If the beautiful summer weather has to turn to fall and then snow there better be some hockey being played! Luckily last night there was as the defending national champion University of Alberta Golden Bears battled the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus, Vikings at the Encana Centre in Camrose. It was billed by the U of A as the Battle of (the Univeristy of) Alberta!
This is my first post in a series that will follow the Golden Bears all season.
The Bears lineup was light on veterans as notables Levko Koper, Jordan Hickmott, Kruise Reddick, and Luke Siemens had the night off. The defending champs will also be without stand-outs: T.J. Foster (signed with the AHL Toronto Marlies), former starting goaltender Kurtis Mucha (graduated, signed as a coach by the Edmonton Oil Kings), forward Johnny Lazo (graduated, signed pro contract in Italy), and defenseman Jesse Craige (graduated, signed pro contract in Japan).
The Bears also have a new head coach as former head coach Ian Herbers has joined the Edmonton Oilers coaching staff. Former Golden Bear player Serge Lajoie has taken over as head coach.
Despite all the changes, it appeared to be the same old Bears on display last night. The shots favored the Bears 22-6 after a scoreless first period. You may be thinking, “yah, but the Bears play in the CIS and the Vikings in the ACAC, so the Bears should dominate.” While it is true that the Bears play in a higher league, I can tell you as someone who attends most of the Bears home games that it is fairly common for them to out-shoot many of their CIS rivals by similar margins. Make no mistake, even with a number of veterans out of the lineup, this incarnation of the team played Bears hockey.
The atmosphere at the Encana Centre was great. There were several hundred Vikings fans decked out in the home team’s gear. The were a number of Golden Bear fans who made the trip to Camrose as well. I would estimate that there were roughly 1200-1500 fans in total. There was one oddity. The between period puck toss featured actual pucks and not foam ones. An interesting choice considering beer was flowing to some fired up college kids. Luckily there were no puck toss injuries to report.
In the end, the Vikings fell 4-1 in a very entertaining game. Credit is due to the home-side as they kept the game tied until there was about 5 minutes left in the third. The Vikings played the Bears with intensity and the game definitely wasn’t a “friendly.” While the Vikings were outmatched, they did manage to create a number of odd man rushes and a few breakaways which gave the fans hope. Ultimately, the Bears proved too much, which is a familiar story for anyone who regularly attends games at the Claire Drake. Goals for the Bears came from Crooks, Keiser, Legault, and Derko.
There were a number of rookies in the lineup for the Bears last night. Here are some notes:
- Dakota Conroy, who wore #19 for the Bears, didn’t play much. However, when he did I was compelled to hockeydb him on my phone (that is correct, I’m using hockeydb as a verb). The reason I wanted to check out where he came from is that he appeared, from his stance and a few quick passes, to be a very offensive minded player. Considering the Bears have to replace Canada West MVP TJ Foster up front, I am curious to see who at camp can fill the void. As it turns out, Conroy is a former 30 goal scorer with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL (2013-14). He spent time last season with the Raiders and the Penticton Vees of the BCJHL. He’ll be an interesting player to watch in the pre-season and I hope he gets the chance to suit up when the Bears play Connor McDavid and the Oilers Rookies at Rexall on September 16th.
- The two goalies who shared duties in the Bear’s net last night are clearly vying for the role of backup to veteran Luke Siemens. Ryan Demharter played the first half of the game and was perfect in a period and a half of work. Despite the lopsided shot totals in favor of the Bears, Demharter was forced to make a number of tough saves. Marc-Olivier Daigle, who spent time in the QMJHL during the 2011-12 season and who is coming off a three year stint with the Drayton Valley Thunder of the AJHL, was given the crease for the back half of the game. He allowed the lone goal against the Bears, however, the Vikings did manage to ramp up the pressure a few times while he was in the net and the rookie held his own.
- Some other rookies in the lineup for the Bears: defenseman Sawyer Lange, defenseman Wil Tomchuk, forward Joel Topping, and forward Lucas Nickles.
Next up for the Bears is a weekend pre-season series against the University of British Columbia Thunder in Kamloops, BC on September 12th and 13th. September 16th they face off against the Edmonton Oilers rookies at Rexall Place in a game that is almost sold out!
Happy times, hockey is back!
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