Golden Bears Update Week 5

The Golden Bears faced a different test last weekend in Regina. After sweeping the nationally ranked Mount Royal Cougars (#7) the weekend prior Alberta was set to face a 1-5 University of Regina club which hadn’t had a victory against the Bears since 2009. The trip to Southern Saskatchewan netted the same result as the Bears had their second consecutive 2 game series sweep with a 5-2 victory on Friday and a 4-0 shutout win on Saturday. With the Saskatchewan Huskies and Mount Royal Cougars splitting their weekend series, the Bears again find themselves in familiar territory ascending to the #3 position in the U Sports national rankings behind the University of New Brunswick and St. Francis Xavier University. Saskatchewan dropped from 2nd to 4th and MRU maintains their position at #7.

It was strange listening to the play-by-play on Canadawest.tv last Friday night. By eye the game was very much a one-sided affair. By ear only you would have thought the game was much tighter and that Regina held a wildly uneven edge in play at points in the game. The Regina supplied announcers put way too much emphasis on hits and running around head hunting rather than actual quality scoring opportunities. To their credit the Cougars did force Luke Siemens to make some tough stops, and Regina certainly held the physical edge, but this game was never in doubt for the Bears. When a team has an opportunity to throw numerous hits that typically means they don’t have possession of the puck. In the end Jamie Crooks continued his torrid scoring pace with another goal, Luke Siemens played well between the pipes, and Luke Philp & Tyson Baillie added a goal and an assist each which landed the Bears a 5-2 victory. The shots also favored the Bears 38-31.

The attempt by Regina to run Alberta through the boards on Friday night resulted in a tired and much different looking Cougars squad Saturday night. Despite being gifted seven power-play opportunities by the Bears the Cougars were unable to capitalize. Alberta went 1 for 4 with the man advantage. Jamie Crooks managed to get an assist and keep his Canada West leading momentum going. Rookie Tyson Baillie had another two point night and rookie goaltender Brendan Burke posted his first career Canada West shutout to lead Alberta to a 4-0 win. The shots again favored the Bears 32-21.

Notes

• Jamie Crooks is off to an extremely hot start and leading the entire Canada West in scoring. He has 8 goals in 8 games and 13 points (1.63 PPG). He has also played two fewer games than Anthony Bardaro of UBC, Michael Sofillas of Saskatchewan and Logan McVeigh of Saskatchewan who are all tied for second spot with 11 points. Looking long-term Crooks has 8 goals on only 29 shots and his shooting percentage will likely drop as the season continues. Nonetheless it is an impressive start.

• Three other Bears have joined Crooks in the top 10 of Canada West scoring. Veteran Jayden Hart has had a great start with 7 goals and 10 points in 8 games. Rookies Tyson Baillie and Luke Philp are two members of a strong recruiting class for GM Stan Marple and coach Serge Lajoie. Both have impressed by already planting their claim with the league’s best offensive players.
• Luke Siemens and Brendan Burke split the goaltending duties last weekend. Siemens was solid on Friday night and Burke, who won the Memorial Cup last season with the London Knights and was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2013, managed to post his first shutout with the Golden Bears on Saturday. Burke has a 2-1 record with a 1.78 GAA and a .919 SP for Alberta so far this season.

• Baillie and Philp are not the only rookies who have had an impact. Up front Trevor Cox (5 points), Taylor Cooper (3 points), and Cole Linaker (2 points) have been solid and have not looked out of place. On defence, as mentioned last week, Graeme Craig and Ryan Rehill have been welcome additions. Fellow defenceman and former Oil King Ben Carroll saw action in Regina and has played in 3 of Alberta’s 8 games.

Up Next

Alberta plays a home & home series against the the 5-3 Calgary Dinos this weekend. The Dinos are currently tied with their cross town rivals the MRU Cougars for third spot in the Canada West. The Dinos have scored 20 goals and allowed 19 in 8 games. In comparison the Bears have scored 33 and allowed 22 over their first 8 games. The Friday night game will be played at the Clare Drake Arena at the University of Alberta and the puck drops at 7pm. Ticket information for the
Friday night game can be found here. The Saturday night game will be played in Calgary and can be viewed online at canadawest.tv.