Third Period Comeback Comes Up Short As Thunder Fall To Ooks

Edmonton, AB – The Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) Thunder opened their exhibition schedule Friday night as the welcomed the NAIT Ooks. A penalty filled affair, and Ooks grabbed a second period lead and survived a two goal third period from the Thunder as they took this one 6-3.

The game opened with a back and forth first period as both teams were feeling each other out. The Ooks opened the scoring halfways through on a goal from #11 Bryce Osepchuk. Ospechuk would score his second of the game minutes later on the power play to extend the NAIT, while the Thunder were able to score a late goal on a powerplay of their own as #7 Keegan Tiringer beat the NAIT goalie to make it a 2-1 game after one. The second period was all NAIT as they added three goals to their lead to extend it to 5-1 after two. The Thunder were able to find their legs in the third period, outshooting the Ooks 13-7 in the period, and forcing Ooks goalie Jordan Papirny to make some acrobatic saves to maintain and the NAIT lead. #8 Brandon Wallis was able to beat Papirny at the 7 minute mark of the third period, and #19 Zachery Carlson added another for the Thunder minutes later, but that's as close as the Thunder comeback came as the Ooks added an empty netter to settle the game at a 6-3 final.

After the game, Thunder head coach Joey Bouchard commented: "I thought we showed some good things tonight, but we also had some mental breakdowns. We had a great third period, battled better and were able to execute better. It's just one of those games after a long layoff where we had some rust to shake off, and we have to regroup. Our guys were determined, and they worked hard – the work ethic was there but the execution and making good decisions was a bit behind."

The Thunder continue their exhibition schedule tomorrow afternoon as they welcome the Augustana Vikings in a Saturday matinee. A remind that under current COVID restrictions, no fans will be able to attend in person – but all fans can catch all of the action on ACACTV.ca!