OTTAWA -- Mitch Zion of Manotick, Ont., scored at 5:59 of sudden-death overtime as eighth-ranked Carleton skated to a 3-2 win over No.6 McGill, which saw a promising season come to a premature end at the hands of the Ravens in their Ice House arena, Saturday.

The Redmen, who had split the two-game regular season series with the Ravens, are eliminated from a shot at the CIS national tournament after Carleton swept the OUA East best-of-three semifinal, having taken the opening game 5-2.

After a goalless first period, Ryan van Stralen of Prescott, Ont. opened the scoring for the Ravens at 18:04 of the second. He added another on the power play at 9:33 of the third to give the home side what seemed to be an insurmountable 2-0 advantage.

But the Redmen rallied to tie the score with two goals in 91 seconds, beginning with a power-play goal by Daniel Milne of Unionville, Ont., at 12:36, followed by a David Rose marker at 14:07 to force the extra session. Rose, an economics senior from St. Hubert, Que., who set up Milne's marker, tallied his goal on a back-handed wrap-around play.

Carleton had a chance to seal it in regulation time when Ottawa native Brent Norris was awarded a penalty shot -- a playoff rarity -- with just 1:09 to go after defenceman Francis Lambert-Lemay was ruled to have intentionally knocked the McGill net off its moorings but goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard of Sherbrooke, Que., stood tall for the Redmen.

Despite the late heroics and a late power-play that extended 71 seconds into the extra frame, McGill couldn't capitalize on the momentum, then took a penalty of their own. Just 16 seconds after Jonathan Bonneau was released from serving a goalie interference penalty at 5:43 of overtime, Zion collected a pass off the boards and fired a shot under the crossbar in the far corner past Gervais-Chouinard, who stopped 32 of 35 shots.

Ravens netminder Francis Dupuis of Ottawa turned away 35 of 37 for the victory.

Both teams were 1-for-7 on the power play, though McGill also withstood the penalty shot.

The Ravens will advance to the OUA East finals against first-place UQTR, where they will have a chance to qualify for the league's Queen's Cup championship, which pits the OUA East winner against the OUA West champ. Both league finalists, in addition to the OUA bronze medalist, will advance to the CIS Final Eight national championship tournament in Halifax.

It was McGill's first-ever playoff series loss to Carleton in five post-season confrontations. The Redmen are 28-23-1 lifetime against the Ravens.

A young Redmen squad that featued a dozen new faces, finished the 139th campaign of hockey at McGill with a 25-16 record overall, including a 25-13 mark against CIS teams and a 21-6-1 second-place finish in the regular season. As many as seven seniors are expected to graduate, including three fifth-year transfers, namely defenceman Samuel Labrecque (arts), winger Jonathan Bonneau (master's in kinesiology) and centre Liam Heelis (master's in kinesiology), in addition to four players who could return for a fifth season: forwards Mathieu Pompei (social work), David Rose (arts) and captain Patrick Delisle-Houde (master's in kinesiology), in addition to rearguard Vincent Barnard (management).

REDMEN RAP: Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock paid an surprise visit to the McConnell Arena on Friday afternoon, a day before the Leafs-Habs game. The McGill grad made his annual donation to his alma mater and addressed both the Redmen and Martlet hockey teams in their respective dressing rooms, taking questions from the players and chatting with both coaching staffs.
 
LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY:
McGill 2 at Carleton 3 (OT)
(Saturday, February 27, 2016 - Ice House)
 
GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 0-0-2-0 -- 2
Carleton 0-1-1-1 -- 3
 
1st Period-
No Scoring.
 
Penalties-Curcuruto Mcg (cross checking), 4:24; Curcuruto Mcg (hooking), 11:50; Van Stralen Carl (high sticking, high sticking), 15:22.
 
2nd Period-
1, Carleton, Ryan Van Stralen 3 (McNamee, Welychka), 18:04.
 
Penalties-West Carl (hooking), 2:26; Curcuruto Mcg (high sticking), 4:05; Brown Carl (tripping), 6:17; Labrecque Mcg (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 11:22; Pompei Mcg (hooking), 11:22; Hulton Carl (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 11:22; Brown Carl (hooking), 14:52; Milne Mcg (tripping), 15:52.
 
3rd Period-
2, Carleton, Ryan Van Stralen 4 (McNamee, Fraser), 9:33 (PP).
3, McGill, Daniel Milne 1 (Rose, Talbot-Tassi), 12:36 (PP).
4, McGill, David Rose 3 (Milne), 14:07.
 
Penalties-Rose Mcg (slashing), 7:34; Durocher Carl (slashing), 11:06; Lambert-Lemay Mcg (PENALTY SHOT for delay of game), 18:51; Van Stralen Carl (hooking), 19:11.
 
OT Period-
5, Carleton, Mitch Zion 2 (Bamford , Weckworth ), 5:59.
 
Penalties-Bonneau Mcg (goaltender interference), 3:43.
 
Penalty Shot-
Brent Norris, Carleton, at 18:51 of the third period (SAVED by Jacob Gervais-Chouinard).

Shots on Goal-
McGill 6-11-16-4 -- 37.
Carleton 16-8-5-6 -- 35.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 1 / 7;
Carleton 1 / 7.
 
Goalies-
McGill, Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (L, 2-2-0, 35 shots-32 saves; 65:59).
Carleton, Francis Dupuis (W, 3-0-0, 37 shots-35 saves; 65:59).
 
Attendance: 535
Start: 7:01 PM
End: 9:38 PM
Length: 2:37
 
Referees-Chad White, Tom Sweeney.
Linesmen-Shane Nakic, Scott Wilson.
 
THREE STARS:
1. CARL - 26 Mitch Zion
2. CARL - 17 Ryan Van Stralen
3. CARL - 27 Michael McNamee


FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012