Christopher DeSousa of University of Prince Edward Island
FREDERICKTON – Team Canada will be one of the favourites at the 2013 Winter Universiade in men’s ice hockey, and last Friday night the best players in the country got to make their case to be on the plane to Trentino, Italy.
For the first time in 14 years, Atlantic University Sport (AUS) held an All-Star game from which a 22 man squad will be selected for the Universiade out of the 42 players that were on display.
“No question there’s going to be some tough choices,” head coach Gardiner MacDougall said. “There were lots of players here that played very well.”
On the scoreboard, Team White defeated Team Black by a score of 4-2. After a scoreless first period, Team White built a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Saint Mary’s forward Lucas Bloodoff and Acadia forward Mike Cazzola.
Christopher DeSousa of the University of Prince Edward Island pulled one goal back in the second for Team White, before third period goals from Chris Culligan of the University of New Brunswick and a brace from Cory Tanaka of Saint Mary’s sealed a 4-2 victory.
The game had four periods instead of the usual three, and lasted 15, 18, 19, and 20 minutes respectively. The game was held at the Grant Harvey Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick which is the home of the AUS’s St. Thomas Tommies.
Team Canada is hoping to raise between $6,000 and $8,000 according to Team Canada General Manager Danny Lynch. Tim Hortons Atlantic have also joined the cause to help with funding for the team.
Lucas Bloodoff of Saint Mary’s
“We felt it was necessary to hold an All-Star game before selecting the final roster for the team to enable the coaching staff to get a final look at all of the potential players,” Lynch said. “We felt it was the best way to ensure that we put the most competitive team on the ice going forward and would also give the coaching staff a venue to meet in person to evaluate and select the team.”
MacDougall, who was part of Team Canada’s gold medal in 2007, was impressed with what he saw Friday night and admits that his coaching staff faces a tough task in picking their squad.
“I have a lot of respect for the way they played tonight …They showed up, it’s an honour to be here. They’ve been good competitors over the years,” he said.
But MacDougall is looking for a few things specifically from the players selected for Team Canada.
“We need people who can make big plays and score big goals. They’ve got to earn their spot here.”
MacDougall made it a point to his players that whether or not they make the team, they earned the right to done the iconic Team Canada sweater for one night.
“How often do you get to sit on a bench and wear the Team Canada jersey? It’s a lifetime thrill. It doesn’t matter what level, it’s an All-Star game but we had the Team Canada jerseys and the pride of what we are representing.”
Matt Tidcombe, FISU Young Reporter/CAN