In their penultimate regular-season game on Tuesday, the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team fell 5-1 to the Concordia Stingers at the Ed Meagher Arena in Montreal.
The game held major playoff implications, as Carleton still had hopes of stealing home-ice advantage if they could take three of four points against the Stingers in their final regular-season set. The Stingers slammed that door shut with a convincing victory over the flailing Ravens.
The final score of the game belied its competitive nature, as the night went scoreless for over half its runtime. From the opening puck drop, both teams knew what was at stake and their urgency reflected that. Checks were thrown, the pace was fast and both goalies were sharp.
Head coach Shaun Van Allen said he was concerned after Carleton’s pair of losses to McGill that the team needed “a little more polish and finish.” Those issues continued to be the Ravens’ plight on Tuesday night.
Early in the first period, Carleton forward Parker Aucoin was blessed with an open-net opportunity in the slot, but he sent the puck wide. Forward Brogan O’Brien struck iron on a shorthanded opportunity not long after. The Ravens failed to capitalize on several point-blank shots, leaving the game wide-open.
Through the second frame, the Ravens’ fortunes didn’t improve, instead running into penalty trouble and having to kill off a lengthy five-on-three situation.
While the Ravens couldn’t catch a break, the Stingers got lucky when defenceman Marcus Tesink’s bad-angle shot squeaked between Carleton goaltender Mark Grametbauer and the post, giving Concordia the first goal.
The Ravens pushed back hard, throwing as much rubber as they could on Stingers goaltender Jacob Delorme. This included an excellent chance for defenceman Matt Barberis, but Delorme held his ground.
Stingers defenceman Yan Aucoin ripped the puck over Grametbauer’s shoulder on a late-period power play to double the lead. The goal visibly deflated Carleton, as they struggled to get back on their feet.
Entering the final period with a power play, the Ravens were flat-footed, surrendering high-quality chances to the Stingers’ attackers.
Just when it appeared the Ravens were on their way to being shut out for the second straight game, O’Brien sparked optimism as he took Aaron Boyd’s feed, sidestepped the defender and popped a shot over Delorme to halve the deficit.
Instead of the goal inspiring a comeback, Carleton imploded.
In the span of 2:41, the Stingers broke the game wide open with three goals by forwards Tyler Hylland and Maxim Trépanier and defenceman Nathan Lavoie.
Frustrations boiled over, as the Ravens kickstarted a parade to the penalty box with several skirmishes between whistles until the final buzzer sounded their defeat.
The competitiveness of the Ravens in their current form is questionable, considering their winless 2022 and the loss of five players earlier this season. Come playoff time, they may be hard-pressed to keep pace with other teams’ full benches, something Van Allen has cited often as Carleton’s biggest hurdle.
Following the loss, the Ravens sit in fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Far East division. If they remain there at the end of the season, they would face the first-place Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes in a single-game playoff knockout round.
However, with a win on Saturday and a uOttawa Gee-Gees loss, Carleton could pass uOttawa in the standings and take third.
The Ravens and Stingers will reconvene on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Montreal for their regular season finale.
Featured image by Marc Lafleur/Carleton Ravens.
