Fifth At The Break

BY TRAVIS ZIEGLER

The Ooks Men’s hockey team had the opportunity to take fourth spot in the standings going into the Christmas break. They had to get two straight wins over the Augustana Vikings in the final two games of the semester. It started off great in Camrose last Wednesday where the Ooks controlled the whole game. The power play was the difference as NAIT went four for six and Augustana did not capitalize on the man advantage.

Saturday night was a different story as the Vikings strolled into the NAIT arena and crushed the Ooks 7-4. Stephen Cavanagh and Torrie Dyck of the Vikings potted two goals a piece leading the way for the Vikings. Topilko matched their efforts but there was not enough secondary scoring to bypass the potent offense of Augustana.

Graeme Harrington could not duplicate his 40 save effort from the previous Wednesday letting in five goals on 23 shots. He was pulled and relieved by Anthony Heuer who faced six shots and let one goal get by him. The Ooks sat one point up on Augustana after Wednesdays game but were over taken on Saturday.

Augustana has 17 points putting them in fourth while the Ooks have 16 points sitting them in fifth. The Ooks will have some time to rest over the next few weeks and Coach Ballard can reassess his situation. Every year at the break some players decide to leave the team and some players join. Ballard will need to find some consistency with his lineup and be able to get on a streak to push for a comfortable playoff position. For updates on standings and scoring leaders visit www.acac.ab.ca