Simon Fraser University was featured in the November 18th edition of B.C. Hockey Now. To read the article on the B.C. Hockey Now website, click here. There’s lots to like about the early goings of the 2011/12 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League season for Simon Fraser University, who have taken command of the league standings with an unbeaten 8-0-1 record through early November.
It’s a positive start for the Clan, especially considering the extent of a summer roster overhaul necessitated by several key departures following a second consecutive BCIHL championship win in March.
The recruiting push for saw general manager Jeff Dubois focused on bringing quality homegrown talent back to the Lower Mainland, and resulted in commitments from five recruits with local ties who had spent the 2010/11 season playing Junior A hockey out of province.
That group includes forwards Jono Ceci (Estevan/SJHL) and Trevor Milner (Notre Dame/SJHL) and defencemen Tyler Mah (Flin Flon/SJHL), David Dotan (Spruce Grove/AJHL) and Derek Henderson (Grand Prairie/SJHL), who all chose to accept a scholarship close to home rather than venture south or east to pursue CIS or NCAA Division III opportunities.
Ceci, who finished the 2010/11 campaign sitting 11th in SJHL scoring with 69 points, and Milner have brought immediate results on offence. Just as importantly, the trio of Mah, Henderson and Dotan has helped stabilize a defensive unit that includes just one holdover from last year’s team.
“I grew up in North Burnaby, so it was great to have the chance to come home and play in front of friends and family,” said Mah, who spent two seasons with the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers. “I grew up just a few minutes from the rink and so far it’s been a great experience.”
“There are so many options for players exiting Junior A hockey who are looking for a university hockey opportunity,” says Dubois. “SFU’s reputation as an excellent academic university certainly came into play with that group of guys, but they also saw an option to continue playing the sport at high level, including games against NCAA and CIS competition.”
SFU’s first crack at a top-end American opponent came in October, when they faced the U.S. Air Force Academy in an exhibition match-up in Wenatchee, WA. The game saw the Clan compete well with their NCAA Division I opponents through two periods before a 5-3 deficit eventually deteriorated into an 8-3 loss.
“Having a chance to play against NCAA competition is a big draw for players entering our program and many of our guys stepped up and showed that they were not out of place at that level,” says head coach Mark Coletta.
“The Air Force game was also a good tune-up for our first games against UBC.”
Coletta hopes that January’s series against the Thunderbirds (Jan. 6 at UBC, Jan. 7 in Burnaby) proves to be the first step in building a long-lasting hockey rivalry between the Point Grey and Burnaby Mountain neighbours.
“Our approach is that we need to compete with and beat high-level programs like UBC in order to take the steps forward that we’d like to as a program,” says Coletta.
“Our guys will be motivated to show that the difference in caliber between our teams is a narrowing, and I’m sure the SFU-UBC rivalry will make for an intense couple of games.”
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
