The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team dropped their final pre-season game in upstate New York on Saturday. The team travelled to Canton, N.Y. to face St. Lawrence University Saints and fell 5-3 to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team.

The Saints got on the board first, with Mike Marnell scoring just past the midway point of the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead.

After St. Lawrence made it 2-0 early in the second, Carleton responded. Mitch Zion elected to shoot on a two-on-one, ripping one past St. Lawrence netminder Kyle Hayton to cut the lead in half.

Carleton’s onslaught continued moments later, with Connor Devereaux burying a cross-seam pass in front of the net. That tied the game at deuces, setting up a pivotal end to the game.

The Saints would answer back in the latter half of the game. He picked up a rebound in the slot and fired it past sprawling Carleton goaltender Francis Dupuis, as St. Lawrence grabbed hold of the lead again.

They wouldn’t look back from there. At the beginning of the third, Woody Hudson fired home his second of the game from a tough angle to give the Saints a 4-2 lead.

Then the Ravens got into some penalty trouble, with new acquisition Brett Gustavsen going off for holding the stick. With the former Ottawa 67s player in the sin bin, the Saints’ Nolan Gluchowski’s screened point shot went past Dupuis.

Ravens’ Corey Durocher added a late goal to lower the deficit, but that’s all the Ravens mustered and St. Lawrence took the exhibition contest.

Dupuis was the bright spot for the Ravens, stoning the Saints for 40 saves on the day. That included a diving glove save on the Saints in the first period.

The Ravens open up the regular season on Oct. 10 at the Carleton Ice House, when they host the McGill Redmen at 7 p.m.