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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Nov 04, 2022

NAIT OOKS…ER…EKES BY VOYAGEURS IN OT THRILLER

Box Score
Scoring Summary
1st - 10:29 - PP - Bryce Osepchuk (NAIT)
1st - 13:09 - PP - Brandon Lawson (NAIT)
1st - 19:44 - Brody Dale (Portage)
3rd - 05:02 - Conner Grunsten (Portage)
3rd - 09:21 - Brandon Lawson (NAIT)
3rd - 14:17 - Ty Budai (Portage)
5 - 01:25 - Bjorn Robinson (NAIT)
Game Leaders
NAIT
G: Brandon Lawson - 2
A: Dylan Stewart - 4
Sh: N/A
Sv: Ryley Osland - 41
Portage
G: 3 Players (#10, #18, #22) - 1
A: Xavier Halterman - 2
Sh: N/A
Sv: Alex Brousseau - 34
Team Stats
Full stats

LAC LA BICHE – The game had a little bit of everything – big hits, beautiful goals, spectacular saves, and breakaways galore. It just wasn't the final result the Portage College Voyageurs wanted. 

Taking on perennial ACAC powerhouse NAIT at the Bold Center Friday night, the Voyageurs gave their Edmonton counterparts all they could handle and carried the play during portions of the highly entertaining game but ended up losing 4-3 in overtime. Bjorn Robinson scored the winner on a breakaway at the 6:25 mark of a wild three-on-three overtime with each team trading scoring chances. Ryley Osland, named the Ooks' Player of the Game, made 41 saves in the win, several of the stellar variety. 

"We played a good game," said Voyageurs' Head Coach Kevin McClelland after the game. "We deserved a better fate for sure. The other goaltender played well."

Things didn't look good for Portage early. The Voyageurs got into early penalty trouble and found themselves down 2-0 after 13 minutes of play. Bryce Osepchuk and Brandon Lawson scored on the powerplay and it seemed like NAIT might be able to cruise to an easy win. As has been the case in almost every game this year, however, the Voyageurs fought back, with Brody Dale scoring a late first-period marker and Conner Grunsten tying it up at the five-minute mark of the third on a beautiful individual effort. After Lawson notched his second of the game to help the Ooks retake the lead, Portage sniper (and Voyageur Player of the Game) Ty Budai tied it up on a bullet shot off the wing with a little less than six minutes to play in regulation, setting the stage for the overtime dramatics.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, McClelland was encouraged by his team's effort and resilience and remained confident that they could bounce back against the Ooks in Edmonton on Saturday night. 

"We're going to be going into a tough environment tomorrow," he said. "Obviously they're going to be in their comfy confines but it doesn't seem like that matter for our team. We play pretty well on the road."