The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team split a pair of road games this past weekend.
On Feb. 2, the Ravens traveled across the city to take on their rivals, the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees and prevailed in a 3-2 overtime win. Two days later, Carleton traveled to Montreal to take on the McGill Redmen, but fell in a 2-1 loss.
The Ravens opened the scoring against U of O midway through the first period when Ravens forward Brent Norris was able to deflect a point shot from Justin Stevens and send it past Gee-Gees goaltender Graham Hunt.
The Gee-Gees’ offence ignited in the second period when they gained the lead. U of O defender Michael Poirier was able to put his own rebound past Ravens goaltender François Brassard to tie the game, then forward Marc Beckstead wired a quick wrist shot past Brassard to give the Gee-Gees a 2-1 lead.
The Ravens were quick to tie the game, however, as Carleton forward Adam Chapman scored his third goal in as many games to tie the game before the end of the second period.
Following a scoreless third period, the game headed to overtime, though the animosity between the two teams was on the rise, with five of the six minor penalties called in the frame.
“This is my fourth year here, so I was here when they were in the league before their two-year suspension,” Ravens defender Jason Seed said. “For me personally, I always felt that rivalry, and I felt it would be renewed as soon as they joined the league again.”
“I think even the newer guys had a feeling of that rivalry before we even played them at the start of the year,” he said.
Following five minutes of four-on-four, Ravens defender David Weckworth scored 22 seconds into the three-on-three as he slipped the puck past Hunt to win the game.
“It was a good game from our guys, and to pull through in overtime to get the extra point was really big for us, especially coming down the stretch here towards playoffs,” Seed said.
Two days later, the Ravens then looked to get their first win of the season against the Redmen—they previously lost 4-3 on Oct. 21.
Following two periods of play, the Ravens found themselves trailing 2-0. Josh Burnside was able to cut the lead for the Ravens three minutes into the final frame, but Carleton was ultimately unable to score an equalizing goal.
“We battled really hard, it’s always tough to go play McGill in their building, they play really well there, and it’s a hostile environment for visiting teams,” Seed said. “We put up a good fight, and unfortunately . . . for whatever reason, we just couldn’t pull through and get the extra goal to push it to overtime.”
The Ravens will wrap up the regular season at the Ice House on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. when they take on the Queen’s Gaels.
Heading into the game, the Gaels currently sit third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East, while the Ravens are sitting three points behind in fourth place. The two teams previously met this year in Carleton’s season opener.
The Ravens skated away with a 4-3 victory on the road.
“They’re a really solid team. Very structured, we know that from playing them in the past,” Seed said. “For us it’s matching that and playing a structured game ourselves, capitalizing on open chances and stuff.”
The game will also mark the return of Ravens forwards Corey Durocher, Michael McNamee, Brett Welychka, and Ryan Van Stralen, along with Ravens head coach Marty Johnston. The five Ravens earned a bronze medal at the 2017 Winter Universiade as members of Team Canada.
“They’ll provide a lot more offence for us, so hopefully we can take advantage of getting those guys back,” Seed said.
– File photo
