Attaboy, Cam. The Bot stopped 22 of 23 in Wednesday night’s preseason game against the Devils.
Author Archives: Geof F. Morris
Hockey Night in Huntsville – September 23rd at the Iceplex
Hockey Night in Huntsville will start at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 23rd down at the IcePlex. Here are the events involved:
- Skate With the Chargers: 7:00-8:15. Skates can be rented at the IcePlex for $5.
- All skaters will be able to take part in skills competitions: hardest shot, fastest skater, and conquering an obstacle course.
- At 8:30, the Chargers will host an intra-squad skills competition. I saw a skills competition during the practice after the overtime win at UNO last season, and it was a lot of fun.
This should be a great event for everyone. The students will be there getting ready for the student section, so it promises to be a boisterous affair.
Free General Admission for Home Opener Against Lake State
The University announced Tuesday that general admission tickets for for the home opener at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, October 1st will be free.
The free tickets for the 7 p.m. contest will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis that night at the Von Braun Center box office.
Reserved downstairs tickets for the showdown with the Lakers will be available for $10 and can be purchased in advance or the night of at the box office, by calling (256) 551-2345, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
Come on out to the VBC and bring your friends—let’s pack the VBC out!
[Note: We previously reported on Facebook that GA would be free for both games. We were incorrect, and we regret the error.]
Incoming Interview: Jeff Vanderlugt
Jeff Vanderlugt played his final season of junior hockey with the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League after spending three seasons with the Aurora Tigers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The 6’3″, 220-lb. forward finished third on his team in scoring with 30-24–54 in 66 total games this past season, with 11 of those goals coming on the power play. He played 115 career games with Aurora, where he scored 56-54–100.
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I first started playing organized hockey at seven years old in the local town league. I had a lot of fun that year and even played goalie a few times. The following season, I followed in my older brother and sister’s foot steps and began to play rep hockey. As you can imagine, it was a great challenge for our parents to get us all where we needed to be. There was always one of them at my games, and sometimes both, and on rare occasions my brother and sister would attend. Aside from playing goalie when I was 7, I have occasionally played defense; but the majority of my career I have been a center man. I did not really have a favorite team growing up, but as I lived near Toronto, we always cheered for the Leafs.
Incoming Interview: Michael Webley
Michael Webley spent the last three seasons playing with the Gloucester Rangers of the Central Canada Hockey League. The 6’0″, 180-lb. forward exploded offensively during the 2010-11 season, appearing in 59 games and scoring 37-64–101 to finish fourth in the league scoring race. For his efforts, he was honored with the Sportsmanship and Ability Award by the Central Canada Hockey League. Webley played in 248 career games in juniors, scoring 100-152–252.
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I started playing hockey at the age of five. My dad played professional hockey but encouraged me to try me to any sport I wanted. But for me, being from Canada it was a no-brainer to choose hockey. I have always played a forward position, left-wing or center, since a young age. My favorite player was Joe Sakic, and of course being from Ottawa, my favorite team is the Ottawa Senators.
Incoming Interview: Andrew Creppin
Photo credit: Gloucester Rangers
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I started playing hockey as a ‘Timbit’ when I was four years old. I have two older brothers who played hockey before I did, so it was kind of a family thing that got me involved with the game. My father also played a huge role in getting me involved in the sport. He was my first coach and taught me the basics of the game. When I was growing up I always played center. However, in Junior I played left wing for one year and center for the remaining years. My favourite team growing up was the Anaheim Ducks, who also had my favourite player, Teemu Selanne, playing for them.
The Program Desperately Needs Your Help
Friends, we’re in a bad state. Interim UAH president Mack Portera has taken it on himself to take the steps to kill our beloved hockey program. It’s certainly expensive, and we all know how tough the going’s been the last few years. We’ve just gotten in the last month the amount of yearly support needed — $500k. That’s a lot of money, and maybe we don’t get it, but until August, we did not know how much we needed to raise. Now Portera sits poised to kill the program before we’ve had the first chance to figure out how to bring in the money.
Tell him no. Tell him to keep the program going until we can figure out how to make this work.
Please tell your friends as well. You can keep up with the Save UAH Hockey movement on the Web, Facebook, and Twitter. There will be more information on how you can help us over the coming days. Your help is truly needed, as your numbers will give rise to the notion that this program should continue on and thrive.
Thank you for your time.
Incoming Interview: Graeme Strukoff
Graeme Strukoff (dark) shoots on his old teammates, having spent more than two seasons playing for Trail.
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I first started playing hockey when I was five years old. Both my parents supported me throughout hockey, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I started out as a forward but my coach in Peewee decided to put me on defence and I loved it. My favourite team was always the Winnipeg Jets, and I was ecstatic to hear that they will be back in the NHL next season. I do feel sorry for the fans in Atlanta who had to see their team go—with the amount of hockey fans in the South, it’s definitely too bad that there’s no more NHL hockey there. Growing up, I idolized Pavel Bure, and I even have his jersey hanging up in my dorm.
Incoming Interview: Doug Reid
Doug Reid is a 6’0″, 200-lb forward from Innisfil, ON. He comes to Huntsville after spending the past two seasons with the Markham Waxers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Reid served as team captain during the 2010-11 season, scoring 21-41–62 and helping his team clinch a berth in the OJHL playoffs. For his career in Markham, Reid scored 53-88–141 in 118 games. Reid played for Couchiching Terriers of the OPJHL in 2007-08, scoring 12-15–27 in 48 contests in his year-18 season; and he followed that season with 13-18–31 in 62 contests for the Grande Prairie Storm of the AJHL. In all, Reid played four years of Junior A hockey, scoring 78-121–199 in 228 games.
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I was about 5 or 6 years old when I first began to play hockey. My older sister played hockey and had a scholarship to UConn, and my dad also played growing up. A lot of my family pushed me and supported me to playing hockey when I was younger. I have always been a centreman since I was younger, but for a few seasons I have been playing right wing as well. Growing up, my favorite team was the Colorado Avalanche, but my favorite player is Jarome Iginla.
Incoming Interview: Kyle Lysaght
Kyle Lysaght is a 6’0″, 190-lb forward from Roswell, GA. He comes to Huntsville having played two seasons with the Oakville Blades in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he appeared in a total of 142 games. He hit the ice in 46 contests in 2010-11, scoring 35-23–58 points. Lysaght picked up his game in the playoffs, leading the Blades to the championship series on scoring of 8-16–24 in 23 games. Lysaght attended the Kent School in Connecticut prior to playing in Oakville.
As with our other interviews, my questions will be in bold-face type.
When did you first start playing hockey? Who in your family played and was involved in you taking up the game? Have you always played your position, or have you played elsewhere on the ice? What was your favorite team and player growing up?
I first started playing around age five in New Jersey. My Dad was the one responsible for making me a hockey player. He grew up playing in New York and then played four years of club hockey for Georgia Tech. I am pretty sure he used to play in the VBC against UAH back in the day. I have bounced around everywhere on the ice, but I am a forward and like to play left wing. My favorite team then and now is the New York Rangers, and my favorite player growing up was Pavel Bure.