OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens men's hockey team were finally rewarded for their efforts over the weekend, sweeping their weekend series with Nipissing and RMC.
The Ravens entered the weekend on a bit of a bad luck run, having scored first several times but seen their leads slip away. Undeterred, the Ravens have continued to work hard and were finally rewarded over the weekend when they faced Nipissing. The Lakers arrived at the Ice House on a tear, having gone 4-0-1 to open their schedule. Unphased, Carleton jumped all over the visitors early.
Alex Johnston opened the scoring in the first period, finishing off a beautiful tic-tac-toe 3-on-1 which featured a nifty through-the-legs pass from Nick McCarry. Johnston's first of the year seemed to empower Carleton.
The second period was physical and scoreless, but Carleton continued to build momentum. The Ravens found a rhythm and outshot the Lakers 9-5, but couldn't solve Zach Roy in the second.
The Ravens' continued pressure paid off in the third when they broke the game open with three consecutive goals. Felix Bedard scored 1:06 into the frame, and Alex Fournier scored a shorty midway through the period to make it 3-0. Before the Lakers could respond, Alex Johnston potted his second of the contest to make it 4-0.
The Lakers would get one back late in the period after Markas Samenas picked up a rebound off the rush, but it wouldn't be enough as Carleton gained their second win of the year.
Carleton would score first again on Saturday, with Brady Egan snapping his first of the regular season past Ethan Morrow. The Ravens' lead would sit at 1-0 through forty minutes before things ramped up in the third.
Alexandre Hogue notched his first of the season, jumping into the high slot off the rush and wiring home an Alex Fournier pass to make it 2-0. The lead held for just under five minutes before Jarrett Todd poked home a loose puck for his first of the year to make it 2-1.
With the Paladins pressing, Braeden Virtue stepped off the half-wall on a scramble draw and snapped home his second of the year to renew the two-goal advantage.
Isaac Pascoal would bring the game back to within one in the dying seconds, but RMC couldn't issue another challenge on goal, and Dylan Meilun held on for his first home win.
The Ravens now head out on the road with a Friday night matchup against the first-place UQTR Patriotes before opening November against the 2-4-1 Concordia Stingers.
