Exhibition Game: Mt. Royal 1 - UAA 0

Had some internet probs. Fixed now. So my impressions from listening (and I didn't hear every minute of David Tuttle's fine debut broadcast) to our guys come up short against Mt. Royal last night ...

Mason Mitchell sounds every bit of what he was described to be and I was hoping for. Nicolas Erb-Ekholm seemed to be able to get the puck into some dangerous places. Jeremiah Luedtke's name was prominent in the broadcast and it seemed to me he played with Blake Tatchell all night ... be nice if they developed some chemistry. Sean MacTavish's play sounded promising as did Eric Roberts. Seemed to me that Wyatt Ege got a lot of ice time (again I had to listen on and off) and played in all situations ... more importantly, it sounded like he played very well. That's all promising.

It was good to hear Tanner Dusyck's name called in situations that sounded like scoring chances too. It'll be good to see him playing this weekend. The goalies played well. The defense seemed to be mostly ok. And even though we didn't score we seemed to match them offensively. 

All in all I call that a good opening season exhibition. The team was challenged all night long by their opponent and they saw some high end guys on the other side of the ice pressing the issue. Not everyone thinks like me ... It's ridiculously early to label this year's team in the following manner ...

On paper, the UAA hockey team looks challenged to score goals in the upcoming season ... On ice, that dearth of scoring manifested itself Friday night, when UAA fell 1-0 to Mount Royal ...

but those are two of the first four sentences in Doyle Woody's coverage of the game.

Give it 10 or 12 games before you start negatively labeling the team couldya Doyle? It'll take at least that long before any sort of trend is statistically significant. And why just shit on the team like that when reporting on an exhibition game?

I won't be attending the Green & Gold game (working) but hopefully folks will take some photo's and video and post it on the Facebook page. Here's the boxscore.

The Mt. Royal Cougars: A Preview

According to UAA Head Coach Matt Thomas, the Mt. Royal Cougars from Calgary, Alberta are not to be taken lightly. They got a new coach last year and the team fully bought into his system and they finished their season 17-11. They didn't have a lot of player losses and have brought in a former CJHL Player of The Year to bolster the lineup.

Media Day: Captain's Named, Tours Given, Enthusiasm Increased

Austin Sevalrud was named Captain for this year's Seawolves. He'll be a hard-working and responsible Captain. It's a good choice, his assistants are Blake Tatchell, Chris Williams and Matt Anholt.  It's a quality group of leaders and the inclusion of Anholt makes for a good bridge to the underclassmen. I like it. Sevalrud is a grown-up. And his cop-stache should ensure everyone stays in line.

In naming the captains, Coach Thomas mentioned the leadership of Blake Leask and Olivier Mantha; in particular noting their commitment on the ice which of course serves as the best example to other players.

Thomas seemed to purposely use the word elite when referencing our freshman. It isn't a word that I've heard him toss out there too often so it caught my ear. He wasn't referring to every one of the rookies but the discussion leads me to the conclusion that I may have underestimated more than a couple of our new players.

Thomas pegs Erb-Ekholm as a player that may surprise and delight us so I'll retract my initial guess that he is some sort of project.

The new facilities were nice and you guys should definitely check it out this weekend at the green and gold game. KTVA and ADN both have good coverage on their websites in pictures and video. The locker room and team lounge are a sweet combination that the players will really love. The new training rooms and hot/cold tubs etc are all kewl beans  and both AD Keith Hackett and Coach Thomas emphasized the benefit the new facilities will pay in terms of recruiting. New ice-making plant, new boards, new lighting, new seamless glass add to the renovation

Nothing about media day lessened my enthusiasm for this coming season. Instead, I'm even more enthusiastic to see whats up and optimistic as I can be that we'll have a better season than most people believe.

Mark Your Calendars

I understand the team had it's first official practice today. Soooooo ... hockey is really now upon us. It's fixin' to be rainin' hockey all over us. Here's a list of things coming up in the next couple of weeks which you might want to mark on your calendar.

On Tuesday the 29th I'll be going to the Seawolves media day. It includes the usual press conference, player and staff availability for interviews and tours of all the new stuff in The BCHC (Brush Christiansen Hockey Center). I'll have a full report that evening here.

Friday the 2nd is of course the exhibition game in Soldotna against Mr. Royal. I'll have a little preview up on Thursday and I'm looking for a ride there and back if anyone has an extra seat. I'm all about riding my bicycle everywhere I need to go but Soldotna would be a bit much for me right now. Anyway, I'll be a gracious passenger and good company. Then everyone else will get to read a good game recap because you gave me a ride.

On Sunday the 4th the Wells Fargo Sports Center is having it's grand re-opening. There's tours of the BCHC (locker room, training rooms, etc ...) at 3pm which is also when a practice is scheduled. Then at 4pm is the Green/Gold game and skills competition. Then at 5pm is a Skate With The Seawolves event for the kids. I'll have full coverage of all this as well.

Then on Friday the 9th ... game on. But earlier on Friday there's the tournament's Coaches Luncheon. That should be a good event; get your tickets early though as I'm guessing they'll go quickly. All four coaches will be there. I'm planning on going to this.

And just as an afterthought for the tournament. Come watch the games that UAA isn't playing in even if it's just to cheer against UAF.