UNews - Jason Roberts

Horns hockey opens at home

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:08:38 +0000

The Pronghorns men's and women's hockey teams will finally hit home ice in conference action this weekend, opening their Canada West home schedules as part of home-and-home series with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos.

The men's team will open its series Friday night, while the women's side is in Calgary on Friday before returning to Lethbridge for its home opener on Saturday night. Both games drop the puck at 7 p.m. at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

The men's hockey team posted a 4-2-0 mark in pre-season non-conference play. After finishing last season as the hottest team in the conference before falling two points short of a playoff berth, the Horns look to get off to a better start this fall. The Horns went 9-2-1 during the second half of last season and were in the race for the final playoff spot up until the final weekend.

The team will return a veteran presence, with only four players not back from last season's squad. The graduations of Jason Roberts and Logan Lavorato leaves a void in the leadership department, while Canada West rookie of the year, Adam Chorneyko, left the team to pursue a pro hockey opportunity.

Five new additions to the Horns are all expected to make significant impacts. Former Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Nick Hotson transferred from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba Bisons, and is eligible to play after sitting out last season. Western Hockey League products Taylor Gal, Daniel Iwanski and Ryan Letts have also been added. Former Ontario Hockey League product Tyler Melancon has also been added to the roster.

The Dinos were just 1-8-0 in pre-season play and were swept by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta two weeks ago when they opened their conference schedule.

The women's hockey team (0-2-0 Canada West, 1-6-0 overall) returns to action after being swept in its opening weekend of the season on the road by the CIS 8^th-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies.

They'll face a Dinos (1-1-0 Canada West) team that boasts Team Canada veteran and female hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser. Wickenheiser has captured six world championships and three Olympic gold medals over a 17-year career with the Canadian national team.

For more on both the men's and women's hockey teams, check out the Horns Athletics website.

Horns top Dinos in shootout

trevor.kenney — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:34:01 +0000

Andrew Courtney scored a pair of power play goals and Mark Shefchyk netted the shootout winner as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team beat the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos 4-3 Thursday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Adam Chorneyko, a former Lethbridge Hurricane, also scored on the power play for the Horns, who led 2-1 after the first period but trailed 3-2 following 40 minutes. In all, the U of L was 3-for-6 on the power play and outshot the Dinos 40-31 on the night, including 12-4 in the third period.

Chorneyko opened scoring early in the first period with his first career Canada West goal before Calgary's Brett O'Malley, another former Hurricane, tied things up on a Dino power play. The Horns got the lead back when Courtney netted his first goal of the night with less than a second to play in the frame, batting a puck past Jeff Weber for a 2-1 lead into the break.

The Dinos controlled the second period, scoring twice for a 3-2 lead as Eric Frere and Reid Jorgensen tallied less than a minute apart. Courtney's second of the night, midway through the third period, sent the game to overtime and eventually to a shootout.

In the shootout session, Jason Roberts and Shefchyk netted Pronghorn goals while goaltender Scott Bowles only allowed a Brock Nixon marker, giving the Horns (1-2-0) their first victory of the season. They'll head to Calgary Saturday to again face the Dinos (1-1-1) in the back half of this home-and-home series.

For all your Pronghorns news, visit horns.uleth.ca or follow the Horns on Twitter at @GoHornsca.

horn men ready for ice wars

trevor.kenney — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:06:59 +0000

Excitement and expectation quickly turned to disappointment for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team last season.

This fall, the Horns approach the Canada West season with a guarded optimism, returning 17 players from a team that was labelled a contender but instead missed the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.

A strong returning core will lead the way, with the forward unit boasting a host of veterans looking for better numbers after a down
offensive year.

Four of the team's top five scorers are back for head coach Greg Gatto but after posting the second best offence in the conference two years ago, last year's group struggled to find the back of the net. Canada West 2007 rookie of the year and scoring champion Mark Shefchyk had just 21 points last season after a 47-point freshman campaign, while Jason Roberts, third in conference scoring in 2007, also regressed from 35 to 24 points.

Defensively, the Pronghorns will be young. Sophomores Andrew Marshall and Ryan Pottruff are the veterans. Marshall, the power play quarterback, led Pronghorn defencemen in scoring with 14 points last season while Pottruff (a 2004 Carolina Hurricanes draft selection) joined the Horns for the second half last season and made an immediate impact.

Former WHL defencemen Paul MacDonald (a former Lethbridge Hurricane) and Landon Jones (who last played with Tri-City) are
newcomers to the blueline.

Scott Bowles enters his second season as the incumbent starter in net, playing in 23 of 28 games last season and boasting a .905 save percentage.

The Pronghorns open their Canada West home schedule Oct. 17-18 when they host ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan Huskies.

The Pronghorns women's team, guided by new head coach Chandy Kaip, opened the season with consecutive home weekends and won't be back at Nicholas Sheran until Nov. 8-9 when they also host Saskatchewan.

UNews - Jason Roberts

Horns hockey opens at home

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