The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team are on an early season roll, having now extended their winning streak to eight games with wins over the Brock Badgers and York Lions this past weekend.
In their first game Nov. 14 against Brock, the Ravens had six different players score on their way to the 7-2 win.
“It was a game where we used all four lines and I think they all contributed to the outcome,” Ravens head coach Marty Johnson said.
The first period ended with the Ravens leading 2-0 courtesy of goals from forwards Sean Bamford and Jeff Hayes. Hayes scored his second goal of the night off a deflection from Tim Billingsley.
Ravens forward Michael McNamee extended the lead to four later in the period, but the Badgers were not out of the game yet. They answered back with two quick goals.
“We lost the momentum there briefly but I think we did a good job at getting it back,” Johnston said.
The Ravens showed no signs of panic, as Billingsley and Mitch Porowski extended the lead to 6-2. After that, defenceman David Weckworth scored his first Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) goal to seal the victory for the Ravens.
Johnston said it was an important win for his team.
“Brock in the past has been pretty tough. They’ve beat us the past couple years playing a real defensive system,” he said.
He said the players motivating each other on the ice was the main contributing factor for the win.
“For the last three weeks we’ve had the bench saying the right things, keeping each other accountable, so I don’t think it was anything the coaches said. The guys just stuck with the program and the system and that helped us continue our play,” he said.
After the blowout victory at Brock, the Ravens faced the York Lions on Nov. 15, a game which was more of a nail-biter.
“We knew going in that they were a tough opponent, they had beaten [UQTR],” Johnston said.
The first period ended 1-1 with Mitch Zion scoring in the final seconds to tie the game up. Porowski scored off a rebound, and Michael Lomas scored shorthanded in the second, giving the Ravens a 3-1 lead.
It looked like a regular play win for the Ravens until the Lions managed to tie it up in the third period.
“I thought we were playing well. You never want to give up two goals in the third period, but I thought we had controlled the game,” Johnston said.
The game went into a shootout, where Ravens goalie Patrick Killeen made three big saves and Lomas scored the game-winner to make fnal score 4-3 in Carleton’s favour.
After the weekend wins, Johnston highlighted some of the things the team needs to work on.
“We’re continuing to build off the play five-on-five and we’re going to try to improve our power-play. I think special teams will often win you a one-goal game and we’re going to work on that.”
The Ravens will face the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Nov. 21.
