PAIR OF WEEKEND LOSSES PUT VOYAGEURS BEHIND THE EIGHT-BALL IN STANDINGS – BUT NOT IN MORALE

PAIR OF WEEKEND LOSSES PUT VOYAGEURS BEHIND THE EIGHT-BALL IN STANDINGS – BUT NOT IN MORALE
January 15, 2025

LAC LA BICHE & EDMONTON – It was a chance for a fresh start. It was a chance to make up some ground on the team they were chasing for the final playoff spot in the ACAC. It was a chance to break a long losing streak. It was a chance that slipped through their collective fingers.

 

The Portage College Voyageurs dropped a pair of weekend contests against the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder – 4-3 on Friday night and 6-0 on Saturday night – to fall 10 points out of a playoff spot with 10 games remaining. Not impossible, but a tall order, particularly considering a pair of victories would've vaulted the Voyageurs ahead of their Edmonton rivals in the standings. Despite the losses, Head Coach Kevin McClelland wasn't down in the dumps after the weekend results.

 

"Tough weekend, obviously," he said. "We got no points out of it. It's going to make it tough, but we've just got to keep playing, keep guys getting some experience and see where it goes from there."

 

On Friday night at the Bold Center, the Voyageurs showed that there was plenty of fight left in the dog, to borrow a cliché. Down 4-1 midway through the third, the home squad mounted a furious comeback, notching a pair of powerplay markers (from Jayden Watson and Mikal Chalifoux) to reduce the margin to 4-3 with five minutes to go in the final frame. McClelland's troops battled to the bitter end, creating several chances with the goalie out for an extra attacker, but couldn't find the equalizer before the final buzzer sounded. The head coach was pleased with how his team played for the most part.

 

"You're seeing a little bit now the difference of our team and what it should've been in the first half," he said after the game. "We've got some guys back (from injury), key guys that really help out our lineup…When we do add pieces, I think you see tonight how well and how competitive the guys can be."

 

Indeed, the Voyageurs perhaps deserved a better outcome, considering they outshot the visitors 43-30 and had a goal called back that could've tied the score 2-2 midway through the second period. McClelland wasn't bemoaning the outcome, however, noting that the Voyageurs took a few untimely penalties in the contest, particularly one in the third, that led to the Thunder's fourth goal, Ethyn Hopp's hattrick marker.

 

"That fourth goal was a killer," said the head coach. "You know, you can't take a penalty in that situation. That just can't happen. Two goals are hard enough to come back from but to come back from three is even tougher. We got two tonight, but we just couldn't get that third one."

 

Saturday's rematch in Edmonton was a different story, at least for the first two periods. Outshot 35-12 in the first 40 minutes, the Voyageurs found themselves down 5-0 before the third started. Nonetheless, as has been the case most of the season, it was a few bad minutes that cost the visitors dearly in this one. The Thunder scored two markers in the last two minutes and another one in the first two minutes of the second to turn a close 1-0 contest into a comfortable 4-0 lead. From there, Concordia coasted to the victory, even though Portage played a strong third period.

 

"The second period was no good," said McClelland. "They skated all over us and we couldn't contain their speed…And then we regrouped and had a little chat between the second and third and our guys came out and played well."

 

Named Player of the Game for his squad on Saturday, forward Mason Beck was disappointed in the weekend results but not in his fellow players' attitude and drive to succeed. With almost two weeks until their next game (against NAIT), he noted that his teammates are still working hard and have not given up on the season.

 

"We're just focusing on working together as a team and focusing on our systems and stuff," he said during a Monday evening practice. "Really, just never back down kind of motto in the room right now. So you know, we believe in our group and I think that these (upcoming) games mean a lot to us and we're going to give it our all."

 

Jan. 10 Players of the Game

 

Jan. 11 Players of the Game