MONTREAL -- Five different Ravens scored as eighth-ranked Carleton skated to a 5-2 road victory over No.6 McGill in an OUA East men's hockey semifinal opener at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.

The Ravens, who were outshot 30-23, scored twice off the legs of McGill defencemen and added a pair of empty-netters. They lead the best-of-three series 1-0, with Game 2 set for the nation's capital, Saturday at 7 p.m. If a rubber match is needed, it is scheduled back at McConnell on Sunday at 8 p.m.

McGill got off to a sluggish start and conceded a goal at 5:57 that was credited to Mitch Zion at 5:57 of the opening period when his harmless wrist shot from the faceoff circle deflected the skate of McGill defender Samuel Labrecque and past surprised goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard.

The Redmen drew four of the first five penalties, including a two-man disadvantage which led to a Carleton 5-on-3 power-play marker from Michael McNamee at the 50-second mark of the second period.

Less than three minutes later, it was Ryan Van Stralen's turn to redirect a shot off Dominic Talbot-Tassi's skate and it was 3-0 at 3:39 of the middle stanza.

The shots were even at 16-16 after two period and McGill finally came to life in the third period, with a 14-7 margin in shots.

Liam Heelis deflected a Mathieu Pompei shot on a power-play at 9:57 to make it 3-1 and McGill swarmed the Carleton net for the final 10 minutes in search of the equalizer.

As the time dwindled, McGill pulled the goalie and that tactic paid dividends when defenceman Samuel Labrecque fired a rocket that found its target at 18:05, narrowing the gap to 3-2.

The Ravens, however, relieved the pressure with a pair of empty-net goals, at 18:57 and 19:56 by Corey Durocher (from near his own endzone) and Joey West (on a breakaway).

Both teams ended up 1-for-5 on the power-play.

Carleton netminder Francis Dupuis, who collected an assist on the first empty-netter, saved 28 of 30 shots for the win. McGill's Gervais-Chouinard kicked out 18 of 31 in a losing cause.

It was McGill's first home-ice setback in a month -- dating back to a 4-2 loss to Western on Jan. 23 -- and just their fourth in 19 games overall this season at home.

McGill is now 28-22-1 lifetime against the Ravens, including a 7-3 mark in post-season play. The Redmen have found themselves facing elimination at the hands of Carleton on three previous occasions and bounced back to win each series. In the 2010 semifinals, Carleton won the opener 5-2 on the road but the Redmen roared back to win 5-1 in Ottawa and 6-2 at McConnell Arena. In 2014, McGill lost 5-2 at Carleton to open the OUA East Final, then rallied for a 3-2 win on home ice and a a 2-1 conquest at Carleton. The next week, the teams clashed in a CIS quarter-final at Saskatooon, where the Redmen won 3-2 to send the Ravens packing.

Game 2 is slated to be webcast on OUAtv

LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

LINK TO OUA PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD

OUA EAST BEST-OF-THREE SEMIFINAL, GAME 1
SCORING SUMMARY
Carleton 5 at McGill 2
(Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - McConnell Arena

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Carleton 1-2-2 -- 5
McGill 0-0-2 -- 2

1st Period-1, Carleton, Mitch Zion 1 (Bamford, Weckworth), 5:57.

Penalties-Lalonde Mcg (kneeing), 2:03; Boland Carl (cross checking), 14:29; Regimbald Mcg (slashing), 17:05; Pompei Mcg (holding), 19:50; Delisle-Houde Mcg (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-
2, Carleton, Michael McNamee 1 (Fraser, Welychka), 0:50 (PP).
3, Carleton, Ryan Van Stralen 2 (McNamee, Brown), 3:39.

Penalties-Veenstra Carl (interference), 7:47; Gamelin Mcg (cross checking), 15:58; Meighan Carl (interference), 18:25.

3rd Period-
4, McGill, Liam Heelis 1 (Pompei, Talbot-Tassi), 9:57 (PP).
5, McGill, Samuel Labrecque 1 (unassisted), 18:05.
6, Carleton, Corey Durocher 2 (Dupuis), 18:57 (EN).
7, Carleton, Joey West 1 (Fraser), 19:56 (EN).

Penalties-Brown Carl (high sticking), 8:41; Brown Carl (high sticking), 10:17.

Shots on Goal-
Carleton 10-6-7 -- 23.
McGill 6-10-14-30.

Power Play Opportunities-
Carleton 1 / 5;
McGill 1 / 5.

Goalies-
Carleton,
Francis Dupuis (W, 2-0-0, 30 shots-28 saves; 60:00).
McGill,
Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (L, 2-1-0, 21 shots-18 saves; 58:43).
Empty-net: (2 goals, 1:17)

Attendance: 254
Start: 7:01 PM
End: 9:11 PM
Length: 2:10

Referees-Olivier Gouin, Alexandre Cote.
Linesmen-Jean-Francois Losier, Nicolas Piche.

THREE STARS:
1. CARL - 27 Michael McNamee
2. CARL - 24 Jeremie Fraser
3. MCG - 27 Dominic Talbot-Tassi
SOURCE:
 
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
MOBILE SITE: http://mcgillathletics.ca/mobile/index.aspx
WEBSITE: www.mcgillathletics.ca
TWITTER: @EarlZukerman
E-MAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
McGILL VARSITY COMPOSITE CALENDAR:
www.mcgillathletics.ca/calendar.aspx