The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team traveled to Laurentian University and Nipissing University to take on the Voyageurs and the Lakers. On Jan. 12, the Ravens defeated the Voyageurs 9-6 and then fell in a shootout to the Lakers the following day.
The Voyageurs came out strong against the Ravens with their first goal 54 seconds into the game, followed up quickly by another marker.
Before the first period ended, Brett Welychka scored for the Ravens when he beat Voyageurs goalie Mackenzie Savard, making it a one goal game. The Voyageurs responded quickly, extending their lead to 3-1 at the end of the first period.
Laurentian continued their relentless offence when just two minutes into the opening of the second period, Voyageurs forward Luke McCaw brought Laurentian’s lead to 4-1. The four goals on six shots for Laurentian led to the Ravens pulling starting goalie Francois Brassard and replacing him with Justin Nichols.
Six minutes later, Ravens forward Jared Steege on the man advantage fired the puck past Savard, cutting the Voyageurs lead in half.
Four minutes before the end of the second period, Welychka fired the puck over Savard’s shoulder and into the top corner of the net for his second of the game, putting the Ravens within one heading into the third period. The Ravens offence was flying high in the second period, putting up a total of 20 shots on goal.
Only 57 seconds after puck drop in the third period, Ravens defenseman Evan de Haan tied the game at four, when his shot went flying past Savard. Less than two minutes later, Ravens forward Wyatt Noskey scored his first goal as a Raven while giving the Ravens, giving his team their first lead of the game.
“It was a big goal, I put [Dalen] Hedges, [Brett] Gustavsen and [Noskey] together, and they kind of made a nice play behind the net. . . it was a real nice goal, you know any time, but for his first one that was even probably more special for him,” said Ravens head coach, Shaun Van Allen.
The Voyageurs were able to collect themselves and responded with a goal from forward Richard Therrien who tied the game at five a piece. On a power play, Welychka put the Ravens back in the lead when he scored his first hat trick of the season. Soon after, Alexandre Boivin extended the Ravens lead to 7-5 when he scored a short-handed goal.
The Voyageurs attempted to comeback with one more goal by Nicolas Dionne, but two empty net goals by the Ravens gave them a 9-6 win.
“We worked really hard, and I think our total was 55 shots on net, so we were really happy with our effort there in coming back from a 4-1 deficit,” Van Allen said.
On Jan. 13, the Ravens quickly opened up the game during the power play, as forward Fabian Walsh fired the puck into the back of the net past Lakers goaltender Brent Moran to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead.
The Lakers would eventually get onto the board halfway into the second period, when Lakers forward Brett Hargrave scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game.
Carleton would than regain the lead three minutes into the final period, when forward Dakota Odgers chipped the puck into the back of the net. The lead was short lived however, as Lakers forward Dylan Staples once again tied the game up four minutes later.
Ravens defenseman Matthew Sozanski would regain the lead for Carleton but they were unable to hold on once again as Hargrave tied the game up to force overtime.
Overtime would solve nothing as the two teams headed to a shootout, and Nipissing ended up walking away with the win as Staples netted the lone goal.
The Ravens play their next games on Jan. 20 and 21, as they travel to Montreal to take on the McGill Redmen, and then will be returning home to take on the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes at the Ice House.
