World Financial Group

The BCHL Nanaimo Clippers, proudly sponsored by World Financial Group, took a road trip to face four teams in the Interior Conference.

Tuesday saw the Clippers take on the Westside Warriors.  The game only featured a combined seven power plays.  In fact, both teams scored their lone regulation goal on the PP (Luc Olivier Blain doing the honors for Nanaimo).  Alas, the game was taken by Westside in OT 2-1.  Goalie Loic Boivin was named the Second Star of the Game for blocking 18 out of 20 shots.

The next night saw our WFG “Junior A” hockey team take on the Penticton Vees.  And this game was all “Vees”, winning this one 4-2.  BCHL All-Star Cody Bremner scored both Nanaimo goals unassisted (one shorthanded) and was named the Second Star of the Game.

Friday night’s opponent, the Trail Smoke Eaters, probably should have changed their name to the “Clipper Eaters”.  They scored six goals in the first period to our one goal by Colton Cyr on the power play.  The defense held Trail scoreless in the second while adding more goals by Teal Burns and Cody Bremner.  However, despite another goal from Bremner and one by Kiefer McNaughton, the Smoke Eaters picked up three more and won this contest 9-5.  Bremner was named the Third Star of the Game.

And Saturday saw our guys taking on the Vernon Vipers.  The Clippers kept this one very close through two periods, thanks to a goal by Luc Olivier Blain and two by Cody Bremner.  Alas, despite killing four penalties, the Vipers struck to win 5-3.  Again, Bremner was named the Third Star of the Game.

Although our WFG Nanaimo Clippers seem to be in an oh-for-December slump, the month isn’t over yet.  All BCHL teams will be taking a week’s hiatus for Christmas.  After the break, the Clippers hit the road to take on Surrey on Dec. 29, Langley on the 30^th and the Clippers end 2009 against the Powell River Kings.  Happy Holidays from wfgsports.com!

The USA Luge team, sponsored by World Financial Group, has announced their 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic team.  Six team members will compete individually and four will compete as doubles teams.  The team is comprised of:

• Tony Benshoff of White Bear Lake, Minn.  Tony finished fourth in the 2006 Torino Olympics.  He has won 37 international medals sliding for USA Luge, making him the all-time singles medals leader.
• Chris Mazdzer of Saranac Lake, N.Y.  Chris won the 2005 Youth A men’s singles World Cup and has won two team event silver medals.  In addition, he also won the 2007 Verizon US National Championship title and the 2008 Verizon US Junior National Championship.
• WFG-adopted athlete Bengt Walden of Westborough, Mass.  Bengt’s most recent Olympic experience was sliding for Sweden.  This will be his first time sliding for the red, white and blue in Olympic competition.  Bengt won the 2008 Verizon US National Champion title.
• Julia Clukey of Augusta, ME.  Julia is a two-time US Junior Silver Medalist and two-time US national luge start champion.  Last season, Julia was the US National Champion silver medalist and placed fifth in the World Championship.  Sliding since 1999, Vancouver represents Julia’s first Olympics.
• Erin Hamlin of Remsen, NY.  Erin is the current reigning women’s world champion, winning earlier this year in Lake Placid.  Erin won the US national championships in 2008 and 2009, and most recently placed third in a World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway.
• Megan Sweeney of Suffield, Conn.  Megan is a two-time US Juniors National Champion and has won 10 individual junior’s medals in her career.  While this is her first Winter Olympics, she is no stranger to Olympics experience.  She won gold and silver medals in the 1998 junior Olympics in karate.
• WFG-adopted athletes Mark Grimmette of Muskegon, Mich. and Brian Martin of Palo Alto, Calif.  This team has won 65 medals in international competition, including the bronze medal in the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the silver medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics!  Earlier in 2009, Mark and Brian won the bronze medal in the World Cup and were featured in Sports Illustrated. 
• Christian Niccum of Woodinville, Wash. and Dan Joye of San Jose, Calif.  Christian and Dan were the 2008 US champions and the 2009 US silver medalists and recently contributed to a team relay silver medal in Germany.  While Dan has been an Olympic participant before, this is Christian’s first trip! 

Opening ceremonies, featuring these fine athletes in the parade of nations, are Feb. 12.  Men’s competition will begin on the Feb.13, women’s on the Feb. 15 and doubles on the Feb. 17.  Be sure to read wfgsports.com for all the latest on our USA Luge team!

Lillehammer, Norway was the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics and to this day the lovely Nordic town continues to host winter sporting events.  Recently, Lillehammer was site of Luge Nations and World Cup racing, which included the World Financial Group-sponsored USA Luge team for their last meet before Christmas.

In the men’s Nations Cup race, WFG-adopted athlete Bengt Walden finished fifth with a time of 50.656 seconds, only 0.339 seconds off first place.  Chris Mazdzer finished in 13^th place with a time of 50.942 seconds and Trent Matheson came in 19^th with a time of 51.501 seconds.  Among the women, Megan Sweeney finished third with a time of 49.021, only 0.455 seconds off the lead.  Her sister Emily placed 7^th with a time of 49.154 seconds.  Julia Clukey, returning to competition after a training injury, finished 11^th with a time of 49.347 seconds and WFG-adopted athlete Kate Hansen finished 17^th with a time of 49.752 seconds.  Doubles sliding featured the US team of Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finishing second with a time of 48.513, only 0.172 seconds off the lead.  Not far behind them was the team of Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall, coming in fifth with a time of 48.867.  And right behind them were WFG-adopted athletes Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, whose 48.971 earned them sixth place.

In World Cup sliding, Tony Benshoof finished best among the US men with a two-slide combined time of 1:41.399, earning him ninth place.  Bengt Walden finished 21^st with a time of 1:42.001 and Chris Mazdzer came in 28^th with his time of 1:42.883.  The women had four sliders.  Leading the US was current world champion Erin Hamlin and her two-slide time of 1:37.616 earned her third place and a bronze medal.  Megan Sweeney finished 13^th with a time of 1:38.601, while her sister Emily wasn’t far behind her for 16^th place with a time of 1:38.859.  Julia Clukey finished 19^th with a time of 1:39.209.  Doubles featured the team of Niccum and Joye coming in fourth with a time of 1:37.141, Mortensen and Griffall in 12^th with a time of 1:37.743 and Grimmette and Martin finishing 13^th with a time of 1:37.936.

The USA Luge team will slide next on January 2-3 in Koenigssee, Germany for a World Cup and Team Relay.  Keep reading here for the latest on your USA Luge team! 

The World Financial Group-sponsored Ferbey 4 entered the last day of the round robin of the 2009 Roar of the Rings with a 3-2 record.  Randy, David, Scott and Marcel had two opponents left to determine who would go to the semi-finals to represent Canada for Olympic Gold. 

Their first match of the day was opposite the Coldwater, ON rink of Glenn Howard, who had yet to be defeated during the tournament.  Randy and his team had the hammer and used it early to take a 2-0 lead.  The match went back and forth until the eighth end, when Mr. Howard scored two rocks to force extra ends.  This proved beneficial to Howard’s rink as they emerged victorious with a score of 8-6.  Among the Ferbeys, Marcel had the best shooting with 95% accuracy.

The loss meant the guys with the WFG curling shirts would have to win against the fellow Edmonton rink of Kevin Koe, who had the hammer.  Koe used it to slide to a four rock score after the second end and did not look back to take the match 9-4.  Unfortunately, this defeat meant the Ferbey rink was knocked out of the tournament.

But take heart, Ferbey fans, as we’ll be seeing the boys at the National Grand Slam in Guleph, ON January 6-10 with coverage on CBC.  Good luck to our “Kings of Canadian Curling”.

This past weekend was kind of unusual for the World Financial Group-sponsored Nanaimo Clippers.  Normally, you’d expect the Clippers to play two or three games on a weekend but our “Junior A” team only played one game, a home contest against the Langley Chiefs.

The scoring started early in the contest, with Langley scoring the first goal.  But the Clippers’ Brayden Jaw answered that goal with one of his own in the first.  The second period saw no scoring, saving the action for the third when the Clippers’ Carson Schell made the score 2-1.  But Langley forced overtime and took the contest 3-2.  However, Nanaimo’s goalie Loic Boivin was named the First Star of the Game for blocking 29 out of 32 shots.

The Clippers will be on the road for four games before the Christmas break.  Tuesday sees our guys opposite the Westside Warriors.  Wednesday will be against the Penticton Vees.  Friday will be the Trail Smoke Eaters and Saturday night will see the aforementioned Vipers. 

In additional hockey news, Loic Boivin was named to the BCHL All-Star team along with forward Cody Bremner.  Both will be on the ice this January 13 at Frank Crane Arena in an unusual all-star format.  The Vernon Vipers, the current defending Royal Bank Cup champions, will be taking on the all-stars from the rest of the BCHL.  Congratulations and best of luck from your friends at World Financial Group!

The World Financial Group-sponsored USA Luge team had their third World Cup and Nations Cup race of the season last weekend in Altenberg, Germany.

In the men’s Nation Cup race, USA Luge member Chris Mazdzer finished best among the team.  His slide of 55.838 seconds, only 0.817 seconds off first place, earned him 15^th place and a spot in the World Cup race later that day.   Also qualifying for the World Cup race was WFG-adopted athlete Bengt Walden.  He finished 18^th with a time of 55.971 seconds.  Trent Matheson finished 30^th with a time of 56.754 seconds.

The women’s Nations Cup race featured three USA Luge team members.  Leading the pack among them was Megan Sweeney.  Her time of 54.323 seconds, only 0.679 seconds off the lead, was good enough for 10^th place and a qualification for World Cup racing.  Not too far behind Megan was her sister Emily.  She finished in 14^th place with a time of 54.500 seconds, which also qualified her for World Cup racing.  WFG-adopted athlete Kate Hansen finished 24^th with a time of 55.784 seconds.  Sadly, Julia Clukey suffered an injury during training and had to withdraw.

The Doubles Nations Cup racing featured two USA Luge teams.  Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finished fifth with a time of 42.774 seconds, only 0.158 seconds off first.  Not far behind them were Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall with a time of 43.090 seconds for 8^th place.  Both teams qualified for the World Cup race.

In the World Cup men’s race, Tony Benshoof finished best among the US Men.  His combined time of 1:49.517 earned him 10^th place and was only 0.57 seconds out of first.  WFG-adopted athlete Bengt Walden finished 18^th with a time of 1:50.111.  Chris Mazdzer was close behind Bengt with a time of 1:50.212 for 20^th.

Women’s World Cup racing featured three USA Luge team members.  Finishing best among them was Erin Hamlin.  The current World Champion finished in 5^th place with a combined time of 1:48.522, only 0.967 seconds away from first.  Emily Sweeney’s 1:48.991 earned her 13^th while her sister Megan came in 17^th with a time of 1:49.407.  With Erin’s run, she earned qualification for the USA Olympic Team.  Way to go Erin!

Among the doubles World Cup sliders, USA’s Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finished best among the USA Luge team with a ninth place time of 1:25.086, only 0.626 seconds off first.  WFG-adopted athletes Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin finished 15^th with a time of 1:25.983.  And doubles team Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall finished 20^th with a time of 1:40.212.

Before the USA Luge team left Germany, a team relay race was held.  The US team consisted of Tony for the men, Erin for the women and Christian and Dan for the doubles.  The power of “the whoosh” was behind our relay racers as their combined time of 2:26.680 was only 0.938 seconds off of Germany’s first place run.

The WFG-sponsored Luge team will next visit Lillehammer, Norway for sliding on December 12 and 13.  Keep reading here for all the latest on “the fastest sport on ice.”  

November was a hot month for the World Financial Group-sponsored Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL.  Would their winning ways continue into December?

Their first game was a home contest Wednesday night against the Victoria Grizzlies.  Despite having the home ice advantage, this game was all Grizzlies, who won 7-4.  Clippers’ Forward Andrew Gladiuk scored two power play goals in the second to make the game 3-2 by the second intermission.  Also scoring for the WFG-sponsored team were Myles Fitzgerald and Colton Cyr (shorthanded).  Gladiuk was named the Third Star of the Game.

Friday night saw the Surrey Eagles visiting Frank Crane Arena on the night of the annual “Teddy Bear Toss”.  Thanks to Carson Schell’s power play goal early in the first period, the crowd didn’t have to wait long to toss their stuffed animals.  (FYI - The Greater Nanaimo Toy Drive received enough teddy bears to require an SUV and a pickup truck to haul them away.)  The rest of the game was evenly matched with Clippers goals also scored by Mike Domsodi, Victor Newell and Colton Cyr.  Cyr’s goal, for which he was later named second star of the game, was unassisted and forced two overtime periods.  But, unfortunately for Clippers’ fans, Surrey emerged victorious by a 5-4 score. 

Sunday featured a change of pace, as the WFG-sponsored Junior A hockey team hosted a matinee against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.  And Nanaimo ended the first period with goals by Teal Burns and Victor Newell, the latter being scored on the power play.  But the rest of the game was all Alberni Valley, who won 3-2 in OT.  But Clippers forward Victor Newell was named the First Star of the Game for his hard playing.

The Clippers next play Saturday Evening against the Langley Chiefs at home before embarking on a four game road trip. Your fans at World Financial Group wish you continued success in December and beyond.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the World Financial Group-sponsored USA Luge team participated in the second Nations Cup and World Cup matches of the season in Igls, Austria.  Was Igls ready for “the fastest sport on ice”?

Nations Cup racing featured two sliders among the US Men.  Chris Mazdzer finished in 13^th place with a time of 49.298 seconds, which was only 0.378 seconds slower than first place finisher Daniel Pfister from Austria.  This time was good enough to qualify Chris for the World Cup race later that weekend.  Sadly, however, fellow US teammate Trent Matheson was disqualified.

Among the women sliding in the Nations Cup, US team member Julia Clukey finished second with a time of 40.219, a mere 0.168 seconds behind Germany’s Corinna Martini.  Not far behind Julia was Emily Sweeney, whose 40.324 seconds finish was good for ninth place.  Immediately behind Emily was WFG-adopted athlete Kate Hansen, finishing tenth with a time of 40.324.  And Emily’s sister Megan came in 13^th place with a time of 40.437.  Julia, Kate and Megan all qualified for the World Cup race based on their performance here.

Doubles sliding in the Nations Cup featured a USA team finishing first.  The team of Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall qualified for the World Cup race with a time of 39.664 seconds.  Fellow teammates Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finished fifth with a time of 39.918 and also qualified for the World Cup race.

When World Cup racing commenced, the USA Luge team hit the course with anticipation.  For the US women, Erin Hamlin finished best with a combined 1:19.858 time, good for ninth place.  Julia Clukey finished 12^th with a time of 1:20.061.  Right behind her was Kate Hansen, whose time of 1:20.169 earned her 13^th place.  Rounding out the US ladies was Megan Sweeney, coming in 22^nd with a time of 1:20.692, which was 1.463 seconds removed from first place.

The men had three sliders in the World Cup race.  The best finisher among the US team was Tony Benshoof, who finished 10^th with a combined time of 1:38.225- only 0.267 seconds away from first place.  WFG-adopted athlete Bengt Walden finished 19^th with a time of 1:38.463 and Chris Mazdzer came in 32nd with a time of 1:41.616.

For the doubles competition, the best US team to finish was Matthew Mortensen and Preston Griffall.  Their time of 1:19.148 was good for 8^th place and only 0.517 seconds off first.  Not far behind them was the team of Christian Niccum and Dan Joye, whose 1:19.502 was good for 12^th.  Finally, WFG-adopted athletes Mark Grimmette and Brian Johnson finished 18^th with a time of 1:19.741.

In a relay event, the US team of Bengt, Erin, Matthew and Preston finished fourth with a total time of 2:12.267, which was only 1.403 seconds off first.

Up next for the USA Luge team will be a World Cup and Team Relay race held next weekend in Altenberg, Germany.  Keep reading here for all the latest on the USA Luge Team.

The World Financial Group-sponsored Ferbey 4 are on a tear (or is that a roar?) at the 2009 “Roar of the Rings” in their hometown of Edmonton, AB.  A 3-1 record currently has our guys in a three way tie for second place among two other Edmonton rinks.  How would day four fare for our “Kings of Canadian Curling”?

The only match this day for Randy, David, Scott and Marcel was the fellow Edmonton rink Kevin Martin.  The first end resulted in a no-starter for either team.  But Martin’s rink, which had the hammer, jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second end and never looked back.  Our guys in the WFG curling shirts put up a good fight, but ended up losing 9-5.  Marcel was the best shooter among both teams at 97% accuracy. 

The last day of the round robin portion of the Roar has the tied for third Ferbey 4 starting the morning opposite current first place holder Glenn Howard out of Coldwater, ON.  Later in the afternoon, Randy and the guys take on the fellow Edmonton rink of Kevin Koe.  Should tie-breakers need to be played, they will begin in the evening.  Let’s keep cheering on our team to Olympic Gold! 

The World Financial Group-sponsored Ferbey 4, the “Kings of Canadian Curling”, entered the third day of the 2009 Roar of the Rings with a 1-1 record.  With two matches on day three, how would the rocks slide?

Up first for Randy, David, Scott and Marcel was Pat Simmons’s rink out of Moose Jaw, SK.  The Ferbey 4 had the hammer and used it early to win 9-4 in nine ends.  Our men in the WFG curling shirts had two 3-rock ends in the match and Marcel threw an accuracy rating of 94%.

Later that afternoon, our curling rink took on the rink of Jason Gunnlaugson from Beausejour, MB.  Jason’s rink had the hammer and used it to jump out to a 3-0 lead after two ends.  The Ferbey 4, however, kept the match close until the ninth end, when they scored five rocks to take the match 9-4!  Our rink averaged 88% shooting accuracy.

Currently, our WFG-sponsored curling rink is in a three way tie for second place with a 3-1 record.  Today, our team faces fellow Edmonton rink Kevin Martin at 1 PM MT.  Take the house, guys!