MEN'S HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Carleton opens East final with a 5-2 win over McGill
McGill 2 @ Carleton 5
It wasn’t the best start for the Carleton in Game 1 of the OUA East final but it was certainly the desired result as the Ravens defeated the visiting McGill Redmen 5-2 to take a 1-0 series lead.
McGill jumped out to an early 2-0 lead courtesy of two power play goals five minutes into the game to put the Ravens back on their heels.
But the Ravens did not fold, bend or crumple as Sean Bamford (Ottawa, ON) sparked the Carleton comeback with a marker at 6:13 of the opening period to cut into McGill’s lead.
From there Carleton blitzed the McGill offensive zone scoring two more goals before the end of the period.
The Ravens tied things up with a Michael Lomas (Burlington, ON) power play tally at 12:26 then Michael McNamee (Perth, ON) gave Carleton a 3-2 lead with his 4th goal of the playoffs at 16:30.
“Scoring two goals early in the game set us back a bit but we (Carleton) regained our composure and battled back ,” said Marty Johnston, Ravens head coach.
“We plan on enjoying tonight’s win but will refocus for Game 2 at McGill on Saturday. This series is a long way from being over. We know we’re up against a very good team and will have to be at our best in the next game.”
After a hard fought, intense, scoreless middle frame the Ravens struck again with the man advantage at 2:39 of the third as Jeffrey Hayes (Ottawa, ON) pounced on a loose puck at the side of the Redmen net to double Carleton’s lead to 4-2.
There were a few tense moments for the Ravens and their fans at the jam packed Ice House as time ticked down in the period as the Redmen pressed to tie the score.
The crowd drew silent as Carleton took a penalty with just over two minutes in regulation, setting up a dramatic end to the period.
McGill pulled their net-minder to set up a 6-on-4 power play but the Ravens penalty kill withstood the onslaught until Carleton defenceman, Tim Billingsley (Orleans, ON) found the back of the empty McGill cage at 19:23 to seal the victory for the home team.
“There were two evenly matched teams out there tonight (Thursday night),” said Jeffrey Hayes, who ended the game with a goal, an assist and was the game’s first star.
“It was an emotional game and a difficult start for us but our coaches did a great job of keeping us cool and focused.”
Carleton and McGill had 32 shots apiece. The Redmen went 2-5 on the power play while Carleton finished off 2 of 6 opportunities.
Ravens net-minder Francis Dupuis (Ottawa, ON) was rock solid once again stopping 30 of 32 Redmen shots.
Game 2 in the best-of-three series will be played on Saturday night, March 8 at McGill’s McConnell Arena in Montreal. Game time is 7:00PM.
If a Game 3 is necessary it will be played at the Carleton Ice House on Sunday, March 9 beginning at 7:00PM.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Lakehead 1 @ Windsor 7
The No. 9 ranked Lancer men's hockey game dominated game one of the OUA West Final with a 7-1 win over the No. 8 Lakehead Thunderwolves Thursday night at South Windsor Arena.
Windsor holds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, with games two and three, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday evenings in Thunder Bay, ON.
The Lancers came out of the gate quickly and controlled the pace of play for most of the game. Richard Cameron opened the scoring 7:27 into the game on a deflection that eluded Lakehead goalie Jeff Bosch, and then at the 12:12 mark, Lancer defenceman Saverio Posa scored on a backhand shot after sailing right by the Lakehead defence.
Less than a minute later, Spencer Pommells scored from in-close to make it 3-0 for Windsor to round out the scoring in the period.
The Lancers continued to pour it on in the middle stanza, and at 7:07 Pommells scored his second goal of the game when he broke in on Bosch while Windsor was short-handed.
Just after the half-way point of the period, Justin McDonald replaced Bosch in the Lakehead goal and was forced to make some big stops right off the bat as the Lancers kept applying the pressure. That pressure paid off for Windsor when Derek Lanoue fired a hard one-timer from the slot over McDonald's glove at the 15:43 mark to give the Lancers a 5-0 lead.
Windsor didn't let up in a very chippy third period, and extended its lead to 6-0 when Ryan Crevatin scored on a screened one-timer that McDonald never saw at 7:49, and then Matt Beaudoin made it 7-0 for the Lancers with a power play marker at 12:16.
Lakehead broke the Windsor shutout late in the game when Keith Grondin knocked home a rebound from Cody Alcock, making the final score 7-1 for the Lancers.
Lancer goaltender Parker Van Buskirk had an outstanding night between the pipes for the Blue & Gold with 30 saves in net. The Lancers out-shot the Thunderwolves 42-31 in the contest.
The puck is set to drop at 7:30pm for game two of the series on Saturday night at the Fort Williams Garden in Thunder Bay. Catch all the action on the live webcast at www.ssncanada.ca
Source: Windsor Sports Info