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Thunder Women’s Curling Team Looking for a New Lead

January 23, 2012

With some injury problems cropping up, the Thunder Women’s Curling team are looking for a little insurance when they go into the Winter tourney on February 2-4. If you are a Concordia student who has an interest in curling for the Thunder, please contact Head Coach Rick Mann at rmann@uapinc.com. He’d love to hear from YOU!

Thunder Hockey Right-the-Ship on Road Trip to Briercrest

January 23, 2012

The Thunder Hockey team exploded with a 19 goal offensive performance in their two game weekend series in Caronport, Saskatchewan versus the Briercrest Clippers. You would think that the two wins and the offensive productivity would have left Coach Dan Peacocke ecstatic. "I'm happy for the guys that they got a couple of wins, however I also don't want them to lose sight of the fact that the 8 goals we gave up is a clear sign that we still have more work to do." The Thunder struck for an 11-3 win Friday following it up on Saturday with a 8-5 victory. Despite the goals against the Thunder really did show some signs that they might be ready to cause a bit of a stir in the league as they move closer to playoff action. Not wanting to leave the impression that he was dissatisfied with the weekend outing, Peacocke added, "Our puck pursuit was much improved and we did a great job getting to the net and winning a majority of the board battles." The Thunder match up against MacEwan this coming weekend for a pair of crucial games that could have considerable impact on the playoff picture for both teams. Friday's game is at Clareview Arena, an 8:15 p.m. start, while Saturday's game will be played at Millwoods Arena (rather than MacEwan's normal home at Bill Hunter arena). Game time Saturday is at 8:15 p.m. as well.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Basketball Earn Twin Victories

January 23, 2012

The Thunder Women's Basketball team got their first 2 win weekend this season when they faced off against the King's University College Eagles. The Eagles came into the weekend with a 7-5 record and so these were crucial games for the Thunder if they were to keep their playoff hopes alive. On Friday night at Kings, the Thunder came out and got after it right from the tip off. The girls did an excellent job finding ways to get to the foul line and get some of King's main players in foul trouble. Converting from the free throw line was another story, as the Thunder women shot just 35% from the line in the first half. Down 5 at half time, Concordia was right where they needed to be to compete in the second half. Cara Zamburek shot 13-20 free throws and Meghan Allison was amazing, putting up a big double-double 10pts, 10 rebounds vs the first real post threat the Thunder have seen this season. In the fourth quarter, Kaylie Mattiussi and Steph Balog both hit BIG TIME 3's to get the Thunder the lead and hold it there for a big 75-71 win. "It was the first time we really played together as a team and focused on the game plan for 40 minutes," said Coach Ashley MacSporran, post game.
On Saturday - in what was another very physical game - the Thunder hosted the Eagles at the Ralph King Centre. The Thunder Women once again attacked Kings inside and were able to get good looks at the rim and more trips to the foul line. In the third quarter, the team really got after it taking a 22pt lead into the 4th. "In action from last weekend, we saw Kings come from a big deficit vs Lethbridge to make it an 8pt game with 3 minutes to go. We knew they would make a run and needed to focus on holding them off on the defensive end," commented MacSporran. The lid seemed to be on the basket, as shots rolled off in the fourth quarter for the Thunder, but with determination on defense the Thunder were able to come up with another big win over Kings and win their 5th game in the last 7 outings. Steph Balog led the scoring effort with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Meghan Allison once again had a HUGE double-double 12pts and 12 rebounds. Kaylie (Mattiussi) and Cara (Zamburek) were excellent as well. Coach MacSporran concluded, "I was most pleased with the bench effort this weekend. We got some BIG defensive minutes from Alyssa Leakvold, who really is fearless when she is on the court. All nine girls really made this a successful weekend. I couldn't be more proud of the grit and determination we showed, to make sure we got two wins this weekend." The Thunder will face a stern test when they square off against the undefeated MacEwan Griffins this coming weekend. They host the Griffins on Friday (January 27th) at 6PM before heading over to MacEwan for the rematch on Saturday, the 28th. Tip off is once again at 6PM.

Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Basketball Persist Through Adversity and Injury to take Two from Kings

January 23, 2011

Heading into two critical games against the King’s Eagles, the Thunder were settling nicely into their 9 man rotation Friday night, when an injury to 6’8” center Aaron Kruse early in the first half and an early third quarter foul out by Milos Prijovic left the Thunder with just 7 players to grind out a gritty 76-55 win at King’s. The Thunder were led by Ethan Sir with a solid 26 points. Dallas Wright contributed a key 12 points and 7 rebounds. An all-around solid game from Point Guard Jon Celeste earned him Player of the Game honours (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals).
Saturday night would be one of those games that define the character of a team. Struggling through the first half and with the Eagles fired up and playing tough, the Thunder found themselves down by 4 at the half. Physical defense from Kings allowed them to push their lead to 6 after 3 quarters. With fatigue setting in, foul trouble and a short bench, the Thunder dug deep to tie the game within the first two minutes of the 4th quarter behind a pair of three pointers from Jon Celeste and tough inside play from Milos Prijovic. The Thunder turned up the pressure on the Eagles forcing several turnovers which lead to easy buckets and trips to the foul line, turning the once 6 point deficit into an 11 point lead. Outscoring King’s 29-12 in the fourth the Thunder rolled to a 64-53 win. After a slow start, Milos Prijovic led the Thunder with 16 points (all in the 2nd half) and 15 rebounds. Ethan Sir added 14 and 11 came of the hands of Jon Celeste. “I am extremely proud of these wins,” said Coach Paul Sir, post game. “Adversity is part of the game and our guys found it within themselves to rise above physical and mental fatigue to get these two wins." Assistant Coach Reagan Wood chimed in with these comments: "I feel this weekend showed several of our players what they are capable of and how much they can impact the game with effort and persistence. Jon Celeste for example, had a real coming out party which began with his defensive effort and translated into clutch 3 point shooting that helped us win both games this weekend.”
Now 8-6, the Thunder head into another set of critical games against the MacEwan Griffins, Friday night (January 27th) at the Ralph King at 8pm and Saturday at MacEwan, also at 8pm.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Badminton Play Host in ACAC Season's Tourney #3

January 23, 2012

The Concordia Thunder Badminton played host to the ACAC this past weekend and took full advantage of the 'home court' finishing second overall in team competition. Only NAIT with 186 points topped the Thunder's 155, with RDC (124) and MRU (87) rounding out the competition scoring. In the overall season results, this weekend's finish puts the Thunder in second place, 38 points ahead of RDC. The addition of Grace Box - back for her 5th and final year - was a huge bonus this weekend as she finished first in the Women's Singles event, in third place with Samantha Wong in the Women's Doubles event and 3rd place with Jie-Jung Sim in the mixed event. Samantha Wong had one of the best tournaments she has ever played in the Singles event. She finished in 3rd place, defeating 3 competitors that she had lost to in the first two competitions of the season. "I was very proud of Sam this weekend," said Coach Kevin MacAlpine. "She had more drive and determination than I have ever seen and her consistency in Singles was taken to another level." Coady Duncan and Jie Sim had another great showing in Men's Doubles. They finished in second place once again just behind the NAIT team, losing 24-22 in the second game. They are getting closer and closer to defeating the NAIT team this season and have really gelled as a tandem. Coach MacAlpine was also "really proud of how Andre Leblanc played this weekend. He had tremendous Singles results going 3-1, losing only his first game of the tournament and then defeating 2 players from RDC and 1 player from MRU." Coady Duncan and Joshua Wong also had a great weekend for Singles finishing 4th and 6th respectively. Overall it was a great tourney for the Thunder and they are set up well for the season's 4th tournament - which will also be held at Concordia on February 4 and 5.

Thunder Women's Volleyball Drop Two to Kings

January 23, 2012

The Thunder Women’s Volleyball team played a home and home series with the cross town rival King’s University College Eagles this past weekend. Both teams are still vying for an ACAC playoff position so Friday’s match - hosted by the Thunder - was a fierce battle featuring an excellent display of volleyball by both teams as they split the first two sets. Although the Thunder came out strong (winning the opening set) to start the match and played a spirited team game throughout, they came up short in the 4th set and bowed to the Eagles 3-1 (22-25,25-20,25-19,25-18). Elvisa Omerovic played well adding 14 kills, 1 ace and 1 block to her season stats and Justine Schaffrick added 6 kills, 2 aces and 1 block along with taking Player of the Game honours.
Saturdays match began much the same as Friday’s and the Thunder started strong with a 1st set win and continued to play well throughout the match. However, once again the Thunder fell to the Eagles' experience, losing 3-1 (26-24,20-25,20-25,12-25). Vanessa Fulton-Koops played an exceptional match at the net with 9 kills and 3 blocks, Shelby Larsen added 7 kills, 3 blocks and 1 ace. “We played some of our best volleyball so far and just came out on the short end this weekend. With our playoff push really coming into full swing it is good to see that our best volleyball is here when we need it,” commented Coach Keith Wills. The Thunder will continue their push to the playoffs as they head downtown on Friday, January 27th (6PM) to the Christianson Family Centre at MacEwan before hosting the Griffins at the Ralph King Centre on Saturday, the 28th. Game time is also 6PM.


Photos by	Jacob Bos


Photos Courtesy of	Matt Norminton

Thunder Badminton Kick off the New Year with a Caribbean Tour

January 16, 2012

The Thunder Badminton team started off 2012 on the right foot with a series of exhibition matches in Florida and the Bahamas. The Thunder faced off against their crosstown rivals from NAIT as well as the OCAA's Humber College in Orlando, Florida and Nassau, Bahamas. The competition - to say nothing of the warm weather - was a great way to warm up for the upcoming second half of the ACAC Badminton season. The Thunder are looking forward to hosting the final two tournaments of the year on January 21-22 and February 4-5. The Thunder roster will be bolstered by the addition of first year athlete Erin O'Neill as well as the return of veteran multi-medal winner Grace Box who is coming back for her fifth and final year of competition. Good luck to our entire team in 2012!


Photos Courtesy of	Kevin MacAlpine

Three Game Swing Through Central Alberta Proves Valuable for Thunder Men's Basketball

January 9, 2012

As the second half of the regular season approaches, the Thunder Men's Basketball team took the opportunity to fine tune their game at the Olds College New Year’s Classic this past week. Welcoming back Ethan Sir to the line up, the Thunder took the court on Thursday evening (January 5th) against a revamped SAIT squad looking for revenge after the Thunder pounded the Trojans 89-65 earlier this season. A grinding first quarter saw the two teams deadlocked at 17. Following an improved defensive effort from the Thunder in the 2nd, Concordia found itself staked to a 34-26 lead at the mid way point. Staving off several runs by SAIT in the 3rd, the Thunder were able to keep their lead heading into the 4th. With four minutes remaining - and the Thunder maintaining a 68-61 advantage - 4 critical turnovers turned a 7 point lead into a 1 point deficit with less than two minutes to play. Finally solving SAIT’s full court pressure, Milos Prijovic made a lay up to put the Thunder back on top for good. Key free throws from Ethan Sir and Jon Celeste sealed the 75-69 win for the Thunder. Strong performances from Ethan Sir (25 points, 7 rebounds), Aaron Kruse (15 points, 15 rebounds) and Milos Prijovic (14 points, 7 rebounds) carried the Thunder to victory.
A short turnaround with only 8 players can prove difficult, but the Thunder passed with flying colors as they took on the host Olds College Broncos the following morning at 9 AM. Behind stingy defence and efficient offence, the Thunder pounded an outmatched Olds squad 103-28. Every Thunder player tallied at least 8 points and were lead by Ethan Sir’s 23 and 19 from Dallas Wright.
Following the blow out win versus Olds, the Thunder made the 45 trip to Lacombe to face Canadian University College for a 3rd time this season. The Thunder having taken the previous twp match ups, now faced the daunting task of playing their 3rd game in 20 hours with only 8 healthy bodies. Early on the Thunder still had the necessary fuel to take a 25-10 first quarter lead and a 39-26 half time lead. Concordia continued to build its lead into the third with numerous trips to the free throw line. The Thunder saw their lead bulge to 19 mid way through the third but an inspired CUC squad found a way to battle back as the Thunder hit the fatigue wall late in the quarter. Behind 75% shooting and several crucial turnovers by the Thunder, CUC scored 32 points in the 4th quarter and bested the exhausted Concordia team for the first time this season by a 76-69 score. The Thunder will now look forward to opening the second half of the ACAC season with a two game home stand on Friday, January 13th (6PM) and Saturday, January 14 (3PM) against the Briercrest Clippers and the Medicine Hat Rattlers, respectively.

Short-handed Thunder Men's Basketball Have Strong Outing Down South

January 4, 2012

Missing 3 regulars including leading scorer Ethan Sir as well as Head Coach Paul Sir, the Thunder Men’s Basketball team took a 13 hour trip to Lewiston, Idaho for a 2 game set on December 20th and 21st against a tough Lewis-Clark State Warriors squad. Already playing short handed, the Thunder found themselves really up against it when Nathaniel Wojcicki suffered a broken ankle 3 minutes into the opening game on a drive to the hoop, leaving the team with just 8 healthy bodies to compete. Struggling from the floor early and up against the hot 3-point shooting from the LC State Warriors, the Thunder found themselves down 53-23 at the half. Determined to get back in the game, the Thunder were lead by Milos Prijovic who was an efficient 6 of 10 from the floor and a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line for 17 points. 2nd year center Aaron Kruse also turned in a solid night with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Redshirt freshman Mitch Buffie had the best night of his young career with 9 points on 4 of 6 shooting also adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals to his solid stat line. Point guard Jon Celeste was tough all night in the face of pressure finding his team-mates for 7 assists while only committing 1 turnover. In spite of playing the Warriors to a 50-42 score in the second half, the American squad was too deep and consistent from the floor and finished up with a 103-65 win over the Thunder.
The second match up between the Thunder and Warriors would also prove to be a great building block for the young Concordia squad. After struggling defensively on the first night, the goal was to tighten up and make life more difficult for the Warriors. A gritty first half by the Thunder saw them hold the Warriors to 36% shooting and only 36 points. While the defensive end of the floor improved, the offence struggled, missing some easy opportunities which left the Thunder with a 36-16 deficit at the half. Once again the team found a way to right the offence in the second half lead by an impressive 10 points from Steffan Favis and a tough 8 from Jacob Wojcicki. Steffan finished with 12 points and 3 boards on a very solid 5 of 7 from the field. Aaron Kruse was again efficient with 6 and 6. 3rd year guard Dallas Wright along with Rob Haack were consistent both nights for the Thunder combining for 35 points and 9 assists at the 2 spot for the 2 games. Unfortunately, the Warriors were again able to find their shooting stroke in the 2nd half and finished with an 84-56 win. The Thunder however, were able to tie the Warriors in the rebounding department at 40 a piece. “I was extremely proud of the effort,” said Assistant Coach Reagan Wood. “We had objectives that Coach Rick Henderson and I set out for the team that we wanted to achieve each game and all things considered, we were able to do those things. We are undergoing a makeover as a team and with limited practice time, every player made a solid effort to buy in and sell out for the team. As a coaching staff that is all we ask for.” The Thunder will now take on SAIT, Olds College and Canadian University College in a 2 day – 3 game set in Olds and Lacombe on January 6th and 7th.


Photos by	Nathaniel Wojcicki

Thunder Women's Volleyball's Elvisa Omerovic Named ACAC Female Athlete of the Week

December 9, 2011

After an early season ankle injury, Elvisa showed this past weekend that she is getting back into top form. Her performance this past weekend led all players in scoring as she collected 16 kills and 1 ace Friday and added another 9 kills on Saturday to lead the Thunder to two impressive wins over the Vikings. She also led all players on the defensive side as she collected 16 digs during the two match series. Elvisa is a second year Power obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree at Concordia.
Congratulations on being named Athlete of the Week, Elvisa!

Elvisa Omerovic

Women’s Volleyball End Fall Term with Two Decisive Wins

December 5, 2011

The Thunder Women’s Volleyball team faced off against their ACAC expansion counterparts, the Augustana Vikings this past weekend. The two teams joined the ACAC last season and therefore the weekend's matches were a great opportunity to gauge the progress of both teams since joining the league. Friday night the Thunder hosted the Vikings at the Ralph King Athletic Centre and the Thunder did not disappoint the home court crowd. The Thunder pressed the Vikings throughout the match as they consistently followed their game plan and came out with a 0-3 victory (21-25, 20-25, 19-25). Elvisa Omerovic had an excellent offensive outing with 16 kills and 1 ace, while Player of the Game Shelby Larsen contributed 5 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces. The Thunder travelled down an icy Highway 21 to Camrose for Saturday’s rematch against the Vikings, picking up where they left off on Friday with their strong play. The Thunder continued to dictate the pace of the match, again following through on their game plan to take the match 3-0 (25-14,25-22,25-15). Player of the Game Candace Ochocki padded her stats with 12 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks. Elvisa Omerovic also played well scoring 9 kills and 2 aces. After the twin victories, Coach Wills commented, “It was great to see our discipline pay off. We stuck to the game plan and it really showed in our intensity and flow. To see the progress we have made in the last few seasons is exciting. Next term should be interesting as we make a push for playoffs.” The Thunder will now take a few weeks off for exams and the Christmas holiday before heading down to Calgary on January 2nd to 4th where they will fly Concordia's colours at the prestigious Mount Royal University Timbertown Invitational Tournament, competing against teams from right across the country and from both the CCAA and CIS levels.

Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Curling Team Gets First Taste of Action at ACAC Fall Regional

December 5, 2011

It was a roller coaster ride for the 2 Concordia curling teams this past weekend as they travelled to Red Deer for the first ACAC tournament of the season. Both teams played well and both worked hard to keep themselves within striking distance of a provincial berth. The Thunder Ladies team started out very well, with a 9-4 victory over Olds on Friday afternoon but in the late draw, could not quite get the rocks positioned to put away NAIT, losing 4-2. This was followed on Saturday with 6-4 and 8-6 losses to Lakeland and Red Deer, respectively before putting another win on the board with a 7-3 victory over Augustana. Sunday morning brought on another tough test, with the Thunder managing to battle to a 7-6 extra end victory over MacEwan before losing to undefeated Grande Prairie in the last game of the weekend. The Thunder Mixed team - a new squad for Concordia this year and consisting of all first year ACAC players - fared a little better this weekend. Although they started slowly, losing to MacEwan in their first game, they gathered themselves up to win the next 2, defeating Grande Prairie and Lakeland. Saturday afternoon, the Thunder Mixed team lost to the host squad from Red Deer, but they rallied again later in the evening to beat the squad from Olds. Sunday morning for the Mixed team had them playing the crew from Augustana, who were able to take advantage of a couple of misses early to jump to a large lead which the Concordia team was not able to bounce back from. A couple of hours later, the team found themselves matched up against NAIT and it proved to be a very interesting draw. In the 5th end, the NAIT Skip made an excellent shot through a small port to take out Concordia’s shot rock, which allowed NAIT to take a 6 point lead in the game. Not to be outdone, Thunder Skip Patrick Michaud rallied the team in the 6th end, finishing off a well played end with a perfectly played tapback to score 5, leaving the Thunder down by only 1 with 2 ends to play. The entire squad continued to make their shots, stealing points in both the 7th and 8th ends and wound up with the victory. With the Ladies now tied for 5th place with a 3-4 record and the Mixed squad tied for 4th at 4-3, the Concordia Curling teams are in good shape to move on to a provincial berth. Coach Rick Mann was pleased with the effort put forward by all his curlers and especially the Ladies team, who ended up playing short-handed for a couple of games due to an injury. Next up for the Thunder will be the Winter Regional tourney, which will go February 2-4, hosted by MacEwan University at the Leduc Curling Club.

Thunder Men's Volleyball Go into Christmas Break on a High Note

December 5, 2011

The Thunder Men's Volleyball team finished off first semester action this past weekend in a home and home series with the Augustana Vikings. Although they were unable to secure that elusive first match victory, the Thunder played two competitive matches and especially on Saturday night, topped the Vikings in several statistical categories. On Friday, the home team Thunder had an impressive first set coming within two scores of forcing extra points (25-22) but struggled on offense in the 2nd and 3rd sets (25-15, 25-11) in the 3-0 loss. "Friday was another tough night for us. We played well the first set, but dug ourselves a hole early in the 2nd set that we just couldn't climb out of. It really was some uninspired play from the team, and I think that the players know that they are better than what they showed," commented Coach Joel Mrak. Veteran Libero Spencer Carless led the defensive effort with 15 digs while Andrew Odegard and Matt McHargue had strong nights on both sides of the ball with 6 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks and 5 kills, 7 digs and 3 blocks, respectively. On Saturday the action shifted to Augustana where a loud, boisterous crowd set the stage for a very entertaining evening of ACAC Volleyball. Once again, the Thunder had a great first set, going point-for-point with the Vikings before being edged out 22-25. The Thunder fell back on their offensive production in set number two and were unable to keep the score close, dropping the set by a 12 to 25 margin. In the third set, the resurgent Thunder rediscovered their offensive touch and led the Vikings by as much as 6 points at the mid point of the set. Urged on by the hometown crowd, Augustana clawed their way back into the game and eventually took the set and the match 23-25. Matt McHargue led the way with a 7 kill, 2 block performance with Chad Hinchey coming up with 5 kills of his own. First year Setter Alex Ingstrup had a strong defensive game with 8 digs and was named the Player of the Game. Coach Mrak summed up the match and the first half of the season with these words: "Saturday was a really great match for us start to finish. Augustana had to dig us 47 times and we forced them to make some really tough plays. The team realizes that they have now set the bar for performance expectations of effort and desire, and had we played like this earlier in the season, we would be in a much different position in the standings. It was nice to see the guys show a little bit of killer instinct, and I am really happy with how they ended the first half of the season." The Thunder will now take a few weeks off for exams and the Christmas break before getting back to work in early January and preparing for a series with NAIT on January 13th and 14th.

Movember Fundraiser

At the beginning of November, the Men's Volleyball team decided that they were going to show their support for Men's Health issues and awareness, along with the fight against prostate cancer, by growing a moustache for "Movember". All in all, the team surpassed their goal to raise $2500 with $2806! The Thunder would like to thank everyone that supported this campaign and for helping bring awareness to Men's health issues.

Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Basketball Finish First Half of Season in Split with NAIT

November 28, 2011

The Thunder Women's Basketball team closed out their first semester schedule on the weekend, splitting a pair of games with the NAIT Ooks. Looking to build momentum after their win over Red Deer from the week before, the Thunder "had a good week of practice and prep for NAIT." Concordia came out with a great defensive effort in the first quarter Friday but once again struggled to score. Down 9 points going into the second quarter, team Captain Steph Balog helped spur the offence and combined with tough, tenacious defense, the Thunder found themselves down by only 2 at the half. The second stanza proved to be all Thunder. With Steph Balog knocking down tough shots and Cara Zamburek scoring inside, the Thunder got the lead and never looked back, securing their second consecutive win, 63-61. "This was a huge win for the girls, as we finally put 4 quarters together," said Coach Ashley MacSporran. "The girls followed the game plan and really toughed this one out. Rai Hooper and Cara were instrumental to the win, playing tough defense. Steph had 22 points and 10 defensive rebounds." On Saturday, the action shifted to the gym at NAIT, with Concordia looking to continue the success from the night before. Kaylie Mattiussi was on fire in first half, scoring 17 points. "NAIT really focused on Steph from the night before and Kaylie played with great confidence Saturday," commented MacSporran. In an up and down game, both teams were hitting big shots and the lead changed hands several times. Although the Thunder women 'left it all on the court', unfortunately they came up just short on the scoreboard falling to the Ooks 60 to 54. Meghan Allison was a spark off the bench and really contributed big minutes on both offense and defense. "I was so happy to see that spark in Meghan in both games. (It was) a tough game to lose, but plenty to work on in December to make a push in January." The Thunder's first action in the second semester will be a two game home stand on January 13th and 14th when they host the Briercrest Clippers and the Medicine Hat Rattlers.

Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Badminton Finish 2nd Overall in Season's Second Tourney

November 21, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Badminton team had another strong showing this past weekend in the ACAC's second tournament of the season. Led once again by the Men's squad, the Thunder finished second overall trailing only NAIT for first. Returning veteran Jake Perry placed 3rd in Men's Singles with Jie-Yung Sim right behind in 4th. Jie - along with partner Coady Duncan finished 2nd in Men's Doubles with the tandem of Jake Perry and rookie Joshua Wong finishing in 3rd. The Thunder finished off the tourney with a strong showing from Joshua Wong and Samantha Wong who took 4th place in the Mixed Doubles competition. Commenting after the tournament, Thunder Head Coach Kevin MacAlpine was very pleased with the progress of his team. "We had a better overall team showing than our first tournament. Again, we did very well on the guy's side. We accumulated more points than any other college in the Men's Singles and Men's Doubles." Next up, the Thunder will be travelling over the Christmas Break (Dec 29th - Jan 6th) to Orlando, Florida and the Bahamas where they will be playing exhibition matches against Humber College and NAIT before coming back to host the final two tournaments of the season on January 21 to 22 and February 4 to 5.

Thunder Hockey Earn Hard Won Single Point Against 2nd Place Augustana

November 21, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Hockey team faced yet another tough opponent this past weekend, tangling with the Augustana Vikings who are currently locked in a two-way tie for 2nd place with the SAIT Trojans. After a disappointing outing on Friday in Camrose - where the Thunder just couldn’t seem to catch a break - the team responded with a very determined performance on Saturday night in front of an enthusiastic crowd that included many of the hockey alumni. The Concordia Choir set the tone for the evening with a wonderful rendition of “O’Canada” and set the stage for just what can happen when a group really works on creating harmony. Coach Peacocke and the Thunder Hockey team want to extend a "big thank you" to the Choir and indeed to all the soloists that have sung our anthem in each of our home games. Despite some pretty decent hockey being played over the weekend, the Thunder still only managed to earn a single point from their efforts, dropping an 8 - 2 decision on Friday and then a 5 to 4 overtime loss on Saturday. The team is looking forward to a strong finish to their first semester of action as they close out play before the Christmas break with two games this coming weekend against NAIT. Friday’s game goes at NAIT with a 7:00 p.m. start and the series concludes Saturday at Clareview Arena with the puck dropping at 8:15 p.m.

Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Women’s Volleyball Face Tough Test in #7 Ranked Medicine Hat

November 21, 2011

For the second weekend in the row the Concordia Thunder Women’s Volleyball team hosted the #7 ranked team in the nation. Two weeks ago, the Lethbridge Kodiaks were ranked 7th when they came up for a pair of matches against the Thunder. In the intervening week, the Medicine Hat College Rattlers were elevated to the 7th place ranking and were here this past weekend for another pair of matches. The Rattlers proved that they deserved that #7 ranking as they came out strong early in the 1st set to take a commanding 9-0 lead. The Thunder tried to regroup but the Rattlers were simply stronger on that day as they took the match 3-0 (25-12, 25-15 and 25-12). Player of the Game Shelby Larsen chipped in with 5 kills and 2 blocks. Candace Ochocki also collected 5 kills, 1 ace and 3 blocks. The Thunder showed resilience in Saturday’s match as they made some adjustments to the gameplan resulting in a much closer contest. The two teams battled back and forth in the first set as each team kept it close but the Rattlers would end up taking the 1st set 25-23. The match continued to be a close battle but the vastly more experienced Rattlers eventually came out on top winning in straight sets (25-23, 25-17 and 25-22). Player of the Game Bailey Magas had an excellent outing with 8 kills, 1 block, 1 ace and 7 digs. Elvisa Omerovic collected 6 kills, 1 ace and 14 digs. After the match, Coach Keith Wills commented, “Once again we performed well, showing our resilience. Every weekend we take steps to becoming a playoff team.” The Thunder now prepare for their next matches as they travel to Keyano College to take on the Huskies Nov 25-26. The next home game for the Thunder is Dec 2nd as they host the Augustana Vikings.

Thunder Men's Volleyball Still Chasing Elusive First Match Victory

November 21, 2011

The Thunder Men's Volleyball team will have to wait at least one more week to get that first ever match victory as they dropped a pair of home matches to the Rattlers of Medicine Hat College. The Thunder pushed the Rattlers on Friday evening, taking them just short of extra points in the second set and winning the third set outright before the bubble burst in the 4th game and the Thunder had to relent in a 3-1 decision (25-19, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-17). Matt McHargue again led the way with 7 kills, 2 aces and 3 blocks while Curtis Lucki contributed 8 kills. On Saturday afternoon, the Thunder came storming out of the gate to take the first set but seemed to lose their focus after that and again lost the match by a 3 to 1 margin (22-25, 25-9, 25-12 and 25-11). Libero Spencer Carless had a great defensive performance with 14 digs and Chad Hinchey chipped in with 6 kills. "(It was a) disappointing weekend for us for sure. We are still looking to play a complete match," commented Head Coach Joel Mrak. "Friday was quite good for 3 1/2 sets, but we had a let down in the 4th set, being up 14-13 and then giving up a 12-3 run to end the match. That just can't happen at this level." Mrak continued: "We started off great on Saturday and controlled the entire first set. For whatever reason we went away from our game plan and the train derailed for the rest of the match. Curtis getting injured didn't help the cause, but we need guys to step up at that point." The Thunder will travel up to Ft. McMurray this weekend for a pair of matches against the Keyano College Huskies before returning home to take on the Augustana Vikings on Dec 2nd and 3rd to finish up their first semester schedule.

Cross Country Runner Jenkins Finishes 6th at CCAA Nationals

November 14, 2011

Marriya Jenkins now has a whole country wondering how to say her name after the first year Bachelor of Arts student finished 6th at the CCAA Cross Country Running Championships earning "All Tournament" team honours in the process! Jenkins and XC team Coach Matt Norminton were the sole Thunder representatives at the National Championships meet held in Kamloops, BC this past Saturday. "I didn't like a few of the tight turns early on in the course so we talked about getting out hard early and staying out of trouble and then settling into a good pace after that," said Norminton. Jenkins followed the plan to perfection, getting out in the top 5 early on and then settling into a battle for 5th place with local rival Alex Gordichuck of MacEwan and a Quebec runner. As she did at at the ACAC Champs, Jenkins closed hard on Gordichuck but ran out of distance on the flat and fast course losing to Gordichuck and missing out on the top 5 by just one second. "I'm so happy and pleased with my race and the entire season," said an excited Jenkins after she finished the 5k race. "I'm really forward to the indoor season now and of course next XC season. Hopefully I can crack the top 5 in Quebec next year!" Jenkins improved her 5k best by 46 seconds on the day, saving her best performance for the final race of the season when it counted most. Jenkins will take some down time now before rejoining her Thunder XC teammates to get ready for the indoor season which kicks off in January. Congratulations to Marriya from the Concordia Athletic Department and the entire campus community!


Photo by Jacob Bos

Women’s Thunder Volleyball Earns First Win in Split with Powerhouse GPRC

November 7, 2011

In the first major road trip of the year, this past weekend saw the Thunder Women's Volleyball team travel up Highway 43 for a pair of matches against the perennial powerhouse Grande Prairie Wolves. Friday’s match saw the Thunder’s inexperience show as they lost in 3 sets (21-25,13-25,14-25) in front of a packed gymnasium. Veteran Left Side Bailey Magas played consistently well, earning the Player of the Game award. Saturday's tilt saw the return of Elvisa Omerovic from the injured reserve list as the Thunder again battled the Wolves in front of a packed house. The upstart Thunder showed exuberance as they rebounded nicely to take the 1st set with some consistent defense and timely kills. The match was a back and forth affair as each team won 2 sets to set up a fifth game. The fifth game started slow for the Thunder as they found themselves down 4-1 early. But the Thunder regrouped after a timeout and battled back to tie the game at 12. Showing great resilience, the Thunder came out with 3 strong rallies to win the set 15-12. Concordia displayed a great team effort in every aspect of the competition to take the match 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-12). Bailey Magas had another great outing as she was awarded her 2nd straight Player of the Game award. Following Saturday's victory, Coach Wills commented, “ We proved today we are a strong team; we showed tremendous poise late in each set including the 5th as we were able to stick to our game plan and see the results.” The Thunder will now begin an extended home stand as they host the Lethbridge College Kodiaks for a pair of games, the first going Friday, November 11 at 6 PM followed by a matinee match up on Saturday at 1.


Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Basketball Still Looking for the Right Formula

November 7, 2011

The Thunder Women's Basketball team had a disappointing weekend as they struggled to find their scoring touch against the Vikings from Augustana. Friday night's home game turned into a real dog fight, as the girls struggled to score early on and turned the ball over too many times in the first half. The Thunder re-grouped at the half and made a big run in the fourth quarter to bring the game within two but regrettably, were unable to finish off the game with a W, falling 60 to 55. Third year veteran Kaylie Mattiussi had another strong outing hitting 2 big 3-pointers's in the 4th quarter. 1st year guard Marie Hacking also had a great game, leading the drive that brought the game back into reach for Concordia. Saturday's game back in Camrose was more of same as the Thunder struggled to score and turned the ball over too often in the 65-46 loss. Once again Marie Hacking was a spark to the team and had a great game. Another 1st year player, Karolina Wieczorek, came off the bench and contributed some great minutes to the team as well. Coach MacSporran "was disappointed with the effort in both games this weekend. (However), with a young team, it is nice to have different players have big games. Once we put it together, we will be a force. It is a long season and we need to re-group as a team and find a way to pull out some games." The Thunder will get a little breather as they only play one game on each of the next two weekends starting with a home game against the ACAC South's 2nd place SAIT Trojans on Saturday, November 12th starting at 6 PM.


Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Volleyball Weather Tough Road Trip to GPRC

November 7, 2011

The Thunder Men's Volleyball team came off an early season bye week with some of the rust still showing as they dropped two matches in straight sets to the Grande Prairie Wolves. In Friday's match up, the Thunder pushed the second set to within one point of going to extra time but otherwise struggled with set scores of 13-25, 23-25 and 16-25. Veteran Power Andrew Odegard had 7 kills, 9 digs and 1 block in the contest with rookie Alex Ingstrup racking up an outstanding 27 digs along with 3 blocks. Saturday's rematch saw a similar result but with a positive sign in the late going as the Thunder pushed the final set to extra points (10-25, 11-25, 24-26). Stuart Lenaour recorded 9 kills and big Right Side Curtis Lucki pitched in with 7 kills, 1 block and an ace. Coach Joel Mrak summed up the weekend with these comments: "All in all this weekend was tough. The match was closer than the scores show, but we did not do enough to win either match. We are such a young team (and) we know we have to be patient and work through the growing pains. Practice is getting better, and the team cohesion is coming along. We just need to translate that into an on-court performance." The Thunder will now begin a two week, 4 game homestand beginning with two matches against Lethbridge College on Friday, November 11th at 8 PM followed by an afternoon tilt with the Kodiaks at 3 PM Saturday.


Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Hockey Take it on the Chin in Weekend Series with SAIT

November 7, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Men's Hockey team took some lumps over the weekend with a pair of losses to the perennial powerhouse Trojans from SAIT. Friday's match up at Clareview Arena was one of those games that you just want to put behind you as the Thunder fell to the Trojans 12-1. Saturday's return engagement down in Calgary saw the Thunder recovering some of their dignity but still struggling to find the score sheet as they fell 5-1. Things don't get any easier for the Thunder as they face the Mt. Royal Cougars this coming weekend. The Cougars are currently tied for first place with SAIT. The Thunder travel to Calgary on Remembrance Day and will be back at Clareview for the rematch on Saturday the 12th starting at 8:15 PM.


Photo by Jacob Bos

Thunder Cross Country Runner Jenkins Headed to Nationals after Silver Medal Performance

October 31, 2011

Thunder XC runner Marriya Jenkins often hears her first name mis-pronounced. But that won't be happening for too much longer as the 1st year Thunder athlete picked up the Silver Medal at the 2011 ACAC Cross Country Running Championships hosted by SAIT at Canmore Park in Calgary. Jenkins was at the front early on in the 5km race and never looked back, finally being overtaken only by last year's national Silver Medalist, Jodi Sanguin of Red Deer College. "Heading into the last hill I thought she (Sanguin) might catch the MacEwan girl for 2nd but when they came out from behind the trees she had sprinted to the front and it looked like Marriya would end up being 3rd; which I was still pretty happy about," said Thunder XC Coach Matt Norminton. But Jenkins had other plans and ended up out sprinting MacEwan's Gordichuck in the final 100m to finish 2nd in her first ever ACAC XC Running Championships race. "I just went for it," said an ecstatic Jenkins, a native of Beaumont Alberta. Jenkins lead her Thunder teammates to a solid 7th place finish at the Championships which was the first time Concordia has finished a complete Women's XC team "in a very long time" according to an excited Concordia Athletic Director Bernie Masterson, who was in attendance at the race. First year runner Kristen Hansen also completed a great season for the Thunder finishing in 16th place overall and taking nearly a minute off the time she ran on the same course just a month ago. "If you'd asked me a year ago if I thought we'd have 2 girls in the top 20 at the ACAC Champs I would have said you were crazy. This was Kristen's first year running and she just missed out on finishing in the top 10. I'm super proud of her and it goes to show you what a summer of running and hard work can do," said coach Norminton. The Thunder Women's third scorer was mother of two Barbara Jackson, who dropped 2 minutes off her time from the same course 4 weeks ago. "Barbara has gotten faster every race; what more can a coach ask of his athletes? She's had a great season and I look forward to seeing her improve even more over the next few years." The Thunder's 4th scorer on the day was Kaitlin Jarvis, another first year runner who dropped 1:40 off her time from 4 weeks ago. "With Marriya, Barbara and Kaitlin all coming back next year we have the making of a really solid team. With another year of running Barbara and Kaitlin can both be in the top 40. Word of mouth alone should get us a few more girls out next year and if we can find another girl or two who can crack the top 20, we can continue to move this program in the right direction."
The Thunder Men were up next in Calgary and it was team captain Joel Perren who lead the team to a 7th place finish, finishing in 30th place. "I know Joel isn't overly happy with his race but he's been fighting a cold for the past two weeks and he just didn't have a great run. These things happen but I know he'll bounce back and run even better indoors and next year," said Norminton. It was a similar story for soccer player Cody Hogberg as well who was struggling with an Achilles injury but still managed to finish in 31st place, an improvement over last year's performance. "Cody had a great season considering he has been doing double duty with the soccer team and us all season. Another (off season) of running and he can be a top 10 guy next year." The Thunder's 3rd scorer was Ray Thompson who dropped 1:40 off of his 8km time from 2 weeks ago in Camrose and 2:20 off of his first race back in September to finish in 34th place on the day. "Ray got faster each race and if he keeps running can easily be a top 30 guy next year," said Norminton. Thunder Hockey player Matt Kemp had the biggest improvement on the day, taking almost 3 minutes off his time of 4 weeks ago on the same course. Overall Thunder XC Coach Matt Norminton was pleased with his team's performances and hopes that the program will continue to attract new runners. "I need to get a couple of recruits for next year and if we get a few more new runners out for next year we'll continue to improve. 6 of our 8 runners either improved their time or position from 4 weeks ago so it goes to show that the guys were all working hard."
Some of the Thunder XC Runners will take part in the Alberta club provincials this coming Saturday being held at Goldstick Park in Edmonton and Jenkins will head out to Kamloops, BC on November 12th to compete at the CCAA National Championships. Congratulations to Marriya, Coach Norminton and the Concordia Cross Country Running Team!


Marriya Jenkins	Joel Perren

Thunder Women's Soccer Wins Fifth Straight Heading into Playoffs

October 24, 2011

The Thunder lined up against the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday in a battle for second place in the ACAC North. The Griffins started strong, pushing hard for an early goal with the Thunder defense coming up big to fend them off. Late in the first half, the defensive stalemate was broken when first year Erika Vecchio hammered a free kick past the MacEwan Keeper. The Thunder went into half time with the 1-Nil lead. The second half saw more great efforts from the Thunder, but they could not convert until a late passing sequence found Midfielder Jenny Lam open at the back post. She made no mistake, neatly placing it into the net. The game ended 2-Nil with Player of the Game honours going to Keeper and Captain Trish Arends for her outstanding play and leadership. Sunday saw the Thunder take on the Grande Prairie Wolves in the last game of the regular season. The Thunder looked disinterested early on, while the Wolves played an aggressive game. Their aggression paid off late in the half when the Wolves sent a forward on a breakaway counterattack that caught Concordia sleeping and sent the teams into the locker rooms with score at 1-Nil. Fortunately, the Thunder woke up at half time and came out flying. Forward Lindsay Boland started things off with a long range shot that beat the Wolves keeper. Erika Vecchio followed with a great left footed finish before Boland finished them off with two more tallies giving Concordia a decisive 4-1 victory. "We do great things when we show up to play," said Coach Cordeiro. "We just need to be sure that we bring our A game every time we step on the field." Player of the Game went to Lindsay Boland for another stellar offensive performance.

The 2011-12 edition of the Concordia Men's Volleyball team began their second season of ACAC competition on Friday night, winning their first game of the season in a 3-1 match defeat (25-16,25-16,21-25,25-20) to the Lakeland Rustlers. It took last year's rookie squad until November 15th to win their first game so the Thunder have set a much brisker pace for their progress this season. Leading the Thunder was rookie Jeremy Wong with 7 kills and 8 digs, Right Side Curtis Lucki with 6 kills, 5 digs and 3 blocks and Libero Spencer Carless with an impressive 13 digs. Player of the Game honours went to Jeremy as well. "It is tough to win a match when we only play 50% of it. We didn't show up to play until the 3rd set and played well for the 2nd half of the match, but just had a slow start," said Head Coach Joel Mrak, coaching his first ACAC match. "Chalk it up to nerves for the first home game of the season." On Saturday, the action shifted to the border with the Thunder travelling to Lloydminster for the return match with the Rustlers. In the boisterous atmosphere of the Lakeland Gym, the Thunder won the the first game of the match and their second game of the season in an identical 1-3 match loss to the Rustlers (25-17, 19-25, 26-28, 18-25). The Thunder also pushed the Rustlers to the limit in the third set, taking it to extra points. Leading the way again was Curtis Lucki with 10 kills, 2 blocks and a serving ace. Two other team veterans also had good nights with Matt McHargue racking up 9 kills, 2 blocks and an ace and Andrew Odegard chipping in with 5 kills, 1 block and 11 digs. Matt was also named Player of the Game. "(It was a) much better performance tonight," said Coach Mrak. "The guys showed a lot of fight and controlled a majority of the match. Being a young team, we struggled with mental toughness and unfortunately, had mental letdowns happen near the end of each set which cost us the match. It is still a learning experience and it is a long season, so we are hoping to learn these lessons now and become mentally stronger each week." In a rare scheduling quirk, the Thunder have a bye next week before heading up to Grande Prairie for a two match series against the Wolves on November 4th and 5th.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Volleyball Open 2nd Season of ACAC Competition

October 24, 2011

The Thunder Women’s Volleyball team opened the 2011-12 ACAC campaign with a home and home series against the Lakeland College Rustlers. Friday's night's home opener for the Thunder saw them come charging out of the gate to play a hotly contested first set as both teams played well and pushed the set into extra points with the Rustlers eventually coming out on top 27-25. The Thunder showed flashes of brilliance over the course of the match but came up short losing the 2nd set 25-17 and the 3rd set 25-21. On Saturday the Thunder travelled east on the Yellowhead to Lloydminster to take on the Rustlers in their own gym. The home court advantage for the Rustlers proved to be an insurmountable psychological hurdle for the rookie laden Thunder squad as they again fell in straight sets 25-19, 25-17 and 25-18. "The Thunder played some good volleyball throughout the weekend," Coach Wills commented. “We are showing signs that we are a great team; now we just have to put it together for the whole match.” Rookie Candace Ochocki proved to be a force at the net with 15 kills over the weekend. First year Libero Kylie Fortier played well in the back row with 20 digs and team veteran Shelby Larsen collected 9 blocks for a solid weekend at the net. The Thunder now have a bye week before returning to the court November 4th and 5th when they travel to Grande Prairie.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Coach Sir Provides Preview of 2011-12 Thunder Men's Basketball Team

October 18, 2011

The Concordia Thunder enter the 2011-2012 season with a combination of experience and youth as they prepare for what will be a very tough ACAC North league. Lakeland has re-loaded with a new group of very athletic players. NAIT has a new coach and have been aggressively recruiting players. Grant MacEwan’s new coach has assembled a very talented backcourt. Keyano has size, quickness and excellent guard play. Augustana and Kings are always a challenge. The Thunder will have to be ready every night they step on the court.
Returning for Concordia is First Team All ACAC Guard-Forward and All Canadian prospect, Ethan Sir. At 6’5”, Ethan has the size to take a smaller defender into the low post and possesses great range on his shot. What makes him such a difficult match-up is that he passes the ball so well. His ‘Dirk’ style game creates a lot of opportunities for himself and his teammates.
6’7” Milos Prijovic returns after a strong inaugural season. He is in great shape and has rounded his game off with an inside-outside balance that makes him a tough match-up. His rebounding continues to improve and Milos could be a double-double threat on any given night.
6’3” Dallas Wright enters his third year. The Academic All Canadian has moved to a combo guard position which allows him to spot up and use his much improved jump shot as a deadly weapon. His on and off court leadership are invaluable to the team.
6’6” Mitch Jones is back with improved strength and confidence. The team needs Mitch’s physicality on the court.
6’3” Nathaniel WojCicki was recently named Tri Captain (with Dallas and Ethan) for his outstanding leadership. Nathaniel does little things on both ends of the court that disrupt the flow of the opposing team with his fearless slashing to the basket and uncanny ability to take a charge.
6’2” Rob Haack has worked extremely hard on his game and will be a valuable contributor with his shooting and defending abilities.
6’1” Mitch Buffie is a very good shooter and is continuing his efforts to improve on his defence.
Returning to the Thunder after being away are 6’8” Aaron Kruse and 6’6”, 260 pound Jacob Wojcicki. Aaron is much improved and is expected to contribute right away with his shot blocking and rebounding abilities. Jacob brings his combination of physical strength and soft hands to the Thunder low post game.
New to the team are:
5’9” Richard Kyungu who hails from Ontario. Richard possesses true point guard instincts and toughness. His game readiness has been apparent in the pre-season.
6’8” Filip Vukasin brings length and athleticism to the frontcourt.
5’8” Jon Celeste returns to playing basketball after a 4 year hiatus. He is a championship bodybuilder and outstanding overall athlete who shores up the point guard position.
6’1” Mickhel Patterson joins the team from B.C. He is working hard to find a spot in the rotation.
6’0” Steffen Favis has made great strides in the first weeks of practice and games.
6'0" Ty Gaertner is a redshirt with a bright future.
6'0" Gregory Gonnet is a combination redshirt and team manager who has a tremendous work ethic.
In conclusion, the Thunder will bring their best every night. The team goal is to compete as hard as they can, execute the game plan and then the score will take care of itself. The team and coaching staff look forward to seeing you at our games this season!

Thunder Women's Soccer Move into 2nd Place Tie with Pair of Weekend Victories

October 17, 2011

The Thunder Women's Soccer team travelled up north this weekend coming away with a pair of critical road wins. The action kicked off on Saturday with the first of two games against the Keyano Huskies. Right from the start, Concordia's ball movement was superb with the team playing two-touch soccer all over the pitch. The team was rewarded early with a goal in the first minute from defender April Wong. Erika Vecchio followed with a great volley finish off a cross from Forward Lindsay Boland. From that point on, all eyes were on Boland as she scored an amazing 4 goals. "It could have been more," said Coach Dean Cordeiro. "We took Lindsay off at the 60 minute mark to give some of our other girls a chance to shine. She was dynamic today, playing at a different level." The team finished the day with a satisfying 6-Nil showing. The teams lined up again on Sunday and the Thunder were again dominant. Vikki Gull scored first on a breakaway off a beautiful pass by Lindsay Boland. Lindsay went on to score her own goal on a great individual effort beating a defender and then the Keeper. Erika Vecchio rounded out the first half score on a great passing play with the final assist going to winger Jen Noppers. The second half saw two more goals find the net for the Thunder. The first came on a penalty kick awarded when defender April Wong was taken down in the box. Briony Buchanan took the kick and calmly put it in the back of the net. The final goal was a great free kick from Midfielder Jenny Lam. From 30 yards out, she curved it off the back post and in. "We saw some solid finishing today," said Coach Cordeiro. "However, we can still be better with our ball movement and shape." The Thunder will host a pair of home games to finish off the regular season. On Saturday they will face a crucial test when they go up against the very team they are tied with for 2nd place, the MacEwan Griffins. The outcome of that game will determine the placement of teams in the following week's ACAC Championships. The Thunder will close out the season on Sunday with a match against the Grande Prairie Wolves.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Soccer Earn 4 Points on Road Trip

October 17th, 2011

The Thunder Men's Soccer team earned another 4 points in a pair of weekend road matches against the Keyano College Huskies. With the crucial 4th point, the Thunder have moved into sole possession of 2nd place in the highly competitive ACAC North division. The Thunder came out flying in the first game on Saturday afternoon, earning a 3-Nil victory over the hometown Huskies on goals by 1st year players Joe Adja, Chevor Owen and Thunder returnee, Jahmed Mayes. Sunday's rubber match was a much more defensive affair with the hard-fought contest ending in a 1-1 tie. The Thunder's leading scorer, James Senior added to his season total with the single counter. "Overall the boys played two strong games and gave it everything they had to try and break the stalemate on Sunday," said Head Coach Sasha Samadi. The four points the Thunder earned put them one point up on third place MacEwan and sets up what promises to be the game of the season when the Thunder host the Griffins next Saturday, October 22nd at 2:00 PM. The Thunder will then finish off the regular season against the visiting Grande Prairie Wolves on Sunday. The ACAC Championships will be played the following weekend (October 28th to 30th) at the home of the first place finisher in the North.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Cross Country Team Face Strongest Competition in Augustana Meet

October 17, 2011

This past weekend, the Thunder Cross Country Running team made their way to Camrose for the 2011 Augustana Open XC Race. This was the biggest and most competitive field the Thunder harriers have faced so far this season with the U of A bringing their 'A' squads along with the usual crew of competitive post-collegians. The Thunder Women ended up 7th on the day, beating out rivals NAIT and Lakeland College. A top 5 placing at the ACAC championships isn't out of the realm of possibility as the women were only down 22 points on 5th place Augustana. "Our goal this season was really just to finish a team and get a Women's program going. It looks like we will achieve that goal and perhaps even surprise a few teams at the Championships down in Calgary on the 29th," said Coach Norminton. Just as she has been all season, Marriya Jenkins was the top Concordia runner, finishing again in 3rd place out of the ACAC runners. Kristen Hansen cracked the top 15 again with a solid 13th place finish and could very well be in the top 10 at the ACAC Championships. A rapidly improving Barbara Jackson again moved up the result sheet to finish as the 43rd ACAC scorer and the team was closed out by Kaitlin Jarvis who came across the line as the 49th ACAC scorer. Coach Norminton mused, "With Barbara and Kaitlin improving every week, it could be an exciting race at the ACAC Championships in a few week's time." On the Men's side, the Thunder were without their top runner Cody Hogberg (who was with the Men's Soccer team) but still managed a good showing with an under-the-weather Team Captain Joel Perren leading the way in 21st position out of ACAC runners. Ray Thompson was just out of the top 30 ACAC runners with his 34th place finish while Matt Kemp improved his time over a minute compared to the much easier Calgary course, showing that his resumed hockey training with the Thunder Men's Hockey team is starting to pay off. "If we get Joel healthy and into the top 15 at the ACAC Championships, Cody into the top 10, Ray into the top 30 and then Matty into the top 40 in Calgary, we can still be top 5. The goal is to have a team score of 75 points or better and then we`re actually not too far off getting ourselves a team medal," said an excited Coach Norminton. "It`s great to see the guys' hardwork and dedication starting to pay off." The Thunder will now have two weeks to prepare for the ACAC Championships to be hosted by SAIT on October 29th.


Photos courtesy of	Matt Norminton

Thunder Hockey Earn Three Points in Week Two of ACAC Season

October 17, 2011

After suffering a pair of losses to open the season, the Thunder Hockey team rebounded well and earned a hard fought three out of four points this past weekend against the Portage Voyageurs. In both games the Thunder started very well, jumping out to two goal leads. On Friday night, the Voyageurs managed to inch their way back into the game and eventually took the lead in the third period, going up 3 to 2. However, the Thunder line combination of Herman, York and Stevenson responded to the challenge - as they have consistently done in all four games this season - tying the game and sending it into overtime. A quick break in on goal in the first minute of overtime however, sent the Thunder fans home disappointed with the final result being a 4-3 overtime loss. The game on Saturday in Lac La Biche looked for a while like it might turn out the same way as the night before, but on the strength of some solid goaltending and a very determined defensive effort, the Thunder held tight to their lead on this night and skated away with a 3-1 win, scoring into an empty net to seal the deal. This coming weekend the Thunder take on the Briercrest Clippers in a pair of home games. The puck drops on Friday night at 8:15 PM and on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM at Clareview Arena.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Badminton Men Have Strong Outing in Season's First Tourney

October 17th, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Badminton Team took part in the first ACAC tournament of the year this past weekend in Red Deer. Their veteran Men's team had an especially impressive showing, led by 4th year player Jie-Yung Sim and 2nd year Thunder returnee, Jake Perry. In Men's Singles, Jake finished 3rd with Jie coming in a very close 4th. Above them in the standings were the defending national champion from NAIT and a very strong player from Mount Royal. The rest of the Men's team - Coady Duncan and Joshua Wong - also had a strong showing in Singles, earning valuable team points for Concordia. "Joshua Wong had a very tough first round matchup against the 2nd place finisher from Mount Royal, but won the rest of his matches. Coady Duncan took one game off the defending National Champion Dan Kai from NAIT but lost in 3 games," commented Coach Kevin MacAlpine. In the Men's Doubles category, again Concordia did not disappoint. Jie Yung Sim and Coady Duncan finished in 2nd place losing to the NAIT team in two games. Concordia's 2nd Doubles team of Jake Perry and Joshua Wong also had a strong showing, nearly knocking off their first round opponents from NAIT before going undefeated for the rest of the competition. Coach MacAlpine was very happy about both the Men's Singles and Doubles results and hopes to continue this success on the Men's side throughout the duration of the year. On the Women's side, the Thunder did not fare quite as well. The team has three new players this year and although all showed tremendous improvement over the course of the first tournament, they did not place in the medals. "Angela Cheng, Alysha Berkner and Zi Wei Jiang have all had great success at the High School level and with hard work and more exposure to this higher level of competition, I am optimistic that their results will improve throughout the year," stated MacAlpine. The Thunder's next tournament is at NAIT on the weekend of November 21st and 22nd.


Photos by Jacob Bos	and Kevin MacAlpine

Thunder Golfer Curran Places 14th at ACAC Championships

October 4, 2011

Thunder Golf athlete Carly Curran made her way down to Southern Alberta this past weekend to compete in the 2011 ACAC Golf Championships at the Desert Bloom Golf Club in Medicine Hat. Carly proudly represented Concordia in this, her first year of ACAC competition, taking on a very challenging golf course and facing golfers with greater experience and training. In spite of going up against players from the golf juggernauts of Mount Royal and MacEwan, Carly comported herself well, finishing 14th overall in the women's standings. Unfortunately, her efforts did not allow her to qualify for the CCAA National Championships but Coach Paul Kuperus and Thunder Athletics hope that Carly will continue to develop and improve and come back next year to anchor an expanded Thunder Golf team.

Thunder Women's Soccer Back on Track with Weekend Victory

October 3, 2011

As we cross the midway point of the 2011 ACAC Soccer season, the Thunder Women's Soccer team have had to contend with the injury bug to a far greater extent than in any other season in recent memory. In spite of having several key players sidelined and 'resting' a significant number of their core veterans for the game, the Thunder were still able to put together a solid effort and secure a 4-Nil victory over the King's Eagles Saturday. Relying on their strong rookie class and led by their 2nd and 3rd year counterparts, the Thunder scored early off a corner kick with a great finish from 3rd year Audrey Sydora. Rookie Midfielder Erika Vecchio scored her third goal of the season to put Concordia up 2-Nil at the half. With Concordia exhibiting great positional play and ball control, the Thunder opened the second stanza with Rookie Karah Pegg scoring on a breakaway and 2nd year Forward Victoria Gull scoring her 4th of the season. The Thunder had several other great chances with Lindsay Boland hitting no less than three crossbars herself. Nonetheless, the Eagle's were able to hold off the Thunder onslaught and the game ended with the score at 4-Nil. "We had great ball movement today," said Coach Cordeiro. "We are dealing with a lot of injuries right now so it was good to see other players stepping up and playing big minutes for us." Player of the Game honours went to rookie Midfielder Erika Vecchio for a solid 90 minute performance. The Thunder will now have a week off to heal up and will start their playoff drive with a trip up north to Keyano College for a pair of games with the Huskies on October 15th and 16th.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Big 3 Point Victory Puts Concordia Men's Soccer in 2nd Place

October 3, 2011

On Saturday, the Thunder Men's Soccer team played host to the King's Eagles. With the knowledge that they were going into the game missing some experienced players, the Thunder rookies rose to the challenge and dominated the first half of play with excellent ball possession and offensive pressure. At the 20 minute mark, 4th year veteran Thomas Senior found himself in the right place at the right time when he corralled a pass up from the defense and beat the King's Keeper in close to put the Thunder up 1-Nil. Concordia kept up the offensive pressure tactics forcing King's into a defensive shell for the remainder of the half. The second half opened with the Thunder applying the same relentless pressure and ball control. At the 50 minute mark, Thunder Midfielder Joe Adja took a beautiful pass from Diego Zelaya right in front of the Eagle's net but this time the King's Goalie came up big and robbed the Thunder of a glorious scoring opportunity. Concordia had several additional scoring chances but the King's Goalie and an 8-man 'defensive wall' strategy on the part of the Eagles, defied every Thunder attempt to net the second counter of the afternoon. "It is not easy to score when you are facing (an) opposition team playing with 8 men defending in front of their Keeper. We tried to attack from every angle to get in the King's box," said Head Coach Sasha Samadi. "I give the King's Goalie alot of credit, standing strong in his net and playing so well." Time finally wound down for the Thunder and they had to settle for the 1-Nil victory. "We played hard and (had) good movement of the ball but when it does not come, it does not come and you can't do anything about it. I still give my guys alot of credit though, (as) we were playing the whole second half in the King's zone and yet still could not cash in," summarized Coach Samadi. The Thunder have the Thanksgiving weekend off so their next action will be October 15th and 16th when they travel up to Fort McMurray for a double header with the Keyano Huskies.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Badminton Team to Read to Elementary Students

September 30, 2011

It has been a long standing tradition in Concordia Athletics to recognize our place in the larger community in which Concordia University College student athletes play and learn. To that end, our Athletics teams engage in various community service activities over the course of the Athletic season. First up again this Autumn, our Thunder Badminton team will be promoting literacy and a love of reading next Wednesday, October 5th when they will be reading to young students at Kate Chegwin Junior High. Congratulations to Coach Kevin MacAlpine and the Badminton squad for demonstrating their community spirit and for being positive role models for aspiring young student athletes.

Thunder Women's Soccer Drop Close One to Rival NAIT

September 26, 2011

On Sunday, the Thunder Women's Soccer team hosted the return match with their longstanding nemesis, the NAIT Ooks. After a less that stellar showing in their first match against the Ooks, the Thunder Women came out strong, starting the game with several good scoring chances. The Ooks weren't prepared to give in, launching a full out attack strategy. However, the Thunder defense stood strong and the game went into half time tied Nil-Nil. The Thunder were dealt a stunning blow at the start of the second half when 3rd year Midfielder Briony Buchanan was red carded. Even playing a man down, the Thunder rallied and continued to attack. However, it was the Ooks who scored first, stealing the ball off a poorly played goal kick. The Thunder continued to push to score with a breakaway for forward Lindsay Boland ending in a spectacular collision with the NAIT Keeper, Midfield Erika Vecchio fanning on a shot from the top of the box and on the final play of the game, a breakaway from Victoria Gull resulted in her shot going just wide of the net. "It was a gutsy performance from our girls," said Coach Dean Cordeiro. "To go down a man so early in the second half and still create the chances we did, I am very proud of our team." Player of the Game honours went to Centre Back Audrey Sydora who was a stand out defensively, winning everything in the air and maintaining great team defensive shape. The Thunder are looking forward to getting back on the winning track next Saturday, October 1st when they journey across the river to face off with the King's College Eagles. Game time is at Noon.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Soccer Earn Another Big Point

September 26, 2011

On Sunday, the Thunder played their 5th game of the season, hosting the NAIT Ooks. Going into the game, the Thunder were missing their number one Midfielder Joe Adja along with top Defender Kwaku Boateng. Veteran Thomas Senior was also playing through injury. However, the young Thunder players stepped up and battled hard, shutting down NAIT's powerful offence and frustrating all of their attempts to move the ball around in the Thunder's zone. This smothering defense served to keep the score tied at Nil-Nil until a Thunder counter attack led to rookie Dejan Gajic scoring his 3rd goal of the season on a nice cross by another first year, Denis Omanovic and giving the Thunder the 1-Nil lead going into the half. The opening minutes of the second half saw a rash of new injuries hit the Thunder forcing Coach Sasha Samadi to put in an unprecedented five substitutions within minutes of each other. But on this day, the young subs really stepped up for those injured players and continued with the same defensive system that had served them so well in the opening half. Finally with just 10 minutes remaining, NAIT found a way to break through and put themselves on the scoreboard after a scramble in the Thunder crease. Great goaltending work by Player of the Game Darek Pierzchala held off a late rally from NAIT and the game ended in the 1-1 tie. "I am extremely happy with everyone's effort; they all did it together and played as a team," said Coach Samadi after the contest. "They worked with the system that I gave them by tieing up NAIT defensively and working on the counter attack and scoring on set plays. That's exactly what I was expecting from our guys." The Thunder Men are now looking forward to next week's action when they will play host to the King's Eagles on Saturday, October 1st.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Golf Headed to ACAC Championships

September 26, 2011

Concordia Thunder golfer Carly Curran is literally in a class by herself. The lone member of this year's Thunder Golf team competed in the ACAC Northern Regional tournament on September 18th and 19th - hosted by MacEwan University - at Red Tail Landing. With only one official practice round under her belt, Curran was competitive in Sunday's first round. As was the case for most of the field, Carly's numbers were not quite as good for Monday's round as poor weather conditions made it difficult to achieve accurate shot placement. Nonetheless, Carly qualified for the ACAC Championships and along with Coach Paul Kuperus, will be heading down to Desert Bloom in Medicine Hat for the October 2-3 tourney. Congratulations Carly!

Tough Lessons for Thunder Hockey in NAIT Pre-season Tournament

September 26, 2011

The Thunder Hockey team struggled this past weekend in NAIT's Blue and Gold tourney falling to MacEwan, NAIT and Portage College. Despite the seemingly poor start, Coach Dan Peacocke took a positive slant on the weekend's events. “Exhibition season is all about finding some things out,” Coach Peacocke said. "Some of the things that we’ve been asking our players to do should now have much more relevance to the players.” Coach Peacocke added that “puck movement and discipline are the two biggest issues that we will be addressing over the next two weeks. We certainly hope that the hockey boys are taking the lessons from the weekend to heart and heeding the advice of their coaches because there are only two weeks left before league play starts and the points in each game are for keeps." The relatively inexperienced Thunder team is on a steep learning curve, but the players seem very excited about the challenge and appear confident that they will be ready to compete when the puck drops for the home opener on October 7th at Clareview arena (an 8:15 pm start). Asked what most impressed him about his young squad's performance to date, Peacocke said in a word - “enthusiasm”.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Basketball Work Out the Kinks in Pre-season Action

September 26, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Women's Basketball team saw their first action this weekend as they travelled to Augustana for a three game tourney. The Thunder faced off against the host Augustana Vikings on Thursday and as 'first games of seasons go', this one was to be expected. Playing just two weeks after starting the season's practice schedule, made for some mistakes on the floor. "We proved we can score and put up 68 points. The girls continued to battle back into the game several times, as Augustana would go on runs," said new Head Coach Ashley MacSporran. "We were always able to get it back within 8 or so until the last 3 minutes, where an 8 point game became a 20 point game. I was disappointed we gave up 90 points defensively; that was not a good enough effort." Coach MacSporran was impressed with the girls' ability to adapt on offense and all four returning veterans Kaylie Mattiusi, Stephanie Balog, Cara Zamburek and Meghan Allison showed great leadership on the floor and each contributed significantly to the effort. On Friday, the Thunder matched up against the Red Deer Queens and held them to just 18 points in the first half; the lowest first half point production that Red Deer had all weekend. Coach MacSporran was very pleased with the defensive effort and was also please to see the potential in some of her new recruits. "Sasha (Warmington) had a turn around game, scoring 8 straight to start and was a big presence inside offensively and defensively. Steph and Kaylie once again lead the team in scoring. Rai Hooper and Megan McIntosh contributed solid minutes off the bench and were a spark on defense." The Thunder won the contest 73-47. On Saturday, the Thunder 'went CIS' when they faced the Pronghorns from the University of Lethbridge, duelling them to a 74-62 loss. The Pronghorns made a run early in the second quarter and we were able to hold it defensively without fouling. Later in the quarter, the Thunder were finally able to get to the foul line and knock them down. Jessie Newton came off the bench to 4 free throws to get Concordia to within one before the half. Unfortunately, foul trouble with 8 minutes to go saw Stephanie Balog leave the game with 18 points which hurt the Thunder in the late going. "Steph hit some big shots to get us within 6 points," said Coach MacSporran. "Kaylie was unstoppable getting to the rim and going to the line, she had 21 points. Unfortunately, like Thursday night, we couldn't finish the game off. I was pleased with their efforts versus a bigger CIS team." The Thunder's next action will be on October 7th and 8th when they and the Thunder Men's team co-host a Thankgiving weekend tournament.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Women’s Volleyball Shows Promise in Opening Tourney

September 26, 2011

The Thunder Women’s Volleyball team showed promise this past weekend as they hosted a round robin tourney with fellow ACAC schools Kings, Keyano and NAIT. They showed a vast improvement from the previous year as they implemented a new system while integrating new players into the fold. The weekend saw them play spirited, aggressive games in all three contests as they pushed each team to the brink in every match. Jenna Seitz and Candace Ochocki showed great potential for success at this level as they performed like seasoned vets contributing in every match. The team showed they have improved their competitiveness going into only their 2nd season of ACAC play. The team will be at the always competitive Wild Rose Classic in Red Deer on the Sept 30-Oct 2 weekend as they continue to prepare for their home opener on October 21st against Lakeland College.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

New Look Thunder Men's Volleyball Get Taste of ACAC Competition

September 26, 2011

The Thunder Men's Volleyball team under new Head Coach Joel Mrak got their first glimpse of the challenges they will face this season when they participated in their first pre-season tourney this past weekend. The King's/Grant MacEwan Tournament saw the Thunder play five matches against ACAC opponents over two days. In their very first match, the Thunder came within a hair of victory, forcing the MacEwan Griffins to extra points in the fifth game. Although they faltered against Medicine Hat and Keyano, they were able to push both Augustana and SAIT to 4 games/match with several of the games going to extra points or to the brink thereof. At the conclusion of the 5th match, Coach Mrak commented on the play of his young team. "Even though we went 0-5, we were competitive in every match and had the opportunity to play everyone. The team is progressing fast and are looking forward to the start of the regular season." The Thunder's next action will be September 30th to October 1st when they play a series of matches in their second pre-season tournament hosted by Augustana.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Women's Soccer Take 4 Out of 6 Points in Weekend Play

September 19, 2011

The Concordia Thunder started the second weekend of league play on Saturday with a visit to the MacEwan Griffins. The Thunder had some great chances early on with two breakaways from Striker Lindsay Boland, but she couldn't quite finish her chances. The game went into halftime in a Nil-Nil tie. Early in the second half the Griffins took advantage of a corner kick and scored off a header to take a 1-Nil lead. Finding themselves behind the 8-ball, the Thunder launched an all out attack. Winger Chantal Smith was finally able to break through on a great individual angle, beating the Keeper and then cutting the ball back from a nearly impossible angle to tie the game at 1-1. Unfortunately, Concordia was unable to find the net again and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. "We didn't start playing our game until we went down a goal and that is unacceptable," said Coach Cordeiro. "We need to be mentally tougher out there." Player of the Game went to Centre Back Audrey Sydora for her great defensive play.
On Sunday, Thunder women went up against the Grande Prairie Wolves at Concordia Field. The Thunder had a great start with Winger Briony Buchanan finishing a loose ball off a corner kick. The attack continued from the other wing with Chantal Smith scoring her second of the weekend, again from a tight angle to put the Thunder up 2-Nil. The Wolves were able to counter off a free kick that clanged off the cross bar and was neatly headed past Thunder Keeper Trish Arends. However, the Thunder weren't done yet and Striker Lindsay Boland was finally able to convert one of her many efforts, putting her team up 3-1 at half time. The second half promised more Thunder offense with Lindsay Boland tallying her second on the day, beating the defense and sliding the ball backpost. Winger Victoria Gull added one more on a volley to end the game at 5-1. Player of the Game went to Briony Buchanan who had an outstanding game, consistently beating her opponent down the left wing. Coach Cordeiro was happy with his team saying, "We haven't been satisfied with our play up to this point, but today the girls really stepped it up. All the things we worked on in training were visible in today's game. Our defensive shape looked great and our midfield was clicking." Coach was especially pleased with first year Jenna Urkow. "In her first game as a starter, she played 90 minutes and was dominant. That is the kind of performance we are looking for from our rookies". The Thunder are looking forward to next week's action when they host their archrivals, the NAIT Ooks on Sunday, September 25th at Noon.


Photos by	Hannah Giesbrecht

Thunder Men's Soccer Earn 4 Points in Week 2

September 19, 2011

On Saturday, the Thunder Men headed over to the Jasper Place Bowl to face off against the MacEwan Griffins; their third consecutive start away from home. Going into the contest, the Thunder were feeling the early season pressure to win after dropping 3 points to NAIT in the opening weekend of action. The Thunder started strong, putting pressure on the Griffins right from the start and dominating the ball possession time. In spite of that good start, it was the Griffins who got on the board first, converting on a cross in front of the net. That goal served as a wake-up call for the young, rebuilding Thunder who redoubled their efforts and forced the Griffins - who tied NAIT in their opening weekend tilt - into a defensive posture. The pressure paid off for Concordia when 1st year Defender Dejan Gajic headed the ball into the back of the Griffin net to tie the game at 1. Concordia came out in the second half employing the same pressure tactics. The strategy bore fruit once again as 4th year vet Thomas Senior made a beautiful crossing shot to his brother James who buried it in the back of the net to put the Thunder up 2-1. The Thunder continued to control the possession game throughout the remainder of the contest, earning their second victory of the season and the vital 3 points in the standings. "I was proud of our young Thunder squad. They worked hard for 90 minutes, never quit and showed alot of heart, guts and enthusiasm," said Head Coach Sasha Samadi. "This result sends a message to other teams that we are still a threat."
On Sunday, the Thunder finally played their first home game of the season, playing host to the Grande Prairie Wolves. Once again the Thunder dominated the ball possession game forcing the Wolves to play chase. In spite of Concordia's dominance on the ball, a couple of costly mistakes in their own zone allowed Grande Prairie to bang in a pair of counters and the game went into half time with the Wolves up 2-Nil. After their successful outing the day before, the Thunder were shocked to find themselves down by 2 going into the second half. After an intense half time pep talk and some line up and strategy changes by Coach Samadi, the Thunder ramped up the pressure even higher and just 5 minutes into the half, Saturday's Player of the Game James Senior put Concordia on the scoreboard, converting on a cross in front of the Wolves net. Still leading 2-1, Grande Prairie went with a defensive 7 men in their own zone strategy. Once again, Coach Samadi and the Thunder made personnel and strategic adjustments that saw them playing the majority of the second half in the Wolves 18 yard 'danger zone'. After missing several opportunities, it was 5th year veteran James Senior that once again came up big for Concordia, pounding in his 2nd goal of the game with only a few minutes of injury 'extra time' left on the clock and securing the tie for the Thunder. After the game Coach Samadi commented, "This is what we are lacking this season; ACAC-level experience. We are consistently underestimating opposition teams. I know that we will overcome this these players will learn and gel as a team."
The Thunder face another critical test next week as they host the rematch with their Week 1 opponents, the NAIT Ooks. Game time is 2 PM on Sunday, September 25th.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Cross Country Running Team Shows Well at 2nd ACAC Grand Prix

September 19, 2011

The Thunder Cross Country teams made the trip to Vermilion this weekend to compete in the 'Rowdy Rustler' race hosted by Lakeland College. Marriya Jenkins lead the ladies to a solid 5th place finish, beating out hosts Lakeland College but losing to MacEwan, Augustana, NAIT and Olds. Rookie Marriya improved on her debut performance by cracking the top 3 college runners and finishing in 6th place overall. Jenkins was well supported by teammate Kristen Hansen, who moved nicely into the top 10 college runners (8th place ACAC finish) and finishing 11th overall. Barbara Jackson also improved on her debut result for the team by moving up into the top 35 ACAC runners, besting several of the girls who had better times than her in the first Grand Prix. Hannah Hole was 42nd out of the ACAC runners to close out the Thunder ladies team score. "Marriya and Kristen ran fantastic and if Barbara and Hannah can continue to improve, who knows what can happen at the end of October in Calgary. The 3rd and 4th runners are crucial to our success as a team so if we are going to break into the top 5 at the ACAC Champs, those 2 runners will need to come up big on race day," said Coach Norminton. "Marriya and Kristen continue to impress me with their hard work and dedication at practice and their results today are a direct result of that hard work."
On the men's side, Ray Thompson made his debut for the Thunder, finishing just outside of the top 20 ACAC runners with a solid 22nd place finish despite falling and needing a quick rest stop. Matthew Kemp achieved his goal of being in the top 40 ACAC runners with a solid 32nd place showing. Unfortunately, teams require at least four runners to be ranked, so the men's 'team' did not have an official ranking for this occasion. "We were missing a few guys today but Ray and Matt ran really well. I have no doubt Ray can break the top 20 at ACAC's and if we can put all 4 of our guys in the top 20 in Calgary at the ACAC Champs then we might even be able to challenge for a team medal. The guys have been working really hard and I know they'll be ready to run their hearts out in October."
The Thunder XC teams will take a break from competing this weekend before heading down to Calgary on October 1st to check out the ACAC host and give themselves a good progress report against the other ACAC schools.

Photo courtesy of official Thunder XC team photographer and #1 fan, Jennifer Norminton!

Thunder Badminton Looking to be Very Competitive Again in 2011-12

September 19, 2011

Concordia Thunder Badminton Head Coach Kevin MacAlpine has revealed his line up for the 2011-12 ACAC Tournament Season. On the women's side, the Thunder will be anchored by 3rd year player Samantha Wong. "She will be one of the leaders on our team, especially on the girl's side," says Coach MacAlpine. The women's team will be bolstered by three newcomers, all from local area high schools. "We have two new girls, Angela Cheng from ArchBishop MacDonald and Alysha Berkner from Redwater HS who both competed at High School provincials last year and will be great additions to the Badminton Team. As well we have Ziwei Jiang who graduated from Concordia High School.
"On the men's side of the agenda, 4th year player Jie-Yung Sim - who has been a big part of the CUCA team the last 3 years - will continue in his leadership role in this, his final year of ACAC competition. The Thunder will also welcome back 2nd year players Coady Duncan (Athlete of Year for the NWT) and Andre Leblanc. Both will be key contributors to the team. The Thunder will also have two new additions which will make for a rock solid men's team. Jake Perry has come back to Concordia going into his second year of eligibility, after having taken last year off. In 2009-10 season (his first year at CUCA), Jake and Grace Box won a Silver Medal at Nationals in mixed doubles. "We are very happy to have Jake back and with hard work, I am hoping we can see results like that again this year," said Coach MacAlpine. "The other addition is Joshua Wong from Ross Sheppard. He is a very strong young player out of high school. He will add to the depth on the guy's side and it should be a great year for the Concordia Badminton team." The first ACAC tournament goes on October 15/16 at Red Deer College.

Thunder Badminton Player Named NWT Athlete of the Year

September 19, 2011

Second year Thunder Badminton player Coady Duncan has been named the Senior Athlete of the Year by the NWT's Sport North. The Sport North awards are given out each year to recognize athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers for their performance and contribution to sport in the NWT. The awards were presented at the Sport North Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 28, 2011. Coady joined the Thunder Badminton team in the second semester of the 2010-11 campaign and Coach Kevin MacAlpine is looking forward to having a full year with Coady in the upcoming 2011-12 season. For more information on Coady's award, you can go to http://www.sportnorth.com/Images/news%20releases%202011/053011.pdf. Congratulations Coady!

Photo source: http://www.nwtbadminton.ca/coadyduncan

Thunder Hockey Opens 2011-12 Exhibition Season with a Win

September 19, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Hockey team began their exhibition season this past weekend with a close win over the Ft. Saskatchewan Chiefs (3 to 2). The Chiefs are a senior AAA men’s team made up of former WHL, CIS and minor pro players and their experienced play provided a great test to get the season started. The Thunder came roaring out of the gate and dominated much of the first period, but the experienced Chiefs squad gradually took over on the strength of an excellent passing game. Coach Peacocke commented, “It was a very good lesson for our young team. We worked twice as hard as our opponents but their puck movement and possession game really made it very clear that we have to start sharing the puck more in order to keep the speed of the game up and then capitalize on our great work ethic.” Despite being outplayed in the third period the Thunder managed to hold on to the victory. It may not have been pretty but it is always great to start to the season off with a win.
The Thunder will be playing in NAIT's annual 'Blue and Gold' tourney this coming weekend with three games on the agenda: Thursday (22nd) at 7:30PM vs MacEwan, Friday at 4:30PM vs NAIT and Sunday morning at 11AM vs Portage.

Thunder Curling Looking for 'a Few Good Men'

September 19, 2011

The 2011-12 Concordia Thunder Curling team is looking to increase its ranks. Head Coach Rick Mann reports that he has a solid women's squad and with the addition of one more male curler, would be able to ice a mixed team with spares for both groups. If an additional 2 or 3 men joined up, the Thunder would be able to ice a full men's team in addition to the women's and mixed squads. Anyone interested in Curling for the Thunder this year are invited to contact Coach Mann at rmann@uapinc.com or by phone at (780) 868-8570.

Concordia Hosts First Cross Country Running Grand Prix of the ACAC Season

September 12, 2011

On Saturday September 10th, the Thunder hosted the ACAC's Grand Prix #1 at Goldstick Park in southeast Edmonton. A total of 7 ACAC schools entered teams along with several of the province's top open clubs and senior runners. The Thunder Cross Country Running program picked up right where it left off last year, setting more firsts and establishing new standards for the program. For the first time in recent history, the Thunder XC program finished a ladies team. The Thunder Women finished tied for 5th place with Lakeland College and just one point behind 4th place finishers NAIT. MacEwan University won the ladies event with Augustana and SAIT taking 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. The Thunder Women were led by first year runner Marriya Jenkins who finished 5th out of the ACAC runners and 11th place overall. 4th year student - but first year team runner - Kristen Hansen finished 12th out of the ACAC runners and 21st overall. Barbara Jackson was the 3rd Thunder female across the line as the 29th ACAC finisher and Hannah Hole rounded out the Thunder team score, finishing 37th out of the ACAC runners. Thunder XC Coach Matt Norminton was really pleased with how his ladies' team ran. "The goal heading into this season is just to finish a team but who knows what can happen. As the girls get stronger, perhaps we can even contend for a top 5 spot at the ACAC champs in October which would be fantastic." The Thunder Men started this season where they left off the last one, finishing as the 5th place ACAC school overall. The Thunder Men were also not far behind NAIT and Olds College and with the addition of Ray Thompson who scored for the team last year at the ACAC championships with only soccer practices for training under his belt, the men should be right in the hunt to compete for a top 5 finish at the ACAC champs in October; a significant improvement over last year's 6th place finish. Team Captain and 2nd year student Joel Perren lead the way for the Thunder, finishing in the top 15 of the ACAC runners. "Joel can and should be in the top 20 when October rolls around for the ACAC champs. We'll be looking for him to lead us this season and take this team to the next level," said coach Norminton. Rahim Haice was the next Thunder man across the line, finishing as the 23rd ACAC runner to cross the line, followed closely by Cody Hogberg just 2 seconds and two spots behind in 25th place. "Both of these guys are soccer players and will make huge improvements as they get some running specific training under their belts. They both have a chance at cracking the top 20 this year if they continue to work hard and get all their runs in," says Norminton. Matt Kemp, a former Thunder Hockey team player and now brother in law to coach Norminton rounded out the Thunder scoring finishing in 39th place out of the ACAC runners.
The Thunder XC teams make their way to Vermillion next weekend to compete at the Rowdy Rustler Race hosted by Lakeland College. Both teams are still looking for runners so if you're interested, please get in touch with Coach Matt Norminton at mnorminton@runningroom.com or at 780-935-3771.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Thunder Men's Soccer Go 1-1 in Opening Weekend of ACAC Action

September 12, 2011

The Concordia Thunder Men's Soccer team opened their 2011 campaign on Friday night with a solid 3-Nil victory over the Eagles from King's University College. With only 4 players returning from last year's ACAC Silver Medal winning team, new Head Coach Sasha Samadi - stepping back into the role after 7 years as Associate Head Coach - had high praise for his rookie-laden squad. "The high skill levels and enthusiasm of this year's young team, combined with a strong bench put King's on the defensive right from the start." The Thunder's first goal combined the best of the old and the new when 4th year veteran James Senior threaded a beautiful cross to the top of the 18 yard box and 1st year Midfielder Jose Villanueva buried it in the back of the net. The Thunder kept the pressure on and another 1st year player, Joe Asarfo-Adjei hit James Senior on a streaking diagonal run to put the Thunder up 2-Nil at the half. Concordia continued to dominate in the second half with a 70% possession time forcing the Eagles into a perpetual chase mode. Jose Villanueva put his mark on the scoreboard one more time as he broke in on a breakaway and netted a top corner shot to put the Thunder up 3-Nil and seal the match. On Saturday, the Thunder Men played their second away game of the weekend when they headed over to NAIT to face the powerful Ooks. Under a hot sun, the young team put in a spirited performance, going toe-to-toe with the highly competitive Ooks for the first 25 minutes. Short on ACAC game experience, a couple of 'rookie' mistakes cost the Thunder and they fell behind 2-Nil going into half time. Showing great resilience and enthusiasm both on and off the field, the Thunder rallied back early in the second half when 4th year veteran Thomas Senior netted his first counter of the year. However, the experience of NAIT proved to be too much to overcome as the Ooks replied with their third goal shortly thereafter and put the Thunder back on their heels. The Thunder pressed hard in the waning 15 minutes of the match but time was against them as NAIT put in a late 4th goal to take the match 4-1. Coach Samadi took the 'long view' after the contest and had this to say: "This team is very young but shows great potential. They didn't give up and if we lose now and learn some lessons, we'll only get stronger as the season progresses. Like last year, no one thought we would be a threat, yet we ended up winning the ACAC Silver Medal. This team is starting out very much the same way." The Thunder's next game will be on Saturday, September 17th at MacEwan and they will then play their first home game on Sunday, the 18th against the Grande Prairie Wolves.


Photos by	Jacob Bos

Concordia Thunder Women's Soccer Earn Split on Opening Weekend

September 12, 2011

The defending ACAC Champion Concordia Thunder Women's Soccer team kicked off their 2011 campaign at home on Friday afternoon when they faced the King's University College Eagles. The Thunder came roaring out of the gate, dominating the first half of play and putting up three counters before the 30 minute mark. Leading off the scoring was rookie Erika Vecchio who rang in a volley off a corner kick by 2nd year Defender April Wong. Former CIS West veteran Andrea Nippard scored her first ACAC counter with a well directed header, again from a corner kick. The Thunder's third goal came off the foot of 2nd year forward Vikki Gull on another great volley from just outside the 6 yard box. The Thunder maintained the pressure in the second half forcing the Eagles into a defensive shell but the wilting heat took a toll on both teams and the 3-Nil half time lead held true right to the final whistle. On Saturday afternoon, the Thunder headed across town for the first meeting with their archrivals, the NAIT Ooks. The Ooks got off to a great start and led the Thunder 5-Nil at the half with Concordia's lone goal coming again from rookie Erika Vecchio. Caught napping early on, the Thunder rallied at half time and came out in the second half with a pair of goals from Andrea Nippard and Vikki Gull. With the score sitting at 5-3, the Thunder continued to push offensively, drawing a penalty shot and an opportunity to reduce the Ooks lead to 1. Andrea Nippard stepped up, looking to tuck the ball in the corner of the net but rang her shot off the post instead. The Thunder continued to attack, but could not find the back of the net. The Ooks scored a final late goal to end the game at 6-3 and in the process, ending the Thunder Women's two year ACAC undefeated streak. After the rare loss, Coach Dean Cordeiro was philosophical. "Today was the end of an era, but tomorrow is the beginning of a new one. We have to go back to basics, get healthy and show up ready to play hard every game." The Thunder are looking forward to next weekend when they face off against the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday (17th) before playing host to the Grande Prairie Wolves on Sunday.


Photo by Railene Hooper	Photo by Hannah Giesbrecht