WolfPack to prep for second half with games vs. ACAC's Portage College

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Fans of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack are getting a late Christmas present. The B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League team has announced that they will play two exhibition games early in January against the Portage College Voyageurs of the Alberta College Athletic Conference.

"These games serve a couple of purposes; we get back into playing against tough competition early in the second semester," says WolfPack general manager Chris Hans. "As it stood our league schedule does not have us playing a game until January 20th and these games will help us work out the kinks from the Christmas/Winter Break."

"Also playing against an ACAC opponent can only help our development as the ACAC is arguably the top college hockey league in Canada and these games will give us an opportunity to gauge how much we have developed since meeting Grant MacEwan College and SAIT in a preseason tournament in Calgary in September (6-5 win over MacEwan, 5-1 loss to SAIT)."

The WolfPack will play the Voyageurs Friday January 6th at the Interior Savings Centre at 6:30 pm. The two teams will then travel to Princeton to play another game Sunday January 8th (2:45 pm start time). The second game is being held in Princeton because it was the nearest city with available ice. There are tournaments being held by Kamloops Minor Hockey at the same time here.

Says coach Don Schulz: "I’m excited that we are able to get to play a tough opponent to set the bar for our second half. It will not only provide needed game conditioning for our returning players, but also serve as an excellent precursor for the systems I want to use and needed game experience for our new recruits."

"Portage participates in arguably the best collegiate league in Canada so this will be an excellent measure of where we are in our development. First term we finished with 5 wins in a row and we’ll see if we can continue the streak."

Current WolfPack goaltender Shane Mainprize (Valemount, BC) played two seasons for the Voyageurs before joining TRU this year. Portage, based in Lac La Biche, is currently in fifth place in the ACAC with 10 points through 16 games. They have four wins, ten losses, a tie and an overtime loss. They are coached by Terry Ewasiuk, who has coached college hockey in Alberta for ten years, the last four with Portage.

The WolfPack return to action in the BCIHL on January 20th when they entertain the Okanagan College Coyotes. Game time is 8:30 pm at Memorial Arena.