Extra Extra Date: Dec 09, 2012 By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com READ FULL ARTICLE
"The game was one of the more contentious of the season for the Tauros with a fight in each of the periods. Chance Creger got the better of Jake Horton in the first and Wesley Iverson won his fight with Tanner Holmquist in the third, while Clifford and Tommy Miller never really got going during their fight in the second."
Goalie Parks leads Tauros to fifth straight win December 1, 2012
By MIKE KRAFT - Staff Writer (mkraft@minotdailynews.com) , Minot Daily News READ FULL ARTICLE Minot Minotauros forward Cameron Rowat scored the lone goal of the shootout and goaltender Tyler Parks stopped all five Austin shooters to give the Tauros a 2-1 victory Friday at Maysa Arena.
Rowat, Minot's first shooter, beat Austin goaltender Nicholas Lehr between the pads and Parks did the rest for the Tauros. Parks stuffed Austin's John Simonson to seal the victory.
"The puck bounced on me a little bit so I kind of panicked and just shot it five-hole," Rowat said. "I got lucky I guess."
How Sweep It Is By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com Nov 26, 2012 READ FULL ARTICLE
Minot, ND , – The Tauros took two games from the Coulee Region Chill on Friday and Saturday night to push their win streak to four games. The streak has the Tauros four points ahead of both the Chill and Aberdeen Wings in the Central Division standings.
Friday night’s game did not start well for the Tauros. Out-shot in the first period 11-7 it was clear that the visiting Chill had not played a rivalry game the night before as the Tauros had. Things got worse for the Tauros midway through the second when the Chill a pair of goals, just over two minutes apart, to take a 2-0 lead. After the second goal, Tauros’ coach Marty Murray called his timeout and the Tauros finally woke up. Cody Milligan scored on the powerplay to cut the lead in half and then Chance Creger scored on a long blast from the point to tie the game at 18:29 of the second.
The Chill came right back at the Tauros at 2:28 when Sean Lang scored on the powerplay, the goal was his second of the game. Steven Sherman drew the Tauros even from Wes Iverson and Jake O’Borsky just three minutes later. Neither team was able to score though the Tauros kept heavy pressure on for the rest of the game out-shooting the Chill 17-5 in the third period.
Overtime passed without a shot on goal until Chance Creger fired up a shot from the blue line with 14.8 seconds remaining. The shot found the back of the net and the Tauros won 4-3.
On Saturday night the Tauros came out firing, with 20 shots in the first period. Jadin Martin redirected Iverson’s point shot on the powerplay with 1:56 remaining in the first to make it 1-0. Iverson got a goal of his own in the second when he fired a wrist shot from the leftwing boards beating Blake Cates sending him to the bench with the Tauros leading 2-0.
Early in the third Martin scored his second of the game to put the Tauros ahead 3-0. Matt Williams ended Tyler Parks’ shutout bid with just 5:07 remaining. Less than a minute later Collin Abitz set up Beau Ricketts who rang a shot off of the post then batted the rebound out of midair and into the net to push the final to 4-1 Tauros.
Three Stars of the Series: 1st Star: Jadin Martin; two goals, two assists, +2 rating.
2nd Star: Chance Creger; two goals, one assist, +5 rating.
3rd Star: Paul Sorenson; two assists, +4 rating.
Tic-tac-Tauros: Minot takes overtime thriller for third straight victory.
November 24, 2012
By ADAM LAWSON - Staff Writer (alawson@minotdailynews.com) , Minot Daily News READ FULL ARTICLE
Chance Creger's overtime slapshot Friday got past Coulee Region goalkeeper Blake Cates' reach. The goal, Creger's second of the game and season, gave this year's Tauros a 4-3 win and established team history.
..."Everything just kind of came together tonight," Creger said. "Nothing special, (we) just started shooting a little bit more, had a little bit more confidence with the shot."
Friday Finals: IceRays win big at home over Kenai River November, 23 2012, NAHL (website) Coulee Region 3 @ Minot 4 (OT) – An overtime goal from Chance Creger with just :15 seconds remaining gave Minot their third straight win as they beat the Chill in overtime on Friday, 4-3. Sean Lang scored twice for the Chill including the game’s first goal. Hunter Anderson also scored for Coulee Region, who led 2-0 at one point. However, Minot came back to tie the game at 2-2 with goals from Cody Milligan and Creger. After Lang scored his second of the game, Steven Sherman tied it for the Minotauros in the 3rd period to send the game to OT. Boxscore READ ARTICLE
The last weeks have been full of travel, beginning with an away series against Wenatchee the weekend of October 26th. We spilt the series against the best team in the league losing the first game 3-1 on an empty net and winning the second with a huge 6-3 win. One of the big game changers in those game was the effort of Tyler Parks who stood on his head and turned away a ton of shots.
After being ejected on a weak call during the first game I had to really focus on finding exactly where the line is for me to play on without going over the limit and taking major penalties. My job especially this year is to play with as much intensity and grit as possible without finding myself in the dressing room early. So they second game I reset and played much simpler and was able to be apart of our big win.
Moving on to our next weekend in Fresno against the Monsters, my hitting game finally clicked. The timing that I had been looking for really began to work and I had one of the best games of my career. It was a highlight game for the team as we won in a shoot out. The next game I was sat for a late 3rd period penalty. The final score of that game was a 6-3 loss. The team went 2-2 in our west coast road trip and finally lifted ourselves out of last place in the central division.
By: Ken Oda, minotauroshockey.com Box Score (11/9/12)
Austin, MN - "The Tauros once again took the lead this time in the third. Cody Milligan gave the Tauros a 4-3 lead at 6:49, with help from Chance Creger. Unfortunately for the Tauros the lead was short lived as just 0:21 later Jay Dickman tied the game at four. From there the goalies held strong, Tyler Parks stopped 33 of 37 in regulation and overtime, and Nicholas Lehr made 23 saves to send the game to a shootout."
Things have been going great here in Minot. I am all settled in my new billet house with Kristy Sinner and Dan Coopman. Along with my new roommate as of today, Travis Maxwell who we have just acquired in a trade from Corpus Christi. The team has really accepted me well into the group. Recent trades have made it easier being one of many "new guys" on the team. I have only played two games with the Minotauros thus far, both of which have been very exciting to say the least. In my first game against Wenatchee, who is considered to be one of the top contenders in the NAHL, I had a very good showing defensively along with a fight in a line brawl late in the second period. I received a two game suspension for the fight and returned to the line up last weekend against Fresno. In another exciting game, I was able to be extremely physical at times which actually lead to me being jumped late in the second period. I considered the the fight to be extremely cheap on the part of Karl Anderson. He declined the offer to square up a shift before and instead taking the option to sucker me from behind. All is well in the end however, the team was rewarded handsomely with a seven minute power play. The final score in that game would be 2-1 in a shootout win.
We will be taking on Aberdeen the next two weekends on Oct 12, 13, 19 and 20!
The Minotauros have brought in defenseman Chance Creger to add some size and strength the the blue line. Creger, last played for the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. An NAHL veteran Creger played in 31 games for Corpus Christi in the 2010/11 season posting a goal and a pair of assists
Time is winding down before my next journey begins in Dauphin this season! This year is by far the one I have looked forward to most since I began playing competitive hockey. The importance of this year is beyond what I can express. With two years of junior eligibility left it is time to shine and perform as the impact player I know I can be. My long time dream of playing D1 hockey is completely obtainable and is within reach. I cannot thank my coaches enough for getting me to this point. Brent Cullaton as my coach for the Junior Bison, gave me a place to play when I had no where to turn especially after a serious injury and above all put his name on the line as he recommended my call up to Corpus Chriti. Matt Huckins as my minor AA coach, taught me to read the ice and develop my mental side of the game and gave me the confidence I needed in our national championship run. Doug Smail taught me the skating skills to help me make the jump from Bantam A to Minor AA. Paul DePuydt although never coached me recommended me for the Dauphin Kings and has taught me how to be a leader. Last but certainly not least Pierre Deschene as my current trainer is giving me the edge I need to be bigger faster and stronger for this upcoming season.
I am forever grateful to all of you for all your help and I will make you all proud this next season.
My last thank you goes out to my family who has supported me throughout this journey and continues to do so. Behind every person their is a family to support them and I definitely have been blessed with mine.
"The Dauphin Kings have bulked up their blue line by adding 19 year old defenseman Chance Creger. Creger, a Colorado native, brings size and grit to the blue line. The 6’4 205 lbs right handed defenseman makes a very good first pass and has a canon of a shot. “There is no secret we want to get bigger on our back end. Chance is very similar to Hills (Who was recruited a month ago by the Kings. Hills is 6’4 220 lbs) He is a very driven individual who is in the gym all the time. His work ethic and dedication is excellent.” explains Murray."
This last weekend was an exciting one to say the least! My most anticipated tryout of the summer took place this weekend in Arnprior, Ontario for the Pembroke Lumberkings of the CCHL. It was by far my best tryout thus far! The first game came right after an hour long warm-up practice to start the weekend off. It was fast pace game with a lot more finesse than physical play which I tried to bring out as much as possible. I had a goal and 2 assists in the second game and added another assist in the third. I implemented a lot deception with the puck into my game this weekend which proved to be a great asset. My evaluation with Coach Keefe went well, he along with the rest of the coaching staff like what I brought to the table with my shot, physical play and passing. However, with only two Import roster spots available they are going to review their options and let me know their decision in two weeks.
The weekend of June 10th I attended the Kenai River Tryouts in Littleton, Colorado. The camp was a success; I had a beautiful goal on a rush in the first game and two fights on the second day. There was a great turnout for the camp with lots of competition and talent which made for a good experience and practice for the upcoming season. I was invited to their main camp after the All-star game on Sunday morning. Ironically my evaluator ended up being the Idaho Steelheads Assistant Coach whom I played against in the WSHL playoffs. He had good things to say about my physical play and confidence with the puck being the reason I made the cut. The Main Camp for Kenai River is on the weekend of July 20th in Inver Grove Heights Minnesota.
Tonight I started training at Athletic Republic at Big Bear in Denver. My brother has been training there for the past six months with Kurt McCormick and has improved tremendously in his strength on and off the ice. Kurt is a great trainer who's great at pushing you past your comfort zone and motivating. We worked on the treadmill along with some plyometrics and weightlifting. I will post some videos of the workouts above. I'll be committing to Athletic Republic once a week for the rest of the summer.
This weekend I participated in the Bismark Bobcats open tryout in Denver. I was allowed to skip the first game on Friday the 18th in order to attend my High School Graduation Ceremony. Overall the weekend was a success I had 5 assists and 3 fights in 3 games. I was lucky to have a great team that worked well together in the first two games. I made the all-star game on Sunday and was asked to attend the main camp. I had to decline the offer however, in order to save up for two tryouts in Ontario that I have been invited to. Both in the CCHL, one is in mid-June for the Pembroke Lumberkings, and the other is in July for the Cornwall Colts. I'm looking forward to heading north of the border for both these tryouts!
Now that the school year is over I am preparing my workout routines for the summer, as I try to gain some weight and stay in shape.
During the season the Boulder Bison earned the second seed in the Mountain Division WSHL playoffs this year. Our first series was against the Cheyenne Stampede two weekends ago. We quickly eliminated them with a sweep in a 5-1 win Friday night and a 7-1 win Saturday night. I recorded three assists against Cheyenne, two of which were on the power play.
After the sweep we directed our attention to the Idaho Steelheads. We had our bus ride up late Wednesday night and pulled into McCall Idaho around 7 Thursday. Our morning skate Friday morning got us prepared and relaxed for the series and the team was focus and prepared. Friday night’s game was a great one. We stuck to our systems throughout the game and held a 1-0 lead the entire game until about 8 minutes left when we extended the lead to 2-0. Unfortunately we took a little breath with about 4 minutes left in the game and Idaho scored 3 goals in the last minutes to win 3-2. As a team we prepared ourselves for Saturday’s game and put that heartbreaking loss behind us. Although the same situation happened again late in the game when we lost a 2-0 lead again. Behind 3-2 late in the game Dylan Meier gave us a clinching goal with under a minute left to send us to OT. We went through 2 overtime periods before Chris Guidotti scored with 10 minutes left in the second overtime to win the game.
Unfortunately after such a great win we fell in the final game 4-2 with an empty net after Preston James led us with 2 goals late in the game as we fought for a comeback after being down 3-0. The Bison had a great season and I was honored to be a part of the team in playoffs. Our coaches Brent Cullaton and Derek Armstrong taught me, along with the rest of my teammates, some extremely valuable skills and values this year. I am sure I speak for the rest of the team when I say that we sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with two coaches so knowledgeable and experienced.
I now set my sights on next year. After being out with my hip for 6 months the 7 games I played have barely begun to quench my thirst and passion that has accumulated over the past months. I intend to continue training and preparing my options for next year.
In the last couple months much has happened. In early January I began skating with the Junior Bison with full pads, at that point my hip was still very fragile and pushing it was not an option. I worked hard with therapy to strengthen my entire body back to hockey standards with much help from my therapist Jennifer Knox and both my coaches, Brent Cullaton and Derek Armstrong who were all patient and helpful with what was best for my recovery. Throughout the entire process there was always the hope of salvaging something from this season and coming back to play at the end of the year. However, this idea was mere hope for keeping spirits high for myself and my career rather than a serious thought. Originally I was supposed to be recovering for 8-10 months and my surgeon, Dr. Brian White, seemed to be very set on no sooner than 8 months. However, since January my hip has improved dramatically and returning for playoffs seemed to be more and more of an option. I gave my doctor a call in early February to inquire about my return to sports and his recommended release from his care. To my surprise he was supportive of the idea and said that the opportunity of having playoff experience was worth coming back early and my hip was fully healed.
I dressed for 6 games since the call and was in the rotation for 2. The first period against the New Mexico Renegades was a little nerve racking after 6 months without playing, I made some simple mistakes that I usually would not, but the second game I gained some confidence and performed close to my full capability. I'm looking forward to playoffs this weekend which will be my first junior postseason experience! I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in this recovery especially my family who has had to deal with a injured hockey player going through some serious withdrawals, I'm sure that took more patience than I realize.
Extra Extra
This last weekend was an exciting one to say the least! My most anticipated tryout of the summer took place this weekend in Arnprior, Ontario for the Pembroke Lumberkings of the CCHL. It was by far my best tryout thus far! The first game came right after an hour long warm-up practice to start the weekend off. It was fast pace game with a lot more finesse than physical play which I tried to bring out as much as possible. I had a goal and 2 assists in the second game and added another assist in the third. I implemented a lot deception with the puck into my game this weekend which proved to be a great asset. My evaluation with Coach Keefe went well, he along with the rest of the coaching staff like what I brought to the table with my shot, physical play and passing. However, with only two Import roster spots available they are going to review their options and let me know their decision in two weeks.
