SAIT Trojans Playoff Preview

Curtis Taylor

Polytechnic Press

The ACAC playoffs are right around the corner, and the SAIT Trojans men’s hockey team is gearing up for what they hope will be a long and successful playoff run.

The Trojans have four games remaining on the schedule, all of which are against teams they are looking up at in the standings.

They will play a home and home series with Augustana this weekend, and wrap up the regular season next weekend against their cross-town rival the Mount Royal Cougars.

The Trojans currently sit third in the ACAC standings, one point behind second place Augustana and seven points behind first place Mount Royal.

The Mount Royal Cougars have only one regulation loss this season in 24 games played, a 7-1 loss at home to the Trojans. 

“It gets us into the playoff atmosphere right away here, these are two big tests and we know that down the road we are going to see at least one of them in the playoffs,” said assistant captain Travis Bradshaw.

Sam Mitchell and Vinny Muchalla battle for the face-off. Curtis Taylor photo

The Trojans have done well to keep pace in the standings, as they have battled injuries all season. 

After missing two months with a shoulder injury, Garret Watson has suffered another setback with a knee injury and will miss the remainder of the season, joining forwards Robert Nocera and Craig Eisenhut on the long term injury list.

“Even with the injuries, we still have a great team.  A lot of teams are counting us out already and I think that is a mistake,” said first year forward and Wolseley, Saskatchewan native Nolan Souchotte.

The team has missed a total of 44 man games to injury so far, which is the most during Ken Babey’s 25 years at SAIT.

“We’ve been having to patch some holes, I’m not using it as an excuse but it’s a reality, and I think it has led to some of our inconsistent play,” said Babey.

The Trojans currently lead the league in penalty minutes with 881, and while Babey admits his team needs to be more disciplined, the physical edge they bring every night will be key to their success in the playoffs.

“We like to play a physical style, and we can do that without taking lazy stick penalties like hooking and tripping,” said Babey.

The Trojans did not look very sharp in their past two games, going winless against Concordia.  Babey thinks his team may have taken their previous opponent too lightly, but with the playoffs right around the corner the team should have no trouble getting motivated for their remaining games.

“We are kind of seen as an underdog now, which we are totally fine with,” said Bradshaw. “We feel confident playing against any team, and we are going to give it everything we have in the playoffs.”