NAIT Squeaks Through to the Semifinals with Victory at Briercrest

by Alex and Jeremy Demoskoff

"Singing songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound," Proverbs 25:20.

There's no dressing up today's result as Briercrest dropped a razor-thin 2-1 decision to the NAIT Ooks to bow out of the playoffs in the deciding third game- it really hurts. 

The Clippers shook off last night's loss and came out flying as they looked to advance against a NAIT Ook team that has been a very even match all season. They split both regular season weekends, the scoring in the series prior to today was seven goals each, shots in the last two games were 66-65, and they even had the exact same amount of penalty minutes.

Briercrest's defensive gameplan was working perfectly through the first two periods as they kept the visitors off the scoresheet on the back of solid checking and stellar goaltending from player of the game Dominik Tmej. At the other end, Ryley Osland was sharp as Briercrest racked up the scoring chances and carried a 27-19 shot advantage into the third.

The capacity crowd kept urging the Clippers on as play resumed in the final period, and they were rewarded as Reagan Poncelet set up in front of Osland and banged through a feed from Caleb Grandfield to finally open the scoring. Briercrest was moments from reaching the semifinals for the second year in a row and the rink was rocking.

The Clippers fended off several desperate attacks as the Ooks scrambled to try to save their season. Tmej turned aside several shots as each second on the clock seemed to take an eternity.

Hopes were high, but heartbreak ensued as the Ooks managed to equalize midway through the frame and then take the lead on a goal from their player of the game, Drae Gardiner, with 47 seconds left. The Clippers threw everything they had into finding one more goal, but NAIT hung on to take the game and the series.

"I'm proud of the 27 guys in the dressing room right now," reflected Briercrest head coach Sam Klassen afterward. "What you saw this weekend was a very good Briercrest Clipper hockey team… We can be proud of the way we played today."

While it ended in a bitterly disappointing fashion, expectations and optimism are at an all-time high for a program that is trending in the right direction. October can't come fast enough…