By Mason Bugaretsi (Photos: Marc Lafleur)
The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team wrapped up their regular season with a 4-0 thumping of the Nipissing Lakers Saturday night at the Ice House.
The Ravens and Lakers played a tight-checking opening period which saw neither side score and both goaltenders stop everything that came their way. The Ravens had two powerplay opportunities in the first period against Nipissing’s OUA-worst penalty-killing unit, though the Lakers stood strong and would have scored a shorthanded goal if not for a breakaway save by Carleton’s Mark Grametbauer (Halifax, N.S.).
The goaltending duel continued into the second period as Grametbauer and Nipissing goaltender Zachary Roy turn aside shot after shot. Grametbauer made a fantastic stop on a Laker 2-on-1 midway through the second period as he was able to stretch his leg out just enough to make a pad save in front of a gaping net.
Saturday was Seniors’ night at the Ice House and before the game, Aaron Boyd (Winnipeg, Man.), Matt Barberis (Vancouver, B.C.), and Brogan O’Brien (Prince George, B.C.) received a standing ovation in a pre-game ceremony. Boyd made sure that this would be a night to remember, scoring two late goals in the second period including a beautiful bar-down-blast which got the offence going for the Ravens.
“Really good performance from Aaron in the second. Hopefully, that gets his scoring going in time for the playoffs,” Carleton head coach Shaun Van Allen said post-game.
The Ravens wrapped this one up in the third period adding two more goals to their tally along with a shutout performance from Mark Grametbauer (Halifax, N.S.), his second of the season.
With the win, the Ravens officially finish fourth in the OUA-east and will face the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in the first round of the Queen’s Cup Playoffs.
“It’s going to be really physical. They are a team that really battles hard,” Van Allen said.
