The NAIT Ooks hosted Briercrest Clippers on Friday night in their first of two meetings this weekend.

In the first period, both teams felt each other, and neither team could gain control. Briercrest came out crashing and banging bodies, playing a physical brand of hockey. The Ooks matched their intensity. Briercrest opened the scoring on a strange bounce in front. Clippers forward Colton Aikens tossed a floater on net, and he got a friendly bounce off an Ook defender before trickling past Ooks goaltender Ryley Osland. As the first rolled along, the Ooks started to generate some offense, as Eric Lacombe was robbed point blank in front not once but twice by Briercrest goaltender Dominik Tmej. The Ooks continued to create off the cycle and controlled most of the period. Briercrest took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second, the Ooks started right where they left off. Dominating time of possession early, but Dominik Tmej stood tall early. Briercrest capitalized on the man advantage to extend their lead to two. Alex Pellerin threw a puck on net through a maze of bodies and somehow found its way home. Ooks continued to control the play, but Tmej made some remarkable saves. The Ooks were starting to get frustrated. Briercrest created a few quality looks off the rush using their speed, but Ryley Osland turned them aside, keeping it a two-goal game heading into the final period.

In the third, the Ooks came out on a mission, looking to get on the board early. The Ooks tilted the ice in their favor for much of the final frame. Ooks were awarded a four-minute powerplay and made no mistake cutting the lead in half thanks to Dylan Stewart's seeing-eye shot from the point. A few minutes later, Stewart wasn't finished as Bryce Ospechuck found him back door, and he had all the time in the world to pick his spot, tying things up at two midway through the third. The Ooks continued to press, generating some great looks but weren't able to beat Tmej, and they needed extra time to decide the outcome.

In three-on-three overtime, it took a few minutes for things to open up, but once it did, both teams traded chances. Alex Pellerin busted in on a partial two-on-one and floated one on net before it was redirected home by Campbell Ens for the game-winner. Briercrest grabs the extra point from the Ooks in a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night.

The two clubs face off tomorrow in a matinee rematch. Puck drops scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the NAIT arena.