Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- Victoria Vike Paige Farries (RUG 7s) and Saskatchewan Huskie Jordon Cooke (HKY) are the Canada West first stars for the period ending January 21
- Farries set a CW single-season rugby 7s record with 13 tries in Victoria’s tournament win in Edmonton, as the 2018 CW Women’s Rugby Sevens Series opened
- Cooke stood tall for the Huskies, stopping 78 of the 79 shots he faced to lead Saskatchewan to a sweep of the Calgary Dinos in men’s hockey
- Calgary’s Kate Pexman (VB) and Alberta’s Autumn MacDougall (HKY) are the other women’s stars, while Thompson Rivers’ Tim Dobbert (VB) and Regina’s Brian Ofori (BB) are the other men’s stars
EDMONTON – An historic weekend in rugby 7s, and a clutch performance in the crease have landed Victoria’s Paige Farries and Saskatchewan’s Jordon Cooke Canada West first star honours for the week ending Jan. 21.
Farries kicked off the CW Women’s Rugby Sevens Series with a record-breaking 13 tries in six games, as the Vikes rolled to a perfect 6-0-0 record at the University of Alberta, where the first tournament of 2018 was held Saturday and Sunday. Farries’ 13 tries set both a single tournament and season record for CW rugby 7s, which is in its second year of existence.
On the ice, Cooke backstopped Saskatchewan to a pair of wins over the Calgary Dinos. The veteran netminder was nearly unbeatable, stopping all but one of the 79 shots fired his way, with his 40-save shutout Saturday the 10th of his career. That tied a Saskatchewan program record with Jeff Harvey, as Cooke now looks to track down Canada West record holder Clayton Pool of Alberta for first on the conference all-time list (13).
You can watch Cooke the rest of the season by tuning into every CW hockey game on Canada West TV.
Also earning stars this week were: Calgary’s Kate Pexman (VB) and Alberta’s Autumn MacDougall (HKY) on the women’s side, while Thompson Rivers’ Tim Dobbert (VB) and Regina’s Brian Ofori (BB) are the other men’s stars.
Women’s first star – Paige Farries
Victoria Vikes rugby 7s
Centre wing
3rd-year
Red Deer, Alta.
Science
Tournament log: Saturday, Jan. 20 – Sunday, Jan. 21 at U of A Tournament (CW Women’s Rugby 7s Series) – Record 13 total tries as Victoria went 6-0-0.
Paige Farries made quite the appearance in her first showing as a University of Victoria Vikes women’s rugby player. The national 7s player dominated the field scoring a CW rugby 7s single-season record 13 tries as the Vikes went undefeated en route to winning the first Canada West 7s Series event, hosted Jan. 20-21 in Edmonton.
Farries scored in five of six games to finish the weekend with 65 points.
Victoria went a perfect 6-0-0 to claim first at the tournament, which is the first of three CW Women’s Rugby Series events this season.
The Vikes will be in action Feb. 10-11 when they travel to Abbotsford, B.C. when the University of the Fraser Valley hosts the second CW Series tournament of 2018.
Men’s first star – Jordon Cooke
Saskatchewan Huskies hockey
Goalie
4th-year
Leduc, Alta.
Business
Game log: Friday, Jan. 19 – 38 saves in 4-1 W vs. Calgary / Saturday, Jan. 20 – 40-save shutout in 2-0 W vs. Calgary.
University of Saskatchewan goaltender Jordon Cooke helped the Huskies secure a home playoff date making 78 combined saves in a weekend sweep of the Calgary Dinos.
The fourth-year Business student from Leduc, Alta., made 38 of 39 saves in Friday's 4-1 win. A night later, Cooke stopped all 40 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory. The shutout marked the 10th of his career, tying him for the Huskie Athletics record and put him tied for third in the Canada West.
The pair of wins secured Saskatchewan a spot no lower than fourth in the men's hockey standings and hosting duties in either the quarter-final or semifinal round.
Cooke and the No. 3-ranked Huskies will travel to Vancouver to meet the UBC Thunderbirds on the weekend.
Women’s second star – Kate Pexman
Calgary Dinos volleyball
Outside hitter
3rd-year
Calgary, Alta.
Engineering
Game log: Friday, Jan. 19 – 20 kills, 18 digs, one block and .357 hitting percentage in 3-2 L at Alberta / Saturday, Jan. 20 – 24 kills, 11 digs, service ace, block, and .345 hitting percentage in 3-2 W at Alberta.
Playing a full 10 sets this weekend in Edmonton against the University of Alberta Pandas, third-year outsider hitter Kate Pexman made a massive impact, helping the Calgary Dinos earn a split.
On both Friday and Saturday night, the Dinos struggled early and found themselves in 2-0 holes, only to recover and force deciding sets. Pexman was key in both rallies, leading Calgary in kills during each game.
In a 3-2 loss on Friday, Pexman collected 20 kills while contributing defensively with 18 digs – one off her season high.
Saturday’s contest was the Calgary native’s top performance of the year as she notched a season-high 24 kills. Pexman also added 11 digs in the 3-2 win.
Pexman’s totals this weekend move her into third in the Canada West rankings for kills per set at 3.87.
The Dinos women’s volleyball team will look to clinch a playoff spot this weekend when they travel to Kamloops to take on the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, Jan. 26-27.
Men’s second star – Tim Dobbert
Thompson Rivers WolfPack volleyball
Outside hitter
4th-year
Aichberg, Germany
Masters of Business
Game log: Friday, Jan. 19 – 20 kills, four block assists, two service aces, and two digs in 3-0 W vs. Saskatchewan / Saturday, Jan. 20 – 19 kills, six block assists, and five digs in 3-2 W vs. Saskatchewan.
As the TRU WolfPack rolled to their third and fourth straight victories, they were led—like they have been all season – by German import Tim Dobbert. Dobbert was the kills leader for TRU in both matches, including a come from behind five-set victory on Saturday.
With their weekend wins, TRU is now 7-11 record and in a fight with Saskatchewan, Manitoba and UBCO for the final playoff spot in Canada West.
Dobbert, a transfer from Brigham Young University (NCAA Div I) is second in the Canada West in kills (271), third in kills per set (4.04), and third in hitting percent .311.
The WolfPack close out a four-match home stand on the Warner Rentals court at the Tournament Capital Centre this week when they host the University of Calgary DInos.
Women’s third star – Autumn MacDougall
Alberta Pandas hockey
Forward
3rd-year
Dartmouth, N.S.
Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
Game log: Friday, Jan. 19 – goal and two assists in 3-0 W at Regina / Saturday, Jan. 20 – two assists in 5-0 W at Regina.
Third-year University of Alberta Panda Autumn MacDougall is the Canada West third star of the week after adding to her conference lead with five points in a weekend sweep of the Regina Cougars.
The U SPORTS No. 1 Pandas shutout the Cougars in back-to-back nights, thanks to one goal and four assists from the conference’s leading scorer. MacDougall leads Canada West with 11 goals and 25 points in 22 games – seven more points than the second highest scorer.
13 of MacDougall’s points have also come during her current six-game point streak, which began at the start of the second semester.
The third-year Panda recorded a point on all three of the Pandas goals in their 3-0 win on Friday night, assisting on each of Alex Poznikoff’s goals in the first period, before adding a goal of her own in the third.
She then backed that up with another multi-assist performance, this time in a 5-0 Alberta win over Regina on Saturday.
The 11-4-4-3 Pandas will put their five-game win streak on the line this weekend, as they host the Lethbridge Pronghorns at Clare Drake Arena on Friday at Saturday.
Men’s third star – Brian Ofori
Regina Cougars basketball
Forward
5th-year
Montreal, Que.
Arts
Game log: Friday, Jan. 19 – 29 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block in 106-97 L vs. Brandon / Saturday, Jan. 20 – 23 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 83-75 W vs. Brandon.
Brian Ofori had two impressive outings in the University of Regina’s home split against Brandon this past weekend.
Ofori scored a career-high 29 points in a loss to Brandon on Friday, but his performance on Saturday was a huge reason why the Cougars recovered for a weekend split. Ofori finished with a massive double-double in the victory, registering 23 points and 15 rebounds while also scattering numbers across the scoresheets with three assists, two blocks, and a pair of steals.
For the weekend, Ofori accumulated 52 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals for the Cougars, as they moved their Canada West record to 9-7 on the season. The Cougars are right back at home this coming weekend against another old GPAC foe, as they’ll entertain Winnipeg on Friday and Saturday.