The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team saw victories escape them as they ended up losing to the Queen’s University Gaels by a score of 5-2 on Nov. 30, and then dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks the next night.
“Queen’s came at us pretty hard, forced a couple of turnovers, and they capitalized on it,” head coach Shaun Van Allen said.
The Gaels would find the back of the net early in the opening frame when forward Alex Row fired a quick wrist shot up and over Ravens goaltender Francois Brassard’s shoulder to make it a 1-0 game.
With eight minutes remaining in the first period, the Ravens made it a tie game when forward Jake Smith shot the puck past Queen’s goaltender Jack Finn and into the net.
Halfway through the second period of play, Queen’s regained the lead when defenceman Spencer Abraham sent the puck past Brassard to make it a 2-1 game.
Seven minutes into the final period, the Ravens once again made it a tie game as forward Brogan O’Brien scored his first shorthanded goal of the season.
“He’s chipped in with a lot of offence this year, and for a first-year player, we’ve relied on him pretty heavily, you know?” Van Allen said on O’Brien’s performance. “He plays the power play, plays the PK, and we count on him to produce points for us.”
Two minutes later, Gaels forward Slater Doggett buried a rebound past Brassard to once again give Queen’s the lead.
Seven minutes later, Queen’s got their first two goal leads as Gaels forward Duncan Campbell sent the puck sailing past Brassard to make it a 4-2 game.
With four minutes remaining in the game, Queen’s charged further ahead of Carleton, as Doggett fired the puck into the empty net, essentially dashing the Ravens’ hopes for a comeback.
Throughout the third period, the game became heated, as the Ravens took 49 minutes of penalties on 15 infractions, while Queen’s took 19 minutes on eight infractions.
Against UOIT, the Ravens got on the board first as defenceman Matthew Sozanski fired the puck up and over Ridgebacks goaltender Michael Bullion’s blocker—Sozanski’s first of the season.
“We moved the puck really well there, Noskey to Gustavsen, and Sozanski jumps up in the play. It was a really nice shot,” Van Allen said.
Nine minutes into the second period, the Ridgebacks made it a tie game, when forward Malik Johnson found the back of the net past Brassard.
“We had a real strong second period. We had some chances to put it away that probably cost us the game, but their goalie made some big saves,” Van Allen said.
In the third, neither team found the back of the net, as the clock wound down to force overtime.
In overtime, with the Ridgebacks on the man advantage, UOIT forward Mike Robinson sent the puck past Brassard to hand the Ravens their second straight loss.
Going into the holiday break, the Ravens are now tied for second in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division with a 10-3-4 record, four points back from the first place University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The Ravens will now prepare for their Jan. 3 matchup against the Concordia University Stingers when they return from their six-week break.
Van Allen said the team will continue practising over the next few weeks.
“It’s going to be tough when you get that much time off, playing in that first game back. It’ll be a challenge for both teams,” Van Allen said.
—With files from Stuart Miller-Davis
File Photo
