March 20, 2006
OUA CHAMPS GET SET FOR UNIVERSITY CUP
THUNDER BAY - The Lakehead Thunderwolves head to Edmonton this week, making their second trip to the Telus CIS National Men's Hockey Championships in five seasons. This time, the veteran Wolves hope to return home with the University Cup and a CIS National championship.
The No. 3 Wolves have been put in Pool B, the afternoon pool, what looks to be the tougher of the two pools, along with AUS Champions No. 2 Acadia and Canada West runners up No. 5 Saskatchewan. Afternoon Pool B games take place at 1:00 pm Mountain Time (3:00 pm EST). Acadia and Saskatchewan square off on Thursday, Mar. 23, while Lakehead plays the loser of that game on Friday and the winner of the first game on Saturday.
Pool A is made up of host No. 1 Alberta, No. 4 McGill and No. 6 Laurier. Their games go at 7:00 pm Mountain Time (9:00 pm EST). McGill and Laurier face off on the Mar. 23 night game and Alberta plays the loser of that game on Friday night and the winner of the first game on Saturday night.
All pool games will take place at the University of Alberta's Clare Drake Arena with the final, set for 7:00 pm Mountain Time (9:00 pm EST) on Sunday, being staged at Rexall Place, home of the NHL Oilers.
All Lakehead games will be carried live on 580 CKPR Radio in Thunder Bay with Bryan Wyatt calling all the action. There is a chance that the University of Alberta will be videowebcasting the first five games of the tourney (which includes Lakehead's two round robin games) on a pay-per-view basis but this has not been finalized. Stay tuned to http://www.thunderwolveshockey.com for more information on this over the next few days. The final round robin night game on Saturday, Mar. 25th and the championship final on Sunday will be broadcast live on TSN.
Seeding:
1. University of Alberta
2. Acadia University
3. Lakehead University
4. McGill University
5. University of Saskatchewan
6. Wilfrid Laurier University
Pool A
1. Alberta
4. McGill
6. Wilfrid Laurier
Pool B
2. Acadia
3. Lakehead
5. Saskatchewan
Schedule:
Wednesday, March 22
8:00 am Practises (Clare Drake Arena)
2:00 pm Media Conference (UofA)
6:00 pm Championship Awards Celebration (Myer Horowitz Theatre)
Thursday, March 23
1:00 pm Acadia vs. Saskatchewan (Clare Drake)
7:00 pm McGill vs. Wilfrid Laurier (Clare Drake)
Friday, March 24
1:00 pm Lakehead vs. Loser Game 1 (Clare Drake)
7:00 pm Alberta vs. Loser Game 2 (Clare Drake)
Saturday, March 25
11:00 am Lakehead vs. Winner of Game 1 (Clare Drake)
4:00 pm Alberta vs. Winner of Game 2 (Clare Drake) Televised on TSN
Sunday, March 26
7:00 pm Gold Medal Game (Rexall Place) TSN
Pool B Previews:
Lakehead Preview:
The No.3 Lakehead Thunderwolves arrive in Edmonton with their first ever Queen's Cup OUA title under their belts. The Wolves can't rest on that laurel as they face formidable opposition in Pool B; the No. 2 Acadia Axemen and the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies. Lakehead posted a 13-9-2 OUA regular season mark and are 24-17-4 overall. The Wolves went 7-2 in the OUA playoffs and posted two playoff shutouts.
The Wolves got to the CIS Nationals the hard way; basically the OUA's equivalent of the wild card route. Lakehead had to defeat York 2-0 in an OUA preliminary round series, then fought past the then No. 4 Western Mustangs for a 2-1 series win. Next up was a tough OUA semi-final series against the then No. 7 Laurier Golden Hawks, which saw the Wolves prevail 2-1. Finally, Lakehead won their first Queen's Cup and OUA Championship with a 4-0 home win over then No. 2 McGill.
This will be the Thunderwolves second trip to the Nationals in five years as a hockey program and the third trip for Lakehead hockey. In 2002-03 they competed at the tourney hosted by UNB and lost two tough games to UNB and UQTR, both by one-goal margins. Lakehead's previous hockey incarnation, the Lakehead Norwesters (65-66 to 84-85) went to the Nationals in 1972-73 and lost both games to Alberta.
Lakehead was tied for eighth in CIS regular season play in goals for at 3.6 and tied for fifth in goals allowed at 2.5 per game. Lakehead has scored 3.6 goals per game in the playoffs and allowed 2.6 per game.
Lakehead head coach Pete Belliveau said his team will be ready to play. "We are looking forward to our second CIS Nationals Finals and we will be giving our best effort in representing the OUA and making Lakehead University proud,\" Belliveau said.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
In the Wolves' five seasons of OUA play, they have played Saskatchewan four times, recording three losses and a draw in four exciting non-conference matches, all played in Thunder Bay. The Thunderwolves have never played Acadia. Lakehead had a home win and a draw against Alberta in non-conference action in 2002-03.
Lakehead is 11-4 against Laurier all time; 7-3 in regular season play, 2-0 in non-conference play and 2-1 in playoff action. The two teams split their two regular season games played in Waterloo this season, a 3-0 Lakehead win and a 5-2 Laurier victory, while Lakehead defeated the Hawks 2-1 in their best-of-three OUA Semi Final Series. Lakehead has outscored Laurier 65-37 in their 15 previous meetings.
The Wolves have played McGill four times and went 4-0, including the Queen's Cup Championship win and three wins in non-conference games last season. Lakehead outscored McGill 20-6 in those four games.
Lakehead will be led by captain Joel Scherban, last year's Sullivan Trophy winner and five-time OUA West first-team all-star (13 goals, 14 assists reg. season; seven goals, four assists playoffs). Scherban's heart, experience and leadership will be paramount at the nationals as will the play of fellow OUA West first-team all-star forward Jeff Richards (11 goals, 13 assists reg. season; one assist in one playoff game) as he will be counted on for his lightning-fast attacking and tough backchecking. Richards can be a force in any game.
The Wolves will also count on OUA first-team all-star d-man Erik Lodge (four goals, nine assists reg. season; two goals, four assists playoffs) as well as Mike Jacobsen (seven goals, 11 assists reg. season; three goals, six assists playoffs) to supply offense, defense and leadership from the blue-line.
Seniors Jason Lange (eight goals, 11 assists reg. season; three goals, four assists playoffs) and Mark Robinson (six goals, six assists reg. season; four goals, four assists playoffs) have been fantastic in the OUA playoffs and this must continue at the Nationals for the Wolves to be successful. Young players stepped it up for the Wolves in the OUA playoffs and Tobias Whelan (three goals, four assists reg. season; three goals, three assists playoffs), Dan Speer (four goals, six assists reg. season; three goals, six assists playoffs) will have to keep up this stellar play.
High-energy forward Mike "Action Man" Wehrstedt (four goals, eight assists reg. season; three goals, two assists playoffs) also made quite an impact in the playoffs and he can impact a game single-handedly. Brad Priestlay (four goals, five assists reg. season; two assists playoffs), Andrew Brown (five goals, six assists reg. season) and Shandor Alphonso (two goals, four assists reg. season; two goals, three assists playoffs) continue to play great two-way hockey and they will be needed as will senior Murray Magill (one goal, eight assists reg. season; three assists playoffs).
Offensive d-man Matt Jacques (four goals, eight assists reg. season) continues to shine as the playoffs progress and fellow D-men Hugo Lehoux, Drew Kivell (seven assists reg. season; one assist), Mike Self (eight assists reg. season), and Dan Rogers (two goals, three assists) will need to play strong defensive hockey to contain powerful teams like Acadia and Saskatchewan. Steve Rawski (one goal, three assists reg. season) could also be ready to go for the game.
Lakehead, like Acadia and Saskatchewan, uses a starting tandem in goal and Lakehead's pair of Grant McCune (Reg. Season 6-6, GAA 2.94, .899 save percentage,; Playoffs: 1-1, GAA 3.00, .909 save percentage) and Chris Whitley (7-3-2, GAA 1.85, .925 save percentage; Playoffs: 3-1; GAA 1.85, .938 save percentage) have been phenomenal in the playoffs and they will be the key at this year's Nationals.
Acadia Preview:
The No.2 Acadia Axemen come into the CIS Telus University Cup championships as the AUS champions after sweeping the powerful UNB Varsity Reds in three straight games for the AUS title. Acadia posted a 19-8-1 conference mark and are 26-10-2 overall.
Reigning CIS Coach of the Year and this year's repeat AUS Coach of the Year, Darren Burns, will lead Acadia to its sixth appearance at the CIS National Championships. The Axemen have won the national title twice, in 1992-93 and 1995-96.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
The Axemen have played only Alberta of this year's Telus Cup opponents. The teams split the series with Alberta winning 3-2 on Dec. 29 and Acadia winning
5-4 on Dec. 30.
The Axemen are led by AUS MVP and co-CIS scoring champion Kevin Baker, who notched 24 goals and 23 assists in regular season play. Centre Brandon Benedict is another serious threat for Acadia and recorded 10 goals and 22 assists this season (17th CIS, eighth AUS).
Other players who can chip in offensively are Keith Delaney (six goals, 14 assists), Andrew Bergen (eight goals, 10 assists), Brad Horan (nine goals, nine assists), Kevin Koral (four goals, 13 assists), Josh Dill (seven goals, nine assists) and Shane Fryia (six goals, nine assists).
AUS second-team all-star Kane Ludwar anchors the Axemen's mobile and tough defense. Acadia, like Lakehead and Saskatchewan, is one of the few CIS teams that use a starting tandem of goalies with Lanny Ramage and John Ceci sharing duties. Ramage (8-3-2; GAA 1.98; .930 save percentage) was named an AUS second-team all-star, while Ceci also posted impressive stats (10-5-1; GAA 2.98; .900 save percentage).
Saskatchewan Preview:
The Saskatchewan Huskies are ranked No. 5 for this year's nationals but don't let the ranking fool you as they are an excellent team that was ranked No. 1 during 10 weeks at the beginning of this season and they will be an equal in Pool B against Lakehead and Acadia.
Head Coach Dave Adolph led his team to a 17-7-4 conference mark this season and the Huskies are 26-10-4 overall. This will be Saskatchewan's 11th appearance at the CIS Nationals and they won the championship in 1982-83, when Coach Adolph skated with the Huskies.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
The Huskies posted a 1-1-4 mark against Alberta this season and defeated Lakehead twice in Thunder Bay in pre-season non-conference action.
The Dogs, who are big, fast and can hit hard, are led by Canada West MVP and CIS co-scoring Leader Dean Beuker, who notched 22 goals and 25 assists this season. Beuker is a two-time CIS scoring leader and four-time CIS all-Canadian.
The Huskies have a lot of other players who can score such as Brent Twordik (11 goals, 24 assists), Keegan McAvoy (four goals, 20 assists), Trent Adamus (13 goals, 10 assists), Curtis Austring (nine goals, 13 assists), Matt Girling (nine goals, 13 assists) and Stephen Mann (six goals, 10 assists).
The Huskies, like Lakehead and Acadia, use a goaltending tandem and their duo of Jeff Harvey and Thomas Vicars combined to win the Adam Kryczka Memorial Trophy for the lowest team goals-against average in Canada West hockey. The duo posted a 2.32 team goals-against average, allowing 65 goals in 28 games.
Freshman Harvey recorded a 10-3-1 record and led the conference in both goals-against average and save percentage with a 2.03 GAA and .926 save percentage in 15 games and Vicars had a 7-4-3 record and was fourth in Canada West with a 2.58 GAA in 14 outings.
Pool A Previews:
Alberta Preview:
The host Golden Bears are ranked No. 1 and the defending national champions look like the favourites to defend their title on home ice. Alberta has won the University Cup a record 11 times (tied with Toronto) and they have also won a record 45 Canada West conference championships. This will be their 10th consecutive appearance at the nationals, as well. First-year head coach Eric Thurston has not missed a beat since taking over from Rob Daum and led the Bears to a 21-5-2 (31-8-2 overall) Canada West record and a sixth consecutive conference title.
The Bears also look like the strong favourites in Pool A and will present a formidable challenge to the No. 4 McGill Redmen and the No. 6 Laurier Golden Hawks. The Bears were assured of a berth at this year's nationals but they made sure that they would be hosting on a position of strength with playoff sweeps over Calgary and Saskatchewan.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
Alberta faced the Saskatchewan Huskies six times this year and went 4-1-1 including their two-game Canada West title playoff sweep. The Bears also played Acadia twice in non-conference action in Edmonton. The teams split the series with Alberta winning 3-2 on Dec. 29 and Acadia winning 5-4 on Dec. 30.
The Golden Bears have strength throughout their roster and are led by players like Canada West first-team all-star, all rookie team selection, and Rookie of the Year, goaltender Aaron Sorochan, who had phenomenal stats between the pipes (15-4-1, 2.29 GAA, .908 save percentage). Fifth-year senior Chris Ovington (six goals, 12 assists) anchors the Alberta blue-line and was named the Top Defenceman in Canada West, as well as a first-team all-starr. Perry Johnson (three goals, 18 assists) is also a first-team all-star on defence and plays excellent two-way hockey.
Offensively, Alberta is led by dangerous forward Ben Thomson (17 goals, 16 assists; 16th CIS), MVP of the 2005 Telus University Cup. Thomson was also a first-team all-star. Brad Tutschek (11-22-33; 19th CIS) and all-rookie freshman Dylan Stanley (14-19-33; 20th CIS) can also deliver on the offensive end.
Other players to watch are players like Captain Gavin McLeod (two goals, 19 assists), Ben Kilgour (11 goals, 15 assists) and Joff Kehler (seven goals, 14 assists).
McGill Preview:
The No. 4 McGill Redmen take part in their first ever CIS Telus University Cup national championships. Head coach Martin Raymond (OUA East Coach of the Year) brings his record-setting Redmen to the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton with the intention of playing tough defensive hockey.
McGill's tenacious record-setting defense will be in tough against the big and fast Alberta Golden Bears and gritty Laurier Golden Hawks in Pool A action. The Redmen posted an OUA overall mark of 24-3-3 (20-1-3 reg. season; 4-2 playoffs) and are 30-7-3 overall.
The 129-year-old McGill team is the oldest (university) hockey team in Canada (and the world). McGill was tied for fifth in the CIS at 3.9 in goals for during the regular season while they led the nation and set a CIS record in goals allowed per game at 1.21. McGill has scored 2.5 goals per game and have allowed 2.5 per game in the playoffs.
Head To Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
They did not play Alberta nor any of the other teams at the nationals except for Lakehead, who they lost to 4-0 loss at the Queen's Cup, and Laurier. McGill defeated Laurier 13-4 in non conference play this season and 5-0 in their sole regular season meeting.
The Redmen are led by this year's OUA MVP and OUA East first-team all-star; netminder Mathieu Poitras, who set the CIS all-time single-season record for shutouts this season (seven) and notched a GAA of 1.40, a .947 save percentage and had a 14-1-2 record (4-1 playoffs). McGill's backup goalie Jean-Michel Filiatrault is no slouch either; going unbeaten in seven appearances. Filiatrault made the OUA East all-rookie team this year.
The Redmen's stingy defense is led by OUA East first-team all-star David Urquhart (seven goals, 17 assists) and OUA East all-rookie team member Louis-Simon Allaire (three goals, seven assists).
McGill has talented forwards such as OUA East first-team all-stars Shawn Shewchuk (11 goals, 22 assists) and Doug Orr (nine goals, 12 assists for the nephew of NHL great Bobby Orr). Unfortunately, Orr suffered a concussion two-thirds through the regular season and will most likely not see action in the Queen's Cup.
Other dangerous scorers are Benoit Martin (eight goals, 12 assists), Mathieu Leclerc (five goals, 15 assists), Charles Gauthier (seven goals, 11 assists), Guillaume Demers (three goals, 12 assists) and Marko Kovacevic (eight goals, three assists). Martin was key in McGill's playoff win against UQTR, scoring three of the Redmen's seven goals in the series.
Laurier Preview:
The Laurier Golden Hawks arrive in Edmonton ranked No. 6 and will play against McGill and Alberta in Pool A. The Hawks qualified for the University Cup tourney with a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 win over UQTR in Trois Rivieries.
Laurier was tied for ninth in CIS regular season play in goals for at 3.5 per game. They were 10th in goals allowed at 3.2 per game. The Hawks went 4-3 in the OUA playoffs, scoring 22 goals (3.1 per game) and allowing 23 (3.3 per game).
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents:
Laurier is 0-2 this season against McGill (4-0 reg. season and 13-4 non-conference). They have not played their other Pool A opponent, Alberta, this season.
The Hawks did not play Saskatchewan or Acadia this season. Laurier is 4-11 against Lakehead all time; 3-7 in regular season play, 0-2 in non-conference play and 1-2 in playoff action. The two teams split their two regular season games played in Waterloo this season, a 3-0 Lakehead win and a 5-2 Laurier victory, while Lakehead defeated the Hawks 2-1 in their best-of-three OUA semi-final series.
Head coach Steve Martell has had his Hawks playing great hockey all year and they have been especially tough during the stretch run of the second half of the regular season. The Hawks have a lot of scoring depth led by Nick Vergeer (10 goals, 20 assists), sniper Richard Colwill (13 goals, nine assists), Matt Grennier (nine goals, 14 assists), Mark Voakes (10 goals, nine assists), James Edgar (seven goals, 11 assists), Matt Maccarone (three goals, 13 assists) and Dan Erman (five goals, 10 assists), Voakes, Edgar and Colwill played very well in the OUA playoffs.
Others who can supply offense are Riley Moher, Rob Dmytruk and Ryan Courtney. The key for the Hawks at the nationals will be the play of their defensive corps and how it can handle a high-powered offense like Alberta in Pool A. It will also be interesting to see how the Hawks play in their third meeting with the Redmen this season, after losing both games to McGill decisively.
Justin Day (11-4-1 reg. season; 4-3 playoffs; reg. Season GAA of 2.87, .920 save percentage; playoff GAA of 3.14) is the main man between the pipes for the Hawks and is ably backed by Ed Van Herpt and Aaron MacDougald. Day's play at the Nationals as well as that of his blue line may determine how far the Hawks can go.
(Source: Mike Aylward, Lakehead Sports Information.)
(Photo: Lakehead goaltender Grant McCune and his Wolves teammates head to Edmonton this week for Nationals. Photo by Jessica Morgan.)
The No. 3 Wolves have been put in Pool B, the afternoon pool, what looks to be the tougher of the two pools, along with AUS Champions No. 2 Acadia and Canada West runners up No. 5 Saskatchewan. Afternoon Pool B games take place at 1:00 pm Mountain Time (3:00 pm EST). Acadia and Saskatchewan square off on Thursday, Mar. 23, while Lakehead plays the loser of that game on Friday and the winner of the first game on Saturday.
Pool A is made up of host No. 1 Alberta, No. 4 McGill and No. 6 Laurier. Their games go at 7:00 pm Mountain Time (9:00 pm EST). McGill and Laurier face off on the Mar. 23 night game and Alberta plays the loser of that game on Friday night and the winner of the first game on Saturday night.
All pool games will take place at the University of Alberta's Clare Drake Arena with the final, set for 7:00 pm Mountain Time (9:00 pm EST) on Sunday, being staged at Rexall Place, home of the NHL Oilers.
All Lakehead games will be carried live on 580 CKPR Radio in Thunder Bay with Bryan Wyatt calling all the action. There is a chance that the University of Alberta will be videowebcasting the first five games of the tourney (which includes Lakehead's two round robin games) on a pay-per-view basis but this has not been finalized. Stay tuned to http://www.thunderwolveshockey.com for more information on this over the next few days. The final round robin night game on Saturday, Mar. 25th and the championship final on Sunday will be broadcast live on TSN.
Seeding:
1. University of Alberta
2. Acadia University
3. Lakehead University
4. McGill University
5. University of Saskatchewan
6. Wilfrid Laurier University
Pool A
1. Alberta
4. McGill
6. Wilfrid Laurier
Pool B
2. Acadia
3. Lakehead
5. Saskatchewan
Schedule:
Wednesday, March 22
8:00 am Practises (Clare Drake Arena)
2:00 pm Media Conference (UofA)
6:00 pm Championship Awards Celebration (Myer Horowitz Theatre)
Thursday, March 23
1:00 pm Acadia vs. Saskatchewan (Clare Drake)
7:00 pm McGill vs. Wilfrid Laurier (Clare Drake)
Friday, March 24
1:00 pm Lakehead vs. Loser Game 1 (Clare Drake)
7:00 pm Alberta vs. Loser Game 2 (Clare Drake)
Saturday, March 25
11:00 am Lakehead vs. Winner of Game 1 (Clare Drake)
4:00 pm Alberta vs. Winner of Game 2 (Clare Drake) Televised on TSN
Sunday, March 26
7:00 pm Gold Medal Game (Rexall Place) TSN
Pool B Previews:
Lakehead Preview:
The No.3 Lakehead Thunderwolves arrive in Edmonton with their first ever Queen's Cup OUA title under their belts. The Wolves can't rest on that laurel as they face formidable opposition in Pool B; the No. 2 Acadia Axemen and the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies. Lakehead posted a 13-9-2 OUA regular season mark and are 24-17-4 overall. The Wolves went 7-2 in the OUA playoffs and posted two playoff shutouts.
The Wolves got to the CIS Nationals the hard way; basically the OUA's equivalent of the wild card route. Lakehead had to defeat York 2-0 in an OUA preliminary round series, then fought past the then No. 4 Western Mustangs for a 2-1 series win. Next up was a tough OUA semi-final series against the then No. 7 Laurier Golden Hawks, which saw the Wolves prevail 2-1. Finally, Lakehead won their first Queen's Cup and OUA Championship with a 4-0 home win over then No. 2 McGill.
This will be the Thunderwolves second trip to the Nationals in five years as a hockey program and the third trip for Lakehead hockey. In 2002-03 they competed at the tourney hosted by UNB and lost two tough games to UNB and UQTR, both by one-goal margins. Lakehead's previous hockey incarnation, the Lakehead Norwesters (65-66 to 84-85) went to the Nationals in 1972-73 and lost both games to Alberta.
Lakehead was tied for eighth in CIS regular season play in goals for at 3.6 and tied for fifth in goals allowed at 2.5 per game. Lakehead has scored 3.6 goals per game in the playoffs and allowed 2.6 per game.
Lakehead head coach Pete Belliveau said his team will be ready to play. "We are looking forward to our second CIS Nationals Finals and we will be giving our best effort in representing the OUA and making Lakehead University proud,\" Belliveau said.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
In the Wolves' five seasons of OUA play, they have played Saskatchewan four times, recording three losses and a draw in four exciting non-conference matches, all played in Thunder Bay. The Thunderwolves have never played Acadia. Lakehead had a home win and a draw against Alberta in non-conference action in 2002-03.
Lakehead is 11-4 against Laurier all time; 7-3 in regular season play, 2-0 in non-conference play and 2-1 in playoff action. The two teams split their two regular season games played in Waterloo this season, a 3-0 Lakehead win and a 5-2 Laurier victory, while Lakehead defeated the Hawks 2-1 in their best-of-three OUA Semi Final Series. Lakehead has outscored Laurier 65-37 in their 15 previous meetings.
The Wolves have played McGill four times and went 4-0, including the Queen's Cup Championship win and three wins in non-conference games last season. Lakehead outscored McGill 20-6 in those four games.
Lakehead will be led by captain Joel Scherban, last year's Sullivan Trophy winner and five-time OUA West first-team all-star (13 goals, 14 assists reg. season; seven goals, four assists playoffs). Scherban's heart, experience and leadership will be paramount at the nationals as will the play of fellow OUA West first-team all-star forward Jeff Richards (11 goals, 13 assists reg. season; one assist in one playoff game) as he will be counted on for his lightning-fast attacking and tough backchecking. Richards can be a force in any game.
The Wolves will also count on OUA first-team all-star d-man Erik Lodge (four goals, nine assists reg. season; two goals, four assists playoffs) as well as Mike Jacobsen (seven goals, 11 assists reg. season; three goals, six assists playoffs) to supply offense, defense and leadership from the blue-line.
Seniors Jason Lange (eight goals, 11 assists reg. season; three goals, four assists playoffs) and Mark Robinson (six goals, six assists reg. season; four goals, four assists playoffs) have been fantastic in the OUA playoffs and this must continue at the Nationals for the Wolves to be successful. Young players stepped it up for the Wolves in the OUA playoffs and Tobias Whelan (three goals, four assists reg. season; three goals, three assists playoffs), Dan Speer (four goals, six assists reg. season; three goals, six assists playoffs) will have to keep up this stellar play.
High-energy forward Mike "Action Man" Wehrstedt (four goals, eight assists reg. season; three goals, two assists playoffs) also made quite an impact in the playoffs and he can impact a game single-handedly. Brad Priestlay (four goals, five assists reg. season; two assists playoffs), Andrew Brown (five goals, six assists reg. season) and Shandor Alphonso (two goals, four assists reg. season; two goals, three assists playoffs) continue to play great two-way hockey and they will be needed as will senior Murray Magill (one goal, eight assists reg. season; three assists playoffs).
Offensive d-man Matt Jacques (four goals, eight assists reg. season) continues to shine as the playoffs progress and fellow D-men Hugo Lehoux, Drew Kivell (seven assists reg. season; one assist), Mike Self (eight assists reg. season), and Dan Rogers (two goals, three assists) will need to play strong defensive hockey to contain powerful teams like Acadia and Saskatchewan. Steve Rawski (one goal, three assists reg. season) could also be ready to go for the game.
Lakehead, like Acadia and Saskatchewan, uses a starting tandem in goal and Lakehead's pair of Grant McCune (Reg. Season 6-6, GAA 2.94, .899 save percentage,; Playoffs: 1-1, GAA 3.00, .909 save percentage) and Chris Whitley (7-3-2, GAA 1.85, .925 save percentage; Playoffs: 3-1; GAA 1.85, .938 save percentage) have been phenomenal in the playoffs and they will be the key at this year's Nationals.
Acadia Preview:
The No.2 Acadia Axemen come into the CIS Telus University Cup championships as the AUS champions after sweeping the powerful UNB Varsity Reds in three straight games for the AUS title. Acadia posted a 19-8-1 conference mark and are 26-10-2 overall.
Reigning CIS Coach of the Year and this year's repeat AUS Coach of the Year, Darren Burns, will lead Acadia to its sixth appearance at the CIS National Championships. The Axemen have won the national title twice, in 1992-93 and 1995-96.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
The Axemen have played only Alberta of this year's Telus Cup opponents. The teams split the series with Alberta winning 3-2 on Dec. 29 and Acadia winning
5-4 on Dec. 30.
The Axemen are led by AUS MVP and co-CIS scoring champion Kevin Baker, who notched 24 goals and 23 assists in regular season play. Centre Brandon Benedict is another serious threat for Acadia and recorded 10 goals and 22 assists this season (17th CIS, eighth AUS).
Other players who can chip in offensively are Keith Delaney (six goals, 14 assists), Andrew Bergen (eight goals, 10 assists), Brad Horan (nine goals, nine assists), Kevin Koral (four goals, 13 assists), Josh Dill (seven goals, nine assists) and Shane Fryia (six goals, nine assists).
AUS second-team all-star Kane Ludwar anchors the Axemen's mobile and tough defense. Acadia, like Lakehead and Saskatchewan, is one of the few CIS teams that use a starting tandem of goalies with Lanny Ramage and John Ceci sharing duties. Ramage (8-3-2; GAA 1.98; .930 save percentage) was named an AUS second-team all-star, while Ceci also posted impressive stats (10-5-1; GAA 2.98; .900 save percentage).
Saskatchewan Preview:
The Saskatchewan Huskies are ranked No. 5 for this year's nationals but don't let the ranking fool you as they are an excellent team that was ranked No. 1 during 10 weeks at the beginning of this season and they will be an equal in Pool B against Lakehead and Acadia.
Head Coach Dave Adolph led his team to a 17-7-4 conference mark this season and the Huskies are 26-10-4 overall. This will be Saskatchewan's 11th appearance at the CIS Nationals and they won the championship in 1982-83, when Coach Adolph skated with the Huskies.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
The Huskies posted a 1-1-4 mark against Alberta this season and defeated Lakehead twice in Thunder Bay in pre-season non-conference action.
The Dogs, who are big, fast and can hit hard, are led by Canada West MVP and CIS co-scoring Leader Dean Beuker, who notched 22 goals and 25 assists this season. Beuker is a two-time CIS scoring leader and four-time CIS all-Canadian.
The Huskies have a lot of other players who can score such as Brent Twordik (11 goals, 24 assists), Keegan McAvoy (four goals, 20 assists), Trent Adamus (13 goals, 10 assists), Curtis Austring (nine goals, 13 assists), Matt Girling (nine goals, 13 assists) and Stephen Mann (six goals, 10 assists).
The Huskies, like Lakehead and Acadia, use a goaltending tandem and their duo of Jeff Harvey and Thomas Vicars combined to win the Adam Kryczka Memorial Trophy for the lowest team goals-against average in Canada West hockey. The duo posted a 2.32 team goals-against average, allowing 65 goals in 28 games.
Freshman Harvey recorded a 10-3-1 record and led the conference in both goals-against average and save percentage with a 2.03 GAA and .926 save percentage in 15 games and Vicars had a 7-4-3 record and was fourth in Canada West with a 2.58 GAA in 14 outings.
Pool A Previews:
Alberta Preview:
The host Golden Bears are ranked No. 1 and the defending national champions look like the favourites to defend their title on home ice. Alberta has won the University Cup a record 11 times (tied with Toronto) and they have also won a record 45 Canada West conference championships. This will be their 10th consecutive appearance at the nationals, as well. First-year head coach Eric Thurston has not missed a beat since taking over from Rob Daum and led the Bears to a 21-5-2 (31-8-2 overall) Canada West record and a sixth consecutive conference title.
The Bears also look like the strong favourites in Pool A and will present a formidable challenge to the No. 4 McGill Redmen and the No. 6 Laurier Golden Hawks. The Bears were assured of a berth at this year's nationals but they made sure that they would be hosting on a position of strength with playoff sweeps over Calgary and Saskatchewan.
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
Alberta faced the Saskatchewan Huskies six times this year and went 4-1-1 including their two-game Canada West title playoff sweep. The Bears also played Acadia twice in non-conference action in Edmonton. The teams split the series with Alberta winning 3-2 on Dec. 29 and Acadia winning 5-4 on Dec. 30.
The Golden Bears have strength throughout their roster and are led by players like Canada West first-team all-star, all rookie team selection, and Rookie of the Year, goaltender Aaron Sorochan, who had phenomenal stats between the pipes (15-4-1, 2.29 GAA, .908 save percentage). Fifth-year senior Chris Ovington (six goals, 12 assists) anchors the Alberta blue-line and was named the Top Defenceman in Canada West, as well as a first-team all-starr. Perry Johnson (three goals, 18 assists) is also a first-team all-star on defence and plays excellent two-way hockey.
Offensively, Alberta is led by dangerous forward Ben Thomson (17 goals, 16 assists; 16th CIS), MVP of the 2005 Telus University Cup. Thomson was also a first-team all-star. Brad Tutschek (11-22-33; 19th CIS) and all-rookie freshman Dylan Stanley (14-19-33; 20th CIS) can also deliver on the offensive end.
Other players to watch are players like Captain Gavin McLeod (two goals, 19 assists), Ben Kilgour (11 goals, 15 assists) and Joff Kehler (seven goals, 14 assists).
McGill Preview:
The No. 4 McGill Redmen take part in their first ever CIS Telus University Cup national championships. Head coach Martin Raymond (OUA East Coach of the Year) brings his record-setting Redmen to the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton with the intention of playing tough defensive hockey.
McGill's tenacious record-setting defense will be in tough against the big and fast Alberta Golden Bears and gritty Laurier Golden Hawks in Pool A action. The Redmen posted an OUA overall mark of 24-3-3 (20-1-3 reg. season; 4-2 playoffs) and are 30-7-3 overall.
The 129-year-old McGill team is the oldest (university) hockey team in Canada (and the world). McGill was tied for fifth in the CIS at 3.9 in goals for during the regular season while they led the nation and set a CIS record in goals allowed per game at 1.21. McGill has scored 2.5 goals per game and have allowed 2.5 per game in the playoffs.
Head To Head vs. Tourney Opponents This Season:
They did not play Alberta nor any of the other teams at the nationals except for Lakehead, who they lost to 4-0 loss at the Queen's Cup, and Laurier. McGill defeated Laurier 13-4 in non conference play this season and 5-0 in their sole regular season meeting.
The Redmen are led by this year's OUA MVP and OUA East first-team all-star; netminder Mathieu Poitras, who set the CIS all-time single-season record for shutouts this season (seven) and notched a GAA of 1.40, a .947 save percentage and had a 14-1-2 record (4-1 playoffs). McGill's backup goalie Jean-Michel Filiatrault is no slouch either; going unbeaten in seven appearances. Filiatrault made the OUA East all-rookie team this year.
The Redmen's stingy defense is led by OUA East first-team all-star David Urquhart (seven goals, 17 assists) and OUA East all-rookie team member Louis-Simon Allaire (three goals, seven assists).
McGill has talented forwards such as OUA East first-team all-stars Shawn Shewchuk (11 goals, 22 assists) and Doug Orr (nine goals, 12 assists for the nephew of NHL great Bobby Orr). Unfortunately, Orr suffered a concussion two-thirds through the regular season and will most likely not see action in the Queen's Cup.
Other dangerous scorers are Benoit Martin (eight goals, 12 assists), Mathieu Leclerc (five goals, 15 assists), Charles Gauthier (seven goals, 11 assists), Guillaume Demers (three goals, 12 assists) and Marko Kovacevic (eight goals, three assists). Martin was key in McGill's playoff win against UQTR, scoring three of the Redmen's seven goals in the series.
Laurier Preview:
The Laurier Golden Hawks arrive in Edmonton ranked No. 6 and will play against McGill and Alberta in Pool A. The Hawks qualified for the University Cup tourney with a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 win over UQTR in Trois Rivieries.
Laurier was tied for ninth in CIS regular season play in goals for at 3.5 per game. They were 10th in goals allowed at 3.2 per game. The Hawks went 4-3 in the OUA playoffs, scoring 22 goals (3.1 per game) and allowing 23 (3.3 per game).
Head to Head vs. Tourney Opponents:
Laurier is 0-2 this season against McGill (4-0 reg. season and 13-4 non-conference). They have not played their other Pool A opponent, Alberta, this season.
The Hawks did not play Saskatchewan or Acadia this season. Laurier is 4-11 against Lakehead all time; 3-7 in regular season play, 0-2 in non-conference play and 1-2 in playoff action. The two teams split their two regular season games played in Waterloo this season, a 3-0 Lakehead win and a 5-2 Laurier victory, while Lakehead defeated the Hawks 2-1 in their best-of-three OUA semi-final series.
Head coach Steve Martell has had his Hawks playing great hockey all year and they have been especially tough during the stretch run of the second half of the regular season. The Hawks have a lot of scoring depth led by Nick Vergeer (10 goals, 20 assists), sniper Richard Colwill (13 goals, nine assists), Matt Grennier (nine goals, 14 assists), Mark Voakes (10 goals, nine assists), James Edgar (seven goals, 11 assists), Matt Maccarone (three goals, 13 assists) and Dan Erman (five goals, 10 assists), Voakes, Edgar and Colwill played very well in the OUA playoffs.
Others who can supply offense are Riley Moher, Rob Dmytruk and Ryan Courtney. The key for the Hawks at the nationals will be the play of their defensive corps and how it can handle a high-powered offense like Alberta in Pool A. It will also be interesting to see how the Hawks play in their third meeting with the Redmen this season, after losing both games to McGill decisively.
Justin Day (11-4-1 reg. season; 4-3 playoffs; reg. Season GAA of 2.87, .920 save percentage; playoff GAA of 3.14) is the main man between the pipes for the Hawks and is ably backed by Ed Van Herpt and Aaron MacDougald. Day's play at the Nationals as well as that of his blue line may determine how far the Hawks can go.
(Source: Mike Aylward, Lakehead Sports Information.)
(Photo: Lakehead goaltender Grant McCune and his Wolves teammates head to Edmonton this week for Nationals. Photo by Jessica Morgan.)
