After a nearly three-month hiatus, the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team will resume play this weekend at home as they take on the McGill Redbirds in two back-to-back games.
The Ravens were set to play the Concordia Stingers on Feb. 18 and 19, but both games were cancelled due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns. Make-up dates have yet to be announced.
A lot has happened to the Ravens since they last played on Nov. 27, 2021 in a 5-2 loss to Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Not only were they sidelined for the entirety of January due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, they also lost five players to pro leagues in the United States and Europe, leaving a large void to fill in their lineup.
“We’ll definitely miss those guys that we lost,” forward Aaron Boyd said. “But it’s also a good opportunity for a lot of the younger players to step up and fill roles that maybe they wouldn’t have seen if we hadn’t lost those guys.”
While pandemic restrictions kept the team from practicing together until Jan. 31, the players have been doing their best to not let it affect their conditioning.
“[The hiatus was] definitely a hindrance [for] the momentum as a team and also individually,” Boyd said.
Boyd said he stayed in shape by training at his house, while goaltender Mark Grametbauer said he skated on outdoor rinks, which was “a little bit more fun.”
As for the team as a whole, the coaching staff is still figuring out what they have. The reduced roster has forced head coach Shaun Van Allen to try different lineup combinations and thrust younger players into new roles.
“We’ve kind of got a new team when you lose that many guys, so guys are going to have to play some roles they’re not used to playing,” Van Allen said. “Until they play, we’re not really sure what’s going to happen.”
This weekend, the focus is squarely on McGill, whom the Ravens shut out with their best defensive effort thus far this season in a 2-0 win on Nov. 12, 2021. This weekend’s games will complete the season series between the two schools.
The games will be a test of strength, according to Grametbauer.
“These first two games are going to be some of the toughest for all the teams around the league, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top,” Grametbauer said.
After this weekend, Carleton has two remaining games on the schedule, both against the Concordia Stingers, with another two games dependent on the rescheduling of their cancelled games. Carleton currently sits in third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Far East division with a 4-2-2 record but has yet to win consecutive games this season.
Boyd said he is still confident in his team’s ability to emerge from these upcoming sets with success.
“We’re a team that’s able to look at the previous night’s game and adapt our system and come back on Saturday with a stronger game,” Boyd said. “I think that’ll be beneficial when playing these back-to-back games.”
Van Allen, on the other hand, doesn’t want to get ahead of himself thinking that far out.
“It’s a cliché, but we’re just taking it one game at a time,” Van Allen said.
The puck drops against McGill on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Ice House.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
