aa aaereyiae Royals Weekly Update, get pumped for Provincial By Josh Martin, Sports Editor ell, here you have it, your Royals at a glance. The regular season has come to an end for both the women’s and men’s Douglas College soccer teams and the playoffs have already arrived, and by the time this article is published, the playoffs will have already passed as well. Here’s a look at what’s going on in the world of sports. The men’s team had a successful year once again, finishing strong with a win in their final game against the UBCO Heat by a score of 3-2, which means that they remain undefeated heading into the provincials with a total of 10 wins and two ties in 12 games with a plus/minus +35 and 32 points. With that record the Royals clinched first place in Group A, securing themselves a bye right into the semi-final game which was held this past weekend on Saturday at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey. The Royals are the favourites going into the Provincials which bring up the big question of whether or not they have got what it takes to take home the Provincial Championship for the second consecutive year. And if they do come out as the winners, how far will they go in the Nationals? They would have faced either the Capilano Blues or the UNBC Timberwolves depending on who won last Friday’s quarterfinal match. Unfortunately the women’s team didn’t make the playoffs, losing their final two games, 1-0 against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack and 2-0 against the UBCO Heat. Those final two losses cut their season short and ended their post- season dreams. If they had a single win or even a tie in either of those two games, they would have made the playoffs, but unfortunately did not. The Royals finished their season at fourth position in Group A with 12 points, a record of 3-3-6 and a plus/ minus -6. The Royals Badminton team had a successful outing to start off their first competition of the year held at Capilano University. They managed to come out winning four of the five events after going a perfect - 5-0 in the round robin. Rey Luo reached both the men’s singles and doubles events, but unfortunately didn’t win the singles match final against the number one seed, Peter Huang of Capilano. However, he was successful in the doubles event with Darren Hong. They combined for a fantastic dominating performance to take the men’s doubles event without dropping a single game. Hong and Stephanie Ko. met up in the mixed doubles to take it home while RuiLin Huang won her ninth consecutive BCCAA tournament in the women’s singles. After Hong’s efforts, he was named the BCCAA Badminton male player of the week finishing with a 12-1 overall record over the course of the tournament. & a aioe we POR T'S. RuiLin Huang also won the doubles event, paired up with teammate Melody Liang. She played the maximum number of matches and finished the tournament with a perfect 13-0 record, which includes the round robin. Huang was named the BCCAA Badminton female player of the week. The Royals are ranked number one and are now preparing themselves for the Thompson Rivers University tournament in Kamloops on November 13 - 14. RuiLin Huang Schneider a refreshing change By Garth McLennan ne of the primary reasons O™ the Detroit’s and the San Jose’s of the NHL have been able to sustain a continued level of excellence through the years has to do with one word: depth. Season after successful season, teams like the Red Wings have been remarkably adept at restocking and replenishing their main roster through sharp drafting and player development procedures, shrewd free-agent signings and a little luck at all positions. In their 40 year existence, the Vancouver Canucks have struggled to achieve that same level of across the board player depth, but for the first time in as long as anyone can remember; this season looks and feels different. On defence, the club has managed to put together a promising stable of young and relatively inexpensive options at the minor league level to act as comforting roster options while at the same time they have significantly strengthened their major league defence corps with the additions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard (granted, those two haven’t been able to stay on the ice so far, but it’s still early). However, while the squad’s improved defence has garnered the bulk of the headlines; one area that has also gotten substantially better has been goaltending. Roberto Luongo has been hot and cold so far this season, but one of the pleasant surprises during October has been the play of backup goalie Cory Schneider, who suited up twice for the Canucks and appeared in relief of Luongo once, and in that time posted a sparkling 0.86 GAA while securing two confidence inspiring wins in which he was nothing short of spectacular. Now, what makes this so neat to watch is the fact that in the six years since Schneider was drafted 26" overall by the Canucks back in 2004 out of Phillips Academy, the Marblehead, Massachusetts native has been continually touted as blue- chip prospect, and after over half a decade, it is nice to see that finally begin to pay off. After Schneider’s initial appearances this year, and especially after Luongo didn’t exactly open the campaign in Vezina Trophy form, the Vancouver media predictably announced the team’s new “goaltending controversy’. While it is true that Schneider has outplayed his counterpart in the early stages of the season, the fact is that this is still Roberto Luongo’s team, and will be for the foreseeable future. However, that doesn’t mean Schneider’s presence on the roster is solely to improve his trade stock. While Schneider will have to work miracles to supplement Luongo, it is equally true that having the 24-year old playing in such fine form is a welcome change from years past, and an enviable insurance policy. Since Luongo’s arrival here almost five years ago, the Canucks have had trouble digging up a suitable backup goaltender while Schneider apprenticed in the minors. While Schneider was establishing himself as the best goalie in the AHL (he was named the AHL’s top goalie in 2009 and at the same time led the Manitoba Moose to the Calder Cup finals that same year), Vancouver ran through a laundry list of bargain-basement and quickly discarded journeyman netminders. During that time period, an incredible amount of pressure was heaped on Luongo’s shoulders to carry the franchise, and he didn’t always handle it well, on or off the ice. Now however, Luongo has a very capable and proven young goalie who has experienced sustained regular season and playoff success at every level he’s played at and who is clearly pushing him. That can only be a good thing for Luongo, Schneider, and the Canucks, who for the first time in years will never have to worry about who’s guarding the cage, whether their starter is playing or not. ; Cory Seen 21