Bears top Canada West men's hockey coaches’ pre-season poll

Source: Canada West Communication

EDMONTON – The University of Alberta Golden Bears, Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy winners as Canada West champions the last four years, and 10 of the last 11, are heavily favoured to repeat according to results of a 2011-12 preseason coaches’ poll.
 
With coaches not permitted to vote for their own school, Alberta received five of a possible six first-place votes, with the Calgary Dinos coming out on top in two ballots.
 
Here are the complete voting results, based on an 8-6-4-3-2-1 system (first-place votes in parentheses):
 
1. Alberta                 44 (5)
 2. Calgary               38 (2)
 3. Manitoba             29
 4. Saskatchewan     24
 5. Lethbridge           14
 6. Regina                 10
 7. UBC                       9
 
The ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS have won 10 of the last 11 Canada West championships and, despite the departure of several top stars, coaches across the league have decided they are the favourites once again. Gone are Derek Ryan, Chad Klassen, Eric Hunter and Kyle Fecho, leaving players such as Sean Ringrose, Johnny Lazo, Ian Barteaux and Greg Gardner to step up their respective roles for new head coach Stan Marple.
 
Coming off a second-place finish last season the CALGARY DINOS placed second in the preseason coaches’ poll. While some of the offensive punch is gone with the departure of Torrie Wheat and Aaron Richards, two-time Canada West All-Star Reid Jorgensen, who had 33 points last season, remains the team’s sparkplug and Brock Nixon is another of the core group to return up front. Dustin Butler, 2010-11 CIS Goalie of the Year, will back-stop a Dinos team that surrendered just 67 goals in 28 games last year. A number of recruits, including former Calgary Hitmen Tyler Fiddler, will create a good mix of young and veteran talent.
 
The MANITOBA BISONS were solid at home in 2010-11, but struggled on the road and could not get the offence on track at Edmonton in the playoffs. With a long list of returning players the key question is who will replace workhorse and 2009-10 CIS Goalie of the Year Steve Christie. Blair Macaulay had 33 points last season, while Tyler Dittmer, Jared Walker and Mike Hellyer were in and around the 20-point mark. Jesse Deckert is one of three players vying for the starting job in goal.
 
For the SASKATCHEWAN NHUSKIES a quick playoff exit is a rare thing, but that was the case last season. Now, without former First Team All-Stars Steven Gillen and Steve DaSilva, they move on looking to move north of the third-place finish one year ago with 2011 leading scorer Kyle Bortis, All-Stars Andrew Bailey and Kyle Ross to lead the charge. In goal will be David Reekie, who had a 12-8 mark and a .917 save percentage. Jesse Zetariuk and Brett Ward lead a group of reliable, veteran defencemen.
 
At #5 in the conference coaches’ poll are the LETHBRIDGE PRONGHORNS, which missed the playoffs by a mere two points each of the last two years. With the return of a six-team playoff system, the Horns expect they can get there this time around. The team’s top three scorers – Nick Hotson, Winston Day Chief and Dustin Moore – all return, with Scott Bowles between the pipes. Ryan Pottruff, who had seven goals and 16 points, will once again be an important member on defence.
 
The REGINA COUGARS rank sixth heading into the season, having slid from 24 points three years ago to just 18 in 2010-11.
 
Despite a 10-point upward trajectory in the standings last year, the UBC THUNDERBIRDS have their work cut out to try and make further gains. With its top three scorers back, along with goaltender Jordan White, UBC has every chance to continue making inroads. Justin McCrae and Max Grassi were top-20 scorers last season, with third-leading team scorer and Ben Schmidt, the team’s best d-man, is also back. White hopes to improve on an 11-17 season that saw him play almost every minute of action, yielding 3.38 goals per game, with a .885 save percentage.

About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
 Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year, 1997 to 2010. Comprised of 16 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. “cwuaa” on Twitter.