By Kyle Legouffe

The Briercrest Men’s Hockey team traveled to Camrose, Alberta for a double header with the Augustana Vikings. Briercrest looked to do what the Vikings did back in Caronport and that was winning on the road. The boys’ were not able to come away with the victory, as the final score was 10-2.

This is the final road weekend for Briercrest as they look to keep taking steps forward and improving this relatively young team. Fifth-year goaltender Jesse Chenard has been outstanding between the pipes this season, as he has become the all-time saves leader in the ACAC. Next weekend Briercrest will be at home to finish out the season as they take on the Grant MacEwan Griffins.

The first 20 was not the best for Briercrest as they got down early as Augustana was able to beat Jesse Chenard on a play that developed from behind the net. The Vikings were the only team to take a trip to the penalty box as they took a minor for slashing. Briercrest was unable to put the puck in the net and generated minimal opportunities. The shots were heavily in favour of Augustana as the total after the first was 26-4.

The middle frame was not kind to Briercrest as they found themselves in a deeper hole. Manuel Schellenberg took a slashing penalty and that proved costly as the Vikings were able to cash in on the opportunity. Augustana added three more in the period as they headed into the dressing room with a 7-0 lead. Briercrest has looked tired as they had slow legs and were not able to generate many quality scoring opportunities. The Vikings also took a penalty in the stanza and that was for boarding as Josh Dufresne was hit into the boards.

The final stanza saw Briercrest show some life, as they were able to light the lamp twice. The first goal was scored on the power play, as Manuel Schellenberg was able to drive wide and throw the puck in front where Luke Robitaille was able to bang the puck over the line. Lucas Ford scored the second goal for Briercrest to cut the deficit to 8-2. The Vikings scored a total of three goals in the frame with two coming after Briercrest tried to claw their way back. The final score was Augustana 10 and Briercrest two.

The player of the game for Briercrest was 9, Lucas Ford and for Augustana it was 20, Devon Hobbs.

These two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon in Camrose, puck drop is 2:00pm Alberta time and 3:00pm back in Saskatchewan. Tune into the Briercrest Hockey Facebook page for complete intermission updates or watch online at SportsCanada.tv