Posted: Mar 16, 2025
March 16th - Playoff Game 3
A well known saying about setbacks is "A stumble can prevent a fall." But after a tough 2-1 loss to the Red Deer Kings, the required motivation won't come from embroidered-pillow wisdom for the Briercrest Clippers but rather the resilience and tenacity they have exhibited all season long as they regroup and prepare for next weekend. With the victory, Red Deer now leads the best of five final series two games to one and Briercrest will have to match their road sweep of the Kings last month in order to claim their first ACAC championship.
Sunday's game three started much as the first two games did with tireless skating, close checking, and hard hitting. The Kings pressed early and had the first several shots on goal, but Dominik Tmej made some great saves and allowed the Clippers to get going offensively. Justin Keck peeled some paint off the boards as he turned on the afterburner and raced outside on a Red Deer defender, setting up Daxton Budd for a dangerous chance that tested Kristian Lyon. It continued to be a back and forth affair until the Kings managed to strike on a powerplay with Deegan Mofford tipping in a point shot.
The Clippers tilted the ice in the second period and hemmed in the Kings for large chunks of time as they pressed for an equalizer, and Keagon Little came through on the man-advantage to ignite the crowd and knot the game at ones.
It looked like the teams were headed for a repeat of game one with overtime looming in the third period. Both teams clamped down defensively and shots were hard to come by. But it was heartbreak for the faithful at Barkman Arena with seven minutes to play as Nolan Doell scored what would stand up as the game-winner.
Though down two games to one, the Clippers have every reason to be confident about their chances. They have outscored and outchanced Red Deer over the first three games and are clearly in the heads of the defending champs.
"We have a resilient group," shared Assistant Coach Daine Milgate after the game. "Everyone's on board and knows what we have to do and how we have to play."
Keagon Little and Deegan Mofford were awarded player of the game for their respective teams. Games four and five are scheduled for Friday March 21 at 7:00pm and Saturday March 22 at 5:00pm. Catch all of the action on ACAC's streaming service.
Sam & Jeremy Demoskoff