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 | | Evan Haw and Logan Gorsalitz from 1st Ed. Grizzlies Make under 17 camp | | view full size | |
Where are they now?
The Grizzlies have a tradition that began in their inaugural year producing a number of top quality hockey players. Here is a list of a few that have worn the Grizzlie Jersey in the past and where they are now.
Alyssa Sonnenburg
Alyssa was a member of our only Atom B squad and was one of 4 girls on the team that year. I am pleased to hear that Alyssa has kept up her hockey skills and is continuing to play at a competative level. In 2006 Alyssa will be competing with a ladies team from Fort Saskatchewan in the provincials. In her leisure time she maintains a connection to the sport by coaching at a bantam level.
Richard Gagnon
Richard Gagnon plied his trade for the Grizzlies between the pipes a few years ago. This year Richard is the go to guy in the net for the North American Midget AAA Barons. You can catch Richard in action whenever the Midget AAA squad is hosting a game in the Rural Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League. You can get their schedule by going to the links in the menu tab. Good Luck to Richard in the upcoming season and heres knowing that you will do all of us bears real proud!
Quinn Gould
Mr. Gould had a successful season in the Pee Wee Rep system leading the Ceda Reactor Pee Wee AA Barons to their first League Championship. Quinn was an allstar forward who led all pointgetters for his squad and was in the running for the league scoring championship right up to the last game of the regular season. This year Quinn has opted to play in the AMHL for the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers.
Patrick O'Brien
Patrick came to the grizzlies never having played the game before and in a few short years has developed into quite the hockey player. In 2002-2003 he suited up for the Ceda Reactor AAA Bantam Barons in what was an important year in his development.
Brendan Roberts
Brendan often referred to by his father as stone hand luke, this young man played for the grizzlies and was a team mate of Mike Sgambaro's. Plying his trade in 2002 in the East Central Pee Wee Hockey League,... Brendans stone hands have become supple as leather. Finished 17th in scoring in that league he sports 11 goals and an incredible 31 assists in 24 games. Great effort Brendan, you make the Grizzlies proud! Brendan was also the Captain of the 2002 Ceda Reactor Bantam Barons. Currently Brendan is hanging in on the Jr. A Fort McMurray Oil Baron Roster where he made a permanent home for his hockey future.
Michael Sgambaro
Mike was one of the leading pointgetters in 2001 in Atom A, Mike represented the Grizzlies well, he was one of their go to guys in his last atom age year and is always an offensive threat. In 2001-2002 Mike kicked it up another notch playing for the Leo Roberts AA PeeWee Barons in the East Central Alberta Pee Wee Hockey League. In the 2003-2004 season Mike was united with other Grizzly alumni Ryan Vermillion, John Ciupa, Richard Gagnon, Quinn Gould, Brendan Wright on the Ceda Reactor Bantam Rep squad. He singlehandedly owned that league obtaining the regular season scoring championship with his next closes competator 20 points behind him. In 2004-05 Mike made the jump early and secured a spot on the AAA Midget Squad.
Evan Haw
Evan played AAA Bantam in NotreDame in 2002-2002, drafted 19th overall in Bantam WHL Draft, and an allstar selection during the Pioneer Cup tournament in 2001 Evan spent three years playing with the WHL Saskatoon Blades and is the first Grizzly to play at this level. With the Blades putting a strong performance in this season Evan was hoping to make a trip to the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately Mr. Haw was traded on January 10,2006 in a 6 player trade to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Lane Roth
Lane played AAA Midget in RAMMHL during the 2001-2002 season and was their leading rookie in scoring until surgery took him out of the lineup. Voted rookie of the year for that team -check out their website on the links menu. In the first year of the Grizzlies he helped bring home 2 of the 3 championship trophies.Although his minor hockey days have come to an end you can still see Lane around the rink driving the zamboni and keeping the ice in great shape for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
Dylan Lustig
Dylan played his first year of Midget in the RAMMHL league in 2001-2002, and was one of the toppoint getters on his Bantam rep team the year before. Dylan was part of the inaugural team that brought home 2 championship trophies.
Logan Gorsalitz
Logan played AAA Midget in his last year of Bantam eligibility in the RAMMHL in 2001-2002. In his second Pee Wee year Logan finished the season as the top point getter in the ECPWHL scoring 44 goals and 33 assists in 24 games. Logan is currently playing for the 2005 Alberta Junior Hockey League Champion and Doyle Cup Champion, Camrose Kodiaks and had the pleasure of competing in the Royal Bank Cup in 2002-2003 for that club. Last season Logan was sixth in points during the playoffs and got a second crack at a national championship where his club was ranked 1st in the nation. Since his Jr. A days Logan has made the move south of the boarder on an NCAA Scholarship where he plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Matt Eaton
Matt was the first goalie to dawn a Grizzlie Jersey Matt is renouned for his small stature but quick cat like reflexes. Former PeeWee and Bantam rep goalie in Fort McMurray he plied his trade down south for the Strathcona Warriors in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey league in 2001-2002. Matt was also a member of the Pioneer Cup Panther team that represented the Northeast in that tournament. Matt cracked the Midget Rep team in 2003-2004.This year Matt is tending the net for Vegreville in the north east Junior B league.
Marty Simms
Marty traditionally playing defence Marty was the heads up defencemen for the 2nd year contingent of the Grizzlies that won the triple crown - helping bring 3 trophies to the Grizzlies that year in the league champs, minor hockey week champs, and city champs. Marty played for the Bantam AAA Barons in the Central Alberta Bantam Hockey League in 2001/2002 but wants me to let everyone know he was the best defenceman to ever lace up the skates for the Grizzlies.
Cody Gladue
Cody brings a rich family tradition to the Fort McMurray Hockey ranks.His oldest brother spent 5 years with the AJHL Barons, his other brother Kyle has represented Ft. McMurray at the rep level for a number of year. Cody played for the AAA Bantam Barons in 2001-2002 and is following in the footsteps of his 2 older brothers.He cracked the midget rep team lineup last season and and has been named the Captain of last years AAA Midget Squad. This year Cody made the jump to Junior A Hockey in Saskatchewan following in his big brother's footsteps by securing a spot on the Laronge Ice Wolves hockey club.
. Stay Tuned as more features on past Grizzlies are accumulated.
Monday, January 22
Hockey Challenge Gets Serious
|  | | Will Doucette be Bald on Wednesday? | |
After the Novice Rep squad beat the Grizzlies in the first game of their Minor Hockey Week Tournament, Grizzly Captain Greg Doucette was not happy. In what I suspect will be a first in Minor Hockey here in Fort McMurray, Greg Doucette issued a challenge to Novice Team opponent Tanner Ewashko. Both players are so convinced that they are going to win the next contest which will be challenged at Mac Island this coming wednesday, that both have agreed the player on the losing team will have to shave his head. The Gauntlet has been laid and after the contest on Wednesday evening one of these fine young hockey players will be walking out of the arena bearing a chrome dome. Hope the whether warms up I hear a bald head can be pretty darn chilly in this neck of the woods.
 | | Doucette scores his 3rd of 6 |
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Monday, January 22
Shootout at the OK Corral
|  | | Dees Garners Player of the Game Honors |
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The Kings Court Razors and the Gorsalitz Grizzlies went head to head in the CJOK Minor Hockey Week broadcast game of the evening from Frank Lacroix arena,..... and what a contest it was. This game had a little bit of everything, good skating, good passing, good saves and even a penalty shot.
The Kings Court crewcuts opened up the scoring on a penalty shot marker at the 4:50 mark of the first period, beating Grizzly Netminder Cory Hynes blocker side.This lead however would not hold up long as Captain Greg Doucette evened the match 50 seconds later when he scored his first of 6 goals on the night. At 10:22 Doucettes second of the night gave the Grizzlies their first lead in the evening when he took a nice pass from Joshua Dees and went wide pulling the goalie to the near post and snapping a wrister to the other side of the net. Kings Court kept things interesting in this contest when less than a minute later they evened the score again when a crewcut forward was sitting johnny on the spot in the crease and popped in a juicy rebound past the grizzly goalie. Four minutes later Doucette would regain the grizzly lead with his third of the night, carrying the puck nicely to the wing and sneaking around the Kingscourt defender before cruising to the slot and pasting a high wrister into the twine. With less than a minute left in the first Doucette was at it again this time with a nice backhander from the slot that eluded the Kingscourt netminder once again letting the bears go to the dressing room after one period with a 4-2 lead.
The Kings Court Razors applied the pressure early in the second period and were rewarded for their efforts by pulling within one goal at the 18:24 mark. This time the puck took a funny bounce and landed right in the slot where the kingscourt forward took a hard slapper that drove the biscuit glove high over Hynes shoulder. The action was back and forth for most of the second period and with the Razors applying alot of pressure were able to once again tie this contest up with 3:20 to go when a screened shot went off a Grizzly defender's skate and eluded the Grizzly tender. Every one thought this game would remain even after two periods of play but Doucette had other thoughts and with less than a minute to go before the 40 minute mark Gregory dug the puck out of the corner of the Kingscourt zone, cruised once again to the slot and let a quick slider on the ice do the damage by sneaking underneath the Kingscourt netminders goalie stick.
In the third period the Grizzlies got into a little penalty trouble and had to kill an intitial penalty and then while killing that got another interference call to put them down 2 men. After successfully the first penalty, and while still shorthanded Greg Doucette gave the Grizzlies a 2 goal lead at 10:40 with his 6th straight goal of the night. With other bears chomping at the bit to get in on the scoring Austin Hiscock picked up a nice rebound in the crease at 5:40 to give the bears a 7-4 lead. Kings Court continued to press however and with less than 4 minutes to go in the game pulled to within 2 goals when a hard slapper from the slot made the score 7-5. With only 2:10 to go however, Cole Miller got the additional insurance marker when he deked the defenceman and slid a low wrister just over the outstretched glove of the kings court netminder. Final score in this shootfest ended 8-5 in favor of the bears.
A very exciting game to watch. A special thanks must go out to Nolan Hawkness and his crew for taking the time to broadcast this contest on CJOK radio. I am sure it will be a big thrill for all of the parents and those that were listening at home. Joshua Dees, our speedy little dman was honored for his efforts with one of the player of the game awards. And congratulations to Gregory Doucette on his 6 goal performance which netted him the radio station player of the game award.
 | | Bears Celebrate 2nd Victory of Tourney |
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Sunday, January 21
Grizzlies Come From Behind
|  | | The Bartan Grizzly Rivalry continues |
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In yesterdays 2nd contest of the day the Grizzlies started off slow still waking from the loss in the early morning hours to the Novice Rep squad. Their combatant this time around was the Bartan Blizzard and the first period was all snow. Bartan scored first and they scored early jumping into a 2-0 lead by the final buzzer of the first period. Slowly but surely however the bears woke up with Greg Doucette hitting the score board at 12:20 of the second on a nice move to split the bartan dmen and pop the biscuit in the basket. That seemed to get the bears warmed up as they scored 4 more before this contest was over. The Grizzlies tied the game at 10:50 when a nice feed in front of the crease allowed 3 point blank shots to strike the bartan netminder with the last one finding the twine. Less than a minute later Greg Doucette potted his second of the afternoon to give the Grizzlies the lead in this contest. And then a powerplay marker at 2:58 gave the bears a 2 goal lead. Into the third period the Grizzlies potted their 5th straight goal at 13:40. The blizzard tried to make it close scoring on a breakaway with 3:50 left to go but it wasnt enough and the Bears got into the win column for the first time in the Minor Hockey Week Tourney.
Sunday, January 21
Phantom Phillies Battle for Tie
| |  | | Grizzlies Battle to 2-2 tie |
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The Phantom Phillies may have been underestimated in this years Minor Hockey Week tournament as they have struggled during the regular season. But as we all know, minor hockey week tends to bring out the best on these hockey clubs and after todays contest against our bears they remain undefeated. Encouraged by a feisty 5-5 tie the day before against the Kings Court Barbershop squad, they jumped into a surprising 1-0 lead against the regular season leading bears when young Philly forward Duncan lifted a nice riser over Cory Hynes blocker at 12:10 of the first. That was it for the scoring in the first period as both goaltenders stood on their heads with neither one wanting to give an inch to their opponents. Cody Miller however, got the bears back into this one in the second period when he slipped one through the pads of the philly netminder when he was put in all alone on a nice cross ice pass from a grizzly dman. The two squads battled with scoring opportunities being turned away by both goalies until 4:57 of the third when Tyler Whelan scored a huge first goal of the season for him, picking up a nice rebound in front of the philly net and stuffing it past the outstretched glove of the netminder. The bears were hoping this would hold up as the game winner but the phillies would not give up and tied it up when a philly forward used a grizzly defenceman as a screen and fired the game tieing goal over the shoulder of Cory Hynes. The game ended at two a side. Tomorrow night the Grizzlies play Kings Court in the CJOK featured game of the night.
Saturday, January 20
Novice Rep Lull Bears to Sleep
|  | | Anticipation, Minor Hockey Week Begins | |
In the Grizzlies first contest of the 2007 Minor Hockey Week Extravaganza they came up against a Novice Rep squad that had not beat them all season. The young lads on the Baron rep team opened the scoring in the first period at 7:08 when little Quinton Sudom lifted a wrister over the shoulder of Grizzly netminder Cory Hynes. Less than 4 minutes later the Rep squad was back on the score board when a wrap around shot from behind the net created a juicy rebound for a rep forward that found its way into the twine. That would end the scoring for the first period and put the bears down 2-0 going into the second period. 13 minutes into the second Ty Troutman took a nice feed from a dman, cruised into the slot and snuck a slapper blocker side to pull the Grizzlies within one. The Rep squad kept skating however and got their 2 goal lead re-established 3 minutes later when a swifty baron forward made a nice move around the Grizzly defender in the slot and made a nice backhand slider that eluded Hynes on his blocker side. Just over a minute later the Grizzlies were determined to keep this one close and pulled to within one goal once again when a nice behind the net feed found its way to the waiting grizzly forward in the slot who slammed it between the pads of the Baron netminder.
With the score remaining 3-2 at the end of the second one had to wonder if the Grizzlies would have some last period heroics to stave off their first defeat of the season. Such was not the case however as the Novice Rep squad secured the victory with an insurance marker with 5 minutes left in the game. The Grizzlies could not get back into this one as the Baron rep squad's team speed seem to be their nemesis. (You boys will have to look that word up in the dictionary if you want to know what it means)
Against a good skating club like the Novice Rep Barons you have to pass the puck to beat that club Grizzlies. Win as a team and lose as a team. Time to regroup boys as you have the Bartan Blizzard later this afternoon. See you at the rink!
Monday, December 17
Grizzlies half way through the season and still UNDEFEATED
|  | | Grizzlies Hungry for the Puck |
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The Grizzlies continued their dominance of the Atom A league with their 9th victory of the season. Now sporting a 9-0-1 record they are clearly going to be the target of the other teams in their division between now and Minor Hockey Week. In a pretty tight contest for the most part of two periods the Orange squad kept the bears within striking distance. However the bears continued to poor it on in the third period and powered by Gregory Doucettes 4 goal performace finished the game with a 6-4 victory. There was alot of nice passing out there in this contest, some solid defensive work and steady goaltending to round out the victory. Keep it up Grizzlies as the big tournament of the season is just a month away.
 | | Doucettes 2nd of 4 |
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Saturday, December 1
Another Former Grizzly dresses for Barons
|  | | Heres a Pic of Richard when he played for the Grizzlies | |
Richard Gagnon, who minded the twine for your Grizzlies a number of years ago got the call from Head Coach Gord Thibodeau before the Fort McMurray Oil Barons headed down to Bonnyville this past Wednesday. Playing in a back up role to new number one guy Chad Fox I am sure that Richard wondered if he would see any play time. Well tonight at Thickwood Heights arena, the head coach of the Oil Barons tapped young Richard on the shoulder and asked him to start the third period. Richard looked good in his first Alberta Junior Hockey League Game especially when he stopped a Drayton Valley forward on a breakaway. He only let one goal in during his 20 minutes of playtime. Well done Richard! Tomorrow night the law firm is sponsoring the game and the current version of the Gorsalitz Grizzlies will be in attendance to cheer you on!
Tuesday, October 16
Grizzlies Open the New Season with a Big Win
The Grizzlies kicked off the 2006-2007 season against Junior Novice "AA" Barons with a strong 6-3 win. The Novice Barons got things started early when Nick Runnals took a pass from Bradon Doyle and beat the new Grizzly goalie Cory Hynes. Howvere the Grizzlies bounced back at the 13:58 mark when Ty Piche jumped on loose rebound on the Barons crease and shovelled the puck past the Barons goaltender Rylie Higdon. The Barons then went up again when Nick Runnalls took another pass from Bradon Doyle, scoring his second goal of the game beating his former team mate from last year Cory at the 10:35 point.
The grizzlies not like being down quickly answered when Gregory Doucette took a pass from Tyler Whelen and beat Rylie through the five hole tying up the game 2-2 at 8:14 of the first period.
The second period was all Grizzlies with 3 unanswered goals and the Grizzly defence starting to smother the Barons attacks. Duncan Sluggett took an Austin Hiscock pass and roofed a shot against the Baron tender making it 3-2 at 15:52. Then Gregory Doucette added two more goals to his evening completing the hat trick with two identical breakaway goals scored at 9:54 and 7:18 of the second period putting the Grizzlies ahead with a commanding lead 5-2. Cory Hynes stepped up in the second period and showed us what he can do making glove saves and butterfly stops. Taylor Bulbac of the Junior Barons had some good chances but could not hit the net in this early morning tilt.
The Third Period saw the Barons and the Grizzlies exchange gaols.
Aaron Petten of the barons scored his goal of the season and Duncan Sluggett scored his second goal of the game to answer giving the Grizzlies a 6-3 victory. Duncan's big effort and great shooting was noticed by the Grizzlies coaching squad and was named the Super Sport player of the game. A noteworthy effort by the new grizzly goaltender Cory Hynes was an honorable mention.
The quick start by the Grizzlies has just wetted their appetite for the thrill of the competeion for the 2006-2007 campaign.
The Fan in the Stands
 | | Roberts Drinks from AJHL Championship Trophy |
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Wednesday, April 18
Another Former Grizzly drinks from the Cup
In what turned out to be a battle of former bears the end result was the same, one of your former alumni was crowned an Alberta Junior Hockey League champion. This year it was Brendan Roberts turn to taste victory as he and his Fort McMurray Oil Baron band of merry men outhustled and outchanced Logan Gorsalitz and his Kodiaks. Congratulation to Brendan on keeping that winning tradition of the Grizzlies alive and good luck in the upcoming Doyle Cup which starts this weekend at Thickwood Heights arena on Friday night against the British Columbia Champion Burnaby Express.
Monday, April 2
Two Former Grizzlies will Clash in AJHL Final!
Former Grizzlies Brendan Roberts and Logan Gorsalitz will go head to head for bragging rights in the Province to the Alberta Junior Hockey League crown. Brendan has been making waves with the front running Fort McMurray Oil Barons while Logan has led the way for the Camrose Kodiaks this season.
This will be the first time in Grizzly history that two former club members will suit up against each other for a provincial championship. The heat starts rising this coming Saturday when the Kodiaks hit Thickwood Heights Arena. Get your tickets early as I suspect this ones gonna be a sell out!
Wednesday, October 19
Grizzlies Return to Winning Ways
The Gorsalitz Grizzlies playing their fourth game of the new season.What an exciting first period. Joel Tremblay put Kings Court up 1-0,but the Grizzlies came fighting back and Andrew MacSween playing his debut game tied the game with a pass from Gregory Doucette. Joel Tremblay came back with a second goal to put the Court up 2-1. With 1 minute left in the first period Andrew MacSween tied the game up scoring his second goal. The Grizzlies played a strong second period scoring 5 unanswered goals putting them up 7-2. Gregory Doucette received a beautiful pass from Andrew MacSween giving them the go ahead goal. Cody Sampson potted 2 goals in the second period. Nicholas Forest scored on a great shot to the lower right hand corner beating the Kings goalie Michael Hayward. Skyler Mercier took the puck end to end fighting off all checkers, enroute the highlight play of the game, scoring on a breakaway. Kings Court answered back in the third period with Dylan Maddocks scoring at the 8:45 mark. Grizzlies responded with a great passing play goal. Hayley Runnals passed the puck from the blue line to the corner to Lindsey MacLelland who caught Skyler Mercier in the slot who one timed it past Michael Hayward the Courts goalie ending the game scoring for an 8-3 victory for the Gorsalitz Grizzlies. Dylan Burry played another strong game in net making big saves on several breakaways. The Source for Sports Super Sport of the Game was Andrew MacSween. Andrew received this award for his great positional play and passing.
Great Job Team!
Your fans in the stands
Monday, October 15
Roberts Fighting the Midget Cut Down
|  | | Roberts Wants to Stick with the Big Boys |
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Brendan Roberts is doing everything in his power to stick with the big boys in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. As an underage player this former grizzly has to leave a strong impression on Fort McMurray Oil Baron head coach Gord Thibodeau if he wants to avoid a demotion to the midget ranks. In tonights contest against the Canmore Eagles Mr. Roberts potted his second AJHL goal and hopes he caught the coaches attention. The cut off for midget age players is this coming Sunday and as a result Brendan may have one more opportunity to leave an impression when the Okotoks Oilers come visiting tomorrow night. It was nice to see all the Grizzlies at the game tonight in a sky box none the less. A big thankyou to Syncrude Canada for letting our boys enjoy some Jr. A. hockey from their sky box, I am sure it was appreciated by all of the players.
Wednesday, September 12
Another Former Grizzly Makes the Jump
Former Grizzly Brendan Roberts has obviously impressed as he has secured himself a spot on the Fort McMurray Oil Baron roster entering into the 2005 campaign. Brendan is doing his best to stick with the Jr. Club as an underage player. With one year of midget eligibility still available to this young man he is certainly impressing Gord Thibodeau and wants every opportunity to stick with the big boys for the balance of the season. This past weekend on the road in Calgary, Brendan scored his first Junior A goal against the Calgary Royals. Here is hoping that "Stonehands" has a few more of those up his sleeve as he plies his trade in the Junior ranks. Congratulations Brendan, Keep it up!!!
Sunday, May 15
Former Grizzly On TSN Tonight
Former Grizzly Logan Gorsalitz will battle with his teammates for bragging rights to a National Championship. Tonights contest will be aired on TSN at 5:30 p.m. Be sure to catch the action as the Camrose Kodiaks try for the third National Title in the last 5 years.
Tuesday, May 10
Grizzly Pots a Goal at National Championship
|  | | Former Grizzly in RBC Action |
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Former Grizzly Logan Gorsalitz added a marker in the second game of the Royal Bank Cup against the Manitoba Champion Portage Terriers helping his Kodiaks to a 6-2 victory. The Kodiaks are 2-0 in the tournament to date and play the host Weyburn Redwings tonight in the only contest scheduled today. With a victory this evening the Kodiaks will secure a spot in semi-final action on Friday night. The Kodiaks are the only undefeated team in the tournament. Their first victory came Saturday night with a 3-2 over the Atlantic Champion Hawksbury Hawks.
Thursday, February 1
Former Grizzly Drafted by Seattle in WHL Bantam Draft
|  | | Quinn Gould becomes 2nd Grizzly to be Drafted in WHL Bantam Draft |
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Former Grizzly captain Quinn Gould has been drafted by Seattle in the 7th round of the WHL Bantam Draft today 136th overall. Quinn follows in the footsteps of Evan Haw who was previously drafted by the Saskatoon Blades. Congratulations to Quinn and his family and best of luck in your future hockey endeavours. Brad Stebner from Fort McMurray was also drafted today and is a big brother to another former Grizzly. Brad was drafted by the Saskatoon Blades.
Saturday, April 30
Former Grizzly Going to Nationals for Second Time
|  | | These 3 Kodiaks get 2nd Crack at National Title |
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Former Grizzly Logan Gorsalitz will make the trip to the National Championships in Junior A Hockey for the second time in three years. After eliminating the Surrey Eagles the British Columbia champions in 5 games last night with a 3-2 victory Logan and his Kodiak team head to Weyburn Saskatchewan for the Royal Bank Cup. Logan returns to this prestigious tournament with two other Kodiaks who were there in 2003. Getting a second kick at the can with Logan are team captain Travis Friedley and Logan's linemate McGregor Sharp. This will be an extremely important tournament for these two as this will be their last year with the Kodiaks. Travis Friedley is in his final year of AJHL eligibility while teamate McGregor Sharp will be heading off to the NCAA ranks with the Minnesota Deluth hockey club. Well Grizzlies, you can now say you have played hockey with both a provincial and western canadian champion. Hopefully by next week you will be able to boast about playing shinny hockey with the national champions.
Saturday, April 21
Former Grizzly AJHL CHAMPION X 2
|  | | Logan Gorsalitz Poses with AJHL Championship Trophy | |
First edition Grizzly Logan Gorsalitz is a two time provincial Champion in the Alberta Junior Hockey League after he and his Camrose Kodiaks eliminated the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 4-2 in the game 7 final of the championship series. He and his older bears which the little grizzlies had a chance to scrimmage with earlier this month, came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit to take the championship trophy. The Kodiaks now head to Surrey British Columbia where they will take on the South Surrey Eagles for the Western Canadian Championship the Doyle Cup. This is Logan's second trip to that competition as well. The winner of the 7 game series between the Eagles and the Kodiaks advances to the National Championships being held in Weyburn Saskatchewan. 2 years ago Logan and his Kodiaks made it right to the final championship game losing the national title to the Humbolt Broncos. Good Luck to Logan and his teammates as they continue on in pursuit of Canadian Junior Hockey supremacy!
Wednesday, April 6
Nice Finish to the Close of Another Season
Oh what you dont learn at the year end banquet. Head Coach and mentor for this years bears was Collin Feser, Collin just happened to neglect to tell the sponsor that he was a 1985 Memorial Cup Champion with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. For all of you bears that was one step removed from the big leagues. It is not surprising then, that our contingent of hockey players were able to gel into one tight group who were able to bring back to the Grizzlies what I refer to as the elusive Triple Crown. Thats right gentleman, this year you repeated what only one Grizzly club has done in the last nine years, and that was win all three major Championships offered by minor hockey at the Atom level. You were the regular season champs, you were the final season champs and you were the minor hockey week champions. Those are accomplishments each and every one of you should be so proud of. What should also be acknowledged is that each and every one of you were an integral part of the success of this years Grizzlies. Although some of you gathered more of the limelight with your amazing plays and highlight reel goals, your success was achieved as a result of something much more important than your personal accomplishments. You gentlemen, were a team, and a tight united team at that. Each one of you whether you recieved alot of press or accolades during the season were a part of this team , a part of its success, and most importantly a part of that tradition which makes you all Grizzlies. Congratulations to each and every one of you. Thank you for being a part of this hockey club and thank you for sharing your successes with me. I am very proud to have had the chance to meet and watch and cheer you all on through out the season. Congratulations as well should go out to the Esso Award Winners, Colten Bergen as the most improved player, Lucas Zeikle as the most sportsmanlike, and Tanner Hodder as the most dedicated. I am sure the decisions were tough on the coaching staff as on most championship squads any number of players could fit into any of those three catagories. Good luck to all of you in your future hockey ambitions and do not hesitate to keep me updated on your future hockey accomplishments.
Tuesday, March 22
Grizzlies Finish Regular Season on a High Note
|  | | Bowman Celebrates after putting Bears up 5-0 |
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After the tight checking affair with the Novice Baron Rep squad this past weekend the bears knew they would have to play a more intense game this Tuesday night. And finish strong they did, when they came up against the Kings Court Barbershop Clippers. Cameron Lorentz wasted no time popping the first of the bears many markers into the twine when he scored 2 minutes and 41 seconds into the first period. Less than a minute and a half later the bears went up by 2 with Curtis Ward's first of the night at 15:56 with the helper going to Mitchell Bowman. Not to be out done Tanyr Feser got into the act by giving the bears a 3 goal lead at 5:14 with an assist going to Lorentz. Curtis Ward made it 4-0 with less than three minutes to go in the first with an assist to Tanner Hodder. Up 4-0 going into the second stanza the scoring blitz continued when Mitch Bowman got his first goal and second point of the night at 7:57. At this point the Grizzlies put up a defensive shell that would not be penetrated and the odd shot that did get through was handled with ease by goaltender Colton Bergen. Despite a goal by the Kings Court Squad midway through the third by Derek Reider that was all she wrote for this game and for the season as the Grizzlies went undefeated since the Minor Hockey Week break except for the last second loss to the novice barons this past weekend. A fine way to end the season bears. Looks like there is one final road trip scheduled before you hang the skates up for the season when you travel down the highway during the April 1st weekend to take on some challengers in Lacombe Alberta. Good luck to you all. Make your parents and Fort McMurray proud!
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Tuesday, May 1
80 years in the Making
From May 3 to May 11th former Grizzly Logan Gorsalitz will venture on a trip to Prince Edward Island and a trip back in time. 80 years ago his great grandfather John Gorsalitz played hockey as a goaltender for the 1923 Hudson Bay Cup Champion Humbolt Sunoco's. During the round robin play next week Logan will suit up against his great grandfathers old team in an effort to secure a national championship. Time will tell,..... stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 20
Former Grizzlies in Playoff Form
|  | | Evan Haw of the Saskatoon Blades |
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Three former Grizzlies from the first year edition of the hockey club are into playoff action as the hockey season at all levels winds down. First we have stalward defenceman and a giant on the blue line Evan Haw getting ready for some first round action as the Western Hockey League lathers up for its first round of the playoffs. Evan plays defence for the Saskatoon Blades and at 6'4" is an imposing figure on their blue line. Logan Gorsalitz is working himself into fine form as he and his Alberta Junior Hockey Camrose Kodiaks moved onto the semifinals with a 4 game sweep of the Canmore Eagles. Finally Grizzlies first ever netminder Matt Eaton is battling it out in the Junior B league championship series where he has carried his Vegreville squad into the finals. Good luck to all three of these former bears as they pursue bragging rights in their respective leagues.
Sunday, March 20
All Good Things Must Come to an End
|  | | A Younger More Determine Rep Squad brings the Bears Winning Streak to an End |
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In yesterday's contest the Novice Rep Barons must have been watching game tapes of the bears last contest. This one had the markings of a real barn burner as both teams battled hard for the victory. Cameron Lorentz opened the show at 17:35 of the first and then scored his second of the night at 12:30. Jumping into a quick 2 goal lead this one could have been a blow out. The Bears have to give credit where credit is due as this young Baron Rep squad was a determined little bunch and battled back right to the end. Daniel Patten and Erik Hamelin scored a couple of come from behind markers to make this one close after one period of play but Mitch Bowman would take the bears into the dressing room with a 3-2 lead when he popped the twine at the 4:16 mark. The Second period was a continuation of the first. Veteran forward Greg Dardis made it a two goal lead for our bears at 18:08. But Little Erik Hamelin answered right back to keep the Barons in this one when he eluded Grizzly tender Colton Bergen at 14:09. Mr. Hamelin would do it again 4 minutes later with his third of the night to keep his squad on par with our bears. That score would not last long however as the goals kept coming at a fast pace. Curtis Ward gave us our third lead less than a minute and a half later. However, tonight would be the Erik Hamelin show as with less than minute and half to go in the second stanza he scores his 4th of the night to even the score before retiring for the second intermission. The third period proved to be a real duel with the bears and the barons. Both squads did not want to be denied and both had numerous opportunities to count a goal. The winning streak was not to be as the Baron Rep team tore a page out of the Grizzly playbook from last weekend and scored with seconds remaining on the clock. With only two seconds remaining in the game novice rep player Nicholas Noseworthy makes it count and steals the victory from bears. Final in this one 6 - 5 for the rep squad over our bears. A good contest none the less. I am sure all the parents from both hockey clubs were on the edge of their seats for this one.
Monday, March 14
Winning Streak Continues
|  | | Grizzlies Apply Pressure in the Comeback Victory |
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Our boys came from behind in this game as the boys were groggy coming out of their caves. Jos Wills Builders were leading the game after the first period by a 2 to 0 score with both goals coming off the stick of Ryan Hrehirchek. In the second period however the bears began the comeback. # 14 Tanyr Feser started it off at 17:11 with the helper going to Greg Dardis. Jos Wills answered back with their third of the night at 7:05,leaving the score at the end of the period 3 to 1 in their favour. The third period was all Grizzlies! Greg Dardis # 17 scored the bears second of the night at 11:54 with Jeremy Greening # 5 following up 31 seconds later at 11:15. Jos Will battled the lead back out of the bears hands to take a 4-3 lead with less than 5 minutes to go. Mitch Bowman # 16 notched his first of the night at 3:31 to tie up the game. And then Tanner Hodder # 3 put the final nail in the comeback coffin. With less than thirty seconds on the clock Tanner made Paul Coffey like end to end rush and scored on the startled Jos Wills tender. Talk about a pumped bench and excited parents sitting on the edge of their seats. The final score was 5 for the Grizzlies and 4 for Joe-Wills. Yaaaa Hoooo! Another one in the Grizzlies honey jar !
| | Tanner Hodder Clearing the Slot |
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Saturday, March 5
Grizzlies Continue Hot Streak
Usually after Minor Hockey Week there is a bit of let down by most of the Atom A squads, but such is not the case for the hot hot hot Grizzlies who have gone undefeated since winning Minor Hockey Week gold. Up against the Kings Court Barbershop quartet the bears continued their winning ways with a convincing 4-1 victory. Even with a depleted lineup and not dressing Greg Dardis, Brandon Sanderson, and Curtis Ward the Grizzlies did not miss a beat. The first period was a non event as both squads played a tight defensive style that let little through the middle and not much on the shot counter. The score at the end of one period remained a goose egg for both teams. However, in the second period the offences woke up with the bears breaking the ice at 12:13 when Matt Houston made his move at the blueline and deked out the barbershop dman unleashing a silent wrister that fooled the Kings Court tender. Keeping the momentum flowing Mitchell Bowman added some salt to the wound at 9:55 when he dipsy doodled around a bunch of razor clippings and moved into the slot ripping a shot through the 5 - hole for a 2-0 lead. The Razors would not leave the period quiet however when a goal mouth scramble led to their first and only on the day at 6:02 to have the razors pull to within one goal before the end of the 2 nd stanza.
The Razors applied the pressure early in the third but steady eddy Colten Bergen kicked out a flurry of shots to keep the Razors off the score board. At 13:08 Mitchell Bowman got his second of the night when he fired a hard shot in the slot and cruised into to pick up his own rebound and made the bank deposit on the stick side of the netminder. With the score now 3-1 in favour of the bears and the clock ticking down the razors continued to apply the pressure. T.J Solie had other ideas however and expanded the bear lead to 3 goals when with only 4:23 to go in the game he slipped past a razor defenceman and used the other dman as a screen to unleash a snapper that the razor tender did not even see.
The final in this game was 4-1 for the bears and kept their undefeated streak in tact since the minor hockey tourney. The team defence was incredible in this contest clogging up the slot at every turn and keeping all of the Kings Court shots to the outside. Good effort bears, keep up the hard work and your winning streak will continue.
 | | Sneaky Deaky |
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Tuesday, January 23
Grizzlies Champions Again!
For the 3rd time in their 9 year history the Gorsalitz Grizzlies are the Minor Hockey Week Atom A Champions. Backed by a solid display of strong defence and team work the bears were able to shut down the Bartan Blizzard at every turn. The first period had the Bartan Squad applying pressure early and often but thanks to a solid effort from the defensive corp of the Grizzlies very few if any second rebounds were made available to the opposition. Although outplayed in the first the Grizzlies walked away at the end of the period still tied at 0-0.
In a strategic move the coaching staff put veteran forward and elder statesman for the Grizzlies Greg Dardis on the blue line. This seemed to solidify the back end and gave the grizzlies a little more confidence in moving the puck out of their zone. The offence came on in the second but solid tending by Bartan Tender Tyler McDermid kept the bears off the board. It looked like the second would end like the first. However an untimely penalty by the Bears gave Bartan the man advantage with less than 3 minutes to go. The penalty killing unit took over and Mitchell Bowman at 1:51 was able to steal the puck and went in shorthanded on the breakaway potting the first goal of the game and the first lead by the Grizzlies against Bartan this season.
The third period saw the pressure change from team to team with numerous scoring chances going either way however both Grizzly tender Colten Bergen and Bartan netminder Tyler McDermid were equal to the task. Finally with 3:50 to go in the game Cameron Lorentz stole the puck off a Bartan forward and snapped a wrister that snuck through the bartan tenders pads. A timely goal on a solid effort put the Bears up 2-0 and despite the Blizzard pulling their netminder for the last 2 minutes of the game they could not solve the blanket defence put up by the Grizzlies.
Championship Gold is the Bears again and it took all the players on the bench to secure this one. First star as selected by Doc Nicholsen of the broadcast crew was Mitchell Bowman for breaking the gooseeggs with his shorthanded marker in the second. 2nd Star honours went to Colten Bergen who shut out Bartan in this championship game but I am sure Colten would be the first to say that the second star should go to his whole team for giving him a chance to see all the shots and clearing any rebounds out of harms way. The third star was the Bartan netminder Tyler McDermid who played solid between the twine and kept his Blizzard in it until the end.
Great game boys. Remember that feeling when the final buzzer sounded,..... there is nothing,.... absolutely nothing like it.
A special thanks should go to the CJOK radio group for not only broadcasting this game but all the other games through out the week. never appreciated the great job Jeff Henson does on the play by play until i witnessed it first hand. Thanks a bunch fellas for your great work and time to support hockey in this community!
 | | This One A Must to Get to the Final |
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Saturday, January 22
Grizzlies Going for Gold With 5-2 Victory
| |  | | Dardis Dekes During the Second Period |
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The Grizzlies got back into the win column in what turned out to be the most important game of the round robin tournament. Up against the B.C. Bearing club no one was sure what to expect. Bearing was not going to go down without a fight and gave the bears a good battle. Kendan Backhouse opened the scoring for the bears at 10:18 of the first period. Scooting in from the slot Backhouse snapped a shot at Bearing tender Blake McKenzie and popped in the rebound to his glove side to make the score 1-0 for the bears. A couple of penalties to both clubs midway through the first solved nothing and they went to the dressing room with the score remaining 1-0 for the Grizzlies. Into the second period Tanner Hodder got nabbed for tripping and the Bearing boys took full advantage scoring on a powerplay goal mouth scramble to even the score at 1 a piece. Dustin Thorne got the nod for the marker. With less than 6 minutes to go in the second stanza, Greg Dardis followed Backhouse's lead and picked up his own rebound for the Grizzlies second goal of the day at 5:55 by dishing the gift to the top corner.
This contest looked like it was going to go down right to the buzzer. Cameron Lorentz thought otherwise. 15 seconds into the third period Lorentz secured a two goal lead for the bears on a beautiful rush, deking the defenceman and potting the Grizzlies 3rd of the day. The bears got stronger as the period progressed. First Matt Houstons end to end rush and hard wrister from the slot fooled the Bearing tender when he went high glove side to secure a 4-1 lead. Then 4 minutes later Tanry Feser made it a 4 goal lead when he converted a goal mouth scramble. The B.C. Bearing club tried to battle back and scored late in the third with 1:22 left to go to pull within 3, but that was all she wrote. Grizzlies win 5-2 and are off the to Gold Medal game set for tomorrow at noon.
Unsure how the other finalist will be determined. If the Northland Rep clubs games count, we may end up having a 3 way tie for second in the round robin play if they are defeated this afternoon by Jos Wil Builders. A victory by the builders would have all of Kings Court, Bartan and Jos Wil sporting the same 3-2 records. If that is the case the tie breaker would likely be the best goals for /against average which would place the Kings Court Razors in the final. If, however, the Northlands Rep Club games do not count in the round robin standings the Grizzlies will suit up against those red devil Bartan Blizzards who have had the bears number most of this season.
In any event regardless of who the Bears play tomorrow they had better be ready for the game of their lives as I am sure either Bartan or Kings Court would be worthy opponents both capable of challenging for the gold. Just remember bears,..... the club that plays as a team will win as a team. You proved that today with your headsup passing game that was back on track. Good luck tomorrow and see you at the rink!
Grizzlies Continue on Hot Streak
|  | | Backhouse Picks Up Own Rebound To Even the Score at 1 a Piece |
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After their close call with the Kings Court Razors last night the Grizzlies took their time to work up their appetites in the morning contest at Thickwood Heights Arena. They dropped behind the 8 ball against the Novice Rep Northland Products club when speedy little Eric Hamelin snapped a quick wrister from the slot past an unsuspecting Colten Bergen. The Northland goal came but 3 minutes and 52 seconds in to the game. It would take all of 6 minutes for the bears to draw even in this one. When little Kendan Backhouse picked up his own rebound after a snap shot from Cameron Lorentz was stopped and flipped the puck over the sprawling northlands tender. Before the period was over the Grizzlies would take a 2-1 lead when Greg Dardis at 2:07 took a nice feed in the slot and lofted one over the goalie.There would be no scoring in the second period as both teams exchanged a number of chances but could not convert. The bears finally awoke from their slumber in the third period scoring three unanswered markers for the victory. The first at 17:55 came from Greg Dardis who picked up a rebound from a big Hodder slapper in the slot. The next was courtesy of Kendan Backhouse who found himself johnny on the spot in front of the net for his second of the night, and finally a Dardis breakaway netted the 5th of the day for the Grizzlies when Greg slipped a wrister through the 5 hole. A good solid game for the bears once they got rolling and a warmup for the big broadcast game tuesday night against the Bartan Blizzard.
 | | Grizzlies Faced Razors in Afternoon Action | |
Grizzlies Start Tourney on a Strong Note
| |  | | Brandon Sanderson Backhands one Past Kings Court Netminder |
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Although minor hockey week started last night for some Atom A clubs our bears did not kick off the festivities until this morning when they took on the Jos Will Millwork Builders. The Grizzlies started early scoring their first of the contest a minute and a half into the contest when Cameron Lorentz's wrist shot evaded the Jos Will tender. The squads played a cat and mouse game for the rest of that period with our Grizzlies taking a 1 -0 lead into the dressing room. The cat and mouse game continued for most of the second period as well until the Jos Will Builders attempted a comeback. The pressure was increased in our defensive zone and a huge save by Colton Bergen with 4:50 to go in the second kept Jos Will off the board. Not to be out done the builder's netminder made a save of the spectacular variety just over a minute later when Travis Stang stonewalled our Jeremy Greening on a breakaway. Shortly thereafter with 2:27 left in the second period Cameron Lorentz picked up the rebound on a Jeremy Greening wristshot to boost the Grizzlies into a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
The Bears picked the third period to put the nails in the casket for the Builders in this game when they added four more unanswered markers. First at 16:12 Jeremy Greening nets his second of the day on another breakaway. He may have missed on his first opportunity but he was not going to let this one get away. Making a shifty move around the Builder d-man he snapped one through the 5- hole to find the twine and push the Grizzlies into a 3-0 lead. It quickly became 4-0 when Greening notted his third of the day on a nice Sanderson assist at 11:18. 5 minutes later it was Zielke finding the twine on a nice cross ice feed from Greg Dardis that made it a 5-0 lead for the hungry bears.
The final goal of the contest was a beautiful end to end rush by Brandon Sanderson who used the Builder Defenceman as a screen to slip the 6th of the day past an unsuspecting Travis Stang. Final Score in this one 6-0 for the Bears. The game could have been alot closer had it not been for the great tending provided by Colton Bergen in securing the shut out victory.
THE AFTERNOON CONTEST SAW THE BEARS TAKE ON THE KINGS COURT RAZORS
Although we saw no penalties in the early morning contest the ref in this early afternoon affair was a little more liberal with his whistle. The Grizzlies had their first powerplay opportunity of the tournament at 11:32 of the first but were unable to capitalize. The Razors threw out a defensive blanket that kept the bears from even securing a shot on net. That blanket was pierced however with 6:57 to go when Lucas Zielke converted a Tanyr Feser shot from a scrum in front into the net. The score of 1-0 in favor of the grizzlies would not last long. At 3:44 Greg Dardis made it a 2-0 affair getting the job done on his own. The bears would take this 2-0 lead into the second period only to see it shrink to one when Mark Lawley of the Razors snuck in on a break away and deked Bergon to pop the twine. Not to be out done and in an effort to regain the momentum Brandon Sanderson of the Grizzlies rebuilt the two goal lead when snuck behind the Razor defence on his own breakaway and lofted a nifty backhander on the stick side of the Razor goalie. Score at this point was 3-1 for the Grizzlies.
The Razors battled back in this one. With 6:20 to go in the second period hulking forward Cole Mitchelmore or the Razors made it a one goal game. And with only 35 seconds left in the second period Mark Lawley notched his second of the game to tie it up with a quick wrist shot to Bergen's stick side.
The third period would be either teams for the taking. Both teams came into this one undefeated and neither was prepared to concede defeat in this one. That was until midway through the third Mitchell Bowman of the Grizzlies snuck out from the penalty box to join the rush and helped stuff the Grizzlies 4th of the afternoon past the Razor goaltender. The Razors made a valiant effort to tie this contest up and for the majority of the last 5 minutes were pressuring the Bear defence. With 30 seconds left in the game Kings Court Sqaud pulled their net minder in favor of another attacker but much to their chagrin were unable to secure the equalizer. Final score in this contest 4-3 for the bears.
Next game for the Grizzlies is 11:00 am. Sunday morning at Frank lacrois arena.
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In other action:
Friday Night Saw Kings Court defeat Jos will 5-4 and BC Bearing defeat Northland 5-3
Also today saw Bartan double up on BC Bearing 4-2, Kings Court sneak out a one goal victory against Northland 3-2, and Jos Will almost doubling up on BC Bearing 7-4
****Pictures from Action Saturday now posted in the Album Section *****
Sunday, October 17
Former Bear Runs for Mayor
Former Grizzly Calan Hobbs who played for the second year edition of the Grizzlies has taken up politics. Calan used to man both the blue line and play forward in his Atom days of playing hockey in our community. This Keyano college student and Quiznos sandwich maker decided earlier this month to throw his hat into the political ring and is running for Mayor of city. Good luck to Calan on his political ambitions as he develops into a fine ambassador for our community.
Grizzly Makes Good in First AJHL Game
It was a weekend of firsts in Fort McMurray for a number of former Fort Mc minor hockey products. First Colin Murphy, former Oil Baron mvp, scores his first goal donning his university colors, then Scottie Upshall pots on a spectacular breakaway for Nashville, and then Logan Gorsalitz pots his first in the Alberta Junior Hockey League for the Camrose Kodiaks. Thats what you call a great weekend for some former minor hockey products that called Fort McMurray home.
It Truly is a Family Affair
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