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.
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 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.
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.
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.
