The Portage College Voyageurs attempt to cap their regular season with a skill over brawn victory against Edmonton’s NAIT Ooks resulted in a 5-0 loss that left coach Terry Ewasiuk speechless.
“I don’t know what to say anymore,” said Portage Voyageurs coach Ewasiuk, adding our players are like mosquitoes on buffalo against NAIT’s big and tall roster.
The Voyageurs managed to keep the action in goal-scoring range of Ooks net-minder Graeme Harrington for most of the game, out-shooting them 32-23. But their quick chips on net were unable to find home.
“It was a pretty frustrating game,” said Voyageurs captain Brendan Lamb. “We had a lot of chances but just couldn’t buy a goal.”
Entering the third period with a 4-0 deficit, the Voyageurs recharged offence punctuated the remaining minutes of the game with quick shots on net in an attempt best Harrington and rob NAIT of a shutout victory.
“We tried, the effort was there,” said Ewasiuk. “But we have trouble scoring when we need to. Our lack of skilled forwards that refuse to go to the front of the net combined with our defense refusing to shoot the puck from the points has been a nightmare all year long.”
Despite having the second-worst powerplay stats in the league, NAIT was able to score during three of the six penalties the Voyageurs received.
Shane Mainprize, the Voyageurs third-string goalie, played the entire game after a convincing performance against NAIT on Feb 11. On Saturday, however, his inability to save some mediocre scoring attempts had Ewasiuk concerned over the team’s inconsistent goaltending. “Three goals should have been routine saves,” said Ewasiuk. “So, here goes the goaltending ‘merry-go-round’ again.”
The Voyageurs have the skill, continued Ewasiuk, but in the ACAC league winning is difficult against colleges like NAIT, who are able to recruit bigger, top-tier players.
“In this league, you need to be bigger,” he said. “The key is to match size with size. My goal is to get a bigger team for next year.”
The Voyageurs face off against the Augustana Vikings this weekend, and unless their powerplay improves drastically Ewasiuk fears the team may be ousted from medal contention in two consecutive games.
