If the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team and the Carleton Ravens were to play a seven game playoff series, the fans would definitely get their money's worth.

The Lakers and Ravens met for the second time this month and third time this season as the OUA Playoffs kicked off Wednesday night in North Bay.

After splitting the regular season series, the Lakers and Ravens were both looking to grab a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three first round series and in the end, it was the Ravens who came out on top.

A dominant first period by Carleton propelled them to a 3-0 win and a series lead.

The Ravens, the top seed in this three versus six matchup, came out flying, peppering 15 shots at Lakers goalie Domenic Graham in the opening 20 minutes and while they did score, Graham was impressive, making 14 saves.

Down 1-0 after the first, the Lakers turned the tide of the game in the second and returned the favour with 15 shots of their own, but were unable to find the back of the net.

The Ravens would add to their lead and take a 2-0 advantage into the final period of Game 1.

The story was basically the same in the final stanza, the Lakers attempted the comeback, but failed to score and the Ravens would ice the game with another goal, making the score 3-0 as they skated to the victory.

After a lopsided edge in shots in the first for the Ravens, Nipissing outshot Carleton 24-12 in the final 40 minutes, but couldn't solve Carleton goalie Francis Dupuis who recorded the shutout.

Brent Norris led the Ravens attack with a goal and an assist while Brett Welychka and Corey Durocher scored the other Ravens goals.

Overall, the Ravens and Nipissing each had 27 shots.

Down 1-0 in a short series, the Lakers will now look to avoid being swept when they hit the road for Game 2, which goes Saturday night in Ottawa.

If necessary, Game 3 would be Sunday night, also in the nation's capital.

Puck drop for both of those games is set for 7 p.m. at the Ice House.