The NAIT Ooks men’s hockey team hosted legendary hockey coach Perry Pearn and his Chinese national hockey team on Friday and Saturday. A packed arena welcomed the former Ooks men’s coach back to NAIT’s home ice, ready to watch the Ooks take on China in a two-game exhibition series.
Pearn brought the Ooks to seven national championship wins in the 80s and 90s and has “great memories” at NAIT. He was “excited to be back in the building” and brought his players to play “tough games” against Alberta Colleges Athletics Association competition, he told CTV News.
Ooks coach Scott Fellnermayr was excited to test his team against Pearn and was happy to see his players adapt and win a game against a solid national team.
“They’re passionate, they get fired up. They care a lot. They want to win all the time, even exhibition games like this,” says Fellnermayr.
Both goalies held their ground, but the Ooks hammered on China’s weaknesses and dominated the second game, playing to the final whistle and adapting quickly to grab goals and do what it takes to tie up the series.
Friday’s game started off hot, with the Chinese team scoring within four minutes. China’s number 18 beat the defense along the right side, finishing top shelf against Ooks goalie Lochlan Gordon. China doubled their lead four minutes later with a wild scramble in Gordon’s net.
The Ooks, with their backs to the wall, stood firm. Forward Ty Hodge converted a short-handed goal for NAIT after a rebound fell onto his stick, scoring with a minute left in the first.
In a back-and-forth second period, NAIT warmed up to the game. Ooks forward Josh Hoekstra scored a highlight-reel goal. After defensemen Avery Trotter’s slapshot bounced off the ice and over the goalie’s pads, Hoekstra tipped the puck into the net to tie the game. However, a picturesque bar down shot from China’s 17 at the start of the third period all but iced the game. Then in the last minute of play, Blocha lost the puck and China scored on the Ooks’ empty net to win 4-2.
“They caught us off guard to begin with and then we started to find our game,” says Fellnermayr. “A lot of them are men that are around 30 years old and a little stronger on pucks than we maybe expected, so they’re a tough team.”
But it all came full circle.
With two huge hits early in the second game, defenseman Brophy Dunne “set the tone” for Saturday’s rematch.
“It seemed like it made [China] not want to play the game as much,” says Fellnermayr. “They were just giving pucks away after that.”
NAIT ran the game with hits like these and scored quickly. Forward Tyler Blocha skated through the defense and found Hoekstra on the goalie’s doorstep to score for an early lead. Dunne showed he’s also an offensive threat, finding Ethan Leyer cutting from the blue line to put NAIT up 2-0. Forwards Decker Mujcin and Sean Mitchell fought hard to free up the puck to Trotter. This time, Trotter’s blue line bomb needed no assist — it ended the period 3-0 for NAIT.
China responded in the second period, breaking through the defenders to score. They scored again at the start of the third period with a power play goal to narrow the gap 3-2.
With a minute left, Friday’s “blown tire” became Saturday’s vehicle to victory. Blocha slotted home from the blue line into China’s empty net, ending the game 4-2.
“[Friday] night he’s the guy that blows the tire and [China] scored the empty-netter, so he was frustrated with himself,” says Fellnermayr about Blocha’s comeback. “So for him to ice the game tonight was good.”
The Ooks made powerful hits and pinned a fast team against the boards, frustrating the opposition at every opportunity to tie up the exhibition series.
“Everyone asks how it is playing against a Chinese national team,” says Fellnermayr. But going head-to-head against Pearn was special for the current Ooks coach. “For me, that was the cool part, getting to coach against Pearn.”
The Chinese national hockey team will continue playing against other ACAC teams before flying home in February.
Feature photo by Nino Aguilar
