– File photo
The beginning of 2017 has marked a turning point for the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team, as they hope to bring consistency to their disappointing but salvageable season.
“I think everyone can look at the first half of the season as a bit of an underachievement,” said Ravens forward Corey Durocher.
Currenly fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East with a record of 14-7-1, the Ravens have some ground to make up, but after winning the opening game of the new year against the Royal Military College Paladins, and following that up with an 8-0 win over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks, the Ravens have a positive outlook on the rest of the season.
“We’ve been inconsistent . . . We had some distractions early on in the season but we’re moving forward,” said Ravens head coach Marty Johnston.
These distractions included the loss of key player Brett Welychka and other early injury struggles throughout the roster. Since his return, Welychka has put up an impressive 21 points in 16 games.
Late in November, with a record of 7-5-1, the Ravens were looking for something to pull them out of their slump.
“The guys on the team had a players only meeting to discuss what we needed to be successful,” Durocher said. “The meeting really put our minds into perspective on our overall goal of making it to nationals. We needed to take a step back and not think about the negatives, but look at the positives that we were bringing to the rink.”
Since the players’ meeting the team has gone 7-2. Carleton is now among the top five OUA teams for goals per game, total shots, goals against average, save percentage, shooting percentage and lead the league in penalty killing, according to OUA Leaguestat.
“Our leaders have done a very good job and credit to them with how things move forwards . . . They’ve grown into their roles and they’re doing a great job,” Johnston said.
One area where it looks like the Ravens have fallen into trouble is their penalty issues. The team has played shorthanded 118 times this season, second-most in the OUA.
“I’m not sure if it’s the style of play that we have but typically there are a lot of penalties on both sides when we play,” Johnston said.
If they’re able to cut down on penalties, the Ravens will be able to utilize their strong offence to create scoring chances instead of having to kill penalties.
Another issue the team has had is their play against teams below them in the standings. When playing teams ranked in the top six in the OUA, the Ravens have won five games and only lost two. However, when playing teams ranked lower than themselves the Ravens have a record of 8-5-1.
The Ravens will also be missing five key members of the team for a handful of games late in the season. Durocher, Michael McNamee, Ryan Van Stralen, Welychka and Johnston will all be a part of the Canadian FISU Winter Universiade men’s hockey team.
Looking ahead, 2017 could be a strong year for the team. With their league leading defense, goaltending, strong offensive stats, and a leadership group that has stepped up to the plate, the team looks like they could be in a good position to push for the playoffs.
“This first weekend of success will carry over to the rest of the season and we will continue to build on that as we strengthen our systems,” Durocher said, “I think we ended the first half of the season playing our best defensive hockey.”
While the first four wins of 2017 bode well for the Ravens team in the new year, Johnston said he remains cautious.
“We have yet to prove that we’re consistent, we just need to build off of every day and as much as we’re happy with last week’s effort we have to be ready for game time,” Johnston said.
