Bears go up 1-0 in Canada West Final
Mar 09
For five years the Golden Bears have been exactly what their name suggests in on this weekend; golden. Alberta has owned the Dogs in the past five Canada West meetings, sweeping the Huskies four out of the past five occasions, and winning the other series in a tough three game battle. On Friday, the rivalry was once again renewed, and was a bitter as ever with both teams knowing that this year, there is only one ticket to Nationals on the line. While the game could have gone either way, it was once again the Bears who pulled out a tough win, 2-1, grabbing a 1-0 series lead.
In the first period the Huskies were quickly looking to make a statement that despite past history, this weekend, they would be ready to play. Being a little too aggressive however was the Dogs #16 Garett Soparlo who took a questionable interference penalty just 1:45 into the game. The Bears and their deadly power-play went to the attack, and as the penalty was just about to expire an Alberta point shot nailed both posts; the Huskies would then take advantage. Too often in hockey a missed chance at one end will lead to a goal at the other end, and this was exactly the case once again in Friday night’s game. The Huskies would pick up the puck after hitting iron, hustle down the ice where Mason Wallin would snap a top corner shot past Bears goaltender Aaron Sorochan to open up the scoring. Picking up assists on the play were Trent Adamus and Mark Hintz.
With the score 1-0 in favour of the Huskies, they looked to open up a two goal lead and had plenty of chances to do so. Two Alberta penalties resulted in a myriad of Saskatchewan shots, and 9:50 into the period the Bears Sorochan once again had to make a spectacular save. Solid positional play, great passing, and an unmatched energy allowed the Huskies to dominate the first 10 minutes of the game. A couple more key saves by Sorochan let the Bears settle down and get back in the game, and quickly thereafter Alberta tied the score. At the 14:33 of the first period the Bears Ian McDonald ripped a low screen shot that blew by the Huskies goaltender Jeff Harvey, bringing a lively crowd to their feet. The Bears goal was assisted by Kyle Fecho. With less than three minutes left in the period the Huskies won a draw back in the Bears zone and let a shot go that eluded Sorochan’s pads, but didn’t catch mesh. At the end of the first period the score remained 1-1 with the Huskies out shooting the Bears 15-8.
In the second period the Huskies were looking to build on a very good first period, but would have to withstand 34 seconds of Bears power-play time that was carrying over from the first period. After a successful job killing the penalty, the Dogs looked to once again grab a lead in the game. While they never did get that second goal, the Huskies just flat-out worked the Bears for the first seven minutes of the second frame, cycling the puck around the Alberta zone shift after shift, generating a few quality chances. The momentum then shifted when the referee called the Huskies Brett Novak for hooking at the 9:53 mark of the period putting the Bears on the power-play. This time it was the Huskies goalie who kept his team in it, as Harvey made one big save after another. During the man-advantage the Bears would fire four shots Harvey’s way, but the Dogs goalie but up an impenetrable wall, stopping the Bears potent attack.
With 6:27 left in the period the Huskies Trent Adamus found himself standing all alone out front of the net but was just unable to get the puck over a waiting Sorochan, who stopped Adamus in his tracks. With just under five minutes left in the second, the referee decided that not enough penalties were being called, and quickly called two Huskie penalties, and one Alberta penalty. The Bears went on a brief 4 on 3 power-play but were unable to capitalize. With a 5 on 4 power-play Alberta did everything but score, as Harvey stood his ground. The Bears definitely wanted it more in the last 10 minutes of the second period, and when the buzzer sounded to end 40 minutes of play, had out shot the Huskies 26-19. With the score 1-1 heading to the third, it was anyone’s game.
In the third period both teams played quite cautiously in the early going, not wanting to make a crucial error that may cost their team the game. The Bears would be the first team to get a break in the last period of play, as the Huskies Garett Soparlo took his second penalty of the game. Alberta would not take advantage however, which lead to a Huskies power-play immediately after the Bears man-advantage. While the Huskies did create a couple of scoring chances, the Golden Bears did a solid job killing the penalty.
Eventually the Huskies penalty trouble would catch up to them however, as at the 10:54 mark of the third period the Bears Ian McDonald teed-off on a one-time shot that flew right past Harvey and into the net. Getting assists on the goal were Ben Kilgour and Tim Krymusa. With a 2-1 lead, the Bears tried to just clog up the neutral zone, but the Huskies got a power-play, in fact, with 6:15 left in the game the Huskies went on a 5-3 for 12 seconds, looking to tie the game. The Dogs just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net, either miss firing, or having shots blocked on a couple of occasions. With a 1:06 left the Huskies pulled their goalie looking for the tie. All the Huskies desperate attempts fell short as a capacity crowd roared, and the buzzer sounded to end the game, the Bears on top 2-1.
After the game a more than frustrated Huskies head coach, Dave Adolph, had these words.
“This is crunch time here; it’s not about clichés or anything anymore, it just comes down to getting the ‘W’. We didn’t get it done yet again, and the difference in the game was they scored on their power-play and we didn’t,” said Adolph. “We don’t get made, we just have to get even.”
These two teams will battle it out in game two of the Canada West Final Saturday night at 7:30, with Alberta looking to wrap up the series while Saskatchewan tries to stave off elimination. A third game if necessary will be played at Clare Drake Sunday evening, note the time change however, at 7:00pm local time.
Game Story by: Devin Heroux – Sports Information Student Assistant
GAME INFORMATION
2 Alberta vs. Saskatchewan 1
03/09/2007 :: 7:30 pm
@ Edmonton, AB
Attendance: 2649
Click here for Game Recap / Cliquez ici pour résumé du match
GOALS BY PERIOD
1 2 3 Total
Alberta 1 0 1 2
Saskatchewan 1 0 0 1
SHOTS BY PERIOD
1 2 3 Total
Alberta 8 18 6 32
Saskatchewan 15 4 13 32
SCORING SUMMARY
Period #1
Saskatchewan - Mason Wallin (Trent Adamus, Mark Hinz) - EV 03:54
Alberta - Ian McDonald (Ben Kilgour, Kyle Fecho) - EV 14:33
Period #3
Alberta - Ian McDonald (Ben Kilgour, Tim Krymusa) - PP 10:54
PENALTIES SUMMARY
Period #1
Saskatchewan - Garett Soparlo (Interference) , 2 min , 01:45
Alberta - Tyler Metcalfe (Hooking) , 2 min , 06:48
Alberta - Kyle Fecho (Slashing) , 2 min , 08:47
Saskatchewan - Stephen Mann (Interference) , 2 min , 12:31
Alberta - Ryan Stempfle (Roughing) , 2 min , 15:16
Saskatchewan - Matt Girling (Hooking) , 2 min , 18:34
Period #2
Saskatchewan - Brett Novak (Holding) , 2 min , 09:53
Saskatchewan - Keegan McAvoy (Slashing) , 2 min , 14:39
Alberta - Tim Krymusa (Cross-checking) , 2 min , 15:16
Saskatchewan - Stephen Mann (Cross-checking) , 2 min , 15:53
Period #3
Saskatchewan - Garett Soparlo (Slashing) , 2 min , 03:07
Alberta - Ryan Stempfle (Interference) , 2 min , 05:08
Saskatchewan - Keegan McAvoy (Hooking) , 2 min , 09:07
Alberta - Aaron Sorochan (Delaying The Game) , 2 min , 11:56
Alberta - Cody Wasik (Interference) , 2 min , 13:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Alberta Saskatchewan
## Players G A PTS +/- SH PIM
4 Kyle Fecho 0 1 1 1 1 2
6 Ryan Stempfle 0 0 0 0 1 4
8 Harlan Anderson 0 0 0 -1 3 0
9 Scott Henkelman 0 0 0 0 1 0
10 Jesse Gimblett 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Cody Wasik 0 0 0 0 2 2
12 Brian Woolger 0 0 0 0 1 0
14 Dale Mahovsky 0 0 0 0 2 0
16 Dylan Stanley 0 0 0 0 4 0
17 Ian Mcdonald 2 0 2 0 7 0
18 Richard Hamula 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Ben Kilgour 0 2 2 0 4 0
20 Lee Zalasky 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 Tim Krymusa 0 1 1 0 1 2
24 Mark Ashton 0 0 0 0 2 0
25 Tyler Metcalfe 0 0 0 0 0 2
27 Chad Klassen 0 0 0 0 2 0
29 Derek Price 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 2 4 6 0 32 12
## Players G A PTS +/- SH PIM
0 Cole Simpson 0 0 0 0 1 0
5 Evan Schafer 0 0 0 -1 1 0
6 Brett Dickie 0 0 0 -1 1 0
7 Brett Parker 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 Myles Zimmer 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Keegan Mcavoy 0 0 0 0 1 4
10 Matt Girling 0 0 0 0 1 2
11 Mason Wallin 1 0 1 0 4 0
12 Brent Twordik 0 0 0 0 4 0
13 Jason Wagar 0 0 0 0 1 0
14 Trent Adamus 0 1 1 0 2 0
16 Garett Soparlo 0 0 0 0 1 4
18 Derek Endicott 0 0 0 0 2 0
19 Brad Erickson 0 0 0 0 2 0
20 Brett Novak 0 0 0 0 1 2
21 Mark Hinz 0 1 1 1 0 0
22 Stephen Mann 0 0 0 1 2 4
23 Jeff Schmidt 0 0 0 1 1 0
24 Colin Patterson 0 0 0 0 3 0
25 Curtis Austring 0 0 0 -1 4 0
Totals 1 2 3 0 32 16
## Goalie(s) GS W-L-T MIN GA SAVES
30 Aaron Sorochan 1 win 60:00 1 31
## Goalie(s) GS W-L-T MIN GA SAVES
31 Jeff Harvey 1 loss 58:47 2 30
