The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team earned two close victories this past weekend, with a 5-4 win over the Brock Badgers and a 4-3 victory against the York Lions.
The Ravens got their first two points in a fast-paced game against the Badgers on Nov. 6.
The game opened with the teams scoring three goals combined in just over a minute, and five goals in a span of approximately five minutes. Carleton ended the first period with a 3-2 lead.
“We had back-to-back goals that really got us started,” said Ravens forward Brett Welychka.
Brock drew even late in the second period with a power play shot past goaltender Patrick Killeen, who was subsequently pulled in favour of backup Francis Dupuis.
Both teams continued to push hard and the game extended into overtime. Ravens captain Joey West scored the overtime winner for Carleton, securing a hard-fought 5-4 victory.
Friday’s win ended a two-game losing streak for the Ravens. Welychka said the mini losing streak motivated the team to fight harder.
“It’s in the back of your head at all times,” Welychka said. “We had to win and we managed to get it done. It put us back in a pretty good position in the standings.”
Friday’s game saw Carleton improve to 5-3 on the season.
The Ravens fought their way to a second victory on Nov. 7, winning 4-3 over the York Lions.
The Lions started strong, ending the first period with a 1-0 lead over the Ravens.
The Ravens fought back and Mike McNamee earned the team their first goal in the second period, tucking a shot short-side past the York goaltender.
The game deteriorated for the Ravens mid-game, with 11 consecutive penalties called on the team. The Ravens pushed through multiple five-on-three power plays, during which York scored two goals.
“It was tough,” Welychka said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played a game with that many penalties, especially against one team.”
Goaltender Dupuis kept the Ravens in the game, with a 38-save performance.
After playing twelve straight minutes shorthand, Carleton struck back in the third period, drawing even with goals from Ryan Van Stralen and Brett Gustavsen. A shot in the final minute seemed to win the Ravens the game, but the puck was deemed not to have crossed the goal line.
The game extended into double overtime. Corey Durocher scored the winning goal for the Ravens and the game ended 4-3 for Carleton.
The Ravens secured a seemingly impossible win, successfully killing 13 of York’s 16 power plays and staging a three-point comeback late in the game.
Welychka claims the team was motivated by their disadvantage in the second period.
“It was a sweet revenge,” Welychka said. “It wasn’t easy for us to kill all those penalties, but the character that we showed to come back and end up winning the game was unbelievable.”
The Ravens currently sit in sixth place of the OUA East and will play again on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
