Horns men's hockey team opens new season, new era

trevor.kenney — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 16:50:26 +0000

Coming off a second consecutive season where the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey team missed the post-season, the page has been turned and a new era of Pronghorn hockey is set to begin under first-year head coach Spiros Anastas.

The ‘Horns open the 2014-15 Canada West season Sept. 25, hosting the front half of a home-and-home series with the Mount Royal Cougars. Game two of the home-and-home series will go Saturday night in Calgary.

Anastas was hired this past April and joins the Horns after spending the past two seasons as a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization, being an assistant coach with the Red Wings AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

The ‘Horns return 19 players from last season’s team and Anastas has added a good mix of youth and experience with eight new recruits.

Among Anastas’s first recruiting class are two NCAA transfers, two CIS transfers and four true freshmen. Forwards Brandon Clowes and Manny Gialedakis took advantage of the CIS eligibility repatriation rule and set right into the Horns' line-up.

Goaltender Warren Shymko transfers from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa and will push returning goaltenders Damien Ketlo and Dylan Tait for time in the crease. Shymko had a solid freshman season with the Gee Gees, putting up a 2.76 goals-against-average and a 0.900 save percentage.

An area of strength for the Pronghorns this season should be their blue line, as the Horns return their entire top six defensemen from last season. Tim Campbell, David McMullen, Corbin Karl, Cason Machacek, Hayden Rintoul and Brent Henke will be the keys to Horns success this season.

“Our success relies on our six returning defensemen being able to play a solid all-around game, while making defence a priority,” says Anastas.

After scoring a league low 52 goals last season, the Horns forwards will need to up their production if the team is to have a resurgence this year. Following solid freshmen seasons, there are big expectations for Ryon Moser, Mitch Maxwell and Brock Hirsche.

Hirsche finished tied with Cass Mappin for the team lead in goals with seven, while Moser recorded six goals and 10 assists in 26 games last season.

Newcomers Clowes, Sam Wilbur and Artsiom Kalashnikov have shown some offensive flare during the Horns non-conference schedule and will be counted on to produce during their first season with the program.

Wilbur finished second in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) scoring last season with 36 goals and 50 assists, while Kalashnikov picked up 52 points in 55 games last season in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).

Veldman, Reiter earn Athlete of the Year honours from Horns

trevor.kenney — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 21:08:46 +0000

Kim Veldman and Logan Reiter were named Female and Male Athletes of the Year as ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorn Athletics hosted its annual Blue and Gold Banquet recently.

Over 280 athletes, administrators and special guests were in attendance for the supper and awards ceremony with former Pronghorn and Canadian National Women's Rugby team member Ashley MacDonald serving as the guest speaker.

After three seasons with her home province ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ UPEI, MacDonald transferred to the U of L, and in her two seasons with the Pronghorns she was nothing short of dominant on the rugby pitch. During her time with the Pronghorns, she was a member of two national championship teams, was named a Canada West All-Star and CIS All-Canadian in both seasons as well as being named CIS Championship tournament all-star at both championships.

In addition to her stellar play on the field, MacDonald was also an exceptional student, being named an Academic All-Canadian.

Internationally, MacDonald represented Canada on the U23 National team, FISU sevens team and the Canadian senior national team and was just named to the Canadian team that will face the Americans in the CanAm series in April.

Upon obtaining her bachelor of science in kinesiology, MacDonald returned to UPEI to complete her physiotherapy degree and is currently working at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Kim Veldman was among the league leaders in a number of categories this season.

Fourth-year post Kim Veldman truly put up a season that ranks among the best in the country and cemented herself into the Pronghorn record book for years to come.

Still with eligibility remaining, she broke a 16-year-old school record, while ranking among both the Canada West and CIS leaders in numerous statistical categories.

This season she ranked second in the conference in rebounding and set a new school record for career rebounds. While often facing double and triple teams in the offensive court, she ranked third in the conference in scoring. She narrowly missed being a conference first team all-star but was named to the Canada West's second team.

Her ability to balance her training while maintaining a high GPA in nursing speaks volumes to her commitment to being a well-rounded student-athlete.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Logan Reiter closed out his Pronghorns' career with another exceptional season.

In his final season donning the blue and gold, team captain Logan Reiter led his team on and off the playing field, leading the team to heights that have not been seen in years.

In addition to being a selfless leader, he was among the conference leaders in points, while also leading his team in assists and thus earned his first conference all-star nod, being named to the Canada West second team.

His positive attitude and refusal to quit helped lead the 'Horns to 13 fourth-quarter comebacks or last-minute victories and resulted in the program's best regular season in 14 years and only the fourth 15-win season in the program's history.

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

For the third-year in a row, a member of the Pronghorns women's hockey team received the prestigious President's Award, which rewards the student athlete with the highest academic standing at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Jasmin Teske achieved a perfect 4.0GPA, while balancing her large commitment to her team, earning the President's Award for the second successive season.

TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD

The Pronghorns women's soccer team received the team Team Academic Award with a combined GPA of 3.10.

TEAM MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

Men’s Soccer – Scott Slomp
Women’s Soccer – Keagan Moch
Men’s Hockey – Mitch Maxwell
Women’s Hockey – Jenna-Marie Durnin
Men’s Basketball – Logan Reiter
Women’s Basketball – Kim Veldman
Women’s Rugby – Kim Leavitt
Men’s Track – Aaron Hernandez
Women’s Track – Kayla Gallagher
Swim – Ryan Thornley

UNews - Mitch Maxwell

Horns men's hockey team opens new season, new era

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