Do not believe the numbers — I have faith in the NAIT Ooks men’s hockey team despite their current playoff standings. They’re currently tied for last place with the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus Vikings (UAA); both teams have sat near last place this season like it was a comfortable arm chair on the beach. But the Ooks are putting in work against the toughest teams in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and, in my opinion, playing better hockey than the UAA overall.
NAIT has three players in the top 20 for points compared to the Vikings, whose leading scorer sits tied for 27th. Ooks goalie McCoy Bidewell is second in the league in saves with a significantly higher win percentage than UAA’s Zach Willms and Mason Lobreau, who have evenly split time in the crease. And most importantly, the Ooks’ head coach Scott Fellnermayr believes this isn’t the end for the team.
“It’s a little bit tough to swallow,” said Fellnermayr. “But yeah, it is what it is and we’ll keep working right to the end. We’ve got a good group, we’re good in every aspect of the game essentially, and I can only imagine the tide will turn for us.”
Those who went to the Ooks home opener on Oct. 18 saw a plethora of chances on net. Like a true Ookpik, the beautiful Inuit translation for snowy owl, the Ooks swoop in for dangerous chances on net and seldom let a chance go to waste — like when they scored short-handed and power play goals before a nail-biting loss to SAIT on Nov. 21.
However, the team feels “snake-bitten” — too many of their chances end without scoring. While frustrating, Fellnermayr sees positives to a slower start; it’s a chance to improve on a foundation built on chances that are already being created.
“You’d rather have the struggles early; it’s forced us to look at every part of our game and make sure we’re doing everything right, and we’re not going to make these same mistakes later on in the season.”
Fellnermayr said teams that are “getting away with everything right now and still winning games” might not have this same chance to build and adapt like the NAIT Ooks do.
All this proud buildup comes from strong players Fellnermayr sees potential in. Top performers Ethan Leyer, Ty Whitford, Evan Arnold and the flexible rookie Decker Mujcin all have more than eight points and are comfortably among the top 32 scorers in the league.
Even players that don’t have the same statistical recognition got applause by Fellnermayr, such as Tyler Blocha and Ty Hodge for playing scrappy and forcing turnovers. And after getting defenceman Cale Lyons back from a bone fracture injury, the team has seen Lyons take opportunities to join the power play and offence while remaining a fantastic, intelligent defensive option.
“There’s a lot of guys that probably feel like they’re a little bit snake-bitten right now and they’re not quite converting on some of their chances,” said Fellnermayr, but the team’s goal-hunting mentality does not go unnoticed. After watching the game recaps and checking analytics, Fellnermayr thinks NAIT still significantly outnumbers the competition in scoring chances. This is strengthened by an expected score that also seems to tilt in NAIT’s favour, he explained.
“We’re not winning the games, but it does matter in the sense of selling it to the team and saying ‘Hey, we’re better than our record,’” said Fellnermayer.
I think the tides will change for the Ooks. I would not trust the stats to remain stagnant, but I’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for this exciting and powerful team next semester.
The Ooks men’s hockey team will play an exhibition game at MacEwan University on Jan. 3 before their first post-holiday home game against the Concordia Thunder on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m.
