Homeopener Friday

The Cougars men’s hockey team gets set to kick off their title defense when they open the 2011-12 season this Friday, Oct. 7 against the visiting Briercrest Clippers. Game time is set for 7:30 pm at Flames Community Arenas.

The 2010-11 campaign was a solid one for the Cougar men’s hockey team as they battled to a 19-6-3 regular season record.

As for the playoffs, calling them memorable doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of one of the most exciting playoff runs in school history.

The Mount Royal University community rallied behind the Cougars as they beat the Augustana Vikings 3-1 in their best-of-five semi-final series to set up a meeting with their perennial rivals, the SAIT Trojans.

What followed would go down in ACAC lore as one of the all-time great finals matchups, with the underdog Cougars achieving what few originally thought possible. The Cougar men knocked off the four-time defending champions in the fifth and final game of the series to take home the ACAC championship title in dramatic fashion.

With all of last year’s drama and excitement, the bar has been set at its highest for this year’s squad, and while the Cougars certainly can’t top the final result, they are as hungry as ever to defend their title in what will be their final year in the ACAC.

The Cougars will make the transition next year to the Canada West conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), where they will face stiffer competition and a more gruelling travel schedule.

For the time being, however, the focus remains squarely on another strong season and another deep playoff run. With a new batch of recruits and 14 returning members of last year’s championship squad, the Cougars are looking like the team to beat.

The new faces joining the Cougars this season are: Tyler Eskesen (F), Mike Brown (F), Sam Muchalla (F), Erik Slemp (F), Jeff Barrett (F), Tyler Jewitt (F), Mitch Galbraith (F), Logan Herauf (F), Nick Bell (D), Justin Daigle (D), Brad Haber (D), Matt Strong (D) and Dalyn Flette (G).

Flette was one of the top Junior A goaltenders in the country last season as he backstopped the Camrose Kodiaks to the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) championship series and a spot in the RBC cup, earning the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award. The Cougars have always been strong in net, and Flette will give the defending champs a formidable 1-2 punch between the pipes.

The Cougars have 14 returning players this year, which include: Darnell Glass (D), Jessie Tresierra (D), Ryan Moir (D), Ben Scott (D), Justin Cote (G), Jason MacDonald (F), Jordon Harrison (F), Brenden Turnbull (F), Jeremy Roberts (F), Brad Goss (F), Eric Galbraith (F), Vinny Muchalla (F), and Kevin Knopp (F).

All in all the Cougars look to be as talent-laden as they were last season, and Laforest’s challenge will be to replace the scoring and leadership of veterans Barry Horman, Joe Vetere, Jesse Perrin and goaltender Brett Bothwell, all of whom were key cogs in last season’s championship run. The new batch of recruits will have an immediate impact this season, and should mesh well with the returning core of last year’s championship squad.

The Cougars final year in the ACAC is shaping up to be a good one.

Fans attending Friday night’s game will also have a chance to win an Apple iPad. Games are always free for students, staff and faculty, so get the long weekend kicked off right and join us at the game on Friday night !