NAIT Escapes with 2-1 Victory at Briercrest

by Sam and Jeremy Demoskoff

The brooms had to be tucked away at the last minute as the NAIT Ooks narrowly avoided the sweep with a solid road game as they came back to defeat the Briercrest Clippers 2-1 and tie the best-of-three quarter final series at one game apiece. 

"They're a hardworking team," acknowledged Ooks captain Brandon Lawson afterward. "They're sandpaper and we have to match their intensity."

The goaltenders were the stars of the evening as both teams created some dangerous scoring chances. Briercrest's Dominik Tmej was dominant throughout the first 40 minutes, flashing the glove and peering over traffic to find the puck amidst numerous scrambles and tipped shots. At the other end, NAIT's Ryley Osland got the start for game 2 and earned player of the game honours as he matched Tmej save for save- that is, until Daine Milgate converted a pass from Trey Doell to open the scoring midway through the second period. They carried that one goal lead into the intermission and there were some sagging shoulders amongst the visitors as the buzzer sounded.

Whatever was said in the NAIT dressing room, it seemed to inspire some more effort and the Ooks came out attacking in the third with their season on the line. Stellar defensive plays by Jacob Arsenault, Campbell Ens, and Jaedon Little helped maintain the lead, but the visitors finally found an equalizer on their 25th shot of the night. Several minutes later, they scored again on a bullet off the rush, and suddenly Briercrest found themselves trailing 2-1 with just over two minutes to play.

With their net empty and six skaters on the ice, the Clippers hit a post and forced Osland to make perhaps his biggest save of the year on a partial breakaway. Briercrest strove valiantly to take it to overtime, but NAIT was able to close out the 2-1 victory.

"It's playoff hockey so you have to persevere through adversity," commented Milgate, who got the player of the game nod for the Clippers. "We're excited for tomorrow- we believe in our group and we know we can get the job done."

The final game of the series starts Sunday at 3:00. Catch it live at the Barkman arena or online with the ACAC's streaming service.