The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team endured a tough 1-0 loss to the powerful McGill Redmen Jan. 22, but got an essential two points in a win over the Concordia Stingers the following day.
The victory couldn’t have come at a better time, with the struggling Ravens team sitting at 4-9 in their last 12 games.
“It’s as tight as it’s ever been in our division,” said Ravens head coach Marty Johnson.
The game at McGill saw the Ravens go the distance with the OUA-leading Redmen, who boasted a 9-1 record at home going into the game. As soon as the puck dropped, the Ravens found themselves in what team captain Brandon Maclean described as “a dog fight.”
Sixty minutes of hard-fought play and a 10-minute overtime period decided nothing, as each goaltender put on a show in their respective nets.
“We faced a pretty hot goaltender,” said second-year forward Jordan Deagle, noting that Redmen goalie Peter Karvoularis made some key saves during the game.
Despite outshooting the Redmen 32-25, the Ravens lost in the shootout, with the lone goal coming from Redmen forward Alex Picard-Hooper.
Despite the loss, Ravens head coach Marty Johnston said it was the team’s “best game of the year so far.”
“Nothing went wrong, we were really happy with our effort,” he said.
“It was definitely our biggest team game yet,” MacLean added.
Forced to shake off the loss, the Ravens took to the ice the next day in a matinee game against the Stingers, who they lost to 7-2 in their last meeting. The Ravens grabbed an early 2-0 lead and drove home 5 goals in 46 shots, to defeat the Stingers 5-4 in regulation.
The victory offered the team some confidence going into the upcoming home stint, which began Jan. 24 against the Queen’s Gaels. The Ravens lost 3-2 to the visitors after being behind the whole game.
Carleton’s record at home is 7-3 this year, which is much more inspiring than their 5-7 road record.
“It’ll be nice to get home [and] play in front of our fans,” MacLean said.
The McGill battle was a learning experience for the Ravens. For a team who outshoots their opponent more than their record indicates, most notably outshooting Ryerson 31-15 Jan. 14 but coming up short 3-2, the Ravens know what they can take away from playing a strong defensive team like McGill.
“It’s more about getting to the net for rebounds. And blocking,” MacLean said.
Johnston said getting stronger defensively and working on special teams are two main areas he’d like his team to work on.
The Ravens will be back at the Ice House this weekend, facing the visiting Redmen and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Jan. 28-29.
