UNews - NCAA

Impressive recruiting class for Horns men's hockey team

trevor.kenney — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:58:32 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey team has turned over a significant portion of its roster as head coach Spiros Anastas announced the commitment of 12 new players for the 2015-16 Canada West season.

Former Lethbridge Hurricane forward Jay Merkley, left foreground, and former Edmonton Oil King and Memorial Cup champion Blake Orban, right standing, are among 12 new recruits that will bring a wealth of major junior experience to the Horns program.

Within the group of 12, the program will add nine forwards and three defencemen, seven of which have Western Hockey League experience and who will be taking advantage of the WHL Scholarship program. Two other players have spent time in the NCAA and the other three join the program after playing exclusively in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“We are extremely happy with our recruiting class thus far for 2015-16 and we’re not done yet. We're expecting to announce two or three more players in the coming month,” says Anastas. “We will be a very young team but one that has significantly increased in skill and major junior experience.”

Three of the incoming freshmen also have direct ties to Pronghorns alumni, highlighted by forward Sam McKechnie. Sam is the son of Dana McKechnie, who was a member of the Pronghorns' lone ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup Championship team, while Blake Orban is also a second generation Pronghorn, after his father Scott played for the Pronghorns during their inaugural Canada West season in 1984-85. The third member of the group is former Olds Grizzly, Kyle Moore, who follows in his brother Dustin’s footsteps. Dustin is a former Pronghorn captain and Canada West first team all-star.

“Our WHL games played have nearly tripled from last year's roster and a number of these recruits have been captains of their Junior teams,” says Anastas. “It’s never easy to let go of as many players as we did at the end of last season, but the turnover was necessary to send this program in a new direction.”

Forwards Jay Merkley, Dalton Sward, Colton Sheen, Robert Lindores, Brett Roulston, and Bryson Gore and defenceman Tyler Hansen, Dustin Fostvelt and Austin Kernahan round out the group announced by Coach Anastas.

“I strongly believe that we are bringing in great people who want to be Pronghorns and great members of our campus community,” says Anastas. “We are excited for our returning players, our incoming recruits, and this hockey program. We have worked hard at this and plan to take some big leaps from the improved strides we made last season.”

For a look at each of the recruits, check out the GoHorns website.

Horns men's basketball in Calgary tourney

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:14:14 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team is getting an early start on the 2010-11 school year with a matchup versus an NCAA opponent at the Battle of the Border tournament in Calgary this week.

The Horns will face the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks of the NCAA's Big Sky Conference Wednesday, Aug. 11 and Sunday, Aug. 15 at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

Wednesday night's game tips at 7 p.m. with Sunday's affair set for 10 a.m.

The entire Pronghorns squad is not available for the two pre-season games, with newcomers Abner Kamps and Niko Kovacs unavailable due to previous commitments. However, Julian Spearchief-Morris and Zack Humphrey will both make their Pronghorn debuts, joining eight returning players.

Northern Arizona is the third Big Sky School to make the trip to Calgary for the tournament after Weber State attended in 2007 and Montana in 2008.

The Lumberjacks, based in Flagstaff, Ariz., went 14-14 overall (8-8 Big Sky) in 2009-10, falling in the opening round of the Big Sky Tournament. Led by two-time All-Big Sky guard Cameron Jones, the team returns four starters in 2010-11 under head coach Mike Adras.

The Horns are gearing up for the 2010-11 Canada West season, which begins October 22-23 when the club hosts the Trinity Western Spartans.

Weekend Pronghorn Athletics preview

trevor.kenney — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:28:22 +0000

Nearing the midway point of the Canada West soccer schedule, the Pronghorn soccer teams renew acquaintances with southern Alberta rival Calgary Dinos this weekend with a home-and-home series, while women's rugby heads out on the road for a pair of contests.

Although the men's soccer team (0-5-1) is still in search of its first victory of the season, the club is coming off a strong effort last weekend, holding the CIS #3 ranked Alberta Golden Bears to a single goal in a 1-0 loss Saturday. The Horns then tied the Saskatchewan Huskies 1-1 to earn their first point of the season on Sunday.

This weekend, the Horns face a familiar foe in the Calgary Dinos (2-3-1) in a home-and-home series that begins Saturday in Calgary and end at home Sunday afternoon.

The women's soccer team (0-6-0) will also attempt to earn its first win of the season this weekend as they also face the Dinos (2-4-0).

Home games for the Horns go Sunday at the Community Sports Stadium with the women's contest at noon and the men's game to follow.

Horns Rugby

The women's rugby team (1-0 CW, 4-0 overall) heads out on the road for a pair of conference games on the west coast versus the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds.

The Horns opened the inaugural Canada West women's rugby conference schedule with a convincing 66-0 win over the Calgary Dinos this past weekend.

The Horns face the Vikes Friday in Victoria, and conclude the road trip Sunday in Vancouver.

Men's Hockey

The Pronghorns men's hockey team (0-0-0 CW, 4-2-0 overall) completes its non-conference schedule with three games down south versus NCAA schools.

After winning the Huskie Alumni Classic tournament last weekend with a 3-1 victory over the Regina Cougars and a 6-5 shootout win over the defending Canada West Champion Alberta Golden Bears, the Horns face a daunting task against a trio of NCAA hockey schools.

Saturday night, the Horns will face Minnesota State-Mankato. Sunday, the Horns battle another Minnesota based school in the St. Cloud Huskies. To wrap up the trip and the non-conference schedule, the Horns face the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks on Monday evening.

Women's Basketball

The women's basketball team hits the floor for the first time this season, traveling to Kamloops to compete in the BDO Dunwoody Tourney hosted by the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.

The Horns open the tournament against UBC-Okanagan on Friday, before playing the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack Saturday night. The tournament will conclude for the Horns Sunday morning versus the Calgary Dinos.

Soccer hits the road for weekend play

trevor.kenney — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:46:53 +0000

Pronghorn Athletics Weekly Preview

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn soccer teams head out on the road for the second week of the Canada West conference schedule, as they both look for their first victories of the season. Meanwhile, the men's hockey team is also on the road, continuing to prepare for the opening of their Canada West schedule.

The Pronghorns women's hockey team is the only squad at home this weekend, as they will host a six-team tournament at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Men's Soccer

The men's soccer team (0-2-0) heads to the West Coast for the second consecutive week and the task does not get any easier as they'll face the always strong UBC Thunderbirds (0-2-0) and the 2008 CIS silver medalist Trinity Western Spartans (1-0-1).

The Horns' Friday night opponent, UBC, also started the season with two losses, dropping a pair of close games on the road, 1-0 in Edmonton versus the Alberta Golden Bears and by a 2-1 margin in Saskatoon versus the Huskies.

The Spartans also opened the season on the road, downing the Huskies 3-1 on Saturday, before settling for a hard fought 1-1 tie against the Golden Bears.

Women's Soccer

The women's soccer team (0-2-0) heads out on the road for the first time this season, also traveling to British Columbia. The Horns will look to hit the win column against a pair of solid squads, in the Fraser Valley Cascades (0-1-0) and the defending Canada West champion Victoria Vikes (1-0-0). Last weekend, the Vikes downed the Cascades 3-1 in their only game of the weekend.

Women's Hockey

The women's hockey team will see its first action this season as hosts of the Horns Fall Classic pre-season tournament at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Canada West competitors Calgary Dinos and Saskatchewan Huskies join NCAA's Robert Morris and ACAC's Red Deer College and Mount Royal Cougars in the inaugural tournament.

The tournament will feature three games daily with puck drop scheduled for 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. The tournament concludes Sunday with games at 9 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The Horns play in the late game each day and face the Dinos Friday night, followed by games versus Mount Royal and Red Deer on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Men's Hockey

The men's hockey team continues its pre-season preparations with a trip to Edmonton to participate in the Brick Invitational tournament. Friday afternoon, the Horns face the Saskatchewan Huskies, followed by a matchup with the Regina Cougars on Saturday.

Steacy, Patzer named Athletes of Year

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:30:20 +0000

Pronghorn thrower Jim Steacy and women's rugby fullback Ashley Patzer were named Male and Female Athletes of the Year respectively at the annual Blue and Gold Pronghorn Athletics banquet Friday night.

Over 330 athletes, administrators and special guests were in attendance for the supper and awards ceremony where former Pronghorn basketball star, Danny Balderson, served as guest speaker.

Steacy, thought to be the most decorated track athlete in CIS history, won his fifth Athlete of the Year honour, one for every year in which he competed for the U of L. Coming back from a year off to compete in the Beijing Olympics, Steacy continued his dominance of the CIS scene.

For the fifth time, Steacy broke both the Canada West and CIS records in weight throw, winning gold at both championship meets. His furthest throw of 24.08 metres in the weight throw, the last of his CIS career, was five metres better than his nearest competitor. It also beat the NCAA gold medalist by more than two metres, becoming the only CIS track mark to outdo its American counterpart.

Patzer led the women's rugby team to its second CIS title, while being named the tournament most valuable player and an all-star.

The Horns captain, and former CIS player of the year, was a dominant force at the CIS Championships leading the tournament in scoring with 34 points. The Lethbridge native was also named Athlete of the Year in 2006-07.

Megan Bach of the women's hockey team received the President's Award, rewarding the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Bach achieved a perfect GPA of 4.00. The men's track and field team won the Team Academic Award, as they achieved a cumulative 3.13 GPA.

Following are team MVP honours as selected by their respective teammates.

Team MVP
Men's Soccer – Ryan Conn
Women's Soccer – Jessica Dearlove
Men's Hockey – Scott Bowles
Women's Hockey – Charlette Hainer
Men's Basketball – Danhue Lawrence and Allen Kadima
Women's Basketball – Hannah Blanchette
Men's Swimming – Jeffrey Nicol
Women's Swimming – Kristy Gabruck
Men's Track – Jim Steacy
Women's Track – Heather Steacy
Women's Rugby – Ashley Patzer

Horns follow Bowles' lead

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:25:46 +0000

Far too many young men are forced to make a choice between hockey ambitions and pursuing an education. ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns goaltender Scott Bowles never saw it that way – the two were always linked.

"With my parents both being teachers, education was always important," the second-year, Creston, B.C., native says. "Still, it was a decision that was left in my hands. I was only told that school would be important at one time or another and to factor that in."

Bowles entered the Western Hockey League as a 17 year old, opting not to pursue a possible education opportunity with an American college or university. The WHL is considered the fastest route to professional hockey and it allowed Bowles that opportunity. All the while, he knew that through the league's education program, every year he played in the WHL would turn into a year of Canadian post-secondary education if the pro dream didn't transpire when he was done.

"That's one of the biggest decisions you have to make when you're 16 or 17," says Bowles. "Are you going to go the NCAA route or give that up and try the WHL. With their package, it was good enough for me where I figured I could play four years and still have my schooling waiting for me when I was done."

Bowles played two-plus seasons with both the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars and when the pro game did not come knocking, he quickly turned his attention to finding the right fit in terms of a city and a school.

"He came in for a tour and spent a weekend with us," Pronghorns head coach Greg Gatto says of the recruitment pitch they made to Bowles. "I remember saying at the end of the weekend, he didn't say a word the whole time, and my comment was, 'I don't think we're going to get him', and a week later he phoned and told us he was coming."

Knowing Pronghorns Devin Featherstone and Kris Deines helped in the process but what swayed Bowles on coming to Lethbridge was the combination of the city and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's programming options.

"I just really liked the set-up, I liked the fact the school offered the courses I wanted to take and I liked the size of the school. I wanted a smaller school where I felt I'd be more comfortable," he says. "Coming from Prince George, a city that's about the same size, I felt it'd be a very smooth transition."

It was, both on the ice and in the classroom. Bowles had a stellar first season, earning the team's most valuable player award, and has followed that up with another outstanding season; helping lead the Horns back into Canada West playoffs. Despite losing in the first round to UBC, Bowles played extremely well, making 50 saves in a 4-3 triple-overtime loss in Game 3 of the series.

Educationally, he started studying German but by taking advantage of the liberal education ideal at the U of L, quickly found his interests lay elsewhere.

"I found that environmental science might be a better path and it's going well," he says. "I really like my profs and the program offers a sort of mix and variety of a bunch of different sciences which, seeing as how I have a hard time narrowing down what I want to do, is still nice to take a range of courses."

Naturally, given his success and a recognition that goalies often hit their stride later in their careers, one has to wonder if pro hockey might finally come calling for Bowles. He doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about that possibility.

"Now that I've decided to go to university, school is definitely at the forefront," he says. "If things work out in pro hockey, then they do and we'll look into it but right now I'm committed to being here and finishing my degree."

GET THE FACTS

• Bowles had 13 wins in the regular season and was named Canada West Hockey – Husky WHL Graduate of the Month for November

• His best WHL season was in 2005-06 when he had 26 wins with Prince George

• Bowles' mother is an elementary school principal while his father, a teacher by trade, is a performance coach for Pacific Sport

• Bowles has a younger sister currently attending Okanagan College

UNews - NCAA

Impressive recruiting class for Horns men's hockey team

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Weekend Pronghorn Athletics preview

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Steacy, Patzer named Athletes of Year

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Horns follow Bowles' lead

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