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January 23, 2012

Men's Hockey Drop a Pair to Defending ACAC Champs

So close is ACAC men's hockey that a lost weekend for one of the leading teams is certain to result in a drop in standings.
This was among the lessons learned by the NAIT Ooks, who swallowed 5-3 and 5-0 losses at the hands of the league-leading Mount Royal Cougars.
As a result, NAIT fell to fourth place, still comfortably within reach of playoffs but certain -- no matter where they finish -- to face a tough opponent in the first round.
Ooks head coach Serge Lajoie refused any self-pity. Instead, he praised his team's effort and recognized Mount Royal's talent.
"We're nursing many injuries," he said, "and we could have mailed in the four points. But the players battled hard and represented themselves and NAIT extremely well."
Michael Westfall, Colton Yaremovich and Andy Willigar provided the scoring in Friday's game. Willigar also had a pair of assists.
Goaltender Shannon Szabados made 30 saves. The Ooks were 1-for-8 on the power play and successfully killed eight of nine penalties.
Mount Royal dominated the rematch, drilling 36 shots at netminder Graeme Harrington while the Ooks had only 15 shots on goal.
"Now we have to get back to playing typical Ooks hockey," Lajoie concluded.