“They didn’t come ready to play,” was how Portage College Voyageurs hockey team head coach Terry Ewasiuk summed up Friday night’s game in Lac La Biche against the NAIT Ooks.
“They just went through the motions,” said the coach of the 4-3 Voyageur loss.
Strangely enough, despite Ewasiuk’s take on the game, it was the Voyageurs who scored first and took a one-goal lead into the final period of Friday’s home game.
It wasn’t just the coach who was disappointed with the overall performance.
“The game was tough,” said goalie Dallas Ungurian following the game that saw him face 39 Ook shots, including 17 in the first period alone.
Of the six shots the Voyageurs did manage, one found the twine as Leo Keefer’s goal scored first blood.
Portage even pushed ahead by two on a goal from Matt Foster just two minutes into the second period.
But the tide was turning, said Ewasiuk, as the NAIT skaters pressured more and more. The team saw it coming too.
“We weren’t mentally prepared,” said Voyageurs Captain Chris Glen.
NAIT scored three times in the second period. And while the Voyageurs’ Dustin Popowich managed one more for the home team, they were facing relentless pressure.
“We were sloppy. We dug a hole by the end of the first period and just couldn’t get out,” said Glen.
The third period wasn’t any better for the Voyageurs, who saw NAIT score a fourth goal and win the game 4-3.
The Portage coach was disappointed with the loss, and held little back in saying that his players aren’t getting into the game, despite being on home ice.
“This is our building. We should have come, ready to play. But until the players decide wins are more important than their egos, we aren’t going to win,” said Ewasiuk.
Saturday night’s game sees loss for Voyageurs
His disappointment must have made an impact after the game as the team jumped out to a fast-paced first period the next night in Edmonton.
Despite losing 5-2, Ewasiuk said his team came out with a 180-degree change of focus from the night before.
“It was probably the best first period I have seen for the Voyageurs since I started coaching three years ago,” said Ewasiuk.
But the second period was a different story, with the Ooks scoring a goal 28 seconds into the period. It was not even five minutes later when NAIT scored their second goal and finished the period with a score of 3-1.
Despite the Voyageurs outshooting NAIT 15-5 in the third, the Edmonton team scored two more goals, pushing the final margin to a three goal difference.
Ewasiuk’s take on the second game, despite his team losing by a wider margin than the first, was not as harsh as Friday night.
“They have to find a way to win. It’s not from lack of skill, a lot of it is mental and personal issues,” said Ewasiuk. “They have to play for each other, not for themselves.”
The Voyageurs will shoot for a win when they play on home ice again this Friday night, with game one against Concordia Thunder. The players then head to Edmonton on Saturday night to play against the Thunder on their home ice.
“They have to win at least two out of their next three games to be in hunt for a good spot in the standings,” said Ewasiuk.
The Voyageurs are currently in sixth place of the eight-team ACAC standings.
