Since the return of the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees men’s hockey program in 2016, the two schools have made a bigger effort to promote and make an event of their rivalry game.
The second annual Colonel By Classic will take place on Nov. 17 at the TD Arena. The Ravens are the current holders of the Colonel By Classic banner after a 6-2 win last year.
Despite the early confidence that the win at the Colonel By Classic instilled, the Ravens team went on to have a lackluster year. Carleton struggled all season with an underperforming power play and poor defensive zone play, leading to a record of 16-9-3. The team tied with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes for fourth in the conference, before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs to the Patriotes.
The off-season for Carleton wasn’t much better, with nine new recruits coming in for the team along with the departure of longtime head coach Marty Johnston.
With a new staff and new players, new head coach Shaun Van Allen has somehow been able to return the Carleton program back to the heights of the 2015-16 season, which saw the team competing at the U Sports national championship.
The Ravens are currently tied for second in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division at 8-1-1 alongside the Concordia Stingers, but they have played two less games than leading team McGill, who sit at 10-2 on the season.
Led by the top line of Ryan Van Stralen, Dalen Hedges, and Brett Welchkya, the Ravens have notched several important wins, including two over the U of O already this season, and big road wins over Western and Queens. The top line has combined for 33 points to start the season, with the team averaging 3.9 goals a game, good for third in the OUA.
Van Allen has installed a system of preying on their opponent’s weaknesses, such as a heavy crashing game when McGill came to play or opening it up and using their speed against the slower Gee-Gees lineup.
The balance of speed and power is evident across all the lines, though the top line is the best example of the balance Van Allen has been able to find, combining the power and net presence of 6’3″ Van Stralen with the speed and hands of new transfer Hedges and the patience and intelligence of the captain, Welchkya.
Van Allen has also shown a willingness to put his lines in the blender and change things up dependent on what the opponent is showing him.
Defensively, goaltender Francois Brassard is riding a 2.33 goals against average and a .924 save percentage, to put the team first in goals against average and save percentage in the OUA.
The top pairing of Joshua Burnside and David Weckworth have been especially important to the defence, with their size taking opponents by surprise when they show off some of the speed and puck skills they possess.
Freshmen Matthew Sozanski has been another surprise for the program. Despite being slightly undersized as a defenseman, his puck skills and vision more than make up for it.
Though inexperienced, the Ravens defence has turned into quite the juggernaut in the conference, big enough to challenge for space and challenge opposing teams physically, while still being able to hold their own against heavy forechecks.
The Gee-Gees, on the other hand, have struggled to begin the year. The return of the program following its suspension in 2014, saw the team have a surprisingly strong showing in the 2016-17 season. Despite early struggles, the Gee-Gees were able to string together a long series of wins in the back half of the season and sneak into the OUA playoffs.
This season, the U of O has struggled to capitalize on a great pre-season. The Gee-Gees are currently sitting in sixth in the OUA East, with a 4-4-2 record, after dropping critical points to conference foes Nippissing and Laurentian, who find themselves at the bottom of the OUA East standings.
But, the Gee-Gees have also won games against both McGill and Concordia, proving they have the skill to play with the top end teams in the conference.
The two teams come in to the rivalry game as opposites. The Gee-Gees, struggling with a four game losing streak, have to face the red-hot Ravens, who are on a six game winning streak.
The Ravens have also won both meetings between the two teams so far this season. The first game at the Ice House was an offensive shootout, with the Ravens blowing several leads but coming out on top with a 6-5 win.
The most recent game on Gee-Gees home ice was much slower and a very chippy affair, with the Ravens coming out on top by a score of 4-2. The Ravens played a more aggressive style crashing the net throughout the game, leading to several post-whistle altercations. The game ended on an emotional note as the players on the ice got into a massive scrum with only three seconds left in the game.
“There’s a lot of emotion here, we’re both in the same city and both are very competitive teams,” Van Allen said after the win.
With the strong start to the season the Ravens come into the Colonel By Classic as favorites, wanting to keep their winning streak alive.
Now ranked at number eight nationally, the Ravens’ hopes of making nationals this season don’t seem so far-fetched. Meanwhile, the U of O will be looking to get revenge for the two losses the Ravens have handed them this season, as well as their previous loss in the Colonel By Classic.
Photo by Dan Robertson
