With its University Cup dreams on the line, the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team went into its second round-robin game needing a win to have any hope of playing in the championship game.
But the Ravens’ season is over after a 3-2 loss to the McGill Redmen.
They were beaten by the identical score March 20 to the University of Alberta (U of A) Golden Bears, going 0-2 in round robin play.
Ravens head coach Marty Johnston said he’s disappointed to lose both games, but is proud of his players nonetheless for a historic season capped with the first national tournament appearance in program history.
“It’s obviously not the outcome we wanted, but I’m very proud of the group of young men that put Carleton on the map in terms of CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) hockey,” he said.
Johnston said both the U of A and McGill teams have a deep hockey pedigree.
“They have a rich history and they’d been here before, and I think that showed,” he said.
The game against McGill did not start ideally for Carleton, as they gave up the first goal for the second straight game. Redmen defenceman Jean-Phillippe Mathieu put the puck past Ravens goalie Francis Dupuis, who lost his stick and couldn’t recover in time to make the save.
As the seconds ticked away in the opening period, Ravens defenceman Tim Billingsley threw a shot on goal. It beat Redmen goalie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard with less than a second remaining, tying the game at one goal apiece at the end of the first period.
After outshooting McGill 17-12 in the first, Carleton was outshot 17-10 in the second frame. A pair of Redmen goals from Patrick Delisle-Houde and David Rose extended the McGill lead to two goals after 40 minutes.
McGill coach Kelly Nobes said the second period outburst was critical to winning the game.
Carleton wouldn’t die—not yet at least.
The team started strong in the final frame with a Joey West marker that brought his team to within one goal of the Redmen lead, but penalty trouble near the end of the third period meant the Ravens comeback attempt fell just short.
West said the tournament structure of two round-robin games deciding who moves on to the final means brief mistakes can be disastrous.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “Two minutes can go wrong and the other team gets up on you, and they keep it the whole game.”
For the Redmen, the opening win means tomorrow afternoon’s game against the University of Alberta will decide which team advances to the championship game on Sunday.
Rose said knowing the importance of tomorrow’s game will not affect his team’s mindset.
“For us, we approach [the game against the Golden Bears] as a semifinal,” he said. “I know the winner goes on, but obviously it’s just a single game and we have to be ready for it.”
As for the Ravens, the players looked dejected on the ice after realizing their season was over. There were also several hugs shared by Carleton players and staff near the dressing room.
“When you play on a team there’s a sense of camaraderie in the dressing room, and it’s something that’s hard to emulate outside of hockey or outside of sport,” Ravens defenceman Jordan Deagle said. “It’s been a pleasure being able to watch the program grow and unfortunately we couldn’t [win it] this year, but I’m confident that next year will be the year they do.”
Johnston said he can’t measure how important the veterans on this team were in helping the program make history this year. He said without their leadership, this national success and the bright future of Carleton hockey would not have been possible.
“We have some graduating players that, when they started, the lineup looked a lot different than it does now and it’s a credit to them,” he said. “To see those guys from where they came and where the program came, I think that’s what the story should be about.”
