Two wins against the Briercrest Clippers in Caronport, Saskatchewan would have meant a third place standing in the eight-team Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference standings for the Portage Voyageurs hockey team — but they only got the job half done.
Despite being on the bus for nine hours, the local hockey team was able to win Friday night’s game against the Clippers 5-3. Then, perhaps from bus-lag, the team dropped Saturday’s game 4-1.
“We dominated against them in the first game,” said Terry Ewasiuk, the team’s head coach.
“We had a great opportunity to end up in third place.”
The Voyageurs came on the ice ready to play in the first period, scoring three early goals. The Clippers managed to sneak just one past Portage goalie Justin Borsa in the first period.
Portage scored the lone goal of the second period, but the Clippers came alive in the third, scoring two before the Voyageurs got their fifth goal of the night, bringing the final score to 5-3.
Saturday night’s game proved to be a different game for the Voyageurs.
Briercrest scored two shorthanded goals early in the first period, padding the scoreboard despite being outshot 18-8.
“Having the Clippers lead 2-0 by the end of the first, it took a lot of wind out of our sails,” said the coach, adding that the home crowd’s cheers got very loud after the Clippers scored their second goal and Portage players lost some focus. “It was a real impact on our team.”
The second period wasn’t much better, with the Clippers getting two more, bringing the score to 4-0 by the end of the second.
The Voyageurs managed to get their first goal late in the third period, but couldn’t do any better to narrow the three-goal margin.
“The guys were disappointed for sure since they knew how important a win was for our standings,” said Ewasiuk.
The team now sits in fourth spot in the league, but has a chance to move up after this weekend’s games with the NAIT’s Ooks.
“The guys are looking forward to coming home and playing on their home rink,” said the coach, noting that the team has played their last four games on the road.
“It’s always nice to play at home.”
There are only four point separating the teams currently sitting in third through sixth places in the ACAC standings.