When the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team was eliminated from the playoffs by the McGill Redmen in the second round last year, few people thought goaltending would be a question mark heading into the season.

Alex Archibald was expected to return for his third season with the Ravens. But shortly before the season began, Archibald decided to retire from hockey to focus on his studies, leaving the Ravens with second-year goalie Ryan Dube, coming off a solid rookie season, and a hole on the roster.

Carleton recruited Matthew Dopud, who had just finished his junior career with the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Carleton goalie Ryan Dube (Photo: Carol Kan)

Head coach Marty Johnston decided the two netminders would battle it out during training camp, and their play would decide who would take over as the new number one goalie.

Dopud suffered an injury in training camp, allowing Dube to take the reins. But just three games into the season, Dube went down with an injury of his own, allowing the native of Pointe-Clare, Que. to step up.

Dopud began his OUA career on a torrid pace, going 7-0-2 in his first 10 starts.  Johnston said the competitive nature between the two goalies played a big role in the team finishing third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East.

“It’s obviously been a pleasant surprise, Dopud taking the ball at the beginning of the year and doing so well,” Johnston said. “Ryan’s been hit with some injuries, we expected big things out of him after a very solid rookie season. I’m very happy with both of them.”

Johnston said his two goalies have different styles of play, and different personalities. The duo thinks that’s what makes them successful.

“I think it’s better to have different personalities with the goalies,” said Dopud, who is much more fiery than his laid-back partner. “If we’re both the same it gets weird.”

No incident exemplifies this more than a game Feb. 4 against the University of Ottawa, when Gee-Gees netminder Harrison May became engaged in a post-whistle scrum.

With the rash of goalie fights in the NHL recently, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Dube rush down the ice. He allowed a cool head to prevail, however.

“I was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Dube said. “With [Dopud] out, [third-string goalie Taylor Lush] could play, but if I get a fighting major I don’t play against McGill. It could have been a sticky situation.”

Dopud pointed out that Dube’s voice of reason is what sets them apart.

“I think that right there shows the different personalities,” Dopud said with a laugh. “He thought through all that, and I don’t think too much. I would have just been down there.”

What both goalies can agree on, though, is that whichever one of them gets the call in the playoffs, they know the team has full confidence in the man between the pipes.

“Whenever the guys are confident in the guy in net, it makes them play that much better,” Dube said. “They’ll do more for you if they think you’re going to make the save, and they’ll score more.”

Dopud concured: “It’s all about confidence. If the team has confidence in you, they know you’re going to do what you can to stop the puck. I know they have confidence in me and ‘Dubes’ that we’re going to do what we have to do.”

Dopud finished his rookie season 10-3-2, with a league-best 2.11 goals against average, and his .914 save percentage was tops in the OUA East.

Dube posted a 7-5-0 record, with a 2.29 goals against average and .905 save percentage, putting him in the top 10 in the league in both categories.