The Portage College Voyageurs men’s hockey team suffered a double loss over the weekend in a two game home stand against the visiting Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Kings.
Friday’s evening game at the Bold Centre resulted in a 6-1 loss for the Voyageurs. Saturday’s afternoon rematch ended with the Kings securing a 5-2 victory.
The Kings dominated the first period of the Friday showdown and went into second period with a commanding 3-0 lead before Voyageurs' forward Blake Astorino, with the assistance of teammates Mason Beck and Logan Carruthers, scored Portage's only goal of the game, prior to three more from the Kings.
Saturday's rematch between the two Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) saw a little more level play from the home-team, even managing a second wind in the third period. The Kings opened the scoring and went ahead 2-0 early in the game, but Voyageur veteran Shaye Sommerfield narrowed the margin before the end of the first period, putting Portage onto scoreboard on a play assisted by Carter Yarish and Nick Gidney.
The Kings picked up their third goal in second period, followed by two more in the last portion of the game. But the Voyageurs narrowed the gap in scores late into the third period on a goal from Blake Astorino.
Season so far
Just past the mid-point of the ACAC season, it's bee been a tough run so far for the Voyageurs. The team currently holds last place in its seven-team division, while the Kings are in second spot.
The Voyageurs will be at on the road this coming weekend for a pair of games against the SAIT Trojans and the Winsport Olympic Centre in Calgary. The weekend losses have the Voyageurs on a four-game winless streak, SAIT is one a two-game winless streak. The Voyageurs are currently 13 points behind the league's sixth' place Concordia Thunder, just seven games remaining in the ACAC regular season before playoffs begin at the start of March. Only the top six teams in the league will make playoffs.
