That鈥檚 what you call taking it on the ol鈥� chin-strap.
The University of Victoria Vikes hockey team lost 10-1 and 10-1 in back-to-back exhibition games over the weekend against NCAA Div. 1 opponents Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten in Madison and Northern Michigan Wildcats of the Western Collegiate Association in Marquette.
The Badgers are trying to impress new head coach and former NHL player and coach Tony Granato.
鈥淚t was their first game and they didn鈥檛 let up for a second,鈥� said UVic head coach Harry Schamhart.
Badgers forward Luke Kunin scored the hat trick against UVic before more than 8,000 fans at the Kohl Center. Kunin is a first-round NHL draft pick, taken 15th overall by the Minnesota Wild in June, and he should be on the U.S. team this year at the world junior championships. And it showed.
鈥淜unin is so skilled. He鈥檚 one heck of a player,鈥� said Schamhart.
Schamhart has guided the Vikes to sa国际传媒 Intercollegiate Hockey League titles in 2007, 2009 and 2012. But this season鈥檚 team is in a rebuilding phase and this was a tough situation in which to send a young squad.
鈥淲e showed our youth and inexperience, but I was really proud of the boys,鈥� said Schamhart.
鈥淭hey kept working hard and learned a lot. [Northern Michigan head coach] Walt Kyle even addressed our players after the game and said they were a class act the whole game. Both Kyle and Granato invited us back, and we would one year also like to play both those teams at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.鈥�
The Vikes program is non-varsity and operates on a self-funding club basis.
UVic opens the sa国际传媒 Intercollegiate regular season Friday and Saturday against Trinity Western at the Ian Stewart Complex.
