After a dominating 8-0 victory over the Queen’s University Gaels the night before, Carleton’s men’s hockey team followed up that performance with a gritty come from behind 3-2 victory over the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivères Patriotes (UQTR) Dec 5.
The Ravens were playing catch up all afternoon to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) first-place team, but took the lead when it counted most in overtime. Defenceman Brett Halstead joined the rush early in the extra frame and snapped a wrist shot home to seal the victory. This was the Ravens’ first win after regulation all season.
Ravens head coach Fred Parker was pleased with the weekend’s result.
“The guys finally put together two very good performances,” he said. “We were getting one good one then one mediocre one for most of the first half of the season.”
The victory over Quebec, ranked fifth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), was not nearly as dominating as the win against Queen’s the night before. The Ravens struggled to put together any scoring chances early on. With 22 seconds left in the first period, UQTR’s Francis Charland notched his 14th goal of the season, and first of two points in the game, giving the Patriotes a 1-0 lead heading into the second frame.
The Ravens were eventually able to withstand the fierce forechecking of Quebec to create their own scoring chances in the second period. Forwards Brandon MacLean and Connor Barrett both had prime opportunities for the home team, but were unable to capitalize. Midway through the period, third-year forward Jared Cipparone banged in a rebound after a scuffle in front of Patriotes goaltender Jean-Christophe Blanchard’s net resulted in a Carleton power play. Quebec came back with a strong push after Cipparone’s marker, but Ravens goaltender Alex Archibald kept the score even with a sprawling save.
After surrendering the lead again early in the third, forward Joey Manley responded for the Ravens with less than 10 minutes to play. Manley’s wrist shot seemed to have fooled Blanchard as it beat him blocker side to tie the game at two apiece. The Ravens had many more chances in the closing stages of the third, but weren’t able to find the net until Halstead ended the game in overtime.
Despite the exhilarating win, Parker knows that this is simply one victory.
“I wouldn’t blow the win too far out of proportion, [UQTR] had to come up from North Bay the night before,” said the head coach. “Having said that, it just showed that we can compete with the best when we’re on our game. It’s good for the guys, we started off the year so strong and went into a slump, and it’s good for the guys morale-wise to get it together before we go on break.”
The biggest win for the Ravens was also their last of 2009, as they now head into the winter break on a positive note. If Carleton keeps up their strong play in the New Year, 2010 may prove to be the year of the Raven.