By Levi Fraser

September 28, 2013

The Briercrest Hockey team showed that they have what it takes to be competitive in the ACAC hockey league. Briercrest stole the 1^st period away from the Portage Voyageurs. #1 Connor Dobberthien got his first start in net and was solid between the pipes. Dobberthien stepped up as Briercrest took two penalties mid-way through the firstperiod. Even though the Clippers kept the puck out of the net for the 5-on-3 penalty kill, #20 Ryan Lobreau’s hard shot beat Dobberthien with 7:07 left in the period. Near the end of the first Briercrest picked up their game as they went on the power play. A five minute elbowing penalty and a game misconduct for Portage player #13 Ryan Hill put Briercrest on the 4-on-3 man advantage. A nice pass from #10 Lucas Ford to #15 Jochim Hanberg left Hanberg open to poke one past the Voyageurs goalie to tie  the game with just 2:35 left in the 1^st. Briercrest went into the 2^nd period tied 1-1 with a 2:09 left on the power play.

Briercrest played a strong 2^nd period with a great penalty kill. With six minutes of penalties Briercrest was able to go into the 3^rd period tied 1-1 as Dobberthien’s resilient effort in net kept them in the game. The Clippers’ penalty kill is looking mighty fine this year as they seem to have a real system in place. They are going hard for the puck in the corners and are icing it just at the right moments. Heading into the 3^rd period tied left the crowd wanting more in the packed Barkman Arena.

A period that ended with not the best result was filled with positives for the young Briercrest hockey team. The team went out strong and never gave up even to the buzzer. The team showed Briercrest that this season is one that won’t be forgotten. #63 Kyle Threndyle for the Voyageurs opened up the scoring 3:11 into the third period. Throughout the third the scrappy Voyageurs put Briercrest on the power play, however Briercrest was not able to capitalize on the opportunities given. At 16:20 in the third a give away deep in the Briercrest zone gave Voyageurs #24 Taylor Wells his first goal of the game. Both Goalies played amazingly; Voyageurs goalie and player of the game #30 Kirby Halcrow made forty-three saves and Briercrest’s Dobberthien showed he had what it takes with 30 saves. Briercrest’s first line including #24 Luke Robitaille, #19 Stephen Langford and #22 Brett Lafond will be the line to look out for throughout this season as they bring much needed speed and agility to the team. End result: Portage-3, Briercrest-1.

Players of the game: Portage Voyageurs #30 Kirby Halcrow with 43 saves and the win and Briercrest #15 Joachim Hanberg with one goal.

Briercrest travels to Augustana for two games next weekend before returning to the Barkman Arena Oct. 11 and 12 to host NAIT. If you cannot make it to the games you will be able to see a live stream at www.sportscanada.tv or find updates on the Briercrest Hockey Facebook page.