This weekend the Portage Voyageurs took on the Briercrest College Clippers twice in back to back games on Friday and Saturday at the Bold Center.
The Voyageurs lost both games against the Clippers — 4-2 on Friday, and 4-8 on Saturday. They were losses that Coach Nate Bedford says is unfortunate for his team, but not surprising due to the tough gameplay of their visiting opponents. Only the top six teams of the eight-team Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference make the playoffs which begin at the end of February. Briercrest team is in seventh spot — only four points back of sixth-place Concordia University, and five points back of fifth-place Augustana. They’re fighting for points, said Bedford, whose own team is now 12 points back of Briercrest.
“[The Clippers] played hard and desperately wanted to win, and when that happens, you are more likely to have a positive outcome,” says Bedford.
The weekend marked the Voyageurs’ third and fourth losses against the Clippers this season - and marked the Lac La Biche team’s twentieth league game without a win, meaning they will be keeping their last place spot in the ACAC for now.
Good starts
During the Friday night match, the Voyageurs did come on strong in the first period with two goals, but the Clippers got them back and went on with two more unanswered goals to finish the game.
Saturday’s matinee game saw the teams heading into the second period with one goal apiece. The Voyageurs went up by one early in the second, but the Clippers responded with four-straight, taking any chance of a comeback from the home team.
The Voyageurs will be travelling down to Calgary for their next two games against SAIT on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 pm, and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 pm.
