U Sports Men’s National Hockey Championship comes to Lethbridge

caroline.zentner — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:37:16 +0000

It’s just the fourth time in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s 51-year history that it will host a U Sports national championship, and the first time the country’s best men’s hockey programs will battle on Enmax Centre ice for the right to raise the David Johnston ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup. Today, ticket sales opened for the prestigious U Sports Men’s National Hockey Championship tournament.

“This is such a great opportunity for our community, for Pronghorn Athletics and for the hockey fan in general,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon. “This championship dates back to 1963 and very rarely ventures into Alberta, so we’re thrilled to host such a high-calibre event and to welcome hockey fans from around the country to Lethbridge.”

The U Sports Men’s National Hockey Championship, March 14-17, 2019, has not been hosted in Alberta since 2006 and only then by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta – four times over the last 33 years. The U of L Pronghorns, who won the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Cup in their lone championship appearance in Toronto in 1994, will join seven other programs in a single-elimination competition over the course of four exciting days.

"It’s hard to believe it has been 25 years since we pulled off that unimaginable run. It's an accomplishment I’ll cherish forever and one I reflect on often," says Dana McKechnie, a key member of the 1994 national championship team and father of current Pronghorn Sam McKechnie. "So many people in the community and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ shared that experience with our team. I’m already seeing fellow alumni and community members begin to rally around this year’s team and the exciting opportunity they now have to host the national tournament. Even more special is the opportunity to watch our son Sam and this exciting group of talented players make a run at repeating the unthinkable."

Ticket packages for the tournament are now available at enmaxcentre.ca, with adult eight-game packages priced at $160, senior packages at $136 and youth/student packages at $100.

“With each team’s season riding on the result of every game, the intensity level is incredible and makes for amazing hockey,” says Ken McInnes, executive director of Sport and Recreation Services. “These players have all played at the highest levels throughout their youth careers and the majority are from Canadian Hockey League programs. They’re now mature young men and the quality of hockey is outstanding.”

The tournament format pits the country’s four regional conference champions (Canada West, OUA East, OUA West, AUS), the host Pronghorns and three assigned berths (Canada West runner-up, OUA third place, AUS runner-up) against one another. The first two days feature a pair of quarter-final games each, followed by Saturday’s semi-final contests and third-place and championship games on the concluding Sunday.

The championship weekend also features a visit from Rogers Hometown Hockey, a championship awards gala and associated community events.

The U of L Pronghorns men’s hockey team is back at home this weekend hosting the defending national champion ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears. Game times are Friday at 7 p.m. at Nicholas Sheran Arena and Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Enmax Centre.

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.

UNews - Sam McKechnie

U Sports Men’s National Hockey Championship comes to Lethbridge

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Impressive recruiting class for Horns men's hockey team

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