Canada West Release #2005-06-19
ALBERTA SWEEPS TOP RANKED SASKATCHEWAN
GOLDEN BEARS MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE OVERALL
UBC AND CALGARY EARN SERIES SWEEPS
Over 5,000 fans were witness to a clash of titans in CIS Hockey this past weekend as the number one ranked University of Saskathcewan Huskies traveled to Edmonton to face-off against the third ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears at Clare Drake Arena. When the dust settled, the Golden Bears skated away with back-to-back 3-1 victories over the Huskies and a sweep of the series.
Alberta’s sixth series sweep of the season was one of three sweeps registered in Canada West Hockey conference play on Friday-Saturday, January 27th-28th as both the UBC Thunderbirds and University of Calgary Dinos also earned two victories. UBC took both ends of its series against the visiting University of Regina Cougars in Vancouver, while Calgary won both games over the University of Manitoba Bisons.
With their sweep of Saskatchewan, the Golden Bears clinched first place in the Mountain Division and moved past the Huskies into first place in the Canada West Hockey combined standings. The Golden Bears now hold a one-point lead over Saskatchewan with two games in hand.
The race for second place in both divisions remains the same following the weekend. In the Mountain Dviision, UBC and Calgary remain separated by a single point while in the Great Plains Division Manitoba keeps its two point lead over Regina.
Freshman goaltender Aaron Sorochan and forward Joff Kehler played big parts in Alberta’s sweep of Saskatchewan. Sorochan held the conference’s top scoring team to only a goal in each game while Kehler scored three times in the series, including twice in Saturday’s finale.
Sorochan earned his second Canada West Hockey Player of the Week award with two outstanding performances between the pipes for the Golden Bears. In the series opener the first-year netminder stopped all but one of the 25 shots sent his way by the Huskies, including 10 in the third period when Saskatchewan outshot Alberta 10-7. The next night Sorochan made another 26 saves, finishing the series with 50 saves and a .962 save percentage. With the two wins over Saskatchewan, Sorochan improved his conference record to 12-3-1 and he tops Canada West Hockey in wins.
On offence, Kehler accounted for half of the Golden Bears six goals in the series, scoring the insurance goal on Friday and registering his second multiple-goal game and fourth multiple-point games of the season with two goals on Saturday.
In the series opener, the teams skated through a scoreless opening period before Curtis Austring opened the scoring for Saskatchewan at 7:21 of the second. Ben Thomson’s powerplay goal ten minutes later tied the score at 17:20. In the third period Dylan Stanley banked a shot off of Huskies goaltender Jeff Harvey’s pad from behind the net for the game winner at 7:29 and Kehler added the insurance maker at 13:09.
Kehler would open the scoring on Saturday with a second period powerplay goal to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Saskatchewan captain Brent Twordik tied the scored at 15:15, but Perry Johnson restored Alberta’s lead 47 seconds later when his point shot eluded Harvey through a screen. Kehler secured the win with his second goal of the game and third of the series at 10:04 of the third period. Stanley finished the series with three points for Alberta as he assisted on both of Kehler’s goals on Saturday.
Canada West Hockey scoring leader Dean Beuker was held to only a single point in the series, earning an assist on Twordik’s goal. With the point, Beuker now leads the conference with 20-23-43 and holds a 14-point lead over Twordik in the conference scoring race. Beuker is aiming to become only the fourth player in conference history to win three scoring titles. He previously won the Dave “Sweeney” Schriner Trophy in 2002-03 and 2004-05 with 46 points.
The three players who have previously won three conference scoring titles are Vern Pachal of Alberta (1957, 1958, 1960), Lethbridge’s Jarret Zukiwsky (1994, 1995, 1996) and Alberta’s Russ Hewson (1999, 2000, 2001).
A total of 5,392 fans flocked to Clare Drake Arena to see the series with crowds of 2,645 and 2,747.
At Vancouver, the Thunderbirds extended their winning streak to three games with two wins over the visiting Regina Cougars. UBC is now 5-1-0 in the season’s second half.
Powerplay goals by Jarret Winn and Darrell May led UBC to a 2-1 win in the series opener on Friday. Winn added a second goal and an assist on Kyle Bruce’s game winning goal on Saturday as the Thunderbirds completed the sweep with a 6-2 victory.
Winn and Bruce each had a goal and an assist to pace the Thunderbirds’ offence, while defenceman Chad Grisdale added two assists. The Thunderbirds received scoring from all four lines in the victory with Jordan Beirnes, Nick Marach, Ashley Todd and team captain Dustin Paul adding single goals. Goaltender Gerry Festa also got in on the scoring adding an assist on Winn’s second period goal.
Festa provided solid goaltending in the sweep, making 51 saves and improving his record to 9-8-1. In the 2-1 victory on Friday, Festa made 23 saves and then stopped 28 shots in Saturday’s win.
Josh Garbutt scored once and added an assist for Regina on Saturday, while Caine Pearpoint netted the Cougars’ second goal. Jason Weitzel had a two-point weekend for the Cougars with a goal in the series opener and an assist on Pearpoint’s goal.
Calgary returned to the win column, ending its four game losing streak with two wins over Manitoba. Alex Lalonde scored twice and Jarret Lukin netted a shorthanded goal and assist to lead the Dinos to a 5-3 win in the series opener. Manitoba took a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Chris Falloon (PPG) and Marco Pellizzari, before Andre Blanchette and Lukin tied the score in the first six minutes of the second. Aaron Starr netted the Bisons second powerplay goal of the game only 50 seconds after Lukin’s shorthanded goal to five Manitoba a 3-2 lead.
The Dinos would score three unanswered goals before the midway mark of the third period to earn the victory. Lalonde tied the score at 3-3 with his first goal of the game at 3:41 of the final period and Wes Reid netted the game winner 63 seconds later. Lalonde rounded out the scoring with his second goal of the game at 9:33. Paul Gentile had two assists for the Dinos.
Brett O’’Malley scored twice, including the game winner, as Calgary completed the sweep with a 5-2 victory in the series finale on Saturday. The Dinos opened the scoring only 1:13 into the game as Drew Campbell scored Calgary’s second shorthanded goal of the weekend. There was no further scoring until the second period when O’Malley netted his first of the game on the powerplay at 1:13 of the second period, exactly 20 minutes after Campell’s opening goal.
Warren McCutcheon, who leads the Bisons in scoring and is third in the conference scoring race with 11-17-28 in 24 games, put Manitoba on the scoreboard at 15:44. Leading by a goal entering the third period, Calgary put the game out of reach within the first 84 seconds of the final period on goals by O’Malley at 1:04 and Tyrel Lucas at 1:24. Defenceman Rob Smith brought the Bisons to within two goals at 4:34, but that was as close as they would get as Lalonde scored his third goal of the series into an empty net at 18:02.
Three series are on tap for Friday-Saturday, February 3rd-4th as the schedule heads into the final month of conference play. Alberta continues its homestand by hosting UBC at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Calgary visits Lethbridge and Manitoba hosts Saskatchewan.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
With three weeks remaining in the conference schedule, all seven Canada West Hockey teams remain mathematically alive for a berth in the playoffs.
GREAT PLAINS DIVISION
SASKATCHEWAN: Despite their two losses at Alberta on the weekend, the Huskies clinched first place in the Great Plains Division and a bye in the first week of the playoffs as both Manitoba and Regina also lost both ends of their series versus Calgary and UBC, respectively.
Remaining Games: 4 (1 Home, 3 Away)
Home: vs Regina (Feb. 18)
Away: at Manitoba (Feb. 3-4), at Regina (Feb. 16)
MANITOBA: The Bisons hold a two-point lead over third place Regina with four games remaining. Manitoba has already clinched a playoff berth for the 12th consecutive season and the Bisons need seven points to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the post-season. Mathematically, the Bisons could be caught by Lethbridge, but if Manitoba and the Pronghorns were to finish tied in the standings the Bisons would win the tie breaker, having won the seasonal series 3-1-0.
Remaining Games: 4 (4 Home, 0 Away)
Home: vs Saskatchewan (Feb. 3-4), vs Regina (Feb. 10-11)
REGINA: First-year head-coach Blaine Sautner and the Cougars find themselves in a battle with Manitoba for second place in the division. With four games remaining the Cougars are two points behind the Bisons and will travel to Winnipeg in two weeks time for a two-game series. Regina needs only two points from their remaining four games to eliminate any chance of Lethbridge catching them in the standings and forcing a cross-over with the Mountain Division’s fourth place Pronghorns. If Regina and Lethbridge were to finish the conference schedule tied, the Cougars would win the tie breaker as Regina went 4-0-0 against the Pronghorns in head-to-head play.
Remaining Games: 4 (1 Home, 3 Away)
Home: vs Saskatchewan (Feb. 16)
Away: at Manitoba (Feb. 10-11),at Saskatchewan (Feb. 18)
MOUNTAIN DIVISION
ALBERTA: The Golden Bears clinched first place in the division with their two wins over Saskatchewan this past weekend. Now Alberta needs seven points from a combination of Golden Bears wins and ties or Saskatchewan losses and ties to secure first place in the conference’s combined standings. If Alberta does finish first in the combined standings the Golden Bears would secure home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Remaining Games: 6 (3 Home, 3 Away)
Home: vs UBC (Feb. 3-4), vs Calgary (Feb. 18)
Away: at Lethbridge (Feb. 10-11), at Calgary (Feb. 16)
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Needing only a single point to clinch a playoff berth, the Thunderbirds find themselves in a duel for second place with the Calgary Dinos. Entering the final three weeks of conference play, UBC holds a one-point lead over the Dinos with the teams meeting once more at Calgary on Feb. 10th-11th. The seasonal series is tied at 1-1-0, but the Thunderbirds hold the hammer in the second tie-breaker of goals for and against, as UBC outscored Calgary 8-7 in their series played at Vancouver on Dec. 2nd-3rd. If the Thunderbirds do finish in second place, they will host a playoff series for only the second time in school history and for the first time since the 1970-71 season when they defeated Calgary two games to one in the conference semi-finals. It would be the third consecutive playoff appearance for the Thunderbirds.
Remaining Games: 6 (2 Home, 4 Away)
Home: vs Lethbridge (Feb. 17-18)
Away: at Alberta (Feb. 3-4), at Calgary (Feb. 10-11)
CALGARY: The Dinos need three points to secure a position in the post-season for the 21st consecutive season. The last time Calgary failed to make the playoffs was in 1984-85 when the Dinos finished with a record of 8-16-0. Calgary currently trails UBC by a single point for second place in the division.
Remaining Games: 6 (3 Home, 3 Away)
Home: vs UBC (Feb. 10-11), vs Alberta (Feb. 16)
Away: at Lethbridge (Feb. 3-4), at Alberta (Feb. 18)
LETHBRIDGE: The Pronghorns are mathematically in the hunt for a playoff position, but they must run the table in their remaining six games to have a chance to make the post season for the first time since 2002-03. It won’t be easy for first-year head coach Greg Gatto and his Pronghorns as a single loss would eliminate Lethbridge.
Remaining Games: 6 (4 Home, 2 Away)
Home: vs Calgary (Feb. 3-4), vs Lethbridge (Feb. 10-11)
Away: at UBC (Feb. 17-18)
CANADA WEST HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman goaltender AARON SOROCHAN of the University of Alberta Golden Bears has been named the Canada West Hockey Player of the Week for the week ending January 29, 2006. It is the second time in January that the 6’0", 178-pound Open Studies student from Edmonton, Alberta has earned the weekly honor. SOROCHAN backstopped the third ranked Golden Bears to back-to-back 3-1 victories and a series sweep of the number one ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies before 5,392 fans at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton on Friday-Saturday, January 27th and 28th. With the two wins, SOROCHAN and the Golden Bears moved past Saskatchewan into first place in the Canada West Hockey combined standings. Alberta is one point in front of the Huskies in the standings and has two games in hand on the Huskies with three weeks remaining in the conference schedule. The series opener on Friday saw the 21-year-old goaltender earn first star honors with a 24 save performance and SOROCHAN stopped another 26 Saskatchewan shots in Saturday’s victory. SOROCHAN stopped 50 of the 52 shots he faced in the series for a .962 save percentage and lowered his goals-against-average to 2.36 and raised his season save percentage in conference play to .907. Following the sweep of Saskatchewan, SOROCHAN tops the conference with 12 wins and ranks third in goals-against-average and fifth in save percentage. Overall, he is 15-5-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
