HOCKEY:
The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack hockey team will have a bigger travel expense this season. The WolfPack have lost their closest geographical rival as the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League has announced that the Okanagan College Coyotes have ceased operations.
That leaves the BCIHL with six teams for the coming season.
“Okanagan College was a valued and competitive member of the BCIHL and will be missed greatly,” said league president Kim Verigan in a league statement. “They put forward a very competitive team right from their first season. It will be a big change for the league and it’s very unfortunate these things happen in the hockey business. It’s important to recognized the team management, especially general manager Kolby Barnstable and head coach Kim Barnstable, for their hard work and dedication over the past three seasons.”
WolfPack General Manager Chris Hans said: “ I think Okanagan College's decision to cease operation of their men's hockey program is a reflection of the difficult, tenuous financial times collegiate athletics is experiencing in Canada at the present time. From our perspective OC was our closest geographic opponent and was developing into one of our fiercest on ice rivals. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the effort OC General Manager Kolby Barnstable and OC Head Coach Kim Barnstable put into developing their program. OC will be missed from our league without a doubt. “
A direct result of OC's departure from the BCIHL is the 2012-2013 regular season schedule had to be re-done. Hans added: “We will continue to play a 24 game regular season schedule. We will host Selkirk College and Eastern Washington University an additional time while we will travel to Trinity Western University and Simon Fraser University an additional time to make up for the holes in the schedule left by OC's departure. “
The WolfPack will open the regular season on the road on Saturday October 6 th at Trinity Western University. Their first home game is Friday October 12
th at Memorial Arena when they entertain the University of Victoria. It’s an 8:30 pm puck drop.
The WolfPack will play their home games Friday nights at 8:30 pm and Saturday night’s at 8 pm.
The 2012-13 campaign will be Thompson Rivers’ fourth in the BCIHL.
Meantime: The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack hockey team has signed its first recruit from the Pacific International Junior Hockey League. General manager Chris Hans and head coach Don Schulz are pleased to welcome 20 year old Kevin Lourens to the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League team as of this fall.
Lourens, a native of Maple Ridge, BC was a member of the Cyclone Taylor Cup and Keystone Cup winning Abbotsford Pilots in 2011-12. The 5’9” forward had 15 goals and 15 assists in 22 regular season games. He added seven goals and nine assists in 16 playoff games.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the hockey program at TRU, “ says Lourens, who along with linemates Riley Lamb and Justin Dorey were considered to be one of the top lines in BC Junior “B” hockey this past season.
Hans is happy to have Lourens, who will take business courses at Thompson Rivers this season after starting the Kinesiology program at the University of the Fraser Valley in 2011-12, on board. “Kevin is a skilled forward who brings an impressive resume from his years with the Abbotsford
Pilots of the PIJHL,” he says. “ Kevin comes highly recommended from coach Jim Cowden in
Abbotsford. The Pilots won the 2012 Western Canada Keystone Cup Championship with Kevin making a huge contribution. Kevin comes from a solid Junior hockey program and he is a well-rounded player who competes in all three zones on the ice. I expect Kevin to push our returning veteran players for
ice time and want to welcome Kevin to our hockey program."
Schulz believes Lourens will be able to make a contribution to the WolfPack. “I am most pleased that Kevin decided to commit to us. He’ll provide some offense and we hear good things from his former coach. Kevin has shown the ability to put points on the board whether it’s playoffs or regular season. It’s a sign of consistency and being able to perform under pressure. I’m expecting him to do the same for us.”
Lourens becomes the 11 th player to commit to Thompson Rivers for the coming season. He is joined by: Anthony Delong (21, 6’1” forward, Castlegar, BC-Stanley Humphries Secondary:Castlegar Rebels, KIJHL), Brennan Wright (21, 6’4” forward/defence Thunder Bay Ontario-Sir Winston Churchill CVI: Owen Sound/Sarnia OHL-LaRonge Ice Wolves, SJHL), Tyler Jackson (20, 5’8” forward Kamloops, BC-Westsyde Secondary: Kamloops Storm, KIJHL), Rigby Burgart (22, 5’10” forward, Fort St. James, BC-Fort St. James Secondary-Quesnel Kangaroos CIHL-formerly Quesnel Kangaroos BCHL/Calgary Hitmen WHL), Chase Edwards (21, 6’0”, forward, Kamloops, BC-Sa-hali Secondary, Kamloops Storm, KIJHL), Colten De Frias (20, 5’8” forward, Kamloops, BC—Brock Secondary, Kamloops Storm, KIJHL),Scott Bollefer (21, defence, Lake Lenore, SK-Nipawin Hawks, SJHL), Ben Bula (20, defence, Kamloops, BC- South Kamloops Secondary-La Ronge Ice Wolves, SJHL), Adrien Hervillard (22, goalie, Saint-Maur, France-Lycee Robert Schuman-Mattawa Voyageurs, GMHL (Ontario) and Alessio Tomassetti (23, 5’9” forward, Quesnel, BC - Corrileau Secondary- Quesnel Kangeroos CIHL) .
The WolfPack begin their training camp the first week of September.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
You only get better by playing against the best. Utilizing that philosophy, a number of members of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women’s soccer team kept their skills sharp and bettered them by being members of the Kamloops Heat this summer. Under the direction of long time WolfPack assistant coach Kelly Shantz, the 14 players were part of a team which competed in the Pacific Coast Soccer League Premier women’s division.
“We had an excellent year,” said Shantz. “ The PCSL Premier division is possibly the toughest open division in the country for amateur women’s soccer. There were 12 teams, all of them good, several outstanding. We set goals to start the year: take it seriously, work hard, play to win, have fun and making the playoffs. Honestly, I didn’t think we would make the playoffs in our first year.”
The Heat finished fifth in the regular season and after one of the higher placed teams bowed out of the post season, were slotted into fourth where they lost to the eventual league champion Faser Valley Action in the semi finals. It was a match decided on penalty kicks.
Shantz said the WolfPack players all made strides under his tutelage over the past few months. “ As you’d expect,” he said. “ The players who were red shirts with TRU in 2011 had the biggest learning curve trying to keep up while the roster players and starters fit into the pace of play quicker. No doubt though that they all got noticeably better as the year progressed.
He gave some specific examples.
“I think Taylor Miller (Kamloops, BC) really came along. In the second half of the year, she began scoring goals regularly as she upped her game and intensity and was rewarded. It was a really good year for her. Blair McKay (Kamloops, BC) is simply Blair McKay! Although she missed a bunch of play with her nursing commitments, she was a force every time she was on the field and developed even more against this calibre. Emily Oliver (Kamloops, BC) was a solid, all purpose midfielder, capable of playing in several positions. Chloe McAuley (Langley, BC) became a threat as the year moved along while Amanda Barrett (Salmon Arm, BC) was our most consistent striker and made it hard on defences all year long. Keeper Emily Edmunson (Kamloops, BC) missed a lot of time with work commitments but her confidence in working with her backline was markedly improved”.
Shantz is confident that those players along with others will make an impact as they return to play for TRU in a couple of weeks. “ I know the girls who were red shirts or didn’t play a lot last year: Kristy Seaby (Kitimat, BC) , Layne Krausher (Kamloops, BC) , Courtney Dennill (Kamloops, BC) and Emily Bailey (Campbell River, BC)helped themselves a great deal with all the extra work they did. They had great attitudes and totally committed to the Heat program.”
Barrett thought the experience with the Heat really helped her. “By playing in a competitive league throughout the summer, it helps you stay in good physical shape and always gets your mind thinking about the game. There is always room for improvement when it comes to the mental and physical side of soccer. Playing in the summer league helped with both the body and the mind.”
Another player who said the experience was beneficial is WolfPack rookie midfielder Marlie Rittinger (Ashcroft, BC). “ It was awesome. Being part of the Premier league and returning home from university to play with all the girls I grew up with was a lot of fun. It definitely helped out my development as a player. The teams were tougher and more competitive, therefore making it more challenging. Playing in a tougher league leads to improvement all around.”
While there were 14 TRU players on the Heat this year, they also had players from Vancouver Island University, Quest University, Simon Fraser University, Carleton University and the University of Victoria on their roster.
As for the future of the Heat program? Says Shantz: “ The PCSL league was thoroughly impressed with our club this year. We are professionally run, had great sponsorship support from BMO Nesbit Burns and Thompson Rivers University and we were very successful on the field. The league has talked to me about our club taking a greater role in the PCSL in the future. We will most certainly be back at it next year, setting the bar higher.”
He added “ I am thrilled with the players, our sponsors, support staff and the Heat board of directors. It was a great commitment all the way.”
Shantz was assisted by former UCC Sun Demons head coach Kevin Fertile while WolfPack athletic therapist Kevin Brechin also donated his time to work with the club.
The Heat had three players who were not going to university: Former WolfPack striker Heather Lloyd, AJ Morrison and Kaitlyn Bleasdale.
CORNER KICKS: Shantz on why is it important to have a Premier women’s league team: “ This program is irreplaceable on several fronts. For TRU it is obvious: 14 players played top notch soccer with rigorous training from April to July. This has to help the program as it clearly did last year. But, if Kamloops soccer is to grow and prosper we have to provide a place for all competitive players to play after youth.
Lets face it: not every Kamloops girl is going to go to TRU due to course selection or the will to be out of town, so having this club for them to come back to Kamloops for the summer is exceptional.”
MEN’S SOCCER:
The 2012 soccer season began a little earlier for John Antulov and Sean Wallace. The two are head coaches of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s program. But this summer, they found themselves on the side lines of the Kamloops Heat U-21 team in the Pacific Coast Soccer League men’s reserve division.
Wallace and Antulov led the team to a first place finish in the regular season, winning eight, losing one and drawing three times. Most, if not all of the Heat’s players were members of the WolfPack or their prospects.
“It was great to be able to keep the players playing at a good level throughout the summer months,” said Antulov, a former SFU and Vancouver 86’ers player. “ It was at a much more laid back approach than during our regular season.”
Antulov thought the goals of developing the players were achieved this season. “ The level of the league was very good and some of our younger recruits were greatly improved from the beginning of the season.”
Both coaches were pleased with how the players rose to the challenge of the higher calibre league and felt they competed hard.
Antulov praised three players: Nolan Wallace, Avnil Deo and Darren Dinsdale (all Kamloops, BC) for doing the most improving. “They got ample playing time and performed well,” he said. Deo was among the top scorers in the PCSL with seven.
Getting some extra time to work with the WolfPack players and prospects was beneficial for all. “ From a coaching standpoint, you get to see the players over a longer term to get a better gauge of their overall game,” Antulov states. “For the players, it shows them a glimpse into us.”
“But we won’t be as laid back during the season,” he grins.
The Heat bowed out of the PCSL playoffs in the semi finals, which didn’t not leave the coaches with a fond memory. But they say they would coach the team again if given the chance.
It won’t be a long time for Antulov and Wallace to lament about the loss: the WolfPack training camp is set for August 17 th with the PACWEST regular season opener set for September 8 th.
