The road to the playoffs continues to be a challenge for the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team, who lost 4-3 to the McGill Redmen Feb. 4 in Montreal.
The Redmen took a commanding 3-0 lead in the first period, forcing the Ravens to play catch-up for the rest of the game. Powered by back-to-back power play goals, the Ravens made a valiant comeback attempt in the third period, but it was not to be.
Despite outshooting the Redmen 36-28, the Ravens couldn’t climb out of the hole they built for themselves early in the game.
“We didn’t come out of the gate very well [and] that cost us the game,” said Ravens head coach Marty Johnson.
For the first time this year, the Ravens find themselves at an even keel, sitting with a .500 win percentage. Their record is now 13-10-3 — a very different picture from starting off the year 9-2.
“You know, it’s definitely been a struggle this year, in the second half,” Johnston said.
Captain Brandon MacLean shared his coach’s mindset and said it seems the team has been playing with a bit of fear.
“We play McGill and it’s like we play pretty hard and then some other games we come out a little flat-footed,” he said.
With 29 points, the Ravens hold onto sixth place in a tight Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division. They’re only two points ahead of the ninth-place Ryerson Rams and just one ahead of the eighth-place Concordia Stingers, who hold the final playoff spot.
This means their upcoming home-stint against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes (UQTR) and Concordia Stingers Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, respectively, will determine the team’s fate.
Carleton’s record against UQTR, ranked second in the OUA East, is 1-2 this season. Their record against Concordia is 1-1, having beat the Stingers 5-4 in their last meeting.
Ravens defenceman Tim Billingsley, who had a goal and an assist against McGill, said the team has to have the right “mentality” to be able to improve.
“Everyone’s got to be focused,” he said. “You don’t want to change too much at this point in the year but everyone’s got to stay on the same page, move forward, learn from mistakes, and move on.”
MacLean shared the positive attitude of his teammate, despite being frustrated by the loss to McGill.
“We’ve kind of been learning throughout the year,” he said. “I mean, it’s a process and nothing’s ever been won in the regular season. We’re just trying to work out all the kinks for when the playoffs come. [Just] get a couple of wins and get a good position going into the playoffs.”
