It was a week later than expected, but the men’s hockey team extended its recent winning streak to four games Thursday in Ottawa with a 3-2 win over the 11-9-3 Carleton Ravens.
The game was postponed from last Wednesday until Tuesday night due to weather, and was then halted again for 20 minutes after Queen’s defenceman Ben Munroe shattered the glass with a monstrous hit. Billy Burke, in his first night as the team’s interim captain, recorded a two-goal performance for the third night in a row. One of the goals was the decisive overtime winner.
Head coach Brett Gibson said winning is the only way to keep the team alive, as they’re one point back of the Ottawa Gee-Gees for the final playoff berth with three games left.
Gibson said that pressure is producing results.
“It’s do or die for this team and they know it,” he said. “They are playing like it right now.”
Burke said his success is the culmination of a renewed team effort.
“The success we’ve been having is a result of all five guys on the ice and [goaltender Brady] Morrison digging in, going hard and heading in the same direction,” he said.
The Gaels started the game on their heels as they battled against a strong offensive forecheck from the Ravens. Despite three killed penalties and a power play in the first period, the Gaels couldn’t foster the necessary momentum to take control of the game early. Ten minutes into the second period on a power play, forward Pat Doyle received a cross-slot feed and put a slapshot past Carleton goalie Alex Archibald’s outstretched glove to give Queen’s the lead. That didn’t last for long. The Ravens’ Mark Smith fired a slap shot that went off the post and in only two minutes later to tie the game 1-1. A sprawling save by Morrison on a two-on-one break kept the Gaels in the hunt for a win.
The Gaels finally showed some strength in the third period. Burke had an early shot that rimmed the post but quickly found redemption, putting one past Archibald 13 minutes into the period. With just over two minutes left in the third, the Ravens’ Brandon Maclean tied the game 2-2 to push the Gaels to overtime. Thirty-one seconds into overtime, Burke slotted a backhander off a Carleton defenceman for the win.
For the remainder of the season, Burke will replace Jon Lawrance as the Gaels’ captain. Lawrance is sidelined with an MCL strain suffered last Friday. Although Burke is now the team’s leader, he believes it’s the team’s depth that will pay off for them.
“The ‘C’ doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “It’s only a formality because of Johnny’s injury. We know we’ve got our best two forwards out, our top defensive player out, and it just means everyone else has to step up.” Burke said the team owes much of its success to Morrison’s consistently top-notch play in goal.
“Once again, Brady Morrison is phenomenal,” he said. “His performance shows why he’s our MVP every game. He made huge saves and we were able to capitalize when they didn’t see them coming.”
Burke said focusing on one battle at a time will hopefully lead the Gaels to a playoff berth.
“Every game is the biggest game of the season,” he said. “We just can’t look too far ahead.” Gibson said what separates the Gaels from the rest of the league is their tenacity in the face of adversity. “We don’t want to be known as the team that doesn’t make the playoffs. We want to make a push to the end,” he said. “The only difference is that I think we want it a little more than everyone does.”
The Gaels face the Ryerson Rams tonight at 7:30 p.m. and take on the Royal Military College Paladins tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the annual Carr-Harris Cup. Both games will be at the Memorial Centre.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].