Joshua StoriePandas Hockey
The Pandas hockey team got back on track this weekend, sweeping their two games against the Mount Royal Cougars, winning 2-1 on Friday night, and 1-0 on Saturday night. Both games were closely contested, as a third period goal from Lindsay Cunningham put the Bears up on Friday, and they managed to hang on for the win despite taking five penalties in the last 15 minutes of the third. Autumn MacDougall registered the other goal for the Pandas, her second of the season.
The second game of the weekend was even lower scoring, as the Pandas won on the strength of Lindsay Post’s 20 stops, and Alex Poznikoff’s tiebreaking goal on the power play, at 11:52 of the third period. Post also tied former Panda Dana Vinge for the all time shutout mark in Canada West with her clean sheet on Sunday, as both players now have 19. The Pandas will now prepare for a home series against the Saskatchewan Huskies this weekend.
Bears Basketball
The Bears basketball team continued its tune up for the regular season this past weekend, as they hosted the 24th annual Golden Bear invitational. This year’s tournament featured the Bears, Lethbridge Pronghorns, UNBC Timberwolves, and the Queens Golden Gaels. The Bears dominated the Timberwolves on Friday night, winning 99-45 on the strength of Mamadou Gaeye’s 19 points. The Bears outscored the Timberwolves 19-4 in the first quarter, and never looked back after that, winning the game handily.
The Bears faced a decidedly tougher opponent in their second and final game of the tournament in the Gaels, who were able to ride strong second and third quarter performances from their team to an eventual 74-68 win. Once again, Gueye led the charge for the Bears scoring 22 points. The Pronghorns ended up capturing tournament gold due to a 83-56 drubbing of the Timberwolves, with the Bears and Gaels tied for second. The Bears start their season on the road against the UBC Thunderbirds on Nov. 6.
Pandas Soccer
The Pandas soccer team continued their strong play to finish out the season, winning both of their games to round out the 2015 season — 1-0 over the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, and 3-1 over the UBC Okanaogan Heat. The Pandas first game against the Wolfpack was a tightly contested affair, with the only goal of the match coming off the foot of Julia Ignacio in the 27th minute.
Terri Kutryk led the charge for the Pandas in the second game of the weekend, netting her first two goals of the season in the first half, as the Pandas scored goals within a minute of each other to give themselves a quick 2-0 lead. Morgan Corbett added the other goal for the Pandas. The Heat would pull within one in the 32nd minute, but Kutyrk would put the game out of reach in the 35th with her second goal of the match. The Pandas finish the year with an 8-5-1 record, good for a tie for fifth in the West Division, and will now take to the road to take on the Trinity Western Spartans this Saturday in their Canada West quarterfinal.
Bears Soccer
The Bears soccer team lost their grip of top spot in the Prairie Division this past weekend, losing both of their games this weekend to the Saskatchewan Huskies and the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Bears’ offence, which had been remarkably consistent over the course of the season, let them down on the season’s final weekend, as they lost both games by a score of 2-0.
Despite outshooting the Huskies 11-6, and the Pronghorns 12-10, the Bears still had no goals to show for their efforts at weekend’s end. The Calgary Dinos took over top spot in the division, handily winning both of their games against the Winnipeg Wesmen. Despite their two losses, the Bears will host a playoff game this Saturday, welcoming the 5-4-3 Fraser Valley Cascades to Foote Field.
