Monday, October 26, 2009

Junior Varsity Winfield Tournament Recap

Friday October 23, 2009 vs. Winfield
Result 4-1 Loss

The Okanagan Hockey Academy Junior Varsity Squad kicked off their weekend tournament in Winfield with a loss to the host team. Hayden Town scored the lone goal for the JV team on a set up by Linden Horswill and Phillip Siutz.

Cole Hensen turned aside 26 shots in the loss.

Friday October 23, 2009 vs. 100 Mile House
Result 3-1 Win

Sion Park, Dallas Barker, and Linden Horswill all contributed goals in the second game of the day for the JV team. Jonathan Tetrault, Sasha Hahn, and Hayden Town all picked up assists. Jesse Gordichuk picked up the win, kicking aside 17 shots in the OHA goal.

Saturday October 24, 2009 vs. Ridge Meadows
Result 6-4 Loss

Despite being down 4-1 after two periods, the JV team responded in the third to make the game close. Hayden Town kicked off the scoring for OHA. Jonathan Tetrault, Dallas Barker and Linden Horswill rounded out the scoring. Matt Wesley, Cam Rout, Ryan Swain, Town, Barker, and Tetrault all chipped in assists.

Cole Hensen was busy in the OHA net, turning aside 30 shots in the loss.

Saturday October 24, 2009 vs. Cranbrook
Result 3-1 Win

Linden Horswill, Ryan Swain and Jonathan Tetrault all scored in the win. Matt Wesley closed out his weekend with a strong performance, tallying 2 assists. Sion Park, Turner Krechel and Jonathan Tetrault also added assists.

Jesse Gordichuk picked up the win for OHA, stopping 23 shots.

“We did a lot of good things this weekend, but also showed some areas that we need to focus on and improve in the coming weeks. Our boys were competitive in every game and showed up with a desire to win. We will continue to work hard in practice and see the dividends it pays in game situations.” Rob McLaughlin, Head Coach

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Walker Commits to Northern Michigan

Former Okanagan Hockey Academy defenseman Eric Walker has committed to the NCAA Division 1 Northern Michigan Wildcats.

Walker, a 16 year old rookie with the Trail Smoke Eaters this season, spent one season playing for the OHA Prep Team. This season, through 16 games, Walker has contributed 3 assists. The talented defenseman will be joining the Wildcats in the 2011-2012 season.

Junior Varsity Recap

October 18, 2009 vs Nelson
Result 7-2 Win

The Okanagan Hockey Academy Junior Varsity team had an offensive explosion, receiving multiple goals from Sasha Hahn, Turner Krechel and Cameron Dobransky. Hayden Town continued his hot streak notching his team leading 6th goal to round out the scoring.
Dan Fuller, Sion Park, Ryan Swain and Luke Ripley all added 2 assists for OHA. Dallas Barker, Jonathan Tetrault and Krechel all added single helpers.

Jesse Gordichuk kicked aside 17 shots sent his way including some key stops when called upon.

October 17, 2009 vs Nelson
Result 4-2 Loss

OHA got off to a quick start going up on the strength of goals first period goals from Dallas Barker and Turner Krechel. Unfortunately that was all the offense the JV squad could produce, with Nelson scoring 4 unanswered goals.

Cole Henson was tagged with the loss despite his strong play in turning aside 30 shots through 60 minutes.

"Overall we are pleased with the weekend. Our boys showed that when faced with adversity they can rebound quickly. We are continuing to find our team buying into our team systems and showing great improvement night in and night out." Rob McLaughlin, Head Coach

OHA Prep Team Cleveland Trip

Okanagan Hockey academy Prep team came away with a silver medal at the Team Ohio Invitational over the weekend. The team finished first overall in the tournament after the round robin, and advanced to the final by beating the Pittsburgh Predators in the semi final. Prep opened the scoring in the final game on a nice 2 on 1 pass by Brett Harding to Marcus Dahl would tiped into top shelf on the Michigan Elite goalie. Prep lead 1-0 after the first. The second saw the Prep team getting into penalty trouble. Michigan never capitalized on there oppurtunites that period but they gained a shift in momentum with the man adavantage for most of the second. In the 3rd Michigan took the lead and never looked back. Their second goalie come off a point shot early in the 3rd that beat a screaned Christian Kames. Michigan took a 2 goal lead shortly after on a identical point shot from a Michigan defender.

"On the big scale the tournament was a huge success for this group, we improved in all areas of our game. The only dissapointment was not winning gold, but with the continued development of this group we will be stronger as the year moves on" Doug Jackman, Assistant Coach

Alumni Leading USHL

Okanagan Hockey Academy Alumnist, Sahir Gill, is currently leading the United States Hockey League scoring leaders. Gill has amassed 2 goals and 7 assists in 4 games this season for the Chicago Steel.

Prior to joining the Steel, Gill helped lead the Vernon Vipers to a National Championship, capturing the Royal Bank Cup last season. A prolific scorer, Gill has excelled at every level.

"We are proud of Sahir's development over the years. He had a strong season last year as a rookie in the BCHL and continues to prove that he can play at the highest levels. He has dedicated himself to working out extremely hard on and off ice and is having that hard work pay off." Alan Kerr, Vice President Okanagan Hockey Academy

OHA Adds Bantam Program

The Okanagan Hockey Academy is pleased to announce the addition of a Bantam program for the 2010-2011 season. This program will be available to players born in 1996-1997. We are excited to add this level to our existing Academy programs and it will follow the same philosophy that we have employed since OHA’s inception in 2002.

The Okanagan Hockey Academy currently operates with five teams. A midget ‘AAAA' team, a midget ‘AAA’, and a midget ‘AA’ team. We also have two junior teams; the Penticton Lakers, that will play out of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey league and the Alberni Valley Bulldogs Junior ‘A’ team. The Bulldogs play in the esteemed BCHL based out of Port Alberni, BC. Okanagan Hockey Academy is located in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.

The city of Penticton is located in the Okanagan Valley and has a population of 43,000. Penticton is a four season’s destination for vacationers and business travelers. Cradled between tree trimmed mountain slopes, dramatic cliffs and bordered by two pristine lakes, Penticton offers her natural beauty all year round.Okanagan Hockey Academy provides an environment where young hockey players can receive a high quality of education, while developing their hockey skills on a daily basis with our high level coaching and training staff. The positive personal growth of the players on an individual basis is encouraged through our coaches, teachers, trainers, billets, and management staff.Each player is treated as an individual within a team atmosphere.

It is the goal of Okanagan Hockey Academy to develop each player’s individual and team skills in order to place each one of them in a league for which they are best suited. Players will be exposed to Junior A, Major Junior, College and Pro teams through a variety of methods.The educational program at Penticton High is designed to prepare students for university entrance, while developing each student’s self-confidence and self-discipline, along with an inquiring and creative mind. The school community creates a secure and inspiring educational environment and encourages students to strive for excellence in every aspect of their lives. Players are billeted with local families that are screened thoroughly to ensure that each family’s values meet the values set out by OHA. This is a great experience for players to learn how to adapt to new surroundings and how to live within another family’s home. Billeting is something that most hockey players experience in their career at one time or another.

For more information regarding any of our Academy programs, please contact Dixon Ward at your convenience at dixonward@hockeyschools.com or 250-493-1408 ext.3355.

Junior Varsity Recap

October 3, 2009 vs. Merritt
Result 3-3 Tie

The OHA JV Team kicked off their season with a tie against long time rival Merritt. OHA was led by Hayden Town with a two goal, 1 assist effort. Linden Horswill added the other OHA goal, set up by Town and Luke Ripley.

October 10, 2009 vs. Portland
Result 6-5 Win

Starting a two game in two night weekend, OHA received strong performances from several players on route to their first win of the season. Linden Horswill and Hayden Town continued to lead the OHA attack with each posting 5 point nights. Dan Fuller, Ryan Swain and goaltender Jesse Gordichuk all tallied assists.

October 11, 2009 vs. Westside
Result 5-2 Win

Rounding out their weekend the Junior Varsity squad took on a spirited Westside team. OHA balanced their offensive attack with 5 different goal scorers. Cam Rout, Dallas Barker, Philip Siutz, Sasha Hahn and Hayden Town, with his team leading 5th goal, were the OHA goal scorers. Linden Horswill added 2 assists while Luke Ripley, Ryan Swain, Turner Krechel, Sion Park, Siutz, Rout and Barker all added helpers.

“This early into the season, we are really pleased with what we are seeing from our team. They are competing well and each game they have improved their team game. We expect them to keep progressing as the season moves forward and having continued success.” Rob McLaughlin, Head Coach

Prep Team Recap

October 8, 2009 vs. POE
Result 6-4 loss

Heading into the Thanksgiving long weekend, the OHA Prep Team travelled to Kelowna to take on Pursuit of Excellence in a matinee. Despite a two goal, 1 assist effort from Filip Starzynski, the Prep squad wound up on the wrong side of the decision. Jackson Playfair and Jake Plant also added goals for OHA’s top team. Ivan Reitmayer, Michael Sandor, Nicholas Luthi also added assists for OHA.

“The team showed signs of what we are capable of, but we have to improve our physical play, play without the puck, team discipline and puck movement in order to be where we’d like this team to be.” Doug Jackman, Assistant Coach

Varsity Team Recap

October 10, 2009 vs. Portland
Result 4-4 Tie

The OHA Varsity Team had a pair of back to back games against the Portland U18 squad. The first game featured a lot of back and forth action with goaltender Justin Spring providing solid goaltending. Steven Killy, Kolbi O’Brien, Cam Weir and Steven Garcia provided the offence, each notching a goal.

October 11, 2009 vs. Portland
Result 9-8 Win

The second game of the weekend series featured lots of excitement for the crowd with major offensive shown by both teams. The affair was a heated contest which tested the OHA discipline at times.

Sean Alldridge led the OHA attack with a pair of markers. Adriano Mungioli, Philip Siutz, Steven Garcia, Cameron Dobransky, Steven Killy, Grant Nicholson and Kolbi O’Brien added the rest of the OHA goals.

Goaltender Brady Markham held down the fort in the OHA net, picking up the win.

“Overall we are pleased with the results from the weekend. We identified some key areas that we need to work on to continue to compete. Moving forward we will address some areas of weakness and continue working towards our development as a team and within our individual player skill sets.” Robert Dirk, Head Coach

OHA Adds Goaltending Coach

OHA President, Andy Oakes, is pleased to announce the signing of Tyler Love of World Pro Goaltending. Tyler will be joining the OHA goaltending staff this winter and working with our goaltenders on a monthly basis. The addition of Tyler will strengthen our goaltending program that Randy Jaycock has developed and implemented over the past number of years.

Tyler joins OHA with a long history in goaltending instruction. He is an instrumental part of the successof World Pro Goaltending, which is based in Calgary, Alberta. Most recently, Tyler was hired by the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL as their goaltender coach.

“We are very excited to have Tyler join our staff. As a former OHS student and instructor, Tyler will fit into or organization very well and will add a tremendous amount of knowledge and energy into our goaltending program.” Andy Oakes

Alumni Committs to Omaha Nebraska

OHA Alumni, Stefan Nicholishen has committed to attend the University of Omaha Nebraska beginning in 2011. The former OHA Player spent two seasons playing for OHA prior to joining the Penticton Vee's this season. In two season's, Stefan progressed from playing for the OHA 2 development team to the OHA Major Midget team.

"Stefan is a tremendous example of a player that has developed at each level he has played. He has worked extremely hard and is now seeing the result of his effort. Seeing a player progress to a division 1 school is a great pride for the Okanagan Hockey Academy staff." Alan Kerr, Vice President Hockey Operations

Alumni Joins Redman

Hunter Shaw, a former OHA goaltender, has joined the McGill University Redman Hockey Team. Shaw spent three seasons playing for OHA in the midget and junior B program. A strong athlete and student, Hunter has translated his abilities in the classroom to attending one of the top Universities in Canada.

“We are pleased to announce Hunter has secured a spot on the Redman team. His ability to balance athletics with academics is a tribute to his dedication. The Okanagan Hockey Academy prides itself on putting a strong emphasis on the education of our athletes. We wish Hunter continued success throughout the season.” Alan Kerr, Vice President Hockey Operations

OHA Alumni Strong in Rangers Camp

Luke Walker, a former Okanagan Hockey Academy sniper, is having a strong showing in his first NHL training camp with the New York Rangers. The 6’2” Walker currently suits up for the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League. Last season with the Winter Hawks, Luke notched 29 goals and added 23 assists through 71 games.

At the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament, Luke helped lead the Rangers prospects over the Detroit Red Wings prospects by scoring twice and adding an assist in the 4-3 win. Through 3 games in the tournament, Luke has picked up a total of 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games.

“Luke has worked extremely hard this past season and summer. He is a committed athlete that has made tremendous strides over the past few years. We wish him continued success in his goal of reaching the National Hockey League.” Alan Kerr, Vice President Hockey Operations
 
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