There’s not much of the season remaining, and many of the teams are in the final stretch of striving for playoffs. Let’s check in with the teams and see where they stand after the weekend’s games.
Hockey
The Men’s hockey team looked to get back in the win column after a tough loss last weekend to Red Deer Polytechnic. The Ooks played Portage College this weekend and split a 2 game series, losing 4-3 Friday in overtime on the road. They headed back to NAIT on Saturday and won 4-1. The win puts the team at 13-9 this season, and they have locked down a playoff spot.
The Ooks hit the ice again next Friday for their last home game of the regular season. The women’s team also hits the ice again, for the first time in two weeks, when they play their last home game of the regular season next Saturday.
Basketball
The men’s basketball team played both games at home this weekend. They started Friday night against Lethbridge College, losing a competitive game 81-72. They flipped the script on Saturday night to beat Ambrose University 82-69. The win pushes them to 8-10 on the season, leaving them in 5th spot in the ACAC North Division. They have the chance to improve their playoff positioning if they win their last couple of games and get some help from some other teams. But for now, they would start the playoffs on the road. Coach Jordan Baker wants his team’s mentality to be one game at a time.
‘’I think we got it. Approach it as the final three games are important and taking it one game at a time is key but also understand that each one is extremely important for us.’’
The women’s team has been struggling; they’ve lost their last 3 games coming into this weekend. The weekend would not be kind to the team, seeing them drop both games and extend their losing streak to 5 games. Friday night they lost to Lethbridge College 62-44 after a troubled second half. Saturday was a better performance, but they still lost 68-55 against Ambrose University. The team’s 7-10 record still gives them hope for a playoff spot, but they will need to be near-perfect in their last two games to be postseason-bound. Assistant coach Aphia Ward wants the team to stay confident in the last two games.
“We need at least two wins to make it into playoffs, and that’s very feasible for us. We can do it. Our girls are learning and they just have to go into it with confidence and know that they’re capable, even though it seems a little out of reach right now”
The Ooks basketball teams finish their regular season next weekend on the road against Briercrest College on Friday night, and Saturday night against Medicine Hat College. These games are big for both teams with playoff implications on the line.
Volleyball
The last volleyball home games of the regular season come up next weekend. Both Ooks teams are playing on Saturday night against Medicine Hat College.
