Trojans double up Griffins

CALGARY, (Jan. 25, 2019) — The SAIT Trojans men's hockey team started the weekend off right.

The Trojans took the league's best defensive team, and hung a big number on them, as they beat the two-time defending Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) champion MacEwan Griffins 6-3 in their game played inside SAIT Arena on Friday night.

"It's huge for us," said Trojans captain Dean Allison (4^th year, Surrey, BC, Bachelor of Business Administration) about the victory. "It was a big challenge. We have got off to a good start this half, and these are the games you have to come ready to play and the boys responded."

The win allows SAIT to leapfrog the Griffins into second place in the ACAC standings, as the Trojans move to 14-5 on the season. MacEwan, who had allowed just 30 goals in 18 games this season coming into the game, falls to 13-5-1.

"Having that first game of the weekend at home, you really have to make sure you're taking care of business, and we did that," Allison added. "You don't want to be going into their rink on the Saturday night down a loss. It's time for us to regroup, get some fresh minds and go see if we can take another one from them tomorrow."

As they have done so often of late, the Trojans once again gave up the first goal of the game when Dallas Smith beat Trojans netminder Payton Lee (2^nd year, Cranbrook, BC, Power and Process Operations) seven minutes into the opening period.

SAIT responded in kind with three straight markers – Allison to even things up in the first, and Matt Houston (2^nd year, Rosetown, Sask., Business Administration) and Erik Pedersen (3^rd year, Airdrie, Alta., Business Administration) in the second.

The Griffins got one back late in the middle frame when Garan Magnes scored his eighth of the season to cut the lead to 3-2.

Trojans forward Eric Krienke (2^nd year, Calgary, Bachelor of Business Administration) restored SAIT's two-goal lead with 52 seconds left in the period after getting out of the penalty box and being sprung in on a breakaway on which he did not miss.

Krienke's league-leading 14^th goal of the season turned out to be the game winner, as the Griffins added one more in the third off the stick of Brett Smythe.

The Trojans iced the win when Sam Stormoen (1^st year, Calgary, Petroleum Engineering Technology) scored on the power play and Rock Ruschkowski (1^st year, Calgary, Respiratory Therapy scored an empty net marker late in the final period.

Lee stopped 42 shots in the win.

The Trojans and Griffins will finish their weekend set Saturday night in Edmonton in a 7pm start at the Downtown Community Arena.