VOYAGEURS REBOUND NICELY AGAINST TROJANS TO GRAB VALUABLE POINTS IN STANDINGS
CALGARY – Meatloaf once sang that "two outta three ain't bad." The Portage College Voyageurs had a similar sentiment riding the bus home Saturday night from a pair of weekend tilts against the SAIT Trojans: four outta six ain't bad. Not bad at all.
After a disappointing weekend against Augustana to open the second half of the ACAC season January 9 and 10, the Voyageurs rebounded nicely in Calgary, beating the second-place Trojans 8-5 on Friday night and losing 5-4 in overtime on Saturday afternoon. The four valuable points they collected kept the squad in third place in the logjam that is the ACAC standings, with only six points separating third place from seventh.
"We knew we needed those points, they're huge," said Aidan Taylor, who credited linemate Jonah Smith for helping him have a strong weekend with three goals and an assist. "It's super tight in the standings right now so I think you just went into it knowing you had a job to do and came out with positive execution."
The weekend didn't start out very promisingly, however, with the Voyageurs falling behind SAIT 4-1 after the first period. Netminder Jackson Miller kept the visitors in it from there, making 51 saves, and allowing them to come all the way back and take the lead in the third. Smith led the way with a hattrick while captain Xavier Halterman added four assists.
"It was 4-1 after one but then Miller shut the door the rest of the way, " said Head Coach Kevin McClelland. "I mean he let another one in but he got the saves for us that we needed and we got back to 4-4 and then we got a couple of empty net goals from Jonah but it was a great win for sure."
On Saturday, the script was flipped, with the Voyageurs grabbing 3-1 lead after 20 minutes before the Trojans got three past Tresor Wotton in the third to force overtime. In the extra frame, the Voyageurs were unable to take advantage of a powerplay and also missed on a 2-on-1 before Tanner Gold potted the winner for the home side. McClelland, while pleased with the overall weekend, couldn't help noting his troops could've come home with a pair of victories if they'd been able to capitalize on their chances.
"I mean the second game, 3-1, that game should be over," he said. "We had a couple of mistakes that made it 3-3, we got up 4-3 but then they came back to win it….Still, it was a good effort. I just don't like the way we finished the second game, obviously."
Next up for the Voyageurs is a pair of exhibition matches this weekend at the Bold Centre against the touring Chinese National Team. With the home squad nursing a few injuries, McClelland plans to give a few of his players more opportunities to get in the lineup. At the same time, he still wants to promote good habits as Portage prepares for the final stretch run to hopefully secure a playoff berth.
"We want to have a good showing obviously and you know, we're gonna be playing a good team…but there's gonna be some guys that haven't had a lot of ice time or have even played so we're gonna try and get them in over the two games," he said.
Taylor is hoping Portage can keep the ball rolling, even if the upcoming weekend games won't result in any points.
"It's exhibition, it won't count in the standings but I think we don't change anything," he said. "We keep playing the way we do because we keep our good habits this way."
Players of the Game
January 16
Portage: #33 Jackson Miller
January 17
Portage: # 17 Karsten Gorrill