The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team wrapped up the first half of the season this past weekend.
The Ravens defeated Nipissing 4-1 at home, then travelled to Kingston and cruised to a 7-1 win over the Royal Military College (RMC).
“The Nipissing game was a good start to the weekend for our club because we played a full 60 minutes and everyone contributed,” said Ravens forward Brett Welychka. “They came out strong and wanted to establish something early on, but we did a great job shutting that down . . . It was also a great appearance from the fans and the teddy bear support they gave.”
Over 200 fans came to support the Ravens during their annual “Teddy Bear Toss Night.”
The Ravens opened the game with a strong start, outshooting their opponents 19-6 in the first frame. Brent Norris opened the scoring late in the period, giving eager fans a chance to chuck their teddy bears onto the ice.
The momentum from the first period continued into the second, with an early goal from Mitch Zion to extend the lead to two.
Corey Durocher added a power play goal late in the second period to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Both Carleton and Nipissing would exchange power play goals in the third to close out the game and give the Ravens a 4-1 victory.
The next day, Carleton traveled to Kingston to take an RMC squad looking to bounce back after a narrow defeat to the top ranked McGill Redmen.
“RMC plays well at home, they worked hard but I thought the guys battled really harder,” said Ravens goalie Patrick Killeen. “It was a pretty important game for us.”
The game appeared close in the opening 10 minutes, but shortly after the halfway point of the opening period, the Ravens broke out with goals from Zion, Welychka, and Norris within a span of three minutes.
Carleton continued to flex their offensive muscles in the second, adding two more goals to take a commanding 5-0 lead into the third period.
As the game stretched out of reach for RMC, frustrations grew. In the third period alone, 42 penalty minutes were assessed, including game misconducts for two Ravens players.
“I think the key for us is becoming a little more consistent and staying out of the penalty box,” Killeen said. “We have the tendency to have a couple lulls in the course of a game, but if we can start playing a full 60-minutes and stay out of the box things should go well for us.”
Once the dust settled, Carleton was able to skate away with a convincing 7-1 victory.
The two wins over the weekend extend the Ravens’ win streak to three games and improved their record to 12-4.
“Our coaches do a great job of keeping the players ready for every game and make sure whoever we play, we match up accordingly,” Welychka said. “To finish on a 12-4 record in the first half is a positive note . . . Heading into the second half, as long as we keep bringing the work ethic and applying our systems right to every game, we should be fine.”
After the break, the Ravens will make a trek to Thunder Bay on Jan. 8 to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves for two road games.
