Thunder Roll over Voyageurs in high Scoring Affair

LAC LA BICHE – There were no wild hairdos or parachute pants but it sure felt like retro night at the Bold Center Saturday night. The Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder and the Portage College Voyageurs played a little 1980s-style hockey in the second game of a home and away weekend, with the Thunder prevailing 7-5 by the final buzzer. The fast-paced game featured a little bit of everything, from numerous odd-man rushes to hard hits to a few great saves from a pair of beleaguered goaltenders. Mostly, though, it featured lots of goals.

"That's a team that you can't have a track meet with," said Voyageurs Head Coach Kevin McClelland after the game. "That was like a track meet and we're not built like that. We've got to play a lot more defensively and we've got to have better puck management. We turned over a lot of pucks tonight."

The first period was especially wild, with each team scoring three times on 15 shots apiece. While the game slowed down a smidgen in the final 40 minutes, there were still numerous scoring opportunities for both sides, with the Thunder managing to grab a 5-4 lead by the end of the second period. Neither Concordia goalie Eric Ward nor Portage goalie Jacob Gnidziejko were at fault for any of the goals and actually played well, considering the final score. Player of the Game Edge Lambert and Peter Tomaras each potted two goals while Grayson Reid, Zachery Carlson and Keegan Tiringer found the back of the net for Concordia. Brody Dale, Tyson Lambert, Spencer Kennedy and Logan Spence replied for the Voyageurs. Carson Lux, with two assists, played a strong game for Portage and was named Player of the Game for his squad.

The Voyageurs head into their bye week at the bottom of the ACAC standings but not far out of a playoff spot. McClelland knows that an upcoming trip to Briercrest for two games November 25 and 26 is a critical one for his players if they want to get back into the playoff race.

"We'll just got back to work," he said. "That's going to be a huge series and they're going to be very tough at home."