Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- Manitoba’s Lauryn Keen (HKY) and UBC’s Byron Keturakis (VB) are the Canada West first stars of the week
- Keen led Manitoba to the program’s first women’s hockey national title, while Keturakis helped UBC to their first men’s volleyball national championship since 1983
- UBC’s Kiera Van Ryk (VB) and Calgary’s Jaylynn Moffatt (VB) are the other women’s stars, while Alberta’s Stephane Legault (HKY) and Saskatchewan’s Kendall McFaull (HKY) are the other men’s stars
EDMONTON – Freshly minted U SPORTS national champions Lauryn Keen and Byron Keturakis are the Canada West first stars of the week after capping off the season with national gold.
Keen, a fourth-year forward, scored a pair of goals and added an assist over three games, as the Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team skated to the program’s first national title. The Herd topped the host Western Mustangs 2-0 in Sunday’s championship game, as Keen scored the game-winner.
In men’s volleyball action, UBC snapped a 35-year national title drought, and Keturakis played a major role. The setter amassed 92 assists and 10 assists during the T-Birds’ three wins, including their 3-0 victory over Canada West rival Trinity Western in the championship game Sunday.
Also earning stars this week were: UBC’s Kiera Van Ryk (VB) and Calgary’s Jaylynn Moffatt (VB) on the women’s stars, while Alberta’s Stephane Legault (HKY) and Saskatchewan’s Kendall McFaull (HKY) are the other men’s stars.
This week marks the final conference stars of the week, as Canada West teams have completed the 2017-18 competitive season.
Women’s first star – Lauryn Keen
Manitoba Bisons hockey
Forward
4th –year
Manitou, Man.
Agricultural and Food Sciences
Game log: Friday, March 16 – goal and an assist in 4-0 W vs. Queen’s in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – 2-1 SOW vs. Concordia in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – game-winning goal in 2-0 W vs. Western in national final.
For the first time in the program’s 21-year history, the Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team claimed a national championship. The team won three hard fought games in three days to capture the national title and fourth-year forward Lauryn Keen was a force throughout the championship.
Keen was named the 2018 U SPORTS Championship MVP after registering two goals, including the game-winner in the final, and one assist. Keen was also selected as a championship all-star for her effort during the historic championship run by the Bisons.
In the quarter-final game against No. 8 seeded Queen’s, Keen scored a power play goal and had an assist in a 4-0 win. In a tight checking semifinal contest against No. 4 seed Concordia the next night, Keen was dangerous throughout and had two penalty minutes in a 2-1 shootout victory. In the championship final, Keen saved her best for last as she fired a laser shot in the top corner for the game-winner on the power play during the 2-0 win over the host and No. 3 Western Mustangs on Sunday, March, 18.
The 5-9 forward was a key contributor for the Herd throughout their Canada West and U SPORTS championship runs, as she finished the regular season tied for tenth in CW with 14 points (7G-7A) in 26 games, while adding three assists in five Canada West playoff games.
Men’s first star – Byron Keturakis
UBC Thunderbirds volleyball
Setter
4th-year
Surrey, B.C.
Applied Science
Game log: Friday, March 16 – 28 assists, four kills, two service aces, and four blocks in a 3-0 W vs. New Brunswick in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – 33 assists, four kills, seven service aces, and five digs in a 3-1 UBC W vs. Alberta in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – 31 assists, 3 kills, service ace, and five blocks in a 3-0 UBC W vs. Trinity Western in national final.
Keturakis helped UBC win their first U SPORTS national championship in 35 years while being named tournament MVP in the process.
The fourth-year setter kicked off the championship with a 28 assist, four block performance in a straight sets UBC win over the University of New Brunswick.
Keturakis followed up with 33 assists in Saturday’s semifinal win over Alberta while adding a whopping seven service aces and five digs earning player of the match honours for UBC.
The veteran Thunderbird finished in style with 31 assists and five blocks in the gold medal match as UBC beat the number one ranked Spartans in straight sets to capture their first national banner since 1983.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Keturakis was also named a first team All-Canadian as he was tops in the entire country in both assists with 963 and service aces with 65.
Women’s second star – Kiera Van Ryk
UBC Thunderbirds volleyball
Left side
1st-year
Surrey, B.C.
Kinesiology
Game log: Friday, March 16 - 24 kills, 20 digs, and five block assists in 3-2 W vs. Dalhousie in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – 21 kills, five service aces, nine digs, and four block assists in 3-1 L vs. Alberta in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – 20 kills, one ace, seven digs, and five block assists in 3-1 W vs. Calgary in national bronze medal game.
Kiera Van Ryk capped off her first season at the university level with an all-star performance for the UBC Thunderbirds at the U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Québec in Quebec City.
In her debut at the national event, Van Ryk was named a tournament all-star after leading UBC to the bronze medal.
She knocked down 20 kills in the Thunderbirds’ 3-1 win over Calgary in the third-place contest, which was a rematch of the Canada West final won by the Dinos. Van Ryk also had five block assists, seven digs, and an ace.
The rookie from Surrey, B.C., recorded 21 kills, five aces and four block assists, along with nine digs, in UBC’s 3-1 semifinal defeat to Alberta.
The T-Birds won their first match against Dalhousie in five sets. Van Ryk had 24 kills, 20 digs and five block assists.
She led all players in the U SPORTS championship in total kills (65), kills per set (5.00), total attacks (161), total service aces (6), points (78.0), and points per set (6.0). Van Ryk was also second in the tournament in blocks per set (1.08).
Men’s second star – Stephane Legault
Alberta Golden Bears hockey
Forward
4th-year
Edmonton, Alta.
Business
Game log: Friday, March 16 – goal and four assists in 8-6 W vs. Acadia in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – assist in 3-2 OTW vs. Saskatchewan in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – goal in 4-2 W vs. StFX in national final.
Fourth-year University of Alberta Golden Bear Stephane Legault is the Canada West second star after leading the Bears to their record 16th University Cup title, this past weekend in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Legault recorded a tournament-leading seven points in three games and was named to the tournament all-star team, and was awarded the University Cup Tournament MVP.
Legault recorded a point in each of Alberta’s three wins, including a five-point performance in the Bears’ 8-6 win over Acadia in the national quarter-final. The two-time University Cup champion added another assist in the Bears 3-2 OT win over Saskatchewan in the semifinal. Legault was also tremendous in the national final against the StFX X-Men, scoring the game-tying goal in the first period, after Alberta trailed StFX 2-0 early in the opening period.
Alberta’s national championship was their third in five seasons, after also winning back-to-back banners in 2014 and 2015.
Women’s third star – Jaylynn Moffatt
Calgary Dinos volleyball
Middle
5th-year
Calgary, Alta.
Kinesiology
Game log: Friday, March 16 – 10 kills, two assists, four digs, four blocks, and .471 hitting percentage in 3-0 W vs. Laval in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – seven kills, one assist, two digs, four blocks, and .278 hitting percentage in 3-1 L vs. Ryerson in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – six kills, one service ace, two digs, three blocks, and .313 hitting percentage in 3-1 L vs. UBC in national bronze medal game.
Jaylynn Moffatt wrapped up her university volleyball career on the big stage as the Dinos made their first trip to the U SPORTS Championships in nearly a decade.
The fifth-year middle was key to the Dinos’ success all season long and had great showing at national despite Calgary’s fourth-place finish.
Moffatt scored 10 kills, along with two assists, four digs, four blocks, and a .471 hitting percentage on her way to being named player of the game in the Dinos’ 3-0 win over the host Laval Rouge et Or in the quarter-finals.
Calgary would drop their semifinal matchup to the eventual champion, and undefeated, Ryerson Rams. Moffatt had seven kills, one assist, two digs, four blocks and a .278 hitting percentage in the match.
In her final game as a Dino, the hometown product collected six kills, one service ace, two digs, three blocks, and a .313 hitting percentage as the Dinos fell 3-1 to the UBC Thunderbirds in the bronze medal game.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding season for the Dinos, who finished first in Canada West at 21-3, won the conference title for the first time since 2005, earned the No. 1 national ranking for the first time since 2007, and made their first national championship appearance since 2009.
Men’s third star – Kendall McFaull
Saskatchewan Huskies hockey
Defencemen
5th-year
Rosetown, Sask.
Mechanical Engineering
Game log: Friday, March 16 – 12 penalty minutes in 4-1 W vs. McGill in national quarter-final / Saturday, March 17 – shot on goal and two PIM in 3-2 OTL vs. Alberta in national semifinal / Sunday, March 18 – plus-three with three shots in 5-4 OTL vs. UNB in national bronze medal game.
Fifth-year Huskies captain Kendall McFaull capped off his university career with another strong individual performance at the University Cup, as the Mechanical Engineering student was named a tournament all-star.
McFaull, who was named the U SPORTS Dr. Randy Gregg Award winner earlier in the week as the nation’s top men’s hockey student-athlete, played in 111 career regular season games during his time with the Huskies.
The Rosetown, Sask. product established himself as one of the toughest defenders in both Canada West and U SPORTS over his career, which saw his Huskies top the conference in 2016.