Cougars leap into 2010

Welcome back sports fans! Whether you are a new student to MRU or a seasoned veteran of our university’s hallowed halls The Reflector would like to

present you with a guide to where your Cougar teams are sitting heading into the second and in some cases, latter part of the season.

Men’s Basketball

Overall Record – 14-6

Next game – Jan. 15 vs. SAIT, 8 p.m.

ACAC placing – Tied for first.

Leading scorer – Steve Trinidad

Comments – Head coach Marc Dobell said the team is very excited about the second semester. The team has added two new players to the roster this semester that Dobell feels will give some added depth to the team. Fourth years Clarence Smith and Jerome Makasiar “should make an impact with our team immediately…Our first weekend is against SAIT, who we are tied with for first place, so we are working hard to get these guys, as well as the rest of our guys who have had a lot of time off over the break, on the same page.

Women’s Basketball

Overall Record – 11-8

Next game – Jan. 15 vs. SAIT, 6 p.m.

ACAC placing – Fourth

Leading scorer – Rochelle Thotenhoofd

Comments – Winning only one of their last five games before the break, the women’s basketball team will be looking to improve upon their regular season record of 4-6 heading into ACAC quarterfinals on Feb. 25. The team is only two points back of third place Medicine Hat and 10 points back from first in ACAC play. Rochelle Thotenhoofd is fourth in south league scoring with an average of 15.18 points per game.

Men’s Hockey

Overall Record – 15-5-0-1

Next game – Jan. 15 @ NAIT, 7 p.m.

ACAC placing – Tied for first

Leading scorer – Matt Laminrande

Comments – Head coach Jean LaForest said that the team has some pretty high expectations for themselves. He said that the team had a very decent record for the first half and that “Our goal is to try and get a by for the first round of playoffs.” The first round by goes to the teams that finish first and second in the standings. LaForest added that with the season more than half over, it’s a sprint and the Cougars need to play well every game.

Women’s Hockey

Overall Record – 10-10-1-1

Next game – Jan. 22 vs. SAIT, 8:45 p.m.

ACAC placing – Second

Leading scorer –Chelsey Morrill

Comments – Cancelling a game on Jan. 8 to mourn the loss of Cougar former player Sash Hochlander, the lady Cougars lost a close game to MacEwan on Jan. 9, 2-1. The team is only one point out of first place behind the SAIT Trojans. Chelsey Morrill is second in ACAC scoring with six goals and seven assists so far on the season. Goaltender Kendall Kilgour is sitting fifth in ACAC standings with 2.13 goals against, a save percentage of 0.921 and a record of 4-2.

Men’s Volleyball

Overall Record – 9-9

Next game – Jan. 15 @ SAIT, 8 p.m.

ACAC placing – Three way tie for first

Leading Scorer – Kyle Baird

Comments – “I’m excited to see how our team performs in the second semester,” said head coach Shawn Sky. The men’s team participated in an exhibition tournament in San Diego early January, winning three games and losing one. Sky said the team’s first three weeks back has them playing three teams in back to back weekends. “This will go a long way to determining how we enter playoffs. I expect the guys to do very well, our training has been strong lately and the team is healthy.” Sky said that players of note going into the winter semester are veterans Colton deMan and Jace Richards.

Women’s Volleyball

Overall Record – 13-3

Next game – Jan. 15 @ SAIT, 6 p.m.

ACAC placing – Three way tie for first

Leading scorer – Mackenzie Allen

Comments – For the winter semester, head coach Sandra Lamb said the women’s volleyball team is up against some tough competition. “We’re coming up against some of the best competition in Canada.” She said that some of the veterans on the team were left with a bitter taste in their mouth after a disappointing finish last season and that they are ready to go after what they want. “Everybody wants to win but they’re really prepared to start working hard and understanding what it takes to win. So as long we’re doing those types of things then our goal is, we need to be in the top three, we need to be shooting for a spot at nationals.”

Badminton

Next tournament – Jan. 16-17 @ Concordia

ACAC placing – Third

Comments – Head coach Hayden Kowel said that the badminton team just returned from the Honolulu Open Badminton Tournament from Dec.31 to Jan.9. He said that despite the team being third place in the standings they want to challenge for the top two spots by February. The team added three new players.