Though there were no curling stones, the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team swept the ice for another weekend with wins 6-2 and 2-0 over the Nipising University Lakers and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees respectively, cushioning their top spot in the Ontario University Athletic (OUA) East and earning a playoff berth.
It was a tale of two games and two very different starts for the Ravens.
On Jan. 17, going down two goals to Nipissing, who ranked seventh in the division, provided a bit of a surprise to the division leading Ravens.
In the second period, Ravens head coach Shaun Van Allen told his team to get back to basics working the puck low and scoring off the cycle.
In the end Carleton won by a score of 6-2, with every goal from a different player. Ryker Cole and Cole Carter led the way with two assists each.
Newcomer to the team Sam Meisenheimer scored his second goal, in just his third game since joining the team.
The Viking, Alta. native played a couple years of minor hockey before moving across the country to settle down and go to Carleton. He says he has been working on adjusting to the game.
“It’s very fast and very physical, I’m just trying to adjust and get up to speed after I didn’t play any hockey [games] the first half of the year,” Meisenheimer said.
Van Allen was impressed by Meisenheimer’s recent performances and moved him to a new line with Alexandre Boivin and Cody Caron.
“A little bit of a different role playing with two more offensive players,” Van Allen said, “I thought he handled himself well.”
“I think [the game] was huge, but this is what you play for, not many times you get to play a one versus two this late in the year, it’s a good measuring stick.”
With the Ravens jumping out to a two goal lead quickly, the start of this match up was opposite to the Friday game. First it was Matthew Forchuk down the wing then Cody Caron added the second, notching his 12th goal of the season.
This score after just eight minutes of play would hold for the rest of the game.
“It’s so much easier playing with a lead than coming back all the time. Coming back against a good team you can’t always count on it,” Van Allen said after the game.
Boivin, a veteran forward, saw the fast start as essential.
“Hard starts it was key for us, getting those two goals. Then we’re able to play a little bit more passive and trap them instead of the other way around.”
Boivin himself was a key factor in the win and saw a lot of minutes killing off the penalties. He was on the ice for the majority of the 5-on-3 that sealed the game including a two man advantage against them for a full two minutes late in the third period.
To him, the penalty kill is about commitment.
“It starts with the coaching, us buying in and blocking shots and working hard,” he said.
“When you work hard you have the opportunity to make some big plays.”
Both Boivin and Van Allen commented on the big play of their goaltender, noting it would be a totally different game without him
Nichols credited his shutout to the guys in front of him, particularly on the penalty kill.
“Guys did a really great job in front of me blocking shots and I saw mostly everything which made it easy on me,” he said.
All-around team efforts, winning close games and now having extended their lead in the OUA east, gives a different feeling for Boivin heading into the playoffs.
“We’ve been in the best position since I’ve been here which is great, I think it just comes down to everybody buying in.”
Feature image by Spencer Colby.
