OTTAWA, Ont. – The Carleton Ravens shutout the Western Mustangs 3-0 to snag the OUA bronze medal and a ticket to nationals Friday night at the CU Ice House.
 
The Ravens' goals were scored by some of their top playoff offensive providers, Dalen Hedges and Jared Steege, along with an empty-netter that marked Jacob Smith's first of the series.
 
Halfway through the first frame, Western was outshooting Carleton 10-2, but the Ravens were the ones to make it on the scoreboard eleven minutes in. Andrew Jarvis passed to Hedges, who took on Mustang netminder Luke Peressini on his backhand, firing the puck under the bar.
 
Western dominated puck possession and was quick on the counter attack in the first, but Carleton had better quality shots; the Mustangs could not beat Francois Brassard even though they outshot the Ravens 18-8.
 
A Mustang penalty continued on from the first to the second period, but no penalties were called in the frame—the teams were playing clean hockey to avoid a two-minute disadvantage during this do-or-die game. 
 
In the first minutes of the second, there were few shots during the back and forth play, with both teams stealing away scoring opportunities.
 
With eight minutes left, Hedges made a play on the forecheck and fired the puck at Peressini. Steege picked up the rebound and netted the Ravens' insurance marker.
 
In the last couple minutes, Carleton was dominating offensively, sustaining pressure in the Mustangs' defensive zone and setting up scoring opportunities. With 30 seconds left, Smith snagged a short breakaway, but his puck hit the post, and the Ravens could not find the back of the net again in the second period.
 
Five minutes into the final frame, Carleton received a penalty for too many men. They displayed an aggressive penalty kill, even securing a two-on-one in the Mustangs' zone halfway through the penalty. 
 
There was another call against the Ravens eight minutes in. Western spent the majority of their power play passing in Carleton's end, but the latter kept them to the outside, and the Mustangs could not make it on the scoreboard after the two minutes expired.
 
With two minutes of play left, Western called a timeout and pulled Peressini. A few seconds later, Smith scored an empty-netter and brought the Ravens to a 3-0 victory.
 
Carleton will be heading to nationals in Lethbridge, Alberta on Thursday for the first time since 2016. The Mustangs' 2018-2019 season has come to an end with the loss.