January 3, 2012
M-HOCKEY EXHIBITION HOLIDAY ROUNDUP: Carleton splits with No. 7 Lakehead
Carleton Ravens:
Game 1:
The Carleton University Ravens men’s hockey team came out on top in a 4-3 overtime thriller Thursday night in Thunder Bay, Ont. against the No. 7 ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves.
After a scoreless first period, Carleton opened the scoring on a point shot from Michael Folkes (Burlington, Ont.) in the second. Andrew Self (Peterborough, Ont.) gave the Ravens a two-goal lead late in the period.
The Thunderwolves climbed back in the third though, as Mike Hammond (Victoria) scored with 12 minutes to play and Keith Grondin (Winnipeg) tied it at two after a great feed to send him in all alone.
Adam Sergerie (Thunder Bay, Ont.) then took a great cross-ice pass and put it into the back of the net to give Lakehead a 3-2 lead late in the period.
The Ravens were down but not out, and capitalized to tie the score at three when Jeff Hayes (Ottawa) snapped a shot in the top left corner with 49 seconds to play.
Late in overtime on the power play, a point shot by captain Brandon MacLean (Burlington, Ont.) gave the Ravens the victory.
Goalie Matthew Dopud (Pointe-Claire, Que.) made 23 saves for the win.
The teams will square off again on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 2:
The Carleton University Ravens men’s hockey team couldn’t pull off a spectacular comeback effort Friday night, falling 4-3 in a shootout to the No. 7 ranked Lakehead University Thunderwolves in front of a crowd of almost 2,500 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Carleton finished 1-0-1 in back-to-back games against one of the nation’s best teams.
New Lakehead recruit Thomas Frazee (Vancouver) grabbed his first goal on a power play 1:25 into the game to put his team up 1-0.
Adam Sergerie (Thunder Bay, Ont.) quickly put Lakehead up by two with a tally of his own off a Carleton turnover.
With just over a minute left to play in the second, Chris de la Lande (Winnipeg) tapped home the team’s third goal on a 5-on-3 advantage to make it 3-0 after forty minutes.
But penalty trouble spoiled the Thunderwolves magical evening, as Carleton stormed back in the final frame.
Joey Manley (Ottawa) scored two power play goals less than five minutes apart to pull Carleton within one.
Jeff Hayes (Ottawa) tied the game with a power play marker of his own off a deflection from a point shot, setting the stage for a frantic final few minutes.
Both teams exchanged chances, but neither could convert. Overtime solved nothing, leaving the teams to settle their differences in a shootout.
In the end, Carleton’s comeback efforts fell short as the Thunderwolves edged the Ravens. Sergerie was the only player to score in the shootout, lifting Lakehead to victory.
Jeff Bosch (Martensville, Sask.) was excellent in goal for Lakehead stopping 32 shots. Matthew Dopud (Pointe-Claire, Que.) made 25 saves in the loss.
The Ravens return to regular season action Jan. 4 against rival University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Source: Ravens Athletics
Ottawa Gee-Gees:
Travelling to Fredericton to test themselves against the top team in the country, the Gee-Gees showed flashes of their potential as they battled to 7-4 and 8-4 final scores in the Pete Kelly Cup.
UNB built a big early lead in the opening game, going up 5-0 after the first two periods and scoring their sixth within the first minute of the third period. Shots on goal were even throughout the contest, but Ottawa only started to find the back of the net in the third, scoring twice in two minutes courtesy of Dominic Jalbert and Maxime Latraverse, his first goal with the Gee-Gees. Stephen Blunden scored at 13:36, and Alexandre Touchette potted the fourth goal on the power play with only 14 seconds left in the contest.
The Gee-Gees opened the second game looking sharp as they fore-checked aggressively and clogged the neutral zone to control the play in the opening five minutes. The fore-checking pressure paid off with the first goal of the game coming off a Patrick Burns shot from the point after the Gee-Gees dug the puck out down low. Ottawa then took a penalty and UNB’s Houde-Caron tied the game with only two seconds remaining in the power play, which seemed to put Ottawa back on their heels. UNB took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission and controlled the play for much of the second period as well. Ottawa was successful on the penalty kill in the second, rotating quickly to cover the point man and blocking a number of shots.
Touchette notched a short-handed goal at 6:48, taking a nice feed from Guillaume Donovan on a 2-1 rush. Shortly thereafter Baulne tied the score for the Gee-Gees, also on the rush as he showed good speed on the outside and fired a backhand shot past net-minder LaCosta. Late in the period UNB capitalized on a couple of defensive miscues by the Gee-Gees to regain their two goal lead. “We came here to learn, and we learned that against a team of this quality, individual mental errors cost you quickly,” noted bench boss Réal Paiement, who described the Varsity Reds as “a very good, very structured opponent.”
The Gee-Gees opened the third period with a power play goal as Methot’s shot was deflected off Luc Olivier-Blain in front of the net, bringing the score to 5-4. UNB responded quickly with a barrage of shots on Abbott, finally resulting in a goal after a series of acrobatic saves. Russell Abbott faced 56 shots in the game, with 40 coming in the opening two periods.
Paiement also noted that the nearly month long break affected the preparedness of his crew, but was pleased with the team’s reaction. “We kept coming back; we showed a lot of resolve.” The Gee-Gees will ring in the New Year as a team in Fredericton before returning to Ottawa to prepare to resume the regular season schedule with a Wednesday night game at Carleton on January 4. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
Source: Gee-Gees Athletics
Toronto Varsity Blues:
Four different players scored as the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team defeated the Guelph Gryphons 4-3 in exhibition action on Thursday, December 29 at Gryphon Centre.
Blues leading scorer Byron Elliott of Burlington, Ont., as well as fellow assistant captain Dan Brewer (Cambridge, Ont), second-year forward Michael Markovic and rookie Paul Van De Velde all scored for U of T.
Source: Varsity Blues Athletics
