’t without incident, however. Early in the third period, Seiler collided with Ravens defender Erin Beaver, and then as she tried to get up, she tripped and fell again, this time on top of Carleton goalie Eri Kiribuchi.
“I felt really sorry and I said sorry to her,” recalled Seiler, who simply shared a laugh with the Ravens. “It was fine and there was no problem there.”
The current Ravens reveled in the opportunity to face Seiler and her mates, who won the game 3-0 and went on to finish fifth at the world championships.
“It was a lot of fun seeing her out there,” said Carleton senior Kelsey Vander Veen, who played her last game as a Raven. “She is a skilled player and fun to play against.”
uOttawa also bid farewell to a senior who was the face of its program in recent years as captain Fannie Desforges laced ’em up for the final time as a Gee-Gee for the March 31 exhibition.
“Going out against an international opponent was a great experience,” highlighted Desforges, who scored a goal in the contest. “It was an awesome way to finish the year.”
The match took place at the Canadian International Hockey Academy arena in Rockland, where Czech player Klara Chmelova was a former student.
Gee-Gee Maude Laramée thought the game was quite valuable for her squad.
“Playing against an international team showed what it takes,” said Laramée, whose team fell 6-3 on two late goals. “It was a good experience and showed where I can improve and where my strengths are.”