The NAIT women’s hockey team were eliminated from the playoffs on Feb. 28 after losing the best-of-three semi-finals to the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens.
The Ooks and Queens met for the fourth consecutive year in the playoffs and the Ooks were out for revenge after being defeated by Red Deer in last year’s semi-finals on home ice.
Game one was scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 in Red Deer, and game two the following day at NAIT.
Ooks get early lead, can’t close out game one
NAIT broke their two-game goalless drought against Red Deer by burying the series’ first goal seven minutes into the game, thanks to forward Alyssa Tremblay-Houle.
In the second period, NAIT did not let up and had their chances to add to the lead.
The Ooks drew a four-minute power play halfway through the period, but were unable to beat Red Deer’s goalie, Tora Ward.
That missed opportunity to score on the power play was costly for the Ooks.
Red Deer went on to outshoot NAIT 14-9 in the third period, scoring twice.
While NAIT responded with nine shots in the third, they were unable to crack Ward’s goaltending, despite two additional power-play opportunities.
The Ooks ended up falling 2-1 in game one.
Red Deer pounces late, knocks NAIT out of playoffs
The blue and gold came out of the gates with a hot start for game two. NAIT’s Allison McGregor scored the opening goal from a rebound off the pad of Ward.
NAIT seemed to be in full control of the game up until halfway through the second. But a defensive mishap gave the Queens a three-on-two opportunity in the slot. It ended with a shot through NAIT goalie Jorja Imrie’s glove side to tie it 1-1.
That goal sucked the wind out of the Ooks’ sails as the Queens began to tilt momentum their way. Ooks forward Maria Ayre responded by creating a turnover in the Queens end, scoring a wrap-around goal behind the net to regain a 2-1 lead.
However, that proved to be the peak of the night for NAIT. The Ooks began to unravel as the seconds ticked down, and the Queens tied the game with four minutes to go. They delivered the deathblow three minutes later to win the game 3-2 and end the Ooks’ season.
A heartbreaking loss, but transformative year
NAIT women’s hockey head coach Brendan Jensen said the loss was heartbreaking and empathized with his team.
“You’re going through those same emotions knowing how much blood, sweat and tears student athletes put into it,” said Jensen. But he is proud of the group’s ability to adjust during the short conference series.
“We executed a game plan against them almost to a tee for about 57 minutes,” he said after the game two loss.
The Ooks went 0-for-8 on the power play in the series and scored three goals across the two games.
Jensen said the group tried to adapt after game one through high-pressure plays and capitalizing on turnovers, but lost to a “very good veteran hockey club” with the Ooks’ younger roster.
The loss wraps up a very transformative year for the women’s hockey team that featured 14 of its 26 players in their first or second year.
Jensen highlighted the progress the team made this season that can help them heading into next year.
“We had some great stretches of hockey,” Jensen said.
“Getting the taste of two playoff experiences, that national tournament and then here is only going to bode well for future years as we continue to build.”
