The NAIT Ooks hosted the Briercrest Clippers in a matinee classic at the NAIT Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Ooks came out of the gates hot. Forward Cole Schmidt found a loose puck in the crease to give the Ooks an early 1-0 lead. The Ooks extended their lead shorthanded, as Bjorn Robinson slid the puck backdoor on a two-on-one, and Josh Lazowski fired it into the yawning cage. Ooks weren't satisfied yet as Dylan Stewart received a pass from Lazowski and ripped a half-clapper past the glove of Briercrest goaltender Kolter Pawlick. Stewart's third tally of the weekend. The Ooks had built themselves a three-goal lead before the ten-minute mark. In the dying moments of the opening frame, Clippers forward Colten Aikens found a loose puck and wrapped it home to cut the Ooks lead to two heading into the first intermission.
Early in the second period, the Ooks regained their three-goal lead. Josh Lazowski buried a rebound past the outstretched Pawlick for his second of the afternoon. The physicality started to ramp up as the period rolled along. Clippers captain Jacob Arsenault received a game misconduct and was tossed from the remainder of the game. Ooks goaltender Taryn Kotcherek made a few huge saves at the ladder half of the middle frame as the Clippers pressed for a late goal. The Ooks took their three-goal lead into the final break.
In the third, Briercrest cut the Ooks lead to two on a seeing-eye shot. Brandon Kelly ripped the puck on net with traffic in front, and it found its way through Kotchoreks five-hole. The Ooks were quick to respond, regaining their three-goal lead on a beautiful shot in the high slot from Ooks defenseman Cale Lyons. The Clippers added a late goal, but it wasn't enough as the Ooks took the rubber match 5-3, improving to 10-6-4 on the season. Taylor Kotchorek made 23 stops in the victory.
The Ooks now have a four-point lead over Briercrest for third in league standings. The Ooks now only three points back of SAIT Trojans for the second seed, with two weekends of regular season play remaining.