Ooks dominate Vikings on the road

Photo: Bryan Krebs

CAMROSE, AB - Struggling to stop a hot offense, the University of Alberta, Augustana Vikings fell 7-2 to the visiting NAIT Ooks, Friday night at Encana Arena.

With the loss, the Vikings remain in fifth place in the ACAC standings, just one point ahead of Briercrest. Across the ice, the Ooks came into the game with a perfect record and improved to 4-0 on the season heading into the holiday break.

Leading the Ooks on the road was third-year forward Dylan Stewart with two goals and two assists on the night. Goaltender Jordan Papirny had 12 saves on 14 shots in the win.

The Vikings Daylan Marchi and Jake Gudjonson each had a goal, while Zak Babin played backstop with 28 saves in the loss.

Excelling on the powerplay, the Ooks scored four of their seven goals up a man as the Vikings got into penalty box trouble throughout the game, finding themselves in the box seven times.

Needing almost half the period to open the scoring, Ooks forward Nicholas Leyer's one time shot from the point set the game into motion and gave the Ooks their first lead of the game. Minutes later Marchi lone effort down the wing and beat Papirny above the glove, tying the game at one apiece heading into the intermission.

However, that scoreline would not last long as the Ooks scored six unanswered goals, half of which came in the second period, to lead 4-1 at the end of two and eventually end the game with a 7-2 win.

Looking ahead the Vikings will hope to bounce back quickly as they take on the Concordia Thunder Sunday night at Encana Arena at 6 PM MT. Tickets are available at the door. On the other hand, the Ooks will have to wait until the new year to hit the ice when they take on the Portage College Voyageurs on January 14th, 2022. Catch all the action on ACACTV.