Ravens down Guelph, clinch CIS University Cup berth

(OTTAWA, ON) — A strong first period set the tone at the Ice House on Saturday night as the Carleton Ravens men's hockey team booked its ticket to next week's University Cup in Halifax with a 4-1 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons. Clark Veenstra (Cornwall, ON), Brett Gustavsen (Scarborough, ON), Mitch Zion (Manotick, ON) and Ryan Van Stralen (Prescott, ON) had the goals for the Ravens, who will compete at nationals for the second time in three years.

"It's great—for those guys that have been here for both trips, they should be real proud of themselves—they've established themselves as a strong group," said Ravens head coach Marty Johnston. "It's a credit to the guys in the room, going back (to nationals) means we've done things right for a number of years."

Carleton stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period via a trio of nice goals from Veenstra, who one-timed a loose puck top-shelf, Gustavsen, who tipped home a Derek Brown (Toronto, ON) point shot, and Zion, who sniped the Ravens' third late in the frame on the man advantage.

Guelph showed a glimmer of pushback early in the middle stanza, as Sean Robertson roofed a shot past Ravens goaltender Pat Killeen (Corkery, ON) to cut the visitors' deficit to one.

Carleton regained control of the game, dominating the rest of a second period en route to outshooting Guelph 17-5, and the Gryphons never threatened again.

Van Stralen's power play marker early in period three off a slick feed from Brett Welychka (London, ON) put the game to bed for Carleton, which claimed its second OUA bronze medal in three seasons with the win.

"It's unbelievable," said Welychka, who set the program's single-season scoring record in an incredible rookie season. "From the first time I came here, I believed in it—we're a force to be reckoned with now and if we keep playing like that I think we can turn some heads."

An ugly incident occurred in the closing stages of Saturday's game when Guelph forward Kyle Neuber tackled Killeen, who stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win, in the Ravens net.

Saturday night's bronze-medal game also capped a journeyman's career for graduating senior Clark Veenstra, who made the team as a walk-on junior in 2014-15 and promptly quintupled his point total this season as a senior.

"It's been a crazy journey, really humbling," said Veenstra, a biology major from Cornwall. "It's exciting when you contribute, whether it's throwing the body around or putting the puck in the net—I'm happy where I am right now, just loving it."

The Ravens will now await the CIS's University Cup seeding to see who they will play in the national quarterfinal. The tournament seeding and schedule will be announced on Sunday, March 13 in the afternoon.

Source: Carleton Ravens