All the teams still in action played two games this weekend and went a combined 7-3. Here’s how every team did.
Women’s Hockey
The Women’s Hockey Team swept a home and home against the Olds College Broncos. In the first game, the goaltenders dominated in a 1-0 shootout win for the Ooks. Darby Robertson scored the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout. Kaitlyn Slator made 22 saves to collect the shutout, and the Broncos’ Cienna Kinghorn made 34 saves in the loss. In the second game, the goalies were again excellent, as the Ooks won 2-1 in overtime. Jesse Jack opened the scoring for the Broncos on the powerplay with just eight seconds left in the first period. Juliane Crozier evened it up with a blast from the point redirected in front with a little under four and a half minutes to go in the second. Both teams had chances in the third, but both goalies stood tall to keep the game tied. In overtime, Cheyenna Harden went on a partial breakaway to end it, beating Kinghorn over her shoulder. Kaitlyn Slator made 14 saves for the win, and Cienna Kinghorn made 23 in the losing effort. Up next, Red Deer Polytechnic comes to NAIT on Friday. Puck drop is 7 pm.
Men’s Basketball
The Men’s Basketball Team swept a home and home against The King’s University Eagles. The Ooks’ depth won out in game one with a 95-86 victory. Logan Den Oudsten, Joshua Hamilton and Nic Gregersen combined for 76 points for the Eagles, but nobody else for them had more than three. Meanwhile, the Ooks had four players with double-digit points. Only two players didn’t have a point, compared to five for the Eagles.
It was a similar story in game two. Ooks won 94-89, but there were a few differences. The Eagles got more players scoring, but in small quantities, with only three players having five or more points. Their top three scorers from game one only had 30 points combined. The Ooks, meanwhile, continued getting scoring from everyone, with five players getting more than five points and getting meaningful contributions from up and down the roster. Next up is a pair of games at Northwestern Polytechnic against the Wolves.
Women’s Basketball
The Women’s Basketball Team split a home and home against The King’s University Eagles, with both teams winning the home game. The Ooks got off to a slow start at King’s, trailing 29-13 at the end of the first quarter. It was a deficit that was too much to overcome despite a late push in the fourth, and they lost 74-63. The Ooks rebounded on the home court, playing excellent defence and shutting down the Eagles’ top players and not allowing them to gain any momentum in a 66-57 victory. Next up is a pair of games at Northwestern Polytechnic against the Wolves.
Men’s Volleyball
The Men’s Volleyball Team dominated SAIT on Friday before losing a nailbiter to Olds College on Saturday. The Ooks made it look easy against SAIT winning three consecutive sets 25-14, 25-22 and 25-12. SAIT looked uncomfortable from the start as the Ooks gave them no chance to gain momentum. It looked like SAIT might have gotten something going in the second set when they made it close, but the Ooks made sure it was clear which team was better by dominating the third set. The Ooks followed it up on Saturday against The Olds College Broncos in what was a playoff atmosphere. It might not have taken the full five sets, but every set was close as the Broncos won 25-18, 27-29, 25-21 and 27-25. The Ooks did themselves in, though, with 27 service errors. That area will need to improve for the Ooks to advance in the playoffs. Up next, Northwestern Polytechnic is at NAIT for games Friday and Saturday. The Friday game’s start time is 8 pm, and the Saturday game’s start time is 3 pm.
Women’s Volleyball
The Women’s Volleyball Team lost their thirteenth game in a row on Friday against SAIT before finally winning their first of the season Saturday against Olds College. The Ooks battled early against SAIT, erasing a 9-4 first set deficit to win the first set 25-20 but lost the following three sets 25-18, 25-21 and 25-19. Then on Saturday, it was a battle of two teams without a win as the 0-13 Ooks took on the 0-10 Olds College Broncos. Despite what the records suggested, it was not an evenly matched game as the Ooks took off flying, going up 13-5 in the first set before the first timeout. They followed by scoring ten consecutive points and 12 of the next 13 to win the first set 25-6. Olds College got better as the game went on, but the Ooks gave them no quarter, winning the following two sets as well(25-14 and 25-20). Up next, Northwestern Polytechnic is at NAIT for games Friday and Saturday. The Friday game’s start time is 6 pm, and the Saturday game’s start time is 1 pm.
