SFU announces 8-game exhibition sched including BCHL, NCAA competition

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The Simon Fraser University Men's Hockey team has announced its 8-game exhibition schedule for the 2011/12 season, which includes match-ups against a trio of British Columbia Hockey League clubs as well as the Clan's first-ever NCAA Division I opponent.

SFU will open their preseason on Friday, September 2nd against the BCHL's Coquitlam Express at the Coquitlam Sports Centre. The Friday night pre-Labour Day game has become the traditional starting point of the exhibition campaign for the Clan, who picked up victories by scores of 6-5 and 5-4 in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

The squad will also face the BCHL's Merritt Centennials and Langley Rivermen and square off against BCIHL rivals Trinity Western and Thompson Rivers in a pair of home-and-home series. All these games will serve as preparation and build-up to SFU's match-up versus Air Force, the defending Atlantic Hockey conference champions, on Saturday, October 1st in Wenatchee, WA.

"We've gone out of our way to schedule a longer than usual preseason in order to properly evaluate a large number of incoming players and fully prepare for the challenge we'll face against Air Force in our final exhibition game," says SFU general manager Jeff Dubois.

"We're also excited to be playing three BCHL opponents, which is a great opportunity to showcase the quality of play at SFU to many of the players who will be recruiting somewhere down the line."

SFU's 2011/12 Preseason Schedule:

Friday, September 2nd @ Coquitlam Express; 7:00 PM, Coquitlam Sports Centre

Friday, September 9th @ Merritt Centennials; 7:30 PM, Nicola Valley Arena

Saturday, September 10th vs. Trinity Western; 7:00 PM, Bill Copeland Arena

Friday, September 16th @ Trinity Western; 7:00 PM, Langley Events Centre

Saturday, September 17th vs. Langley Rivermen; 7:00 PM, Bill Copeland Arena

Friday, September 23rd @ Thompson Rivers; 8:30 PM, Kamloops Memorial Arena

Saturday, September 24th vs. Thompson Rivers; 7:00 PM, Bill Copeland Arena

Saturday, October 1st @ Air Force; 5:30 PM, Wenatchee, WA