The NAIT Ooks men's hockey team opened their 2022/23 season against the Concordia Thunder. The beginning of the game was electric as the banner was raised for the 2021/22 ACAC Championship. The NAIT Ooks had a tremendous season last year, and they came out this year, proving to everyone that they still have what it takes. The Ooks took home a 4-2 win.
The game started strong as the Ooks were electric and fed off the atmosphere of the banner raising. Mitch Williams hit it home first unassisted at 8:53. It was a pretty steady back and fourth period after the Ooks went ahead by one.
NAIT Ooks 1-0 after the first.
In the second period, both teams came out blazing. NAIT scored first with a short-handed goal from Mitch Williams. Three minutes later, the NAIT Ooks got a powerplay goal from Colin Schmidt, assisted by Brandon Lawson and Cale Lyons. Concordia wasn't going down without a fight, though. They came back five minutes later with a goal from Peter Tomaras. They capped off the period with a second goal, scored on the powerplay by Rylan Nivon.
NAIT Ooks were up 3-2 after two.
Going into the third, both teams were ready to roll. The close game made for an exciting third period. It was NAIT Ooks forward Dylan Stewart that hit it home in the third, assisted by Nicholas Leyer and Bryce Osepchuk. The Concordia Thunder couldn't come back from that. The Ooks took the game 4-2.