Rustlers and Ooks battle in a nail biter to conclude semester one

Lloydminster, AB -  The Lakeland College Rustlers faced off against the NAIT Ooks in a Saturday night game in Lloydminster. Both teams are jockeying back and forth for playoff seeding and wanted to end semester one on a high note. The Rustlers would stretch their winning streak to three games heading into semester two, posting a 2-1 victory over the NAIT Ooks. 

The Rustlers would start things off on a positive note in period one. Just over halfway through the period, Alyssa Shaw would tip a point shot from Ava Cole. The second assist would go to Mackenzie Stafford and the Rustlers had the lead 1-0. The Ooks controlled a large portion of the period, outshooting the Rustlers 16-9 overall. A number of highlight reel saves from Rustlers goaltender Mackenzie Dojahn kept the lead for her squad throughout period one. A minor penalty to Keyra Buziak for roughing would be killed off by Lakeland.

The second period was a much tighter affair. Ooks goaltender Aurora Van Wormer made a massive save on Rustlers forward Kylie Perry on a two-on-one opportunity to keep her team within a goal. Rustlers goaltender Mackenzie Dojahn continued her steady play in period two, thwarting many opportunities that the Ooks had in tight. Both teams would take one minor penalty each and both teams would kill off the power play advantages. Shots on goal were much tighter with Lakeland holding a 18-14 advantage in period two. 

The third period saw the Ooks come storming out of the gates, pressuring for that tying goal. A beautiful stretch pass from Bre Martin found Cheyenna Harden who broke in on a breakaway to beat Dojahn and tie the game at 1-1. The Ooks would get into penalty trouble with just over six minutes left in the period, taking back-to-back penalties. The Rustlers would score on the two-man advantage. Claudia Lammers would cash in on a rebound to give the Rustlers the lead again. The Ooks would throw everything at Dojahn, looking for the tying goal but were unsuccessful in sending the game to overtime. The Rustlers would go into the Christmas Break with a 2-1 victory over the Ooks. Shots on goal for the period were 24-6 for NAIT and overall for the game, they held a 54-33 advantage.

ACAC Players of the Game for both teams were the starting goalies, who put on a show for the fans in attendance. Congratulations to Aurora Van Wormer and Mackenzie Dojahn on an outstanding display of goaltending tonight.