Taking the ice on one of their biggest weekends of the season, the Briercrest College Clippers men’s hockey team were able to get the job done.
For the most part.
Facing the NAIT Ooks in Edmonton in an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference first-place showdown, the Clippers ensured they would remain in top spot in the league with with a 5-3 win on Friday before dropping a 2-0 decision in the rematch Saturday.
As a result, the Clippers now have a 12-4-0-0 record and remain two points up on NAIT for top spot in the seven-team league.
With eight games remaining in the regular season, the usual goal of reaching the playoffs is all but academic, as the Clippers can become one of the first teams to qualify for the postseason with a win at home over Augustana next weekend.
Briercrest had goals from Zachary Thususka, Josh Lazowski, Brandon Kelly, Curtis Wiebe and Colton Aikens in Friday’s win, while Campbell Ens had two assists. Alex Worthington turned aside 42 shots.
The rematch was as close as could be, as NAIT scored in the first period and then had an empty-netter with eight seconds to play. Dominik Tmej was solid in goal with 44 saves.
Briercrest is home next weekend for the aforementioned series with Augustana, with games at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at the Barkman Arena.
It was a perfect weekend for the Clippers women’s volleyball team, as they picked up 3-1 and 3-2 wins at home against the Lethbridge Kodiaks.
Briercrest opened with a 25-16, 25-11, 24-26, 25-13 win on Friday, led by 14 kills from Julia Beer. Faith Buhler added 12 kills and Kacey De Jong 10, with Moose Jaw’s Summer Okerstrom putting down a pair and recording a service ace. Abigail Ulrich had 36 assists and also led the team with nine digs.
Saturday’s game saw the Clippers win 25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9. Beer had a stellar game with 21 kills, eight aces and nine digs. Buhler had 13 kills and 12 digs, Rachel Stead added 12 kills and Okerstrom had a kill and three aces. Ulrich picked up 42 assists and eight digs.
Briercrest is now 9-4 and remain tied for second in the ACAC South with 18 points. They’re back in action with a pair of games at Ambrose College this weekend.
The Clippers mens volleyball team split their two games with the Kodiaks, winning 3-1 Friday and falling 3-2 Saturday.
Briercrest picked up a 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 victory in the opener, led by 17 kills from Karym Coleman. Adam Revet had 10 kills, while Jeremy Martens had 41 assists and Cole Johnson added nine digs. Jackson Anderson had eight kills and four aces.
Things were as close as could be in the rematch, with Lethbridge prevailing 19-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 18-16. Coleman racked up another 24 kills, Revet put down 11, Brady Wachtel had 17 digs and Anderson 10 to go along with four aces and six kills. Martens had 42 assists.
The Clippers are now 10-3 and solidly in second place in the ACAC South. They also make the trip to Calgary to face Ambrose on the weekend.
It was a bit of the good and a bit of the bad for Briercrest women’s basketball team in Lethbridge, with a 63-52 loss on Friday and 68-64 win on Saturday.
Hope Jordens was the lone Clipper to hit double digits in scoring with 12 points. Madison Beattie had nine.
Saturday’s outing saw a three-pointer by Lethbridge with nine seconds left tie the game, but a five-point run over the final 1:31 of overtime would see BC take the four-point win.
Asia Wells led Briercrest with 16 points while Jordens picked up 12 points and 14 rebounds, to go along with Dori Sunderland’s 11 points and 11 rebounds. Brooklyn Martens grabbed 13 boards.
Briecrest next hosts Ambrose College, with games at 5 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. Saturday.
After a solid start to the season, the Clippers men’s basketball team has run into a rough patch, taking 94-84 and 80-79 losses in their two games against Lethbridge this weekend.
The Clippers are now 6-7 and sit in fifth place in the ACAC South.
Francis Dogani led all scorers with 22 points in the opener, while Zach Martens had 16 points and 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points from Oroma Bongomin. Jude Shepherd-Hills had 11 rebounds. Moose Jaw’s Riley Seaborn had five points, fellow Central grad Kaedyn Banilevic added four.
The rematch saw a furious comeback by the Clippers in the final seconds, but they’d fall just short. Bongomin had 22 points, while Dogani contributed 15 and Asher Elstad 13. Seaborn picked up nine, Banilevic was held off the scoreboard.
The Clippers next host Ambrose, with games at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.