The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team returned to the ice for their first regular season game since 2020, defeating the uOttawa Gee-Gees 3-2 in overtime at the Minto Sports Complex on Thursday night.
The Ravens entered this season with high expectations after a dominant campaign in 2019-20 saw them go 24-4 before being upset in the playoffs by Concordia University.
It would have been easy to mistake Thursday’s game for a playoff matchup, with the crosstown rivals dishing out intense physical play early on, much to the delight of the packed crowd.
Both teams were clearly rusty throughout the first period, creating numerous turnovers and forcing the two goaltenders, Carleton’s Mark Grametbauer and uOttawa’s Tristan Bérubé, to make exceptional saves. Players on both sides struggled to find passing lanes, making for a choppy first period in which neither team held an edge.
While it took time for both sides to figure out their passing, the physical side of the game never wavered. The physicality was highlighted by some punishing hits from uOttawa forward Konnor MacCormick and defenceman Adam Sandstrom and a crushing, old-fashioned hip-check from Carleton defenceman Matt Barberis.
Emotions were running high and they boiled over midway through the second frame for Bérubé and Gee-Gees defenceman Jérôme Gravel.
At that point, the Ravens took advantage with a controversial marker by forward Oliver Castleman. Carleton captain Cody Caron drove the net with force, bumping Bérubé while handing the puck over to Castleman.
Bérubé, upset by the lack of a penalty call, lunged out of his crease to give Caron a couple of headshots with his blocker. He was seemingly unaware of Castleman moving into prime scoring position, giving Carleton a 1-0 lead.
Caron made a point of celebrating in front of the angered Bérubé, which led to Gravel knocking Caron to the ice. Gravel picked up a minor penalty to go along with uOttawa’s one-goal deficit.
The Ravens parlayed the momentum from their powerplay into another goal just three minutes later by forward Jacob Ball, who buried a rebound to double the lead to 2-0.
Carleton remained firmly in control of the game until the third period. A defensive lapse resulted in uOttawa forward Nick Bowman ruining Grametbauer’s shutout bid with a fiery wrist shot to the top corner of the net.
The Gee-Gees continued to pour on the offensive pressure, eventually scoring a game-tying goal by forward Branden Makara off a right-side snipe.
After allowing two goals in a flustering second period, Bérubé shut the door on the Ravens’ scoring through the third, not giving them any chance to extend their lead and sending the game to overtime.
In sudden death, both goalies exchanged phenomenal saves to keep the game alive, but it would ultimately be a turnover by defenceman Peter Stratis that sealed the Gee-Gees’ fate. Carleton’s Parker AuCoin picked off Stratis’ attempted pass and quickly sprang the streaking Aaron Boyd for a breakaway, where he ripped the puck over the shoulder of Bérubé for the win.
Carleton goaltender Grametbauer played a solid game, earning the overtime win with 26 saves and a .929 save percentage.
Although the Gee-Gees were able to claw their way back into the game in the third period, they couldn’t overcome their lack of finish around the net and numerous giveaways in their own end.
With the new divisional format for Ontario University Athletics (OUA) hockey, the Ravens and Gee-Gees will meet four more times this season, a quarter of their 20-game schedule. Thursday’s theatrics could be a sign of things to come.
With a win under their belt, Carleton will hit the road to play the UQTR Patriotes at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
