GRITTY WOLVES FALL ONE GOAL SHORT IN UNIVERSITY CUP

By Dan Carle

EDMONTON (CIS) - A not-so golden game resulted in a record Canadian university men's hockey champion.

Rookie left-winger Dylan Stanley scored the game winner among all the goals in the first period as Alberta won a second straight University Cup Sunday with a 3-2 win over Lakehead.

TELUS University Cup web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_hockey/2006

\"It was good enough to win,\" said Stanley, standing next to the large tublular black trophy in a packed locker-room fillled with parents and alumni. \"I expect more of the same next year.\"

University Cup MVP Harlan Anderson and Richard Hamula also scored in the first period for the Golden Bears, whch earned a record 12th Canadian university men's hockey title before 7,615 at Rexall Place.

\"It was a little slow,\" said Anderson. \"But the Cup is what you are looking for, and I'm happy we have that.\"

Alberta, the No. 1 seed at the six-team tournament, outshot Lakehead 40-26 and outscored the opposition 16-5 over three tournament wins. The Golden Bears, with seven fifth-year players, became the first team since the 1999 and 2000 Alberta teams to win back-to-back titles.

\"It's numbing,' said Alberta first-year head coach Eric Thurston, who took over after 11 seasons as an assistant after Rob Daum left to coach the Minnesota Wild AHL farm team in Houston.

Tobias Whelan and Jeff Richards scored for Lakehead, the champions of Ontario which ended the game killing its sixth penalty.

Whelan scored at 1:16 of the first period off a lazy rebound to give the T-Wolves a 1-0 lead before Alberta exploded for three goals on 17 shots after Anderson's blueline blast, Hamula digging the puck out from behind the net and tucking a softie past Chris Whitley, and Stanley, the player of the game, following his first shot for a rebound goal at 12:57.

\"We left everything on the ice,\" said Lakehead coach Pete Belliveau, who earned a University Cup title with Moncton in 1994-95 but took the T-Wolves to its first final. \"That first period hurt us.\"

Richards scored his fifth goal in three tournament games in a plodding second period after fighting through a defender with a rebound past Aaron Sorochan. The third period was slow-moving but for the occasional burst from both teams.

\"The silver is just good enough,\" said Richards, the cousin of Philadelphia Flyers rookie Mike Richards. \"Next year we'll be back for gold.\"

Stanley, an Edmonton native, finished with nine points (3-6) in three games to finish one off the University Cup record of 10 points shared by Claude Vilgrain (Moncton - 1985-86) and Bruce Keller (Saskatchewan - 1982-83).

Lakehead fifth-year captain Joel Scherban played his final university game, happy to be on the ice. The 25-year-old Thunder Bay native suddenly dropped 30 pounds before being diagnosed with diabetes in January.

\"It's not the way I wanted to end my career,\" said Scherban, standing red-eyed in a silent T-Wolves lockeroom. \"But to come that close to winning a national championship is something to be proud of.\"

A reporter mentioned that alberta's post-game celebration seemed bussiness-like.

\"That's because the beer is not here yet,\" quipped fifth-year Golden bears forward Brad Tutschek. 'We'll get at it pretty hard.\"

Alberta won both titles it hosted in Edmonton as the championship moves to Moncton in 2007 for two years. The University Cup is the final CIS championship of 19 awarded in 2005-06.

NOTES: Both teams played three games in three nights ... T-Wolves goalie Chris Whitley was Lakehead player of the game ... Alberta captain Gavin McLeod dressed but did not play after suffering a lower body injury on Friday ... Two men painted green in skin tight green shorts with a large A on their chest were a big hit with the crowd.

SCORING SUMMARY

Alberta 3, Lakehead 2

FIRST PERIOD

SCORING:

1. LAK Tobias Whelan (2) (M. Jacobsen), 1:16 PP
2. ALB Harlan Anderson (3) (B. Thomson, D. Stanley), 8:11 PP
3. ALB Richard Hamula (2) (S. Henkelman, R. Stempfle), 10:07
4. ALB Dylan Stanley (3) (J. Kehler, B. Thomson), 12:57

PENALTIES:

J. Wallin (ALB) holding, 0:47; T. Whelan (LAK) high-sticking, 4:02; J. Richards (LAK) interference, 7:33; B. Kilgour (ALB) goaltender interference, 14:00; J. Richards (LAK) roughing, 16:03.

SECOND PERIOD

SCORING:

5. LAK Jeff Richards (5) (E. Lodge), 12:14

PENALTIES:

T. Whelan (LAK) cross-checking, 5:54; P. Johnson (ALB) tripping, 15:45.

THIRD PERIOD

SCORING:

(no scoring)

PENALTIES:

B. Self (LAK) holding, 15:56; S. Rawski (LAK) hooking, 18:03.

POWER PLAY:
ALB: 1/6
LAK: 1/3

SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
ALB: 17-13-10:40
LAK: 8-10-8:26

GOALTENDERS
ALB - Aaron Sorochan (W, 26 shots, 24 saves, 60:00)
LAK - Chris Whitley (L, 40 shots, 37 saves, 59:32)

ELITE SPORTSWEAR PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
ALB: Dylan Stanley
LAK: Chris Whitley

REFEREE: Francis Charron

LINESMEN: Chris Carlson, Cam McMillan

ATTENDANCE: 7,615

CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-STARS

Tournament MVP: Harlan Anderson, Alberta

Goaltender: Chris Whitley, Lakehead
Defense: Chris Ovington, Alberta
Defense: Harlan Anderson, Lakehead
Forward: Jeff Richards, Lakehead
Forward: Dylan Stanley, Alberta
Forward: Ben Thomson, Alberta

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADING SCORERS

1. Dylan Stanley, ALB, 3 GP, 3 G, 6 A, 9 PTS
2. Ben Thomson, ALB, 3 GP, 1-6-7 pts
2. Jeff Richards, LAK, 3 GP, 5-1-6 pts
4. Dean Beuker, SAS, 2 GP, 1-3-4 pts
5. Harlan Anderson, ALB, 3 GP, 3-1-4 pts
5. Scott Henkelman, ALB, 3 GP, 2-2-4 pts
5. Joff Kehler, ALB, 3 GP, 2-2-4 pts
5. Richard Hamula, ALB, 3 GP, 2-2-4 pts
5. Joel Scherban, LAK, 3 GP, 1-2-3 pts
5. Brent Twordik, SAS, 2 GP, 1-2-3 pts
5. Riley Moher, WLU, 2 GP, 1-2-3 pts
5. Mike Jacobsen, LAK, 3 GP, 1-2-3 pts
5. Brad Tutschek, ALB, 3 GP, 0-3-3 pts
5. Erik Lodge, LAK, 3 GP, 0-3-3 pts

SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL / Mountain Time)

Pre-tournament seeding

1. Alberta Golden Bears
2. Acadia Axemen
3. Lakehead Thunderwolves
4. McGill Redmen
5. Saskatchewan Huskies
6. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks

Thursday, March 23
Game 1 (Clare Drake Arena): Saskatchewan 5, Acadia 1
Game 2 (Clare Drake Arena): McGill 4, Wilfrid Laurier 3 (2OT)

Friday, March 24
Game 3 (Clare Drake Arena): Lakehead 4, Acadia 3
Game 4 (Clare Drake Arena): Alberta 8, Wilfrid Laurier 2

Saturday March 25
Game 5 (Clare Drake Arena): Lakehead 4, Saskatchewan 2
Game 6 (Clare Drake Arena): Alberta 5, McGill 1

Sunday March 26
Championship final (Rexall Place): Alberta 3, Lakehead 2

- CIS -

(File photo by Rob Linke.)