Thompson Rivers going strong at halfway mark after slow start to season

---

Of all the teams competing right now for Thompson Rivers University, the men’s hockey team has the most victories. The WolfPack hockey program sits in third place in the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League at the Christmas/Exam break.

Don Schulz’s WolfPack have seven wins, three losses and two ties for 16 points. That is good enough to be within striking distance of the BCIHL’s top two clubs. SFU leads with nine wins and three ties for 21 points. Okanagan College is in second spot at 8-2-2, two points better than Thompson Rivers.

“After a slow opening weekend on the road in Eastern Washington, I think we have re grouped well and are heading in the right direction,” said WolfPack general manager Chris Hans. “I still think we should have come away with two wins in Eastern Washington.”

Hans has seen a lot of positive things transpire over first 12 games.

“Our goaltending has been solid; I think we have the best goaltending tandem in the league. I wouldn't trade Riley Wall (4-2-2 with 3.64 goals against) or Shane Mainprize (3-1 2.50 goals against) for anyone!"

“Our defense corps has been consistent this half of the season also. Cody Lockwood has been a steadying influence and Shane Oatway and Curtis Tonello have played like seasoned veterans."

"Our leadership group has been excellent. I don't think anyone works harder than captain Andrew Fisher and his work ethic and leadership rubs off on our players. Assistant captains David Gore, Jassi Sangha and Lockwood fill important roles on the team and are leading our team in the right direction.“

As for his assessment of the coaching staff? Hans states: “Head Coach Don Schulz and his assistants (Shane Zulyniak, Joel Leonard, Terry Bangen and goalie coach Andre Larouche) have done a very good job with our team. We are well prepared and Don has our team playing hockey the right way. We have structure to our style of play and don't take many shifts off. “

Hans adds that the fact the WolfPack have suffered a number of injuries in the first half, the coaches have done a great job of keeping TRU among the upper echelon in the BCIHL.

The WolfPack were on a huge roll going into the BCIHL break. They had won their last five in a row and were unbeaten in their last seven outings. Hans says confidence has been a bit of a stumbling block early on.

“Early in the season I would have said that some of our players haven't realized just how good they are yet,” he says. “I think we let teams off the hook so to speak a few times when we could have had greater goal differentials but our recent home stand showed we have learned to play through 60 minutes each night.”

After struggling a bit, the WolfPack’s special teams have been, well, special. The coaches spent a lot of time tinkering with the Power Play and Penalty Kill. As Head Coach Schulz points out, “It took some time to match players with the type of Power Play I wanted to use. I really like the two units that we have and each of them brings a slightly different dynamic to each power play. There’s also some healthy competition between the two units and we encourage that at practice. In turn it’s also helped our Penalty Kill having to practice against two very competent Power Play units.”

“We are getting great contributions on the penalty kill from Drew De Frias and Kevin Neilsen who have forged a spot on the penalty kill through their hard work and consistency,” Hans explains.

De Frias is one of a number of newcomers or almost-newcomers who have made an impression over the first dozen games.

‘It is nice to have Mick Ludvig back in the lineup after not playing last season,” Hans states. “ Mick is in the top 10 of league scoring. Rookies Duncan Schulz (9th overall in league scoring) and Joshua MacDonald (12th overall in league scoring) are making important contributions to the team.”

The WolfPack don’t return to play in the BCIHL until January 20th when they entertain Okanagan College at Kamloops Memorial Arena. Game time is 8:30 pm.

ICE CHIPS: Sangha is third in league scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists. Fisher is fourth with 11 goals and nine assists. Schulz is ninth with 5 goals and 11 assists in only eight games. Ludvig is 10th along with MacDonald with 15 points. Ludvig has eight goals and seven assists while MacDonald has three goals and 12 assists.