U of A Golden Bears vs. Edmonton Oilers Prospects!

In about 30 minutes the Edmonton Oilers Prospects and University of Alberta Golden Bears Men’s Ice Hockey Team will suit up for their annual dust-up! This will mark the 25th time meeting between the two clubs with the U of A holding a 13-11 lead but this year it’s different.

*I thought I would get this out before the game started…. I was wrong…*

McDavid

He’ll be there and as the picture above suggests, he’ll be blazing! Can newly appointed Golden Bears Head Coach Serge LaJoie find a way to use his much older squad to contain McDavid? Vancouver thought they did at the Young Stars Classic last weekend but he found a way to finish the game with two points.

Here are the line-ups for the game courtesy of Copper and Blue!

U of A Golden Bears

FORWARDS
Jordan Hickmott – Kruise Reddick – Levko Koper
Jamie Crooks – Brett Ferguson – Stephane Legault
Brayden Low – James Dombrowolski – Rhett Rachinski
Lucas Nickles – Riley Kieser – Joshua Derko
DEFENCE
Jordan Rowley – Brennan Yadlowski
Mitch Topping – Thomas Carr
Dylan Bredo – Sawyer Lange
GOAL
Luke Siemens

Edmonton Oilers

FORWARDS
Anton Slepyshev – Connor McDavid- Cole Sanford
Braden Christoffer – Leon Draisaitl- Josh Winquist
Cole Linaker – Alexis Loiseau – Rihards Bukarts
Connor Rankin – Kyle Platzer – Greg Chase
DEFENCE
Darnell Nurse – Joey LaLeggia
Caleb Jones – Ethan Bear
Ben Betker – Loik Leveille
GOAL
Eetu Laurikainen

If I’m just going off of memory some names that look familiar from last year’s game are Levko Koper, Stephane Legault, Jordan Rowley for the Golden Bears and Draisaitl, Nurse Chase, Platzer for the Oilers. (Jamie Crooks and James Dombrowolski also played. Am I Missing anyone else?)
GoldenBearsEdmontonOilers
Last year it was a pretty physical affair and the Oilers big guns (Draisaitl, Yakimov, and Tkachev) were firing on all cylinders, Darnell Nurse was also a huge factor for the Oilers during the 4-2 Oilers win. For a complete recap of the tilt click here for Derek Van Diest’s write-up.
Keep An Eye On These Guys:
  • Connor McDavid: Obviously right? During that game against the Canucks he wasn’t the feature player on a lot of plays. He kinda snuck up on you. I just can’t wait to see him in full stride. Damn is that beautiful! Has the NHL seen a more gorgeous skater than Paul Coffey lace ’em up?
  • Anton Slepyshev: This guys is opening eyes! Bob Stauffer and Mark Spector were raving about him on Oilers Now this morning and I can see why. He’s doing all the right things like playing physical, getting in the right spaces, not getting caught out of position and I know this is going to sound a bit extreme but could he be Jari Kurri 2.0?
  • Braden Christoffer: Tore up the Young Stars tourney for the Oilers. Can he continue the progress vs. the Golden Bears? Is he this year’s Vladdy Tkachev.
  • Levko Koper: I loved watching this guy at last year’s game. He’s a great skater and playmaker plus he sports the flow like no other. Maybe William Lagesson could rival it. No mistake about it though, this is a guy the Oilers will need to keep the puck away from tonight.
  • Jordan Rowley: Rowley was a stud on the blue line last year and it earned him an invite to the Oilers main camp. He was a thorn in the side of Draisaitl all night and was one of the Golden Bears best players.

Well that’s all! I see the stream is up on youtube so I should let you guys all get to that! Enjoy the game guys and gals and if you’re heading out for a pint or two, be responsible and take a taxi home! Don’t be that guy/gal.


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CM97
CM97 – Let There Be Stanley

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Take Care!

BLH

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!