Gees face loss against Ravens despite recovering from two 3-goal deficits
The University of Ottawa men’s hockey team took on cross-town rivals the Carleton Ravens on Oct. 12. The game was the season opener for both teams, and the Gees would face a tough test in a hostile building with the matchup being the Ravens’ home opener.
The Gee-Gees lost both matchups last season, and were hoping to kick off this season with the two points and spoil the big night on Carleton’s home ice. However, the Ravens had other plans.
Carleton did not take long to get on the board as they pounced on a bad turnover in neutral ice and finished a good passing play. A tough start to the Gees less than a minute in, goaltender Anthony Brodeur had no chance on the play.
The Gee-Gees had two good opportunities to respond less than three minutes later, first with forward Antoine Pouliot in the slot and later on the man advantage.
Despite being undisciplined with three minor penalties, the Ravens came out of the period with a 1-0 lead as the Gees were unable to convert.
Carleton came out firing and scored another goal less than two minutes into the middle frame. The trailing Carleton forward was left all alone in the slot and scored on the rebound in tight to beat Brodeur.
The third penalty of the game was an undisciplined slash that would cost the Gees 7:30 into the second period. The Ravens passed the puck around the perimeter before feeding the slot, and the Ravens had a 3-0 lead.
Kevin Domingue, the Gee-Gees’ leading scorer last year, was back at it in his second year, sniping it from just inside the circle over Carleton’s goalie’s blocker at 11:32. The Gees’ prized recruit and captain, Eric Locke, made a nice play feed Domingue.
Following some relentless play, the Gees cut the home squad’s lead to one. A shot from the point was tipped in by forward Brendan Jacome with less than two minutes left before the end of the second.
A motivated Carleton team came out of the period scoring two goals in the first six minutes of play to reinstate their three-goal lead. The first one coming from a screened shot from the point and the second from a defensive zone turnover, which resulted in a nice passing play by the Ravens.
A big save by Brodeur on a breakaway resulted in the Gee-Gees’ third goal by Pouliot who beat the Ravens’ goalie five-hole. Domingue also found the five-hole two minutes later to make it a one-goal game.
Locke, a recent transfer and U of O medical student, converted on a rebound to beat the Ravens’ goalie over his glove to tie the game up.
Despite two great comebacks from three-goal deficits, the Gees were dominated in overtime and couldn’t generate a single shot. The Ravens converted on a partially blocked shot to put their home opener to bed just over a minute into the overtime period.
The Gees’ next home game is Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from the Gee-Gees website.
