The Simon Fraser University men's hockey team made some fine players and their fair share of mistakes in the Clan's first-ever game against an NCAA Division I opponent, dropping an 8-3 decision to the Air Force Academy in front of over 2,000 fans at the Town Toyota Centre in Wenatchee, WA.
Air Force's speed and skill was evident from the opening face-off, as sophomore Mitch Torrel round the SFU net and beat starter Graeme Gordon with a shot high to the blocker side. The Falcons doubled their lead at the 6:07 mark when Casey Kleisinger finished off a three-on-two rush from the slot.
SFU got on the board minutes later on a power-play, as Bill Smith corralled a puck to the right of Jason Torf and beat the Air Force netminder from in close. But the Clan went in to the intermission down 4-1, as Cole Gunner and Tony Thomas scored on similar plays, each collecting a rebound off the end-boards and putting the puck over a sprawling Gordon.
The second period seemed to clam the Clan, who was the more physical of the two teams and often hemmed Air Force in their own zone with a strong forecheck. The teams traded goals in the period, with Falcons junior Kyle DeLaurell converting a rebound from in close before SFU's Ben Van Lare took a long pass from Chris Hoe and scored on the subsequent breakaway.
DeLaurell and SFU freshman centre Jono Ceci exchanged goals in the third period before a pair of Air Force tallies brought the game to a close. The Falcons held a 32-18 advantage in shots on goal on the night.
"I'm proud at how our guys competed for parts of the game, but we also experienced some mental errors and when we did they seemed to end up in the back of our net," says SFU head coach Mark Coletta. "Air Force was as we expected; very fast and highly skilled; but a number of our players showed that they were capable of playing at that level."
It was clear in many parts of the game that SFU's inexperience was a factor, as the squad was composed of six rookie defencemen and 13 first-year players overall. Air Force, meanwhile, suited up a veteran defensive unit that included seniors Tim Kirby and Scott Mathis as well as junior Stephen Carew. Up front, seniors Paul Weisgarber, Kyle DeLaurell and John Kruse all factored in the scoring.
"Air Force was definitely the older, more experienced team tonight, but it was exciting for our staff to see some new players step up and compete," says Coletta. "We plan on playing more and more NCAA teams in the future, and the core of tonight's line-up were younger guys who be better prepared in the future from this experience."
SFU now returns home to open defence of its 2011 BCIHL Championship on Saturday night when they host Trinity Western University at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. Face-off is set for 7:00 PM.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
