The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team suffered its first loss of the 2019-20 season early against the University of Guelph Gryphons on Oct. 18, before bouncing back for a win over the Western University Mustangs on Oct. 19.
Both weekend games ended in 3-2 scores, with Carleton’s win over Western coming in overtime. Third-year forward Jared Steege was the Ravens’ hero in the win, converting the overtime winner after receiving a pass from second-year forward Aaron Boyd on a 2-on-0 rush.
Boyd led the way for the Ravens over the weekend. He played a role in three of the team’s five goals, adding a goal against Western and another assist against Guelph.
“He’s been unbelievable on the powerplay, he’s a very heady player, and he’s having a great year,” said Van Allen. “He’s been a big part of our offence, and we’ve given him more of an expanded role this year and he’s really taken advantage of it.”
“I’ve been on the powerplay lately, this year, playing a little bit more, and still on the [penalty kill] as well,” added Boyd. “I think that just adds to my confidence and helps me feel more comfortable on the ice.”
Over both games, the Ravens blew two 2-0 leads. The first instance, against Guelph, saw third-year Carleton forward Cody Caron and first-year defenceman Matt Barberis score powerplay goals in the first six-minutes of the game.
However, Carleton was held off the scoresheet while Guelph forwards Connor Bramwell and Giordano Finoro scored to tie the game in the second period.
Gryphons star forward Todd Winder added a goal midway through the third to seal the win for his team. Fourth-year Ravens goaltender Justin Nichols made 32 saves on 35 shots but recorded the loss, the first of the year for both him and his team.
“I thought we had a great start,” said Nichols. “Obviously, we took a 2-0 lead, and then we kind of let them back into the game. I think we got away from our gameplan, a little bit.”
“You want to come out with points, and that didn’t happen tonight,” Nichols added.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Van Allen, who called Guelph a “hard-working, very skilled, [and] intense hockey team.”
The Ravens burst out to another fast start in their next game against the Western Mustangs, ranked last in the OUA West with a 1-3-1 record.
First-year forward Parker AuCoin notched the second goal of his U Sports career just 42 seconds into the game, and Boyd doubled the Ravens’ lead at the 13:25 mark of the second period.
However, once again, Carleton’s opponent marched back. Western forward Kyle Petit scored early in the third period before defenceman Stephen Desrocher knotted the score with a powerplay goal in the last three-minutes of regulation time.
In overtime, the Mustangs controlled the pace of play for the majority of the period.
First-year Ravens goaltender Mark Grametbauer stood tall for two saves before the Mustangs surrendered the game-winning 2-on-0 rush to Carleton forwards Steege and Boyd.
“Overtime was a wild one. I was curious about how we were going to win it in overtime when we didn’t touch the puck, they pretty much had it,” said Van Allen. “Then, one little turnover and everyone just takes off. So, you know, they had lots of chances to win. [Grametbauer] was unbelievable.”
“It’s been stressful. We haven’t had one easy game this year,” Van Allen added.
Feature Image by Spencer Colby.
