Friday was 27 degrees Celsius, a truly glorious day. I took my daughter to her second day of Kindergarten, ducked into Governor General Literary Award winner The Sisters Brothers, then proceeded to spend the afternoon playing with Lego and making some decidedly awesome Chesapeake Bay chicken. Literally, I played the winner, winner, chicken dinner card.
Canucks fans will recognize a couple of names in the old red and white this year. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The evening got better. I shot SFU hockey, then ran a personal best 5km at the track while watching my old school’s football team put up a truckload of points against a lesser rival. Spent over an hour chatting with five-time Grey Cup champion Leroy Moss after he complimented me on my run — yes, he’s the uncle of Randy Moss — and he happens to be a charming and generous storyteller to boot. He spent time with the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos and Cincinnati Bengals, and played with and/or against the likes of Warren Moon, Lui Passaglia, Tom Wilkinson and Larry Highbaugh. Nice talking to you, Leroy!
Enjoy my first hockey pictures of the 2015-16 season, from pre-season action between the SFU Clan and the Trinity Spartans. Against the flow of play, TWU took the game 3-1 down at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby.
The SFU Clan dropped a 3-1 pre-season game to the Trinity Western Spartans at Bill Copeland Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.The SFU Clan dropped a 3-1 pre-season game to the Trinity Western Spartans at Bill Copeland Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.The SFU Clan dropped a 3-1 pre-season game to the Trinity Western Spartans at Bill Copeland Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.The SFU Clan dropped a 3-1 pre-season game to the Trinity Western Spartans at Bill Copeland Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Day one of the 2014 Great Northwest Showcase saw the UBC Thunderbirds earn a dramatic come-from-behind win over the seven-time NCAA Division 1 champions from the U of North Datoka. The Team Formerly Known as the Fighting Sioux, which features a dozen NHL draft picks, including World Junior Gold Medalist Rocco Grimaldi, is the first NCAA varsity team to play in BC since 1999*.
Zane Gothberg made 22 saves for the University of North Dakota, but it wasn’t enough. The UBC Thunderbirds tied the game with 52 seconds left in regulation, then salted it away in overtime at Bill Copeland Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The game offered up solid goaltending at both ends of the ice. Sophomore Zane Gothberg, a 2010 draft pick of the Boston Bruins, made 22 saves on 25 shots for UND, while keepers Matt Hewitt and Steven Stanford teamed up to make 26 saves for UBC.
The bad news for Trinity Western sports fans: the SFU Clan converted a touchdown Saturday night against the visiting Spartans. The worse news: it was in hockey.
Depending upon which stats sheet you read, Mike Ball either got two or three points Saturday night in the SFU Clan 7–1 win over the TWU Spartans. There’s no denying this was a goal, however. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The Clan dominated the puck possession battle, and scored seven goals on 32 shots en route to a 7–1 spanking of the visitors from Langley. Nick Sandor was named first star of the game for his three-assist effort, while Jono Ceci garnered second star status on the strength of two goals and an assist. Goaltender Andrew Parent stopped 19 of 20 shots for third star honours.
Andrew Parent looks around a screen to make one of his 19 saves on the night. His SFU Clan cruised to a 7–1 victory over the TWU Spartans. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
SFU’s next game comes Thursday, November 28 in Langley at these very same TWU Spartans. Their next home game is just two days later, as they host the UVic Vikes at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby. The puck drops for both games at 7pm.
On January 3–4, SFU will host the second Great Northwest Showcase, featuring exhibition hockey between the Clan, the UBC Thunderbirds, and two NCAA Division 1 teams: the Princeton University Tigers and the seven-time national champions from the University of North Dakota (athletes formerly known as the Fighting Sioux). UND alumni include Vancouver Canuck nemeses Jonathan Toews and TJ Oshie, to name two. Oh, and let’s not forget Mike Commodore, who was immortalized in this bobblehead last season. A full fifteen of their current roster members have been drafted by NHL clubs. Fifteen.
* I’m not kidding here. Syl Apps Jr went to both Princeton and Queen’s Universities before embarking on an NHL career of his own — albeit not quite as stellar as his dad’s, Jr acquitted himself quite well. Syl Apps III followed dear ol’ dad to Princeton, doing well enough to get some pro contracts as a bottom-six forward in the AHL and ECHL. Syl III’s sister Gillian ain’t too shabby with a puck, either. She won Olympic gold with Team Canada in 2006 in Turin and again at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Pucked in the Head is happy to welcome SFU correspondent Jenessa Gladstone to the fold, as she files her first story here on the website. She’s worked extensively up on the Hill, both in her studies and with the Athletics Department, and now here she is a fully-fledged member of the PITH clan.
The SFU Clan women’s basketball bench cheers a three-pointer during GNAC conference final action last weekend. Photo from the SFU Athletics website.
The Simon Fraser Clan women’s basketball team are making the most of their inaugural season in the NCAA. They finished with a 23-5 overall record, including a 12-0 perfect record on home court, good for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and a berth in the 64-team Division II NCAA tournament. Check out the interactive bracket here.
In their first taste of big tournament action, SFU defeated the number seven seeded Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (20-5) by a score of 68-57. They move on to face the number six Grand Canyon ‘Lopes, who upset the number three seed UC San Diego in their opening round matchup. Tipoff goes at noon Pacific time on Monday, March 18.
SFU became the NCAA’s only full-member international school on September 1, 2012 after spending the 2011-2012 at the provisional membership status. The Clan placed second in the GNAC conference tournament at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington.
SFU Clan veteran Ben Van Lare scored twice to power the SFU Clan to a 6-1 win in game one of their best of three series against the TRU Wolfpack. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The SFU Clan opened the 2013 playoffs on Friday night with a convincing 6-1 win over the TRU Wolfpack. Graduating player Ben Van Lare put aside his penchant for assists in winning first star honours, scoring twice including the game-winner.
The Clan dominated this game from the opening face-off, and scored a pair of goals in each period for a complete game performance. The only blemish on the scoresheet for SFU was giving up a power play goal midway through the second period, a surprise given that TRU’s success with the man advantage ran at just 3% against the Clan during the regular season. They scored once in six tries, a goalmouth scramble after a power move into the crease by Duncan Shulz. Going the other way, however, the Wolfpack were forced to take an abundance of penalties as a result of SFU’s dominant puck possession. The Clan power play made them pay, scoring three times on nine chances.
TRU Wolfpack goaltender Shane Mainprize made more than a few great saves, but it was a stretch to expect him to singlehandedly beat the SFU Clan. SFU scored 6 goals on 37 shots to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three playoff series. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Unlike the regular season finale, game one of the playoffs featured few defensive breakdowns for the Clan, and the paltry number of opportunities generated by the Wolfpack were fumbled by players that seemed surprised to find themselves in scoring position. Graeme Gordon was credited with 26 saves on the night, but let’s be honest: he faced perhaps three genuine scoring chances during the game, and the shot total really flatters the visiting team. Despite long stretches of inactivity, Gordon was sharp when he had to be, making a huge glove save on Anthony Delong that would have brought the Wolfpack within two goals late in the second period.
Wolfpack goaltender Shane Mainprize made more than a few good stops himself, including one on a subtle little deke by Kody Dhaliwal on a clearcut breakaway early in the third. He was beaten high to the glove several times, however, including twice in the third on a wrister by Dhaliwal and a rocket one-timer by defenseman Mike Ball on a Clan power play.
Game two goes Saturday, March 9 in Kamloops at 8pm PST. Check out www.fasthockey.com for the webcast.
SFU Clan goaltender Graeme Gordon stopped 26 of 27 shots to lead SFU to a 6-1 win in the opening game of the 2013 BCIHL playoffs. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
SFU Clan defenseman Mike Ball lit the red light with a rocket of a one-timer just 47 seconds into the third period, as the Clan won their playoff opener 6-1. 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.
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!
Abbotsford Heat forward Dustin Sylvester scored twice, including once in the final minute of regulation, to help beat the Lake Erie Monsters 4-3 in a shootout on February 9, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Hockey Day in Canada brought good things to Vancouver-area teams this year, as the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants, Abbotsford Heat, Simon Fraser University Clan and UBC Lady Thunderbirds all posted wins on Saturday, February 9. Acting as the exception to the rule, the UBC men’s team suffered a 5-2 loss to the visiting University of Alberta Golden Bears.
More, including post-game reaction from the bowels of the AESC, 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.
Amazingly, Vancouver-born Freshman Arizona State forward did not score on this play. He hit the post after a solid deke around third-year SFU Clan goaltender Graeme Gordon. His Sun Devils did win the game 5-3 however. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
I didn’t get a chance to post pictures from the final game of the Great Northwest Showcase, a 5-3 win for the Arizona State Sun Devils over the host SFU Clan. The Sun Devils found their legs between the previous day’s misadventures against the UBC Thunderbirds — and chatter by players during pre-game stretches suggested the Americans aren’t used to the aggressive forechecks thrown at them by the T-birds on Friday.
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.
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.
