OTTAWA - It's hard to outdo an opening night hat trick, but Parker AuCoin more than found a way on Saturday night as he paced the Carleton Ravens to an 8-3 win over the Nipissing Lakers.
The Ravens fell behind early, while being outshot 7-0 to start the game but found their rhythm early by the end of the first and led 4-2 after 20 minutes.
The Ravens' first-period offence was led by two goals and an assist for the veteran AuCoin. After scoring three times in the season opener, the Sturgeon County, Alberta, forward upped his production on night two scoring five points including a pair of first-period goals that overpowered Nipissings Michael Herringer.
The Ravens scored three times on the power play in the first period with AuCoin, Aaron Boyd and Madoka Suzuki all scoring goals for the Ravens as they pulled away from the Lakers. Charles Farmer got one back for the Lakers before the end of the period but AuCoin's second of the night rebuilt the two-goal cushion heading into the break.
Majid Kaddoura scored his first as a Raven early in the second period before AuCoin would add his final two for the evening. Despite the win, the Ravens continue to search for a complete effort and recognize a need to tighten up defensively moving forward.
"I'm not loving how we're playing," admitted Ravens head coach Shaun Van Allen. "We're scoring goals, but I think we're giving up too much and relying on our goaltenders to make some incredible saves."
Balancing the teams explosive offensive with an increase of defensive responsibility will be coach Van Allen's focus this week. Despite two big wins, the Ravens were outshot on both nights of their opening weekend and now look ahead to a challenging and physical road trip to Kingston next weekend.
The Ravens don't return home until Friday, November 4th when they begin a two-day homestand against McGill and Concordia.
