Trojans salvage weekend split with Clippers

By SAIT Trojans student writer Colton Pankiw
CALGARY, ALTA., (NOV. 19, 2022) - The SAIT Trojans men's hockey team salvaged their final weekend of the first semester with an afternoon 3-1 victory over the Briercrest College at WinSport Arena.

This one was a treat to watch in the early going, as both teams came out flying and dished out plenty of hits while also creating a ton of scoring chances. Both goaltenders were perfect through the opening 15 minutes of the frame, though that nearly changed on a Trojans power play as Carson Welke deflected a point shot but found iron. That missed opportunity proved costly, as the Clippers scored moments afterward thanks to a laser from Brandon Kelly that found its way past the glove hand of Spencer Welke.

The Trojans responded shortly after, however, as Tanner Sidaway showed tremendous hustle to beat out an icing before firing a gorgeous cross-ice pass to Dylan Clark who made no mistake, tying the game with just a minute remaining in the first.

The edgy play continued in the second frame, resulting in the officials being very busy, handing out several calls to both teams. At roughly the midway point of the second, Trojans defenseman Chase Felgueiras was given a five and a game for a hit to the head.

That resulted in a very long kill for the Trojans, and was made even worse when Brett Trentham was given a two-minute minor for tripping shortly afterward. The Trojans were able to kill off the extended 5-on-3, however, and were able to escape the second with the game still knotted at 1-1.

The penalties continued to pile up in the third, with the Clippers taking three separate minors early on. SAIT's McKenzie Welke was able to take advantage of the moment, stealing the puck from Clippers netminder Dominik Tmej, and fed it out front to Chase Miller who fired it into the wide open cage to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.

Miller's goal turned out to be the game-winner, as Spencer Welke stopped everything fired his way in the third frame. Cam McAdam added an insurance marker in the final minute with an empty net tally. 

SAIT goes into the holiday break with an impressive 8-4 mark, while Briercrest falls to 4-6 with two more games to play before the break.

Player of the Game honours went to SAIT's Spencer Welke and Briercrest's Brandon Kelly.