The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team advanced to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division final in exciting fashion after defeating the Queen’s Golden Gaels two games to one in the best-of-three semi-final series Feb. 26, 28, and March 2.
The Ravens began the series with a strong offensive effort, taking the first game by a score of 6-2.
Ravens forward Michael McNamee continued his impressive playoffs, opening the scoring with a goal three minutes into the game. Ravens forward Mitch Porowski added a power-play goal to send the Ravens into the second frame with a 2-0 lead.
“I thought we had a good atmosphere coming into the game. Overall, good teams find a way to win and that’s what came out tonight,” he said.
Ravens head coach Marty Johnston said the team found a way to win in this one and came up with some luck.
“We had some nice shots on some goals and found pucks in front of the net. You’re not always going to get those bounces, but we did tonight,” he said.
Ravens forwards Joey West and Damian Cross both scored into the second period to give the Ravens a 4-1 lead going into the third.
Porowski said the team had to keep up the pace while staying cool at the same time.
“Any period going in, whatever the score is, we have to keep that even keel, not too high, not too low,” he said.
The Ravens did exactly that and finished the Gaels off after two goals in the final period from forwards Linden Bahm and Corey Durocher.
The second game of the series in Queen’s was a much different story, with the Gaels ultimately taking the tight contest 2-1.
“They did a really good job clogging us up and taking away a lot of our chances and we peppered the goalie with shots, but we couldn’t get any by him,” Ravens forward Jeff Hayes said.
After a scoreless first period, the Gaels took a 1-0 lead just one minute into the second period on a power-play goal, adding an empty net goal to seal the game in the third period.
The loss ended the Ravens’ 16-game winning streak, and gave the team some motivation heading into the final game. Porowski said it was a different experience losing after such a long unbeaten stretch.
“We had lost the game after the winning streak and facing adversity is something we hadn’t faced in a while,” he said.
The decisive game of the series was tight, with the teams going into the third period tied 0-0.
Porowski continued his strong play in the series, scoring with under a minute to play in the third period to put the Ravens up 1-0.
“It was definitely a nail biter,” he said. “I was really proud of all the guys and to be a Raven and just to share the win with the boys.”
Durocher added an empty net goal to end the Gaels’ season. Johnston attributes his team’s success late in the game to tempo.
“I thought the pace of tonight’s game was really high. I thought Queen’s gave us everything we could handle in the first period,” he said.
Carleton will now face the McGill Redmen in the OUA East finals starting March 6 at the Ice House. The Ravens won each of their regular season games against the Redmen.
If they win the series against the Redmen, the Ravens will be one of six teams qualifying to play for the CIS University Cup in Saskatchewan.
