Ooks outlast Broncos in Olds

The NAIT Ooks were relentless from the opening faceoff, defeating the Olds College Broncos 4-1 at the Town of Olds Sportsplex on Thursday.

Cheyanna Harden scored twice and added an assist for NAIT (6-1-0), while Hailey Cruickshank and Bre Martin also scored, with Michaella Kibblewhite chipping in with two assists as NAIT outshot Olds College 46-11.

Jerika Pashniak scored the lone goal for the Broncos (2-5-0), while Cienna Kinghorn made 42 saves in defeat.

NAIT's initial breakthrough came midway through the first as Cruickshank pinched in from the point and found a rebound, slotting it into an open net to put the Ooks up one. However, the Broncos responded before the end of the period on the powerplay as Pashniak's shot from the slot squeaked through Slator to put Olds College back on level footing heading into the first intermission.

The Ooks went ahead to stay just 33 seconds into the middle frame, as solid offensive pressure led to Kibblewhite finding Harden breaking into the slot to beat Kinghorn. Harden then doubled her goal output midway through the second, redirecting a Martin centering pass past Kinghorn to extend NAIT's lead to 3-1 through 40 minutes.

Kinghorn kept the Broncos within striking distance in the third period with a number of timely saves, only for Martin to ice the matchup with an empty net goal with 21 seconds remaining. 

NAIT and Olds College will face off again on Saturday in Edmonton at 6 p.m., with that game available on ACACTV.ca and on TELUS OptikTV channel 1998.

Players of the Game
NAIT | Cheyanna Harden
OC | Jenay Hyndman