UNews - Ontario Hockey League

Horns add defensive help

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:17:18 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team has dipped into the Ontario talent pool for a pair of defencemen.

Horns' head coach Greg Gatto continues to revamp the defensive core of the men's hockey team, adding Tim Campbell and David McMullen, defensemen who each have Ontario Hockey League (OHL) experience.

Campbell, a native of Thornhill, ON, joins the 'Horns after finishing his junior career with the Woodstock Slammers of the Maritime Hockey League (MHL). In 45 games as a 20 year-old, Campbell registered 17 goals and 55 assists and was named the top defenseman in the MHL.

"I am excited and really looking forward to coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge," says Campbell. "I fell in love with the city when I came out for my visit and can't wait to get started with the Pronghorns."

During his only season in Woodstock, he helped the Slammers win a MHL Championship and a berth in the RBC Championship. At the national championship tournament, Campbell registered five points in six games as the Slammers lost in the final to the Penticton Vees.

Prior to joining the Slammers, Campbell played three seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm, compiling eight goals and 39 assists in 166 career games.

"Tim was a pretty sought after guy and he showed great offensive upside last year in Woodstock," says Gatto. "He's a right shot that can quarterback our power play and he played three seasons with a great organization in the OHL."

Also making the trip out west is David McMullen, who played with his hometown Kingston Voyageurs in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). The team captain for the past two seasons, McMullen registered 22 goals and 104 assists in 189 career games. In addition to playing four seasons with the Voyageurs, McMullen played one season in the OHL with the Niagara IceDogs.

"David is another right shot defenseman with good offensive instincts," says Gatto. "He was the captain in Kingston the past two seasons and it is always nice to add a guy with good leadership qualities like that."

Gatto continues to work on rounding out this year's recruiting class. The Horns will open the 2012-2013 Canada West season by hosting the Calgary Dinos in the front half of a home-and-home series on Thursday, Sept. 27.

Courtney and Horns celebrate Movember

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:09:52 +0000

It would be easy for Andrew Courtney to feel disillusioned about his five years with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team. A laundry list of injuries has left Courtney in the trainer's room or on the operating table as much as he's been on the ice.

Yet, despite leaving his family, moving across the country and having only played 20 games over the last two seasons, Courtney is not only at peace with his circumstance, he's thankful. Now, the Belleville, Ont. native says he wants to give something back – and he'll do so by growing a moustache.

"I decided to come out here to continue playing hockey and to further my education, which was the dream growing up," says Courtney, the impetus behind the Horns' Movember initiative (donate by following this link). "My mom's a high school teacher, and she always preached to me how important it was to get an education. This was an opportunity to do that, and it's been the best move of my life."

Moustache members of the Horns men's hockey team (front row from left); Andrew Gilbert, Lucio Pucci-Daniele, Ryan Letts and Dan Iwanski; (Back row from left) Dustin Moore, Andrew Courtney and Reese St. Goddard.

Movember, a campaign that originated in Australia in 2003, draws attention to and raises funds for the fight against prostate cancer. Last year, 35,156 people in Canada took up the cause and raised $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.

The program itself is simple, grow a moustache, collect pledges and the fund grows. For Courtney, the cause is personal, on a number of levels.

"Both my uncle and my grandfather have had to face prostate cancer in recent years and luckily for them, they caught it early and everything is well," says Courtney.

"In my five years, we really haven't done anything like this as a team. This is a way for me to say thank you to Lethbridge and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for welcoming me into the community. I just wanted to give something back and try and get the community a little more involved with Pronghorns Athletics."

The Horns have been growing their mustaches since returning from a pre-season trip to Colorado, and are now selling tickets for a raffle that features a Los Angeles Kings jersey signed by the entire Kings team, as well as a Molson prize pack. The raffle will be drawn Nov. 20 at the Horns' home game against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Regina Cougars. That night, all proceeds from the 50-50 draw will go to Prostate Cancer Canada, along with the raffle proceeds and money raised from a special promotion that sees U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon shooting pucks into the net between periods. As well, the team will be wearing special Pronghorns jerseys that will be available through silent auction, again with the proceeds to be donated.

"I didn't know how the team would react to this, but they've been great," says Courtney, a kinesiology major. "All the guys are growing their mustaches – some better than others – and now it's just a matter of selling tickets and getting as many people to the game as we can."

Pronghorns forward Andrew Courtney displays the special edition jerseys that will be part of a silent auction at Saturday's Movember night at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Courtney played 37 games his first season at the U of L, before being limited to just 26 games the next because of an ankle injury. In his third year, shoulder and knee problems would limit his participation to just five games. Last season, Courtney was off to a blazing start, scoring 13 goals in the team's first 15 games to lead the conference. Unfortunately, he blew out his knee just prior to the Christmas break and was lost for the rest of the year.

"At the beginning it was really stressful and depressing," he says of the eight-month rehabilitation process following the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. "Having the support of the guys, my family and friends, was huge. They helped me get through this process, this long road, and without them I couldn't have done it."

It's why he wants to say thanks to southern Alberta. That it might lead to helping any number of men in the long run is an added bonus.

"Coming here, I didn't know anyone other than Steve (Zmudczynski) and we were the only guys from Ontario on the team," says Courtney. "As the years have gone on and I've met more people, I've really been accepted as just another member of the community. It's been overwhelming to experience that."

GET THE FACTS

· Courtney played Junior A Tier II hockey in Trenton, Ont. before his final season of eligibility, when he played for the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara Falls Thunder.

· He has had three knee surgeries on the same knee in the last 18 months, two arthroscopic procedures and a total ACL reconstruction.

· Movember raffle tickets are available from Horns hockey players or in the Horns Athletics office (PE210).

· Courtney scored a power play goal against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba, Oct. 29. It was his first game in 11 months following knee surgery.

Pronghorn duo to represent Canada

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:19:22 +0000

Ryan Pottruff and Dustin Moore came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge for a quality education and to continue their hockey careers. Getting an opportunity to travel to China and represent their country — that's just an added bonus.

The Pronghorn duo will join the Canada West all-star squad that's slated to compete in the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, Feb. 18-28, providing another highlight in what has been a turnaround season for the men's hockey program.

"I can't even describe how excited I am," Moore, a right wing out of Red Deer, Alta., says. "When (coach Greg Gatto) told me, it didn't even set in until about two days later, and I couldn't sleep at night. The opportunity to go and put on a Canadian jersey all the way over in China is going to be an unbelievable experience."

It will be the first time either player has laced up for Canada, something that evokes a unique feeling of national pride.

"I'm really looking forward to experiencing what it's like to go play overseas," Pottruff, a defenceman out of Woodstock, Ont., says. "It'll be amazing to see China and feel what it's like to put on the red maple leaf and play for your country."

The two arrived on campus just over a year ago with similar backgrounds. Each came to the Pronghorns after concluding junior hockey careers (Pottruff with London and Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League and Moore with Red Deer of the Western Hockey League) and each had a brief look at the pro game. While Moore seems more interested in taking another crack at professional hockey, Pottruff has already mapped out a career plan away from the rink.

"I had a pro experience and it wasn't really what I wanted to do at the time," he says of a playoff stint with the Central Hockey League's Corpus Christi IceRays in 2007. "Right now, all I have my mind set on is getting my degree and becoming a high school gym teacher."

While he wouldn't rule out looking at a professional opportunity following the completion of his degree, Pottruff is squarely focused on life after hockey.

"You've got to know when it's time to shut it down, and I'm not going to waste away in the East Coast league or somewhere else. I'm here to get my degree first," he says.

Moore, in his first year of pre-management studies, would like to see his university hockey career dovetail into a pro contract overseas. To that end, playing for Canada on the world stage could be a springboard.

Coach Gatto, a member of the Pronghorns 1994-95 CIS national championship squad, did just that when he wrapped up his university career. He played two-plus seasons of professional hockey in Britain, then another four seasons of minor pro in the United States, all of which came on the heels of his appearance in the 1997 Winter Universiade in South Korea.

"For me, it was something I'd never thought of, going on a trip or holiday to Korea and I'm sure they are thinking the same way, now they get to go to China and that's a cultural experience they otherwise never would have had," Gatto says.

"It's also a good opportunity to open some eyes to go play in Europe when they're done."

Canada is coming off a gold medal victory at the 2007 Universiade in Torino, Italy as a group of players from the Atlantic ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Sport conference took the title. Moore likes the challenge of defending the crown.

"You expect to win a championship every time you put on a Canadian jersey," he says.

GET THE FACTS

• Moore is sixth in Canada West scoring with 17 points in 16 games

• Pottruff is tied for second in Canada West defenceman scoring with 12 points in 16 games

• Canada West, Atlantic ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Ontario ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ conferences rotate sending players to Universiade, meaning a conference only represents Canada once every six years

• ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta leads all Canada West schools with seven players on the Canadian squad

• Gatto's 1997 Universiade team won bronze for Canada in Chonju, South Korea

UNews - Ontario Hockey League

Horns add defensive help

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