VIKINGS CONQUER VOYAGEURS IN HIGH-TEMPERATURE BATTLE

LAC LA BICHE – It may have been the final home game before Christmas but there was no yuletide cheer at the Bold Center Friday night. In easily the chippiest, most hotly contested game of the Portage College Voyageurs' season, the home squad battled hard but was eventually conquered by the Augustana Vikings 5-3.

Conrad Philips led the way for the Vikings, scoring two goals and netting Player of the Game honours for his side. Jack Hamly, Ben Stollery and Colby Wolter added single markers in the win. Nick Gidney potted his first two goals of the year to claim Player of the Game honours for Portage. Mikal Chalifoux rounded out the scoring for the Voyageurs with a late third-period marker.

The game started off promisingly for the home squad, with Gidney scoring a mere 14 seconds into the game. From there, however, things took a turn for the worse. By the midway point of the period, the Voyageurs were down two men due to injury, one due to a hit from behind and another to a concussion. The game also got very chippy, with a slew of roughing, hitting from behind, charging, and crosschecking penalties. By the time the third period rolled around, temperatures were high on both benches. The first 10 minutes of the period took an eternity, with every stoppage marred by more penalties, including several 10-minute and game misconducts. Voyageurs Head Coach Kevin McClelland had a hard time finding available players to hit the ice.

"We had guys getting injured. We lost three guys…You looked down our bench, we didn't have any players," he said. "I didn't even have enough for three lines at the end."

As his team prepares for a rematch in Camrose on Saturday night, McClelland took solace that his players fought to the last whistle.

"The guys gutted it out and we had a couple of opportunities to even it at the end there," he said. "We had some huge penalty kills too."