The No. 1 ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears travel to Thunder Bay this weekend to take on the No. 7 Lakehead University Thunderwolves in a two game non-conference series. Lakehead won last weekend's first Bell Canada Varsity Cup Tournament in Thunder Bay with a Finals victory over Calgary, while Alberta is coming of a pair of conference wins against the Lethbridge Pronghorns. This is the first ever meeting between the two teams.
Alberta is 15-2-1 in conference play and 19-3-3 overall. They are in first place in the tough Mountain Division of the Canada West Conference. Golden Bears Head Coach Rob Daum says his team is looking forward to the series against the Thunderwolves. "From what I understand, Thunder Bay is a great place to play hockey, great environment and atmosphere. And Lakehead has a great team, so from a hockey perpective, that's what you want. It will be a good test for our team."
Lakehead is 9-3 in conference play and 13-7-1 overall. Thunderwolves Head Coach Pete Belliveau feels this series is another important test for his team.
"We will be facing the best team to ever play us at the Gardens. They have been ranked No. 1 all season, and for good reason when you look at their record. They also defeated the Edmonton Oilers Rookie Team this fall. They are big, skilled , well coached and tough, but we cannot wait to play them. This will be an exciting series, our great fans will get to see another one of Canada's best University hockey teams.
The two teams take to the ice Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 E.S.T. at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay. Fans of the Golden Bears and Thunderwolves can listen to the game via the internet at www.cjsr.com and www.bears.ualberta.ca
Alberta Team Preview:
2002-2003 Results:
Mon Dec 30 Alberta 6 Lethbridge 2
Sun Dec 29 Alberta 6 Lethbridge 1
Sat Nov 30 Alberta 4 Regina 1
Fri Nov 29 Alberta 6 Regina 2
Sat Nov 23 Alberta 8 UBC 1
Fri Nov 22 Alberta 4 UBC 1
Sat Nov 16 Saskatchewan 3 Alberta 1
Fri Nov 15 Alberta 6 Saskatchewan 1
Sat Nov 9 Alberta 4 Calgary 2
Fri Nov 8 Alberta 3 Calgary 2
Sat Nov 2 Alberta 6 Manitoba 1
Fri Nov 1 Alberta 6 Manitoba 0
Sat Oct 26 Alberta 6 Lethbridge 4
Fri Oct 24 Lethbridge 3 Alberta 2
Sat Oct 12 Alberta 2 Regina 2 TIE
Fri Oct 11 Alberta 5 Regina 1
Sat Oct 5 Alberta 3 UBC 1
Fri Oct 4 Alberta 4 UBC 3
Sun Sep 29 Calgary 2 Alberta 2 NC OT TIE
Sat Sep 28 Saskatchewan 4 Alberta 4 NC OT TIE
Sun Sep 22 Lethbridge 4 Alberta 3 NC
Sat Sep 21 Alberta 7 Saskatchewan 3 NC
Fri Sep 20 Alberta 8 Regina 3 NC
Wed Sep 18 Alberta 4 Oilers Rookies 0 EX
Fri Sep 13 Alberta 3 NAIT 2 EX
Tue Sep 10 Alberta 7 Grant MacEwan 0 EX
Alberta Historical Highlights:
-10 National titles...1964,1968,1975,1978,1979,1980,1986,1992,1999,2000
- 41 Canada West Championships including last two seasons
- Been to University Cup Tournament National Finals 6 straight years (1997-2002)
- 27 appearances over last 40 years at the University Cup Tournament National Finals.
- Has been ranked in the top three in the CIS for 63 of the last 72 reporting
periods over the last four and half seasons...
- Is 53-2-4 at home (Clare Drake Arena) in the last two and a half seasons...
Head Coach: Rob Daum
Rob Daum is in his eighth year as Head Coach of the Golden Bears, taking over the helm of the program in 1995-96. The 2001-2002 Canada West Coach of the Year has led Alberta to a 252-69-26 (.763 ) overall record in 347 games, and an impressive 159-34-21 games (.792 ) in 214 Conference games.
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