The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team capitalized on plenty of powerplay opportunities early to crush the McGill Redmen by a score of 6-3 at the Ice House on Jan. 16.
The Ravens entered the game as the underdogs. Heading into the contest with a record of 13-5, they ranked ninth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top 10, while the 17-2-1 Redmen were number two in the country.
Carleton was able to convert on three of their first four power play attempts and found themselves with a comfortable 3-0 lead 15 minutes into the game.
“I thought we had a good start and obviously our power play really stepped up,” said Ravens head coach Marty Johnston. “I think that was the story of the game, getting three powerplay goals in the first period obviously helped build a cushion and I think guys getting to the net was key.”
McGill attempted to regroup with a timeout after the third goal. Seconds after play resumed, a bad bounce while Ravens goaltender Francis Dupuis was away from the crease allowed the Redmen to get on the board.
The Ravens took four consecutive penalties of their own to start the second period, but the Redmen were unable to capitalize on any of their chances.
“Our penalty kill held off a very good powerplay for a stretch in the second period, great effort from all 20 guys that were dressed,” Johnston said.
Captain Joey West directed a shot on goal late in the period, which fluttered over the shoulder of the Redmen goaltender and gave Carleton a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes.
The two teams would exchange goals in the third before Corey Durocher buried an empty net goal to clinch the victory 6-3 for the Ravens.
“We’ve been battling these guys for years now. It’s my first time as a Raven getting the win against them so its been great,” said second-year forward Ryan Van Stralen, one of six Ravens to register multiple points in the contest.
“We just need to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing — the past two games, Lakehead and tonight,” he said. “If we do that against Queens on Tuesday, I think we will be successful.”
The Ravens will travel to Kingston on Tuesday to take on the Queen’s Gaels. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
