The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team overcame a late comeback attempt by the Ryerson Rams to capture a 5-3 win in a penalty-filled affair Nov. 19 at the Ice House.
“I think we were a little bit fortunate to get away with the win, considering how poorly our power play played,” said head coach Marty Johnston. “At the same time, we’re happy with the result.”
The Ravens got in trouble early in the game, losing two forwards to penalties within the first five minutes of the game.
“We had to change the lines around and use some guys more often than we’ve played them in the past,” Johnston said. “Our second unit power play was definitely a lot different than what it has been in the past.”
An ensuing penalty to defenceman Justin Caruana did the Ravens no favours, but captain Brandon MacLean tallied a shorthanded goal on the penalty kill to give Carleton the lead.
After a neutral zone turnover, Ravens forward Tyler Taylor took the puck down the left wing and fed MacLean who fired home the first goal of the game.
Defenceman Brad Albert and forwards Connor Barrett, Shane Bakker and Joey Manley also scored for the Ravens, while Ryerson got their offence from defenceman Michael Paolo and forwards Greg Payne and David Grant.
Carleton looked to be entering cruise control mode in the third period after taking a 4-1 lead, but a pair of quick goals by Payne and Grant, scored 1:14 apart, had the Ravens back on their heels.
“When they made it 4-3, obviously they’re only one shot away, so you think about it, but you just keep playing your game,” MacLean said.
But the Ravens could breathe a little easier after Manley beat Rams goaltender Troy Passingham with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle.
Both teams combined for 92 penalty minutes, with five of the eight goals scored coming on special teams.
“When the bench starts getting smaller, you’ve got to watch the shift length and keep it within 30-40 seconds so you can keep playing at that high tempo for the whole game,” MacLean said.
Passingham made 37 saves for the Rams, while Ravens goaltender Ryan Dube stopped 26 shots for his second victory on the season.
“I thought [Dube] did a really good job,” Johnston said. “There’s room for improvement, like with everyone else, but I was happy with the saves he made and he’s an elite goalie in this league.
Earlier in the weekend, the Ravens were shutout by the Queen’s Gaels at the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ont.
Gaels forward Kelly Jackson scored the game’s only goal early in the third period, as the Ravens fell 1-0 to Queen’s Nov. 18. The Ravens saw their offence stalled for the first time this season, in large part due to their power play, which went 0-for-5.
“I think that was probably our downfall in the Queen’s game,” Johnston said. “We had probably about three opportunities we didn’t score on. Usually when that happens, that’s the difference in the hockey game, and it was certainly the difference [against Queen’s].
