Lethbridge, AB – The Lethbridge Pronghorn men’s hockey team will kick-off its 26th Canada West campaign this weekend hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies, Friday and Saturday night, while the defending Canada West Rugby Champion Pronghorn home opener will pit the ‘Horns against the Alberta Pandas in a clash of Canada West heavy weights.
For two consecutive years, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men’s hockey team (0-0 CW, 0-4-0 overall) have gone down to the final weekend of the season chasing the final playoff position and both year’s the ‘Horns have come up just short. The goal for the 2011-12 season is to get out of the gates quick and not build an early hole that in a short season is too difficult to recover from.
Last season the ‘Horns missed out on the final post-season spot by a single point and started the season with only one win in their first six contests.
“With only 28 conference games, we cannot afford to let points slip away early,” said Head Coach Greg Gatto. “We hope to stay healthy and build some momentum early in the season rather than rallying late and missing out.”
As it has been since his arrival, the ‘Horns goaltending will be solid and will give the team a chance to win every night with fifth-year senior Scott Bowles. Bowles has been a workhorse for the ‘Horns but was dearly missed early last season when he sat out the first 8 conference games due to injury.
Former Lethbridge Hurricane Dylan Tait has been brought in this season to help solidify the crease and push Bowles for playing time.
This year’s version of the ‘Horns has a solid group of returning forwards with five of the team’s top scorers from last season returning. Fifth-year senior’s Dustin Moore and Winston Day Chief will lead the charge up front. In his final year of eligibility, Captain Moore will look to return to his 2009-10 form that saw him finish third in scoring with a 36 point campaign and being named a conference 1st team all-star. Sophomores Taylor Gal and Dan Iwanski will be counted on the make a bigger contribution offensively with the graduation of heart and soul forward Andrew Courtney.
The new recruits will add depth in certain positions and give the team an added boost on the special teams. Newcomers Cass Mappin, Brent Henke, Devon Kalinski and Mark Hall all spent portions of their junior careers in the WHL and will help solidify an experienced forward group.
Former Canada West 1st team all-star Ryan Pottruff will anchor the blue-line that has a mix of youth and experience. Three other defensemen return from last season, but the ‘Horns will miss puck moving rearguard Andrew Marshall who earned his degree and has moved on after four seasons.
The Saskatchewan Huskies finished third in the conference last season with a 17-10-0 record but didn’t qualify for the Canada West final after losing a hard fought three games semi-final series to the Calgary Dinos.
The Huskies have a strong core of returning players with 22 returning players, including last season’s team leader in points, Kyle Bortis. The third-year forward recorded 27 points in 28 games. Both goaltenders from last season, who gave up the second fewest goals in the conference, return and give the Huskies a solid one-two punch in goal.
A surprise departure for the Huskies is that of Steven DaSilva. As a freshman only three seasons ago, DaSilva led the conference in scoring with 41 points and laid claim to both the Canada West player of the year and outstanding freshman of the year awards.
Despite missing the post-season last year, the ‘Horns won the season series versus the Huskies, splitting the weekend set in Saskatoon and winning both games at home near the end of the season.
Puck drops both Friday and Saturday night at 7:00pm at Nicholas Sheran Arena. The game will also mark the launch of Canada West TV for Pronghorn Athletics and the game can be viewed at
www.canadawest.tv.
The CIS fourth ranked Women’s Rugby team (2-0 CW) will face the fifth ranked Alberta Pandas at the University of Lethbridge Community Stadium Sunday afternoon. The ‘Horns and Pandas are the only two programs that have laid claim to the Canada West trophy with the ‘Horns winning the last five championships and the Pandas winning the previous seven.
Both the ‘Horns and Pandas opened the 2011 season in impressive fashion, sweeping the UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes last weekend. The ‘Horns shutout both schools, beating the T-birds 33-0 and Vikes 53-0, while the Pandas beat Victoria 36-6 and UBC 60-5.
Last season the ‘Horns won both match-ups with the Pandas, beating the Pandas 31-18 during the regular season and 18-5 in the Canada West Championship game in Lethbridge.
The Women’s Soccer team (0-5 - 1 CW), in a weird quirk in the Canada West schedule, travels to Brisitsh Columbia to face the same two teams they hosted last weekend.
Saturday, the ‘Horns face the Fraser Valley Cascades (2-2-2 CW) in Abbotsford, who the ‘Horns tied 1-1 last Sunday.
Sunday, the ‘Horns will be on Vancouver Island to take on the Victoria Vikes. Last Saturday, the Vikes shutout the Horns 2-0 in Lethbridge.
Both games for the women will kick-off at noon.
Coming off their first win of the season, the Men’s Soccer team (1-5 CW) also heads to British Columbia but will face two different schools.
Friday night, the ‘Horns face the always tough and CIS second ranked UBC Thunderbirds (2-0-3 CW) and despite being undefeated, the T-birds are sitting outside a playoff position as the conference reaches the midway point of the season.
Saturday night, the ‘Horns will travel to Langley to conclude the West Coast trip with a game versus the third place Trinity Western Spartans (3-1-1).
Kick-off is set for 7:15pm Friday night and 7:00pm Saturday.
Non-Conference Action
The Women’s Hockey team (0-0 CW, 2-3-0 overall) travels to Kincardine, ON to compete in the CIS Great Lakes Challenge to conclude the team’s non-conference schedule. The ‘Horns will play the Guelph Gryphons on Friday, followed by games versus the University of York and Regina Cougars Saturday and Sunday respectively.
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