RECAP: Bouchard gets winner, first round of crosstown rivalry goes to men’s hockey

Following a tough outing against the Queen's Gaels on the road, the Gee-Gees men's hockey team responded with a thrilling 4-3 win over their crosstown rivals from Carleton.

A goal with under three minutes to go by Tommy Bouchard sealed a back-and-forth affair.

"I was really happy with our start," said Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaitre. "We knew this was going to be a close game. They were down and we knew they were going to push the pace." 

"I'm a first year, so the veterans told us what to expect," said Bouchard of his first career game against Carleton. "We were ready for a playoff game, and that's what it was. The veterans and coaches did a good job preparing us." 

It was a difficult start to the weekend for the Gee-Gees in Kingston. A pair of shorthanded goals from Nolan Hutcheson killed the momentum Ottawa had after a perfect series at home the weekend prior. 

Adam Sandstrom opened the scoring with his first goal in Garnet and Grey, but Queen's scored in bunches to secure a 5-2 win. The Gee-Gees outshot the Gaels 31-23, with Aaron Brown earning a pair of helpers. 

Saturday had the makings of a playoff atmosphere. The Minto Sports Complex was packed and the physicality was at a premium. A number of alumni from both sides being in attendance added to the playoff feel – both sets of alumni met for an annual game earlier in the day, with Ottawa winning 3-2 in a shootout.

The Gee-Gees hopped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, with goals from Nicolas Ouellet, Anthony Poulin and Jean Robin Mantha. 

Carleton clawed back and scored two goals early in the third period to tie the game. The Ravens could have very easily taken the lead if not for the goaltending of Christian Sbaraglia, who made 29 saves and improved his record to 4-0-0 on the season.

With regulation winding down, Nick Bowman stickhandled forward himself and dropped the puck off to Bouchard who put it into a gaping cage. Mathieu Desgagnés added an empty netter for good measure.

The Gee-Gees improve their record to 8-6-0, good for sixth in the OUA East. They'll close out the first half of the season on the road against McGill and Concordia on Friday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 4, respectively.