By Kyle Legouffe

Briercrest made their way to Lac La Biche, Alberta to take on the Portage College Voyageurs. The team is banged up and will play with a shortened bench. Briercrest was not able to pick up their second win of the season, as the final score was 10-3.

These games mark the 21^st and 22^nd of the season and Briercrest will look to keep improving in the different areas of the game as they are under the direction of head coach Dalton Stoltz. This is Dalton’s first year coaching in the ACAC and is looking to improve and grow the Briercrest Hockey program.

The first period saw a fast pace as both teams came out with a bur under their saddle. Portage got on the board first with a goal that looked to be directed in with the foot, nonetheless it counted and the score was 1-0. Briercrest was not fazed, as they got a power play and capitalized. They cycled the puck and gave it to Pierre Landry who took a clapper, which was tipped in by Mike Fischer. Ryan Petersen took a cross checking minor, which proved costly as Portage was able to pot their second goal of the period. The Voyageurs were not done there as they added one more to take a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. The shot count in the period favoured Portage 16-12.

The middle frame had Briercrest come out flat and Portage took advantage. The Voyagers exploded for six goals in the stanza. Christian Mueller replaced Jesse Chenard after the fifth goal. That did not seem to faze the Voyageurs, as they were able to put four more past Mueller. Caleb Washington of Briercrest had a great scoring opportunity shorthanded as Caleb Willems flipped the puck high and out, Washington went in all-alone and just put the puck high off the crossbar. The Briercrest power play clicked again as Kyle Golz made a nice behind the back pass to Manuel Schellenberg who was able to tickle the twine and make the score 9-2. That 9-2 score was what the Voyageurs took into the second intermission. The shots in the period were tied as both teams fired off 14 towards the net and the two period total was 30-26 for Portage.

The final stanza saw rough play, as there were a few scrums after the whistle. Jesse Chenard was back between the pipes for Briercrest for the period, and he was stellar making great saves. Briercrest had a four-minute power play that they were not able to capitalize on; Mike Fischer was able to pick up his second goal and third point of the game late in the period on the power play. Fischer was in front of the net and grabbed a loose puck and slid it between the legs of Kyle Birch. The shots in the period favoured Portage 15-6, and the game total was 45-32 for the Voyageurs.

The player of game award was handed out to Mike Fischer of Briercrest and Cory Giroux of Portage.

The boys will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they take on the Portage Voyageurs, and next weekend they will host the Concordia Thunder. Tune into www.sportscanada.tv for the live feed or the Briercrest Hockey Facebook page for intermission updates.