RECAP: Mongo clinches comeback in shootout over rival Ravens

For a significant portion of the game, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men's hockey team appeared to be re-enacting the season opener of the year previous. On both occasions, the Gee-Gees found themselves down early on the road against the rival Carleton Ravens, then clawed their way back in the third period to force the game beyond regulation.

 This time however, Ottawa flipped the script. Goals from Kevin Domingue, Connor Sills, and Yvan Mongo contributed to a 3-2 comeback victory over the Ravens in their season opener.

 While happy with the overall result, Head Coach Patrick Grandmaître was mixed when reviewing the efforts of his team. "We had a lapse in the second period where we weren't working, we weren't smart with the puck," he said. "But I liked our bounce back. [Anthony] Brodeur made key saves and we had some push back shifts then a goal."

 Ottawa controlled the pace through the early moments of the game, it was Carleton that tallied first in the game. Ottawa killed off their first penalty of the first period, but couldn't do the same on the second penalty kill and fell behind midway through the frame. Carleton pounced less than two minutes into the second period to double up on their lead.

 With his team in a hole, Grandmaître could be heard on the bench reinforcing the importance of positivity to his troops. "When you're going into a funk, negatives are coming out, guys are coming back to the bench with heads down," he explained. "It's our job to cut that out. We had a good shift by the Newcomb line, that's how you get momentum."

 That momentum began to flow for the Gee-Gees in the waning minutes of the second period. Brendan Jacome finally snapped the scoreless streak as collected a pass from Quinn O'Brien and found himself alone in the slot. He pulled the puck in tight, then roofed it to cut the deficit in half.

 Early in the third, the Gee-Gees' top power play unit was on the ice in search of the game tying goal, but were forced off the ice following a penalty against defenceman Médric Mercier. Mercier was quick to redeem himself, as he hopped out of the box following the successful kill and scored his first of the season with a quick snap shot to tie the game.

 With timing winding down, Ottawa nearly pulled ahead with 90 seconds in regulation. A strange deflection that nearly bounced in and a juicy rebound had captain Eric Locke looking skyward once play was whistled down.

 In overtime, the Gee-Gees continued to control the flow of play, outshooting the opposition 7-4 in the five minute frame. The best chance to end it came from Jean-François Plante, who sauced a pass to Mercier in the slot, but a pad save maintained the stalement.

 Offensive skill flourished in the shootout. A pair of Ottawa's best shootout snipers, Domingue and Sills both tallied, but they were matched by the Ravens. Plante and Jacome each appeared to end it in the third and fourth rounds respectively, though their shots rang off the post and out. Rookie Yvan Mongo scored in the fifth round, with a save by Brodeur clinching the victory to open the fresh campaign.

 "There was a lot of snow on the ice. I wanted to go blocker side, but as I was coming in I felt I had a good opportunity high glove," Mongo said. "I ripped it as quick as I could and it went in."

 With the first of four regular season games against Carleton now behind them, the Gee-Gees now turn their attention to another familiar foe in the McGill Redmen. Ottawa hosts the Redmen for their home opener on Sunday, Oct. 14 with puck drop slated for 3 p.m. Head to tickets.geegees.ca for tickets.

—Cameron Penney