The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team split back-to-back road games on Nov. 3-4 as they defeated the University of Western Ontario Mustangs by a score of 4-1, and lost to the University of Guelph Gryphons by a score of 5-4.
“Having back-to-back away games is tough, we had a slow start but rolling four lines and bringing in guys who have a lot of energy helped us get some timely goals,” said Ravens head coach Marty Johnston.
The first game against Western started with the Ravens unable to shake their bus-legs in the first period, but as the game progressed, the Ravens found their game and were able to play an all around solid last two periods.
The Mustangs were not able to capitalize on the Ravens’ slow start, and in the second period the Ravens pushed back.
The line of Alexandre Boivin, Adam Chapman, and Brent Norris led the charge early in the second period. After a hard shot from Boivin, Western’s goaltender Greg Dodds coughed up the rebound and Boivin was able to poke the puck into the net before Dodds could locate it.
After the game, Johnston said he was thoroughly impressed with the play of Boivin, Norris, and Chapman,
“[Boivin] has really transitioned into an elite skater this year . . . [Norris] and [Chapman] have been very consistent and I’ve really seen a lot of positives from that line,” he said.
Ravens defender Evan de Haan scored his third goal of the season midway through the period to extend the Ravens lead.
Western then cut the lead in half with two minutes to go in the frame with a goal from Mustangs forward Robert Polesello.
Ryan Van Stralen scored a power play goal with five seconds to go in the period to restore the two goal lead for the Ravens.
The fourth and final goal was scored in the third period by Ravens captain Michael McNamee, while assistant captains Brett Welychka and David Weckworth assisted on the goal.
Boivin, Chapman, and Welychka led the way offensively for the Ravens, as all three tallied three points each.
The next day, the Ravens team travelled to Guelph to take on the Gryphons. The high scoring game ended with a last minute goal by Gryphons forward Nick Boyer, with a final score of 5-4 in favour of Guelph.
De Haan opened the scoring and found the back of the net, this time on the power play following a Guelph charging penalty.
Guelph was able to respond and score two goals later in the first period to gain the lead.
“Again we had a slow start and weren’t as sharp as we needed to be,” Johnston said. “That along with our defensive turnovers gave us a tough time.”
In the second period, Carleton kicked off the scoring with Van Stralen putting one past Guelph goaltender Scott Stajcer to tie up the game.
However, Guelph defender MacKenzie Nichol was able to score in the dying seconds of the second period, to give the Gryphons a 3-2 lead.
After the Gryphons added to their lead early in the final frame, Carleton forward Brett Gustavsen was quick to respond by capitalizing on a defensive turnover to bring the Ravens back within one goal.
Shortly after, Boivin was able to beat the Guelph defence and score, tying the game at four goals with five minutes to go in the game.
With only three minutes left in the game, a point shot from Nichol was redirected in front of the net by Boyer, which gave the Gryphons the lead and the win.
“We didn’t get the same bounces as we did the night before, but it was a close game. One shot, one save could have made the difference,” Johnston said.
Now 10 games into the 28-game season, the Ravens have a record of 6-4.
“We haven’t been off to the best start but we’re not panicking. We have the skill and we just need to be more consistent,” Johnston said.
The Ravens’ next game is on Nov. 11 at home at the Ice House against the University of Windsor Lancers.
