Three Waterloo Warrior men's hockey players have been selected to attend the 2011 FISU games training camp from December 9 - 14 in London along with an exhibition game against Canada's national world junior team. That game will take part at the MasterCard Centre (Toronto Maple Leafs practice facility) on December 14.
Chris Ray (Kelowna, B.C.), Kyle Sonnenburg (Waterloo, Ont.) and Steve Whitely (Petrolia, Ont.) will be representing Waterloo as they battle for a spot on the Canadian FISU games roster. All three have had an exceptional first half with the black and gold leading their team to a 11-6-0 record, good for third place in the OUA west.
Fourth year centre Chris Ray (Kelowna/) leads Waterloo with 20 points (6g, 14a) in just 12 games played. He has at least a point in every game played this season, and if it weren't for an early season injury that sidelined Ray for five games, he would be up with the top scorers in the league.
Fourth year offensive-defenceman Kyle Sonnenburg (Waterloo/) continues his stellar play on the back end for the Warriors. The 2009-10 OUA west defenceman of the year leads Waterloo with ice time and has chipped in offensively with 16 points (6g, 10a) including an overtime winner against Queen's in late November.
Third year defenceman Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) has been a tower of power on the blue line for the Warriors intimidating opponents with his size and defensive poise. Whitely has also shown his offensive side this season tied in defensive scoring with Sonnenburg at 16 points (5g, 11a).
The three Warriors will be joined by Waterloo head coach Brian Bourque who is the General Manager for the Canadian FISU team and will provide great support for his three players attending camp next week.
Read more about the Men's hockey FISU games and players invited to camp below
Release by: Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
LONDON, Ont. - Thirty-one hockey players from the Ontario University Athletics conference have been invited by Western Ontario head coach Clarke Singer to a CIS training camp next week in preparation for the 24th Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey next month. The event, also known as the World University Winter Games, will run from January 23 to February 6.
The camp is scheduled for London, Ont., Dec. 9-14, with practices slated for Thompson Arena and Western Fair, along with an exhibition game in Toronto against Canada's national world junior team Dec. 14 at the MasterCard Centre.
Four goalies, 11 defencemen and 16 forwards are in the mix, headlined by McGill's Francis Verreault-Paul, the OUA's player of the year and a BLG award nominee last season. The native of Mashteuiatsch, Que., is a third-year science student who currently leads the CIS with 22 goals and 33 points in 14 games.
Joining him in training camp are McGill teammates Evan Vossen, a senior forward out of Swift Current, Sask., centre Maxime Langelier-Parent of Boucherville, Que., goaltender Hubert Morin of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., and blueliner Marc-Andre Dorion of St-Hubert, Que., who was named as the CIS most outstanding defenceman last year.
McGill, the No.2-ranked team in the nation, has the second-highest number of players invited, behind the No.4-ranked Western Mustangs, who lead the way with seven players.
Headlining the Mustangs is goaltender Anthony Grieco of Brampton, Ont., who has posted a 2.51 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 11 starts heading into this weekend. Joining him are teammates Geoff Killing of Embro, Ont., and Scott Aarssen of London, Ont., both defencemen, in addition to veteran forwards Aaron Snow of Windsor, Ont., Keaton Turkiewicz of Brantford, Ont., Kevin Baker of Georgetown, Ont., and Yashar Farmanara of West Vancouver, B.C.
Carleton's Brad Albert, a rookie from Nepean, Ont., senior Brad Good of Kitchener, Ont., are also vying for spots on the blue line, along with forward Brandon MacLean of Burlington, Ont.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees have one player at camp in defenceman Dominic Jalbert of Hull, Que.
Rounding out the OUA East representation is Concordia forward Charles-Antoine Messier of Boucherville, Que., and three members of the UQTR Patriotes -- defenceman Pierre-Luc Lessard of Thetford Mines, Que., plus forwards Etienne Bellavance-Martin of St-Jean-Chrysostome, Que., and Francis Charland of Victoriaville, Que.
The OUA West has four schools represented, including Waterloo coach Brian Bourque, who will serve as general manager of the squad. The Warriors have three players with rearguards Kyle Sonnenburg (Waterloo/) of Waterloo, Ont., and Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) of Petrolia, Ont., and forward Chris Ray (Kelowna/) of Kelowna, B.C.
Lakehead's Jordan Smith (defence) and Matt Caria (forward), both natives of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and are joined by Thunderwolves teammate Kris Hogg, a forward from Sicamous, B.C.
Brock and Windsor each have one player vying for a goaltending spot with the Badgers' Kurt Jory, a third-year player out of Brandon, Man., and the Lancers' Jim Watt a senior from Edmonton. They are among four goalies at camp.
Guelph's Thomas Kiriakou, a forward from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Tim Priamo, a defenceman from Guelph, join Laurier's Jean-Michel Rizk of Dunham, Que. to round out the invitees.
The official team will be announced immediately following training camp. The Canadian team will travel to Turkey on Jan. 22 with games beginning Jan. 27.
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter
2011 Winter Universiade website: www.erzurum2011.gov.tr/english
Training Camp Schedule
Friday Dec. 10
Players arrive
Practice 7:30-9 p.m., Thompson Arena, The University of Western Ontario
Saturday Dec. 11
Practice 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Western Fair
Intrasquad Game 5-7 p.m., Western Fair
Sunday Dec. 12
Practice 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Western Fair
Practice 5:30-7 p.m., Western Fair
Monday Dec. 13
Practice 10-11:30 a.m., Western Fair
Practice 5-6:30 p.m., Western Fair
Tuesday Dec. 14
Light Practice 10-11 a.m., Western Fair
Exhibition Game vs. Canadian National World Junior Team, 7 p.m. (Master Card Centre, Toronto)
Breakdown by Positions
Goalies - 4
Defensemen - 11
Forwards - 16
Breakdown by School
Western - 7
McGill - 5
Carleton - 3
Lakehead - 3
UQTR - 3
Waterloo - 3
Guelph - 2
Brock - 1
Concordia - 1
Ottawa - 1
Wilfrid Laurier - 1
Windsor - 1
Breakdown by Year
1st - 2
2nd - 7
3rd - 15
4th - 6
5th - 1
Breakdown by Province (based on Hometowns)
Ontario - 15
Quebec - 10
British Columbia - 3
Alberta - 1
Manitoba - 1
Saskatchewan - 1
TRAINING CAMP INVITES
Goalies
Name - University - Program - Year - Hometown - Previous Team
Anthony Grieco Western History 2nd Brampton, ON Victoria (BCHL)
Kurt Jory Brock Business 3rd Brandon, MB Langley (BCHL)
Hubert Morin McGill Civil Engineering 3rd St-Georges-de-Beauce, QC St Lawrence Jr.
Jim Watt Windsor Business 4th Edmonton, AB Spokane (WHL)
Defence
Scott Aarssen Western Business 2nd London, ON London (OHL)
Brad Albert Carleton Economics 1st Nepean, ON Brampton (OHL)
Marc-Andre Dorion McGill Physical & Health Education 3rd St-Hubert, QC Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
Brad Good Carleton History 4th Kitchener, ON Sault St. Marie (OHL)
Dominic Jalbert Ottawa Science 1st Hull, QC Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
Geoff Killing Western Engineering 3rd Embro, ON Bellevile (OHL)
Pierre-Luc Lessard UQTR Business Administartion 2nd Thetford Mines, QC Bakersfield (ECHL)
Tim Priamo Guelph Commerce 2nd Guelph, ON Guelph (OHL)
Jordan Smith Lakehead Political Science 5th Sault St. Marie Portland (AHL)
Kyle Sonnenburg (Waterloo/) Waterloo Legal Studies 4th Waterloo, ON Brampton (OHL)
Steve Whitely (Petrolia/) Waterloo Recreation & Leisure 3rd Petrolia, ON Sarnia (OHL)
Forwards
Kevin Baker Western Social Sciences 3rd Georgetown, ON Oshawa (OHL)
Etienne Bellavance-Martin UQTR Business Administration 3rd St. Jean Chrysostome, QC Drummondville, QC
Matt Caria Lakehead Education 2nd Sault St. Marie Utah (ECHL)
Francis Charland UQTR Business Administration 3rd Victoriaville, QC Valleyfield Jr
Yashar Farmanara Western Business 3rd West Vancouver, BC Medicine Hat (WHL)
Kris Hogg Lakehead Commerce 3rd Sicamous, BC Lethbridge (WHL)
Thomas Kiriakou Guelph History 2nd Richmond Hill, ON Ottawa (OHL)
Maxime Langelier-Parent McGill Economics 3rd Montreal, QC Gatineau (QMJHL)
Brandon MacLean Carleton Law 3rd Burlington, ON Sault St. Marie (OHL)
Charles-Antoine Messier Concordia Management 2nd Boucherville, QC Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
Chris Ray (Kelowna/) Waterloo Envitonment & Business 4th Kelowna, BC Kelowna (WHL)
Jean-Michel Rizk Laurier French 4th Dunham, QC Mississauga (OHL)
Aaron Snow Western Social Sciences 3rd Windsor, ON Sarnia (OHL)
Keaton Turkiewicz Western Social Sciences 3rd Brantford, ON Belleville (OHL)
Francis Verreault-Paul McGill Psychology 3rd Mashteuiatsh, QC Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
Evan Vossen McGill Industrial Relations 4th Swift Current, SK La Ronge (SJHL)
