TROJANS MOUNT THIRD PERIOD COMEBACK TO STUN VOYAGEURS

LAC LA BICHE – Now that was a kick in the groin.

The Portage College Voyageurs were on the cusp of their first victory of the season Friday night at the Bold Center, leading the SAIT Trojans 3-0 heading into the third period. Mikal Chalifoux, Karstin Gorrill and Voyageur Player of the Game Shaye Sommerfeld each notched markers and Alex Brousseau was a wall in the Portage net. Things were looking good…until they weren't. Even after a Trojan third period power play goal by SAIT Player of the Game Brett Trentham, the Voyageurs could taste the sweet nectar of victory. Then, in the last few minutes, it turned to the sour taste of bile. Zach Cain and Reece Richmond both scored with the goalie out and all of a sudden, a sure win turned into a nail biter.

"You knew they were going to come hard at us," said Portage Head Coach Kevin McClelland after the game.  "We took a few penalties including that one penalty in the neutral zone that was not needed…We once again had mental errors at the wrong time. We were in control of that game and then let it out of our grasp."

All was not lost, however, as the two teams headed into the 10-minute, three-on-three overtime period. The Voyageurs created a few scoring chances and even killed off a penalty in the extra frame but were unable to pot the winner. Instead, Cain notched his second of the game at the 8:21 mark of OT and it was all over but the crying. 4-3 Trojans.

"You know, that's the thing," said McClelland. "We go and kill a penalty off like that and we should be the team that gets some energy there…We get a big kill like that and all of a sudden, it doesn't do nothing for us and they come down and score on us."

The Voyageurs won't have to wait long for a second crack at the Trojans. The two teams face off again on Saturday afternoon at the Bold Center. McClelland hopes his players can flush the memory of the third and focus on the positives of the first two periods as they head into the rematch.

"Their team's gonna have the momentum going into tomorrow…They have gotta feel good," he said. "We've gotta make sure that our guys get that out of our mind right now as soon as they leave the rink here and get prepared for tomorrow."