They Shoot, They Score: Alberta Golden Bears Keep Raking In Hockey Titles
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No disrespect intended toward the Edmonton Oilers, but men’s head hockey coach Eric Thurston of the Alberta Golden Bears wants the university team to play like the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
“My philosophy is just like the Red Wings’ philosophy, which is to be a very skilled, puck-possession team that attacks teams with our speed,” Thurston says. “Meanwhile, our defence moves the puck from tape to tape and doesn’t just dump it into the other team’s zone. We want to aggressively carry the play to the opposition whenever possible. And finally, of course, great goaltending makes all coaches look good.”
Thurston has put together a good-looking resume during his three years as head coach of the Golden Bears.
The team has won two Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey championships in that time, including the recent 2007-2008 crown when they defeated defending national champion University of New Brunswick, 3-2, in the title game in Moncton, New Brunswick.
“In its long history, Alberta has won 13 CIS hockey championships, more than any other university in Canada,” Thurston says. “It just so happened that the school’s 100th anniversary is in 2008, so it was obviously a real honor for our hockey team to win the Canadian championship during U of A’s 100th birthday.”
The 13 CIS titles in hockey are the most by any school across Canada. The Golden Bears also won the CIS championship the year before Thurston arrived in 2006, so the school is on a nice run of winning three of the past four titles.
The Golden Bears posted an overall record of 33-9-2 in 2007-2008, and several players had strong seasons. They included goaltender Aaron Sorochan, team captain Harlan Anderson, centre Ian McDonald, second-year player Dylan Stanley and newcomers Jason Fransoo, Eric Hunter and Derek Ryan.
“First-year players Fransoo, Hunter and Ryan gave us four great lines and some added solid defence in 2007-2008,” Thurston says. “These three guys have now provided the Golden Bears with a solid foundation for years to come.”
Thurston says he believes the success of the team can be attributed to every player buying into what is best for U of A hockey.
“Before I arrived here, the great Clare Drake coached here for 28 years, and his philosophy was, ‘It’s amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit,’” Thurston says. “That’s what happened to us in ’07-’08. We had 25 individuals who left their egos at the door and accepted their team roles. If that kind of thinking continues in 2008-2009, who knows? We just might win our third CIS title in a row, and fourth in the last five tries.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
