Tag Archives: college hockey

Weird goals

Matt Ustaski, pinball wizard
Matt Ustaski of the Wisconsin Badgers scored what is likely the strangest goal of his collegiate career on Friday, potting one from 190 feet. Sure, teams score empty netters all the time, but the Boston Terriers goalie Matt O’Connor was still on the ice at the time. The BU keeper skated out to start a counter-attack as the Badgers made a defensive change, but his pass careened off of defenseman Brien Diffley and into his own net.

It was very nearly UW’s biggest win of the year — they’ve only won twice in fourteen games — as Ustaski’s goal gave the Badgers a 3-1 lead with less than three minutes to play against the #2 ranked Terriers. It wasn’t to be, however. BU would score twice with O’Connor on the bench, including the tying goal with 2.2 seconds left, and would eventually win via the dreaded shootout.

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Hockey for the Holidays: tickets to see NCAA puck

You’re just a few shopping days away from the big Noël, and you’ve still got a few unchecked boxes on the naughty and nice list. Maybe one or two of those stockings belong to sports fans. Here’s just one idea for how to fill that bit of footwear that hangs on the mantle.

Great Northwest Showcase
January 3–4 at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby
SFU, UBC, U of North Dakota, Princeton
Tickets start at $10

The 2014 Great Northwest Showcase takes place January 3–4 at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby. The SFU Clan host the UBC Thunderbirds, UND (Fighting Sioux) and Princeton Tigers in four high-level collegiate hockey games. Tickets start at just ten bucks a seat.
The 2014 Great Northwest Showcase takes place January 3–4 at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby. The SFU Clan host the UBC Thunderbirds, UND (Fighting Sioux) and Princeton Tigers in four high-level collegiate hockey games. Tickets start at just ten bucks a seat.

The SFU hockey program has made some serious steps forward over the past few seasons. One of the biggest strides was the two-day Great Northwest Showcase, which brought NCAA teams — specifically, the Oklahoma Sooners and Arizona State Sun Devils — to Burnaby. This year, January 3–4 will see teams from the University of North Dakota and Princeton University ice teams at Bill Copeland against SFU and the UBC Thunderbirds. That’s right, frickin’ Princeton. Ivy League, baby.

For the uninitiated, UND (formerly called the Fighting Sioux) is only a seven-time NCAA Div 1 champion. This year, no fewer than twelve roster spots are filled by NHL draftees, including Adam Tambellini (son of ex-Canuck Steve, and a member of last year’s Surrey Eagles team that went to the national Junior A championships). Alumni include NHLers like Jonathan “Captain Serious” Toews, Ed “I’ll Pay You a Billion Dollars” Belfour, Zach “Like Sunday Pa-Mornin'” Parise and Mike “Good Gravy I’m a Hairy, Hairy Man” Commodore. The tournament’s finale features another alumnusin the puck drop ceremony: Garry “Ex-Canuck Turned Analyst” Valk.

More, including bobbleheads and video links, after the jump.

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SFU Clan 6, TRU Wolfpack 4

Evan Kurylo stopped 32 shots in a 6-4 SFU Clan win over the TRU Wolfpack, including this right pad save during the 2nd period. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Goaltender Evan Kurylo stopped 32 shots in a 6-4 SFU Clan win over the TRU Wolfpack, including this right pad save on Joshua MacDonald during the 2nd period. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The SFU Clan finished the 2012-13 season on a winning note Saturday, quieting the TRU Wolfpack 6-4 in a preview of next week’s first-round playoff matchup.

Graduating players had a big impact for the Clan: goaltender Evan Kurylo stopped 32 of 36 shots, and forward Ben Van Lare had a pair of assists in the win. Kurylo stopped every shot he should have in this one; the four goals all came on ridiculous defensive breakdowns, including a 2-on-0 break for the Wolfpack when SFU was up 3-0 early in the second period. For his part, Van Lare was probably robbed of a goal in his last game for the Clan, as we in the broadcast booth saw him tip the Mike Ball point shot past Wolfpack goalie Adrien Hervillard with 29 seconds remaining in the second period. The official scoring on the play was changed after the fact, however, to give Ball the goal, and Van Lare the assist instead.

More after the break.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading SFU Clan 6, TRU Wolfpack 4

Jenessa gets Pucked in the Head

She's from Hawaii, so Jenessa Gladstone can be forgiven for being a basketball fan first. Now that she's in Canada, she's trying to get a grasp on this game called hockey, and was thrilled to win an SFU Clan t-shirt from Pucked in the Head. Check out her video below!
She’s from Hawaii, so Jenessa Gladstone can be forgiven for being a basketball fan first. Now that she’s in Canada, she’s trying to get a grasp on this game called hockey, and was thrilled to win an SFU Clan t-shirt from Pucked in the Head. Check out her video below!

Congrats to Jenessa Gladstone, who recently won an SFU Clan shirt through one of our contests on the mighty Twitter. (Follow us, @PuckedintheHead, SFU, @SFUHockey, or Jenessa for that matter, @JenessaLei.)

Jenessa was kind enough to cut this promo spot for both Pucked in the Head and this week’s SFU game — they play the TWU Spartans at Bill Copeland Arena at 7 pm on Saturday, February 16. Get your buns down to the rink and see some solid college hockey — you won’t even have to shell out many of your hard-earned sheckles to do so, either. Look below for a handy 2-for-1 coupon, and you & a friend can get in for just five bucks each.

 

Get out & see some top flight college puck as the SFU Clan host their final three regular season games at Bill Copeland Arena. With this coupon, you & a friend can get in for just five bucks apiece!
Get out & see some top flight college puck as the SFU Clan host their final three regular season games at Bill Copeland Arena. With this coupon, you & a friend can get in for just five bucks apiece!

Great Northwest Showcase Day 2 – The Empire Strikes Back

Sophomore Oklahoma Sooners defenseman Kevin Zehnder pins UBC Thunderbirds forward Wyatt Hamilton during Great Western Showcase action at Bill Copeland Arena on December 29, 2012. The Thunderbirds won the game 4-3 in overtime. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Sophomore Oklahoma Sooners defenseman Kevin Zehnder pins UBC Thunderbirds forward Wyatt Hamilton during Great Western Showcase action at Bill Copeland Arena on December 29, 2012. The Thunderbirds won the game 4-3 in overtime. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Okay, I already feel bad about the title. Sure, the visiting teams in the inaugural Great Northwest Showcase are American. And yes, there are national politics and cultural question marks that make them the Darths and Emperors of the world next to our farmboy-cum-Jedi status up here. But goldang it if each and every one of the team members and staff that I met this weekend weren’t incredibly nice, wonderfully passionate people who revolve their lives around the great game of hockey. (I’m lookin’ at you, Oklahoma University men’s hockey Assistant GM Chris Kelly… Not naming any names…)

But hey, the title is what the title is. In the immortal words of Billy Crystal, “It’s already out there.” And after day one of this exhibition tournament, which saw the Canadian teams trounce their American visitors by a combined score of 12-2, the empire really did strike back. They had to, just to make the plane ride back to the south bearable.

More after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase Day 2 – The Empire Strikes Back

Great Northwest Showcase: SFU Clan, UBC T-birds, ASU Sun Devils, OU Sooners

Netminder Evan Kurylo is 16-3-1 with two shutouts in his collegiate career. He also has the coolest family name in the history of families. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Netminder Evan Kurylo is 16-3-1 with two shutouts in his collegiate career. He also has the coolest family name in the history of families. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The Simon Fraser University Clansmen are hosting familiar crosstown rivals and distant strangers alike this weekend, as the Great Northwest Showcase goes down on December 28-29 at the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby, BC.

Featured in the inaugural running of the GNS tournament are SFU, the UBC Thunderbirds, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Arizona State Sun Devils. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and children). Check out the schedule here — and of course, there is a Facebook event page as well.

It’s a great opportunity to check out some quality hockey in a very intimate setting — the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby screams small-town puck despite being in the middle of the Lower Mainland — and there are some interesting players to watch for as well.

More after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase: SFU Clan, UBC T-birds, ASU Sun Devils, OU Sooners