For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team punched their ticket to the U Sports nationals with a score of 3-0 on Mar. 8.
“It’s been a long time coming that we worked hard to get to where we are now, and obviously, the last couple years we’ve had tough luck in the playoffs. But I think this year we really bared down, and we worked really hard to get to where we are today,” Ravens goaltender Francois Brassard said.
Throughout the game, Brassard stood tall, as he backstopped his team to a shutout while stopping 42 shots on net against the Western University Mustangs.
“You never count your chickens until they’re hatched. You just keep hope he’s playing as well as he’s playing,” Head coach Shaun Van Allen said on Brassard’s performance. “And the puck must have looked big tonight, because he made a lot of tough saves look easy, and that’s a huge credit to him.”
The Ravens opened the scoring 11 minutes into the opening frame as forward Dalen Hedges fired the puck past Mustangs netminder Luke Peressini.
“[Hedges] really stepped up. He scores the first goal on a steal, he steals the second puck and set up Jared Steege, he’s had a strong playoffs, and he’s been a huge part,” Van Allen said. “And he’s had a tough year, and that’s why there is two seasons. There is the regular season and the playoff season, and he’s had a great playoffs.”
The Ravens eventually extended their lead to 2-0 11 minutes into the second frame when forward Jared Steege pounced on the rebound and buried it past Peressini.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Ravens put the game to rest when forward Jake Smith sent the puck into the empty net.
“I think we played great. We didn’t give them a lot of scoring chances, they had a lot of shots, but it was mostly from the outside,” Brassard said. “Guys were blocking scoring chances, and they made it a little easy for me, so I think it was a team effort to get the shutout there.”
With the win, the Ravens captured third place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Queen’s Cup playoffs, and are now set to head to Lethbridge, Alta., next weekend for the U Sports men’s hockey championships.
“It’s so fresh right now. To try and compare the teams is really hard right now,” Van Allen said on this year’s team compared to the 2015-16 nationals team.
“You don’t go to nationals without good teams, that’s the thing. And there probably is quite a few similarities, but for the most part you want the guys to enjoy this one tonight, and we can start comparing teams when it’s over.”
Photo by Spencer Colby
