Following a come-from-behind 2-games-to-1 series victory over the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens, the Ooks women's hockey team is in the ACAC Finals for the second straight year, this time going up against the Lakeland College Rustlers.
In the regular season, NAIT and Lakeland met a total of five times, and every one of those games was tightly contested, with each final score being by one goal. The Ooks swept a weekend series on November 10 and 11 by 4-3 and 3-2 scores, while Lakeland won a November 25 contest by a 2-1 score. The most recent NAIT Arena game between these two (February 23) needed a shootout to decide the game 4-3 in Lakeland's favour, and the Rustlers won the next night with 1:05 left in the game, a 3-2 victory.
"It shows a glimpse of how the top 3 (ACAC teams) operated; even this weekend, they were tight games," Head Coach Brendan Jensen said of those regular-season results. "I expect nothing less (this weekend).
"Both teams have two of the best offenses in the league, and stellar D' at the same time, and really good goaltending as well. So it should be a really fun series to be a part of."
In the three games against Red Deer, the Ooks got contributions from multiple players across the lineup, both offensively and defensively. On the offensive side of the puck, Jessica Engelbrecht potted both Game 1 goals for the Ooks, while Hanna Paquette, Halle Graham, and Kamryn Aebly each had a goal and an assist throughout the series. Bre Martin was the other goal-scorer, effectively solidifying the Game 3 victory for the Ooks, and Cassidy Shandro tallied two assists.
Defensively, the Ooks were an absolute force, particularly in the final two games. Leading the way in that regard was Abby Robar, who added to assists in both games with strong defensive play, breaking up multiple Queen's opportunities and earning the Ooks' Player of the Game nod in Game 2 at home for her contributions. Hannah Prinsen joined Robar in forming a dynamite top defensive pair, and captain Hailey Cruickshank, along with Josie Nichols, Halle Petek, and Julianne Crozier, rounded out the solid six at the Ooks' blue line.
Not to be discounted, Kaitlyn Slator has been a rock in the net for NAIT. After a Game 1 that didn't quite go her way, she stopped just about everything that had reached the Ooks' net, allowing just one goal in the final two games of the series.
That defense-first mentality is a massive factor for the Ooks' game plan, notes Jensen.
"Anyone would say in playoff hockey, having a strong defense is gonna produce offense," he says. "It was great to see in (the Red Deer) series; it's gonna be crucial to see in this series with the offensive juggernaut that Lakeland is, but having that willingness to buy in, sacrifice for each other, is what makes teams championship teams at the end of the day."
The Ooks enter their second straight ACAC Finals feeling a little more confident in their game plan, having ended the Queens' reign atop the ACAC.
"Playing a battle-tested playoff team, two-time defending champs, and being able to advance is definitely a nice feather in the cap," Jensen acknowledges. But... with our group, the messaging is that we're not done here yet; there's still another series that we want to try and conquer against another very good hockey club as well."
The game plan stays the same as it was for last year's Finals, too.
"Having that experience of going to the Finals against a really good hockey club, and then getting that monkey off the back last weekend, only adds to trusting the process, the way we do things here, and it'll hopefully bleed into Games 1 and 2 here."
Game 2 will be at the NAIT Arena this Saturday, with a 6 PM scheduled puck drop. If the series needs more than three games to be settled, Game 4 will be next Saturday at the NAIT Arena as well, with a time to be determined. Come cheer on your Ooks in their pursuit of ACAC glory!