Sorochan Shuts Door as Bears Win Game One
The #1 ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears hockey team (21-5-2 Canada West, 3-0 playoff, 30-8-2 overall) got a stellar 22-save shut-out performance from Conference Rookie of the Year Aaron Sorochan (Edmonton) to post a 2-0 victory over the visiting #3 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies (17-7-4 Canada West, 2-1 playoff, 26-9-4 overall) in the opening game of the best-of-three Canada West Final Friday night in Edmonton.
Despite the fact that both teams have already qualified for the TELUS University Cup March 23-26 in Edmonton, 2269 fans were treated to a classic playoff match-up that featured several collisions and outstanding net minding from both Sorochan and the Huskies' Jeff Harvey (St. Albert, AB, 1st) who were two of the most sought after recruits coming into CIS hockey this season.
Alberta, which claimed a record-setting 11th National title with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory over Saskatchewan last March in the TELUS University Cup, outshoot the Huskies 13-6 in a scoreless first period, which featured physical play in particular from Saskatchewan's Dean Serdachny (Yorkton, SK, 3rd) and Derek Endicott (Saskatoon, 2nd).
With just under five minutes left in the second, red-hot Dylan Stanley (Edmonton, 1st) sprung Tim Krymusa (Morden, MB, 3rd) on a breakaway and he beat Harvey on a forehand-to-backhand move to give Alberta a 1-0 lead. With the assist on the goal, Stanley extended his point-scoring streak to 21 games.
Both netminder closed the door from that point on with Sorochan making an unorthodox Dominik Hasek-like save in the final two minutes of the third, prior to Justin Wallin (North Battleford, SK, 5th) finishing the hard-working Huskies off with an empty-netter with just four seconds left.
Alberta outshoot Saskatchewan 27-22 on the night, with both teams struggling on the powerplay as the Golden Bears finished 0 for 9 and the Huskies 0 for 5.
"It was a classic playoff battle between two very good teams. Both teams want to go into Nationals as Conference champion and possibly a top seed, so I would expect more of the same tomorrow night," said Canada West Coach of the Year Eric Thurston from the Golden Bears
Game two of the series goes Saturday night in Edmonton at 7:30 PM MST (Team 1260, www.cfrn.com).
Game Notes:
Conference Player of the Year Dean Beuker (Watson, SK, 4th) from the Huskies set the tone on the night early when he twice finished off checks on Canada West Defenceman of the Year Chris Ovington (Vernon, BC, 5th) in the first 10 minutes of the game. First-Team Conference All-Star Brent Twordik (Saskatoon, 3rd) took 32 of the Huskies' 60 face-offs on the night, winning 19.
The Bears and the Huskies are meeting for the ninth time in the last 10 years in the Canada West, with Alberta winning five of the previous eight match-ups.
Alberta has won five straight Conference Championships.
The University of Alberta hosts the TELUS University Cup, March 23-26 at Clare Drake Arena and Rexall Place. The Bears are looking for a record 12th national title.
