It was two wins in two games for the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team over the weekend, helping them to solidify their position near the top of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East.
After taking 3-0 and 6-1 decisions over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks and the Laurentian University Voyageurs on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Ravens found themselves set for the playoffs with second place locked down.
The weekend’s games served as the final two home contests for six seniors: team captain Hayden Hulton, alternate captains Brett Gustavsen, Dalen Hedges, and Adam Chapman, starting goaltender Francois Brassard, and forward Travis Douglas.
The six graduating players were honoured in a pre-game ceremony before Saturday’s game against Laurentian.
“It was a real nice ceremony to have their parents come out with them,” said Ravens head coach Shaun Van Allen. “It’s a good day for those guys, in recognition of how hard they’ve worked over the years they’ve been here.”
Friday’s game was a close one between the Ravens and fifth-place UOIT. A first-period goal from first-year forward Brogan O’Brien with under a minute to play in the frame remained the game’s only tally until midway through the third period.
Finally, sophomore defenceman C.J. Garcia fired a high shot past Ridgebacks goalie Michael Bullion at 11:31 of the final 20 to give the Ravens the critical insurance goal they needed.
Up 2-0, second-year forward Jared Steege iced it with an empty-netter with just six seconds remaining in regulation time, sealing a 3-0 Ravens victory.
With the shutout, Francois Brassard set a Ravens record for most wins in a season, finishing 2018-19 with a 15-7 record. He stopped all the shots against UOIT.
“They didn’t tell me [about the record] until after the game,” said Brassard on Friday. “It feels pretty good right now.”
The regular season finale on Saturday saw an uneven effort from the Ravens, who rested their starting goaltender in Brassard and their four best scorers in Alex Boivin, Jake Smith, Brogan O’Brien, and Josh Burnside for the game.
Carleton exited the first period up 2-0 thanks to two quick goals from second-year defenseman Mike Constantine and senior forward Dalen Hedges. However, the second period saw both team allow numerous odd-man rushes, with the only tally coming on a breakaway by Laurentian’s Haydn Hopkins just over a minute into the period.
“We were really happy with the first. It was one of the best periods we’ve played,” said Van Allen on Saturday. “We were more disappointed with the second period and with some of our decisions with the puck. I think we gave up three breakaways in the second period.”
The Ravens appeared to collect themselves in time for the third period. They picked the right spots offensively, scoring four unanswered goals from 4:57 to 10:17 to make it 6-1, which would remain the final score.
As the game progressed and the score became more lopsided, the game began to heat up after whistles. Alternate captain Brett Gustavsen scored one of the Ravens’ four thirdperiod goals while contributing to his fair share of post-whistle scrums.
“The playoffs have a different feel, and our last couple of games here we’ve really been focusing on having a playoff perspective,” said Gustavsen. “The playoffs are . . . a little more chippy here and there, so you’ve got to be a little more disciplined, but you’ve got to have a presence out there and make yourself known.”
Goalie Justin Nichols picked up the win against Laurentian, stopping 14 of 15 shots. To Van Allen, having two goaltenders who can collectively stop 42 of 43 shots over two games is one of his team’s greatest attributes.
“You can tell [Nichols] is feeling good and he’s got some confidence,” said Van Allen. “Credit to him for working really hard in practice and not letting his game slide and having a great attitude—that speaks volumes about how he is.”
With second place in the OUA East locked down, the Ravens can now look ahead to Thursday’s first-round playoff game against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
“They’re a good team. Anyone on our side can be good at any moment,” said Gustavsen. “We can’t take anyone lightly. We’ve got to play smart, we’ve got to play our role, and I’m confident we’ll be successful.”
Photo by Mike Gould
