WEEKEND RECAP | MAR 13-15

Men’s hockey take 2-0 series lead against Kings

With the ACAC men’s hockey championship finals set, the SAIT Trojans took on the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings this past weekend.

The best-of-five series opened with the first two games on Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14.

On Friday night, the two teams met in Red Deer.

In the first period, the Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead three minutes into the game with goals from Mason Bueckert and Tyson Janzen.

The Trojans responded 14 seconds later with a goal from Carter Briltz.

Just over four minutes later, Sean Michalevich gave the Kings a 3-1 lead.

Zach Cain scored 30 seconds later for the Trojans to make it 3-2.

Nolan Doell and Holden Knights both added goals for the Kings, while Ryan Neumann scored for the Trojans, making it 5-3 after 20 minutes.

The second period saw the Trojans score three straight goals.

Brody Simpson and Tate Schofer scored 30 seconds apart early in the frame to tie the game.

Schofer added his second goal of the game in the final two minutes of the period to give the Trojans a 6-5 lead.

Midway through the third period, Dylan Clark extended the Trojans’ lead to 7-5.

Deegan Mofford scored an empty-net goal for the Kings with less than one minute remaining to make it 7-6.

With the win, the Trojans took a 1-0 series lead.

On Saturday night, the two teams met again at WinSport Arena in Calgary.

Clark opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game.

After a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct to Jace Moffat late in the first period, Bueckert scored on the power play to tie the game.

In the second period, Colby Bear scored one minute in to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.

The two teams exchanged power-play goals from Alex Bernauer and Bear’s second of the game to make it 3-2 for the Trojans after two periods.

Thirteen minutes into the third period, Tanner Sklaruk tied the game again.

Owen Underhill scored on the power play with just two minutes remaining to give the Trojans a 4-3 lead.

With less than one minute left, the Kings pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.

Carter Cormier tied the game with 56 seconds remaining to send it to overtime tied 4-4.

After a scoreless first overtime, a second extra frame was needed.

At 13:29 of the second overtime, Clark scored his second goal of the game — the winner — securing a 5-4 victory for the Trojans.

With back-to-back wins, the Trojans hold a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3 is set for Friday, March 20, in Red Deer at 7 p.m.

If necessary, Game 4 will take place the following day at 7:15 p.m. at WinSport Arena, and Game 5 will be played Sunday, March 22, at 5 p.m. in Red Deer.

With a win Friday night, the Trojans can sweep the Kings and capture the ACAC men’s hockey championship.

Trojans Esports in steady form ahead of big week

The SAIT OW Academy defeated VWU Overwatch 3-1 on Monday, March 16, improving to 4-4 on the season.

The SAIT OW varsity team faces the PFW Mastodons Overwatch Varsity Plus team on Monday, March 23, at 8:30 p.m.

The SAIT varsity League of Legends team takes on the University of Texas at Dallas club on Tuesday, March 17, at 8:30 p.m., looking to improve on its 6-2 record.

Also in action Tuesday night, the SAIT Academy faces MACU LoL at 7:45 p.m.

In Rocket League varsity, the SAIT Trojans take on Rocket League Varsity on Tuesday, March 17, at 8:30 p.m.

Both Trojans Valorant teams are in action Wednesday, March 18. The SAIT Valorant varsity team faces the CSU Vikes Academy at 8:30 p.m., while the SAIT Valorant Academy takes on the Durham Lords at 8:30 p.m.