BADGERS AND WARRIORS FACE OFF IN OUA OUTDOOR CLASSIC
HAMILTON, Ont. - Two familiar combatants will go to battle in an unfamiliar setting on Sunday, January 22 as the Waterloo Warriors and Brock Badgers face-off in the great outdoors. Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton will play host to the two squads in the first ever OUA men’s hockey Outdoor Classic game at 1 p.m. in partnership with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
The OUA Outdoor Classic will be a historic event for CIS hockey. Although playing outdoors was common for a few universities prior to World War I, this will be the first time since then that a regular season outdoor game will be played between two Canadian university teams.
“We like playing at home. There's no doubt about it,” said Coach Brian Bourque whose third-place Warriors will be the home team. “But it was too good of an opportunity to turn down and we're all really excited about the game.”
The Warriors secured their first win of 2012, a 3-2 defeat over sixth place Windsor. Prior to Friday’s win, the the Warriors were in the midst of a four game losing streak. Despite their struggles of late the black and gold maintain their third place OUA west placing with a 12-6-4 record. A change of scenery may be just what the Warriors need to right the ship and build momentum heading into the post-season.
The Warriors will continue to rely heavily on forwards Kirt Hill and Chris Ray who have provided much of the Waterloo offense this season. Hill sits tied for fourth in OUA scoring with 31 points (15g, 16a) while Chris Ray sits in ninth with 29 points (10g, 19a).
Meanwhile the Brock Badgers have enjoyed New Year success going 4-1-0 in 2012 including an upset victory over the No. 4 Western Mustangs. Overall, the Badgers are 11-9-1 good for fifth spot in the OUA west with 23 points, five behind their outdoor opponents.
In their only meeting of the season in late October, the Badgers skated away with a 5-2 victory with leading scorer Thomas Stajan (Mississagua, Ont.) notching three points (1g, 2a) while goaltender Kurt Jory (Brandon, Man.) mader 22 saves for the victory.
Dating back to 2006-07 the Warriors hold a slight edge with a 7-4-2 record over the Badgers but in the last three seasons the two teams are about even with Waterloo holding a slight edge at 3-2-3.
Both teams take to their home ice tonight as the Badgers host York while Waterloo welcome Windsor before the big outdoor clash on Sunday.
The game will be an exciting opportunity for the student-athletes to rekindle some childhood memories of learning to skate and stick handle on an outdoor ice surface. While the setting may be unfamiliar, once both teams step on the ice nothing changes and the focus remains the same; two points.
Tickets for the OUA Outdoor Classic will be on sale at the Beechwood gate entrance to Ivor Wynne Stadium, beginning at noon on game day. Adult tickets are 10 dollars, while students can gain entry for five dollars.
The game can also be seen live on the Streaming Sports Network (SSN Canada) starting at 1 p.m.
