As the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team’s season came to a heartbreaking end, so did some of the players’ hockey careers as Ravens.
Charles “Chuck” Carre, who played defence for the Ravens, is graduating from the Carleton civil engineering program. Coming to the team as a walk-on, over his five seasons at Carleton, Carre got a total of 15 points, but Ravens head coach Marty Johnston said he was “a big factor on our penalty kills.”
With Carre as a penalty killer, there was also a penalty leader. Shane Bakker, forward for the Ravens, is graduating from the psychology program. Five years ago, he didn’t have a guarantee to be on the team, Johnston said. But with determination, he made it and according to Johnston, became an “all-time penalty leader [on the team]” who got better every year, with other teams “fearing him physically.”
“Our coaching staff . . . just having those guys teach me for five years really just helped me develop as a player,” Bakker said.
This season, Bakker broke his leg, sidelining him for the majority of the playoffs.
“They told me I’d be out for six weeks, and then we had our final game three-and-a-half weeks into the injury,” Bakker said. “So I wasn’t quite at 100 per cent, but I felt like I was good enough to help.”
Bakker played in the last game of the playoffs against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, and brought grit.
“The coaches were nice enough to let me play, and I did what I could,” he said.
Over his time at Carleton, Bakker racked up 48 points. He recently signed on to play for La Liga, a team in the South American Hockey League in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.
Ryan Berard, the Ravens’ co-captain this season, played seven seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. Berard “came in as a highly sought player,” Johnston said.
Joey Manley, co-captain with Berard, recalled their relationship.
“He’s a little bit more of a physical player than I am, you see him hitting a lot out there,” Manley said. “He’s a little bit bigger than me, so that’s one difference there, but we both saw eye-to-eye on everything.”
Over five years, Berard achieved a whopping 122 points, and is described as one of “building blocks” in the program by Johnston.
Berard moved on and is currently playing for the Orlando Solar Bears in the East Coast Hockey League in the United States.
Michael Folkes was a transfer from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and played two years with the Ohio State Buckeyes before coming onto the Ravens’ roster in the 2011-12 season.
Folkes “brought physical, work ethic and character [which] helped where our team went,” Johnston said.
“A guy like that, they automatically follow,” he said.
Andrew Glass was also a transfer from the NCAA in the same season as Folkes. Glass was picked from the Boston University Terriers, with which he spent three seasons. According to Johnston, there was “an expectation of impact”.
There is more to being a good player than having only the skills on the ice, as demonstrated by Graham Klassen, who Johnston calls a “well-liked player on and off the ice.” Klassen played defence for the Ravens, and also contributed in power plays and offensively.
In addition to all the talent, hard work, and character brought by the graduating players, the Ravens will also be losing their other co-captain for this season, Joey Manley.
Over his four years, Manley tallied 98 points.
“Before I started playing here, I didn’t think I would have as good of a career as I thought I did,” he said. “I learned a lot from the coaches and also the players around me.”
In him, the team is losing more than just a co-captain, said Johnston.
“He is a real character guy, being co-captain” Johnston said. “A tough loss losing him as he was an unselfish player . . . he made everyone around him better.”
Manley is not sure of what he is doing after graduation.
“I still have that option maybe, trying out for a few teams here and there, whether I want to go play in Europe or down in the states somewhere” he said. “But right now I’m just focused on finishing school, and then I’ll think about that over the summer.”
It could be said that the Ravens are losing some big players as leaders, leaving a big void in the program. With the up-and-coming rookies, and skilled players still on the team though, Johnston is not worried.
The “remaining are all guys we can trust and be great for the program” Johnston said.
