NAIT Ooks over RDC Kings in Edmonton

In Edmonton, the Red Deer College Kings Hockey team began the second portion of their season against the NAIT Ooks who typically play well on home ice. The Kings were even with the Ooks for nearly half the game but then NAIT capitalized on a few opportunities to win 4-1.

Troy Trombley got the start in the Kings net while Brendan Jensen was in goal for the Ooks. NAIT opened the scoring at 12:25 of the first period on a goal by Nelson Gadoury. Tyler Berkholtz continues to play well for RDC and evened the game up 1-1 on the power play at 14:37. Defencemen Mike Statchuk and Tanner Butler picked up the assits. Trombley, from Sherwood Park, turned aside 17-of-18 NAIT shots while the Kings tested Jensen 11 times in the opening frame.

In the second period at 13:33, NAIT took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal by Trace Elson. Shots were even in the period at 13.

At 11:07 of the final period, Trace Elson scored his second goal of the game and extended NAIT's lead 3-1. With only 1 second remaining on the clock, Cameron Brezinski completed the 4-1 Ooks win with an empty net goal. The RDC Kings had 8 shots in the final period while the NAIT Ooks had 15. 

Kings Head Coach Trevor Keeper thought it was a good game but a challenge with NAIT playing during break.

"Overall it was a fairly close game. We played NAIT better tonight than perhaps in the first semester," said Keeper. "NAIT is a very offensive team but tonight we did a nice job of keeping them outside on the perimeter. Trombley and the guys in front of him did a nice job of clearing the rebounds. The Ooks competed during the break in a few games which made it a bit tough tonight, but our guys did a good job of staying in shape over the holiday."

Both RDC and NAIT connected on 1-of-3 man advantages. Trombley stopped 42-of-45 shots he faced (93.3%). Currently, the Red Deer College Kings sit in fourth place in ACAC Men's Hockey with 19 points and trail third place MacEwan University by only 4 points.

The Kings Head Coach is looking for his team to make some adjustments in the rematch.

"Saturday we want to work on our timing and execution," said Keeper. "It should be a good game tomorrow."

Saturday, Jan. 7 the RDC Kings will look to get back into the win column as they host the NAIT Ooks at the Penhold Multiplex at 7:00 p.m.