Forward Alexandre Boivin stepped up in his final Colonel By Classic, while goalie Justin Nichols shut the door in his first, as the Carleton Ravens came back to beat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 4-2 on Nov. 15.
“We were happy with their effort in the third,” Ravens head coach Shaun Van Allen said, noting it was “a team comeback” and“a big win for the program.”
The Ravens came into the game looking for redemption after a 2-1 loss to Ottawa at the Minto Sports Complex on Nov. 10.
This game started off just like the last one, with both teams taking numerous penalties in the first period. However, both sides were unable to capitalize with a scoreless opening 20 minutes.
Eventually, the Gee-Gees took advantage of a turnover with Kevin Domingue scoring on a breakaway to make it 1-0 over halfway through the second.
Carleton applied more offensive pressure afterwards and continued it into the third period. It paid off as Boivin buried a missed shot from the point to cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the final frame.
Three minutes later, Ravens forward Jared Steege fired the puck in from the slot to tie the game. Carleton continued to generate chances and took the lead when the puck bounced to first-year forward Kody McDonald who shot into a half-open net to give them their first lead of the game.
Down the stretch, as the Gee-Gees pressed for the equalizer, Nichols came up with a number of crucial saves.
“I got to know my job is not to let in another one,” Nichols said of his mindset after falling behind 2-0. “I think three goals would be an insurmountable lead at that point so, you know, to me, I knew I had to shut the door.”
“He’s one of our leaders,” Nichols said. “He’s a great veteran guy and he’s a catalyst for our team. When he’s on, I think our whole team’s on and I think he had a great game tonight.”
Boivin and Van Allen talked during the week, Boivin saying he wanted to play on the wing with Brogan O’Brien. So they made the line change.
“For tonight, it worked out well,” Van Allen noted. “He’s been a strong offensive player for us for a long time. You’re really happy to see the work he’s put into the same area has led to two goals.”
“He really battled. He kept us in there,” Van Allen said. “That game could have got away from us in the first period. A lot of credit to Justin, the way he battled in the third period.”
Nichols said the team will continue to work towards putting together a full 60-minute performance.
“I think we just need to have all four lines on the same page and running the same systems,” he added. “When we have everybody buying in, we’re a difficult team to beat so hopefully moving forward, we get all 20 guys moving in the same direction.”
Feature image by Jeff Pelletier.
