Garrett Kidd (Photo: Charles Fortin)
The Carleton Ravens suffered a near season-ending loss on Saturday night falling 4-1 to the UofT Varsity Blues.
The first period provided a feeling-out process between two teams that don't play often, with both teams taking turns being the aggressor of both puck possession and chances on goal. Carleton's penalty kill continued its struggles as the Varsity Blues capitalized immediately after Nick McCarry took a high sticking penalty with Nicholas Wong netting his tenth of the season.
Carleton drove play throughout the rest of the first period, getting countless scoring chances without being able to find the scoresheet. “Just bounces, that's life that hockey” Ravens forward Nick McCarry rehashed the harsh reality of playing a stout defensive opponent like UofT where a couple of bounces were the difference in a tightly contested game.
Carleton finally buried a chance in the second by way of a Nick McCarry powerplay goal, his eighth on the season, tying the game up at one. Tempers would then flare in the second with five penalties called between the two squads. Despite a strong period from the Ravens, they headed into the third down a goal down due to OUA points leader Owen Robinson who netted his 14th goal of the season.
The third period was a defensive masterclass from the Varsity Blues who clogged the neutral zone and didn't allow Carleton to generate much in terms of zone time or dangerous chances. Third-period goals from Graham Dickerson and Billy Moskal sealed the 4-1 win for the Varsity Blues, allowing them to keep pace with TMU for first in the OUA West. ”I don't think we had enough guys in front of their net, which would have helped generate more chances,” interim head coach Mark Cavalin stressed.
Nick McCarry spoke highly of Zachary Paputsakis in his debut. “He made some big saves, we asked a lot of him and he did very well for us.”
As for Carleton, the path to postseason hockey becomes tougher with two straight losses. “Every game’s a must-win, that's just the way it is,” Cavalin admitted. “We know the circumstances, we have to take it game-by-game right now.” The biggest game of the season takes place Sunday as the Ravens take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Ice House.
