Ravens forward Reese Belton wrestles in front of the Western net on Nov. 3. Belton scored a goal against the Mustangs at the Ice House in Ottawa. [Photo by Marc Lafleur / Carleton Ravens]

The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team lost a physical battle to the Western Mustangs 6-2 at home on Nov. 3, dropping their season record to 2-7-1.  

Although this game marked their sixth straight loss, Carleton held their own against the top team in the OUA West. It followed a strong showing in a 3-2 overtime loss to the OUA East first-place Concordia Stingers.  

“It just stings right now, but we just gotta see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Ravens interim head coach Mark Cavallin said. 

The game started strong for Carleton. Not even three minutes into the first period, Ravens forward Félix Bédard found himself on a 2-on-1. He used teammate Blake Allan as a decoy for a cross-crease pass, before unleashing a quick wrist shot under the glove of Mustangs goaltender Matteo Drobac. 

After scoring his first goal of the season the previous game, Bédard now finds himself on a bit of a roll.

“[That] relieved a lot of pressure off my shoulders,” he said. “I feel more confident and … decided to shoot it.” 

Though the Mustangs dominated puck possession through the first frame, the Ravens picked off several errant Western passes, creating several odd-man rushes. However, the story for Carleton was one of bad puck luck and a failure to convert on chances. 

Carleton pressed in the second period and maintained puck possession for most of the frame, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Western’s Drobac made 30 of an eventual 41 saves through the first and second periods.  

Going the other way, Western added a goal on a breakaway and another on a rebound in a tight net-front frenzy to head into the third period up 3-1. 

Although the Ravens came out firing in the third period, a costly penalty afforded Western defenseman Jake Gravelle a power-play goal, extending the Mustangs’ lead to three. 

“They got a lucky break,” Cavallin said. “Really the whole game we had our chances and didn’t bury them, and they [went] down and score.”

Forward Reese Belton got the Ravens back within two goals as he unloaded a rocket to the top left corner on a 2-on-1 opportunity — a similar play to Bédard’s opening marker. 

Tempers ran high as the Ravens continued pushing to stay in the game. They were booked for a controversial penalty shot with three minutes left and Mustangs forward Zach Power scored on the shot, restoring Western’s three-goal lead.

Western added an empty-net goal which closed the book on their sixth win of the season. 

Despite the loss, Ravens goaltender Tye Austin was Carleton’s backbone and kept them afloat through most of the game, stopping 30 of 35 shots. He consistently made positionally sound saves and many athletic stops on high-danger Western chances. 

“He made some great adjustments; he looked really good,” Cavallin said.

The Ravens are back in action at the Carleton Ice House Nov. 15 when they host the York Lions, where they will hope to improve on their 2-7-1 record. Austin said he is hopeful his team’s fortunes will improve.

“I think we’re definitely coming around. [The] last couple games have been a lot better for us,” Austin said. “We’ve been playing the right way like we’re supposed to be. A couple of unlucky bounces for sure today and that happens sometimes. 

“I think if we keep playing the right way it’ll start to turn around.”

Featured photo by Marc Lafleur

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