Wesmen Game Results February 16 - February 18, 2007

Friday, February 16, 2007

HOME (Canada West Semi-Finals Best Of Three Series)

Men's Volleyball vs Thompson Rivers (Match One)
Thompson Rivers def Wesmen 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11)

WOLFPACK UPSET WESMEN IN CANADA WEST PLAYOFF OPENER

The Thompson Rivers Wolfpack upset the fourth ranked Winnipeg Wesmen 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11) in game one of the best of three series Friday night at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg. The opening set was a see-saw battle with both teams taking their turn grabbing the lead several times in the set. The Wolfpack grabbed a 8-6 lead at the first break, only to see the hometown Wesmen fight back to take a 16-14 lead at the second timeout. Fourth year opposite Ben Schellenberg came thru with two huge kills down the stretch to give Winnipeg a 25-21 first set advantage. In the second set The Wolfpack took advantage of several early Wesmen errors to take leads of 8-6 and 16-14 at the timeouts. The Wolfpack were able to hold off Winnipeg's attack and take the second set by a score of 25-22. The third set once again saw both teams battle for every point possible. Thompson Rivers was able to grab leads of 8-6 and 16-14 at the timeouts. The Wesmen showed why they are the number four ranked team in the country as they battled back with key kills to win set number three 25-23. In the fourth set first year outside Robin Schoebel of the Wolfpack pounded home six kills in the set to lead Thompson Rivers to a nail biting 25-23 set four victory. In the fifth and deciding set the Wolfpack took advantage of three Winnipeg errors to race out to a 8-3 lead before the teams switched sides. The Wolfpack continued to hunt down the Wesmen winning the fifth set 15-11 to complete the match one upset. Robin Schoebel led the Wolfpack with a match high 26 kills. Troy Jaggard was next with 14 kills, while Patrick Johnston was solid on defense finishing with 15 digs. Richard Wiebe led Winnipeg with 16 kills and 13 digs. Ben Schellenberg was next up with 14 kills. Game two will go Saturday night at 7:00 CST from the Duckworth Centre.


AWAY (Great Plains Division Semi-Final Best Of Three Series)

Men's Basketball @ Regina  (Game One)
Wesmen 76  Regina 73

WESMEN BEAT COUGARS TO TAKE EARLY ADVANTAGE IN PLAYOFF SERIES

The Winnipeg Wesmen gained the early advantage in the Great Plains Division semi-final by defeating the Regina Cougars 76-73 Friday night in game one of the best of three series in Regina. The Wesmen were able to hold the lead for a good part of the first half, but the Cougars went on a key 9-0 run late in the first half to send both teams to the locker room tied at 32-32. In the second half Winnipeg was able to gain an early advantage, before the Cougars went on a big 15-4 run to grab a seven point lead close to the midway point of the second half. The Wesmen were able to hold their composure and fight back to stay in the game. The Wesmen were able to hold the lead even in a wild last minutes of play. After a missed three pointer by Winnipeg, Regina grabbed the rebound and missed a shot of their own as Ivan Saric grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Saric hit one of two free throws with just 11 ticks left on the clock to give Winnipeg a 76-73 lead. The Cougars attempted a game tieing three pointer with one second left on the clock but saric came thru with a block to secure the game one victory. " It was a great team effort and a great win", said Head Coach Dave Crook. "Winning the first game in the series is huge". Matt Opalko led Winnipeg with a game high 21 points, followed by Erfan Nasajpour and Dan Shynkaryk who chipped in 14 points apiece. Saric, who returned to the lineup after missing last weeks games against Brandon finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Drew Kuzminski led the Cougars with 17 points. Game two of the best of three series will be played Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in Regina.


Saturday, February 17, 2007

HOME (Canada West Semi-Finals Best Of Three Series)

Men's Volleyball vs Thompson Rivers (Match Two)
Wesmen def Thompson Rivers 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-19)

WESMEN REGROUP TO FORCE DECIDING GAME IN SERIES

The Winnipeg Wesmen regrouped from last nights game one upset and defeated the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-19) to even the best of three Canada West semi-final series at 1-1. Things did not look good good for the Wesmen in the first set, trailing 8-6 and 16-14 at the technical timeouts. The Wesmen did close the gap to within one, but the Wolfpack reeled off six stright points on their way to winning the first set 25-18. In the second set Winnipeg fell behind 24-20 but were able to fight back to win the set 26-24 on a big Ben Schellenberg block at the net. Head Coach Larry McKay made a change in the lineup that prooved to be a big factor in the match, inserting first year middle Justin Duff, who made a huge impact on the match. The Wesmen showed their dominance in the third set racing out to a quick 5-1 lead on their way to a 25-18 set win. In the fourth set Winnipeg was able to jump ahead at both timeouts, 8-6 and 16-13, while taking advantage of several Thompson Rivers errors to win the fourth set 25-19. Fifth year outside Richard Wiebe led the Wesmen with a match high 19 kills, followed by Ben Schellenberg with 12. Justin Duff finished with six kills and four blocks. Robin Schoebel led the Wolfpack with 17 kills and 10 defensive digs. Winnipeg had 11 solo blocks, compared to two for Thompson Rivers. The third and deciding match will be played Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (Wpg time). The winner of the series will move on to the Canada West Final Four and an automatic spot in the CIS Championship.


AWAY (Great Plains Division Semi-Final Best Of Three Series)

Men's Basketball @ Regina (Game Two)
Wesmen 67  Regina 78

REGINA OUTPLAYS WESMEN TO FORCE GAME THREE

The Regina Cougars outplayed the Winnipeg Wesmen in a 78-67 victory in game two of the best of three Great Plains Division semi-final Saturday night in Regina. The victory even's the series at one game apiece. The Wesmen trailed for a better part of the first half but despite first half struggles went into halftime trailing 37-29. The Cougars went on an early 9-0 run in the second half to build their lead to 16 points. The Cougars nailed back-to -back three pointers to lead by as much as 20 points. The Wesmen came within nine points, but that was as close as they came in this contest. Fifth year forward Drew Kuzminski was a Wesmen killer, finishing with a game high 33 points, while adding 12 rebounds. Winnipeg was led by Ivan Saric and Mike James who tied for the team lead with in points with 12. James also added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Erfan Nasajpour finished with 11 points and four steals. " We fell behind and played poorly tonight", said Wesmen Head Coach Dave Crook. "Our starters struggled and we went to the bench and got great efforts from Mike James and Jeff Shynkaryk". The third and deciding game of the series will take place Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. from Regina. The winner moves on to the Great Plains Division final to face the Brandon Bobcats, currently the number one team in the country.


Sunday, February 18, 2007

HOME (Canada West Semi-Finals Best Of Three Series)

Men's Volleyball vs Thompson Rivers (Match Three)
Wesmen def Thompson Rivers 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15)

WESMEN ADVANCE TO CANADA WEST FINAL FOUR

The Winnipeg Wesmen advanced to the Canada West Final Four after defeating the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15) to win the best of three semi-final series 2-1. The Wesmen cam eout on fire in the first set racing out to leads of 8-5 and 16-10 at the set breaks. At the end of the first set first year middle Justin Duff came thru with two huge kills to propel Winnipeg to a 25-18 first set win. The Wolfpack fought back in set number two as they went up 19-13 on the Wesmen. Winnipeg was able to mount a comeback reeling off five straight points to close the gap to 19-18. The Wolfpack regrouped and eventually won the second 25-22 to even the match. In the third set Winnipeg took full advantage of several Wolfpack errors and were able to total 10 kills in the set to win the second set 25-21. The Wesmen were looking to close things out in set number four and were able to do just that keeping Thompson Rivers off balance with key blocks and timely kills to win the match ending set 25-15. Fourth year opposite Ben Schellenberg led Winnipeg with 17 kills and six blocks (three solo). Fourth year setter Dustin Addison-Schneider had a strong match for the Wesmen finishing with 41 assists and eight defensive digs. Robin Schoebel led Thompson Rivers with 13 kills. The Wesmen will head to Edmonton for the Canada West Final Four, which begins on Thursday night.


AWAY (Great Plains Division Semi-Final Best Of Three Series)

Men's Basketball @ Regina (Game Three)
Wesmen 69   Regina  71

WESMEN SEASON OVER WITH LOSS TO COUGARS

The Winnipeg Wesmen Men's Basketball Team saw their season come to an end on Sunday afternoon in Regina. The Regina Cougars defeated Winnipeg 71-69 in the third and deciding game of the Great Plains Division semi-final Sunday afternoon in Regina. The Wesmen struggled with their shooting in the first half connecting on only 32% of their shots from the field. Despite the shooting woes Regina went into halftime with a slim 29-26 lead. In a close second half neither team led by more than six points at any given time. The teams continued to trade leds back and fourth right into the final minutes of play. The Wesmen had two chances to tie the game in the final 20 seconds but missed a pair of three pointers. Ryan Roper drained a three pointer to give Winnipeg some hope trailing by only two, but Regina sank two free throws to extend their lead to four points with three seconds left. Dan Shynkaryk was fouled on a three point shot . Shynkaryk made the first two free throws but his intentional miss on the third was pulled down by Regina to seal the deal. Dan Shynkaryk led Winnipeg with 14 points. Jamal Williams led the Cougars with a game high 22 points.