After four years with the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team, it’s time to say good-bye.
Brad Good has been with the Ravens since the program’s rebirth in 2007, and after spending all four seasons as team captain, he’s moving on.
Good, a history major, will be graduating this year and will be leaving the team as “the most influential player the program has seen,” according to head coach Marty Johnston.
“He’s an academic all-Canadian. He’s the face of the program,” Johnston said. “He deserves every ounce of credit that comes his way.”
Johnston said the program will honour Good’s achievements with the club in a ceremony before the game Feb. 5 when the Ravens host the McGill Redmen. Good will be presented with a commemorative Ravens jersey and recognized for everything he’s done for the program in his four years at Carleton.
“The Raven and the ‘C’ are synonymous with Brad,” Johnston said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see another four-year captain.”
The Kitchener, Ont. native has been the Ravens’ top defenceman for three consecutive years. He said it’s nice to see the program grow significantly over his four seasons.
“We’ve worked hard from day one, and we haven’t missed the playoffs, so that’s something to be proud of with a new program like this,” Good said. “This is a year where we hope to achieve more than we have in the past.”
Good said this year’s edition of the Ravens is the “most skilled” he’s seen. They are fresh off defeating the Redmen Jan. 29, becoming the only team to defeat McGill in regulation this season.
In the Feb. 5 rematch, Good will be playing his 112th game with the Ravens, with regular season and playoffs combined. Over that time, he’s compiled seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points, to go along with 216 penalty minutes.
Assistant captain Justin Caruana, who has been with Good for all four seasons at Carleton, said the captain is deserving of the honour.
“He’s a great person, he’s a great guy, a great leader on and off the ice,” Caruana said. “Everyone from day one since we came here has always looked up to [him]. It’s great to have him as our captain.”
Johnston said Good’s leadership abilities have an influence on the rest of the team, and has helped their success this season.
“Every day after practice there’s one guy in the room biking, it’s Brad Good. There’s one guy in the weight room, it’s Brad Good. There’s one guy eating right, it’s Brad Good. He does everything right.”
The festivities this weekend will include a video tribute for fans to watch as they enter the arena, and distribution of player trading cards. The celebration will continue to Oliver’s for a post-game party with Carleton alumni.
Johnston gave his captain an even higher honour.
“You wish your son could grow up to be like Brad Good,” he said.
Good said he hopes to play some level of professional hockey next season, but he will worry about that in the summer.
Right now, he’s just focused on “winning with the Ravens this season.”
Spoken like a true captain.
Note from Athletics:
The Brad Good pre-game ceremony is scheduled to commence at 2:30 pm this Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Ice House. The game will be licensed, and there will be a post-game party at Oliver's starting at 6:00 pm.