Following a 14-10 regular season and a top-3 finish in the ACAC standings, the Ooks men's hockey team is marching on to the first round of ACAC Postseason action, gearing up for an all-Edmonton series against the Concordia Thunder that begins Friday night in the NAIT Arena.

The crosstown rivalry has continued to be evenly matched, with NAIT taking the first two games against Concordia back in October by scores of 9-5 and 8-1 and the Thunder responding with two wins of their own in late January (5-3 and 5-1). The most recent game also displayed these two teams' feisty competitiveness when going head-to-head.

Captain Brandon Lawson spoke to the recent history between the two teams.

"(Two) years ago, we played against them in the Finals, and we came out on top; they'll probably bring their best game against us," Lawson said.
"The second-half games (this season) kinda got out of control, so that's something we need to learn from."

Head Coach Scott Fellnermayr agrees that emotions can get heated in such big games.

"They (Ooks) know a lot of players on the (Thunder); they want it really bad, so we focus on ourselves."

Some top performers to keep an eye on for the Ooks include Ethan Leyer, who has put up eight points across the four games versus the Thunder (two goals, six assists), along with graduating student-athlete Eric Lacombe, who has goals in three of those four and a total of six points.

The Ooks' other graduating student-athlete, captain Brandon Lawson, has chipped in with four points (one goal, three assists) in those matchups.

Entering this series on hot streaks are veterans Bryce Osepchuk (three-game points streak, three goals in four games versus Thunder) and Bjorn Robinson (two goals and three assists in last six games, four points in four games versus Thunder).

In goal for the Ooks, the tandem of Ryley Osland and McCoy Bidewell has been solid for the Ooks over the second half, with Osland winning his last two starts and Bidewell helping to carry the Ooks for a short spell where Osland was unavailable. With the Thunder proving capable of scoring in bunches, the Ooks will look for both netminders to remain strong to help deter the opposing attack.

Team defense will also need to come through with their best performances to aid the tandem in between the pipes against Concordia.

"We gotta take away their time and space," Fellnermayr said. "It's gonna be a battle. They're riding a high, and ready to go, so we gotta be in their face, take away time and space, and be good defensively.

"Don't give them the benefit of the doubt."

Aside from their head-to-head matches, both the Ooks and Thunder come into this series on torrid streaks of their own; the Ooks have not lost in regulation since a February 3 defeat against Red Deer Polytechnic and have won their last two home games, while Concordia enters on a three-game win streak, with their last defeat happening on February 16 versus Portage College.

The Ooks enter with not just home-ice advantage but the benefit of a bye week to end the season, which they hope offers a good reset and a chance to enter the playoffs ready and refreshed.

"I think it was perfect," Fellnermayr said of the end-of-season bye weekend. "We got the bye to finish the season, and then we finished just behind Red Deer, so we didn't get that second bye; that would have been a lot of time between games. So we're really happy, the way it's worked out, we're excited. We've had a really good week of practice... there's a ton of confidence right now."

And with the home-ice advantage, the roar of Ooks Nation is sure to give the team an extra boost.

"It'll be fun," Fellnermayr said." Especially because we're one of the last (Ooks) teams to play, sometimes the other teams come out and support, so it's pretty fun to play in front of a good crowd."

Puck drop for Friday's game is scheduled for 7 PM. If a Game 3 is necessary, the NAIT Arena will host it on Sunday at 6:30 PM. Come out and cheer on your Ooks!