Golden Bears Update Week 4

After falling below the Mount Royal University Cougars in the U Sports national rankings in week 3 the Golden Bears had a big test versus their southern rivals last weekend in a home-&-home series. Alberta managed to get all the cars back on track after a mild derailment at the University of British Columbia the weekend prior with a sweep of Mount Royal. With the two wins Alberta left the weekend ranked 5th in the U Sports national rankings and dropped MRU to 7th.

The Friday night game was played at the Clare Drake Arena on the University of Alberta campus. The game was even until Jayden Hart opened the scoring for the Bears with his 4th goal early in the second period. This started a frantic second frame which saw all 6 goals of the game tallied. MRU managed to even the score twice until Tyson Baillie scored an absolute beaut when he undressed an Cougars defender in close and followed his own rebound to put the Golden Bears in the driver’s seat for good. Jamie Crooks added his 6th goal in the Bears first 5 games late in the second to seal the victory for Alberta. The final score favored the Bears 4-2 and the shots also favored the Bears 31-28.

The Saturday night contest was played in Calgary at MRU’s home, “the Blue Rink,” at the Flames Community Arenas. The change of scenery still witnessed a game with the same result- a 4-2 Alberta victory. Graeme Craig opened the scoring at 9:19 of the first with Baillie and Philp drawing assists. Crooks and Philp both scored powerplay markers and Jayden Hart slid one into an empty net to ice the win for the Bears. MRU managed to bring the score to 4-2 with a non-consequential powerplay goal in the dying seconds of the third period. The Bears were out-shot in this one as Mount Royal had a 34-27 edge.

Notes

• Veteran goaltender (and former starter) Luke Siemens finally returned to the Golden Bears’ crease last weekend. He was very solid in the Friday night game making several key stops. It could be argued that he was the difference maker in Alberta’s victory Saturday as Mount Royal out-shot the Bears 34-27.
• Two rookie defencemen have really made an impression so far this season. Graeme Craig (who scored on Saturday night) is huge (6.05, 202lbs), has spent time on the Bears’ power-play, and is a physical force on most nights. He also moves surprisingly well for a big man. Interestingly, for fans of the Edmonton Oilers, Craig spent time in the Oilers organization as he suited up for both the Bakersfield Condors and the Oklahoma City Barons during the 2014-15 season. The other rookie, Ryan Rehil, is another massive rearguard. The 6.03, 228 lbs former Kamloops Blazer hasn’t scored any points for the Bears yet this season but he has looked sound defensively and hasn’t been afraid to get involved physically. Rehill, like Craig, also has some AHL experience as he suited up for 1 game with the Albany Devils in 2015-16.

• Jamie Crooks has had a spectacular start to the season. He has scored 7 goals in six games and has 11 points to hold the lead in Canada West scoring. The University of Saskatchewan’s Kohl Bauml is second with 10 points but has played two more games than Crooks. Put another way Crooks is averaging 1.83 points-per-game to Bauml’s 1.25. As a result of his strong play he was named the. “Sherlock Holmes Athlete of the Week.“

• Rookie Tyson Baillie has one of the best sets of hands in the Canada West. The goal he scored on Friday night would have been highlight reel quality in any league. He undressed the MRU defender in-tight and close to the goal putting it through his legs. He then managed a slight deke/shot, which was stopped by the goaltender, then had the presence of mind to follow his shot and rebound, avoid another defender, and finally put it home. As he builds confidence at this level he will be something to watch. It is not surprising that he was a big-time scorer in the Western Hockey League. Baillie’s 6 points in 6 games has him tied for 13th in Canada West scoring.
• Speaking of hot starts, Mike McNamee of the Carleton University Ravens of U Sports’ OUA (Ontario University Athletics), has 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 8 games to start the 2016-17 season.

Next Up

The Golden Bears head to Regina for a two game series this weekend. The Regina Cougars are 1-5 to start the season. Both the Friday and Saturday games start at 6pm. The games can be viewed via an online stream at canadawest.tv.