(Sherwood Park, AB) – The Sherwood Park Crusaders Junior A Hockey Club is pleased to announce that 1996 born defenceman Ben Sowa has committed to the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association for the 2017-18 season.
The Edmonton, AB product spent all four of his seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Crusaders, appearing in 209 regular season games, scoring 32 goals and 72 assists for a total of 104 points and amassing 498 PIMs over his junior career.
“I’m really excited to begin my post-secondary journey at Concordia University. My time in the AJHL and with the Crusaders has certainly prepared me for what lies ahead on and off the ice,” said Sowa.
Sowa finished sixth in team scoring in 2016-17. Netting 11 goals and career highs in assists and points with 33 and 44 respectively. The veteran defenceman was also named the Crusaders Captain on September 14th, 2016.
“Ben had an outstanding season with us in his final year as a Crusader. He led our back end in points and found a way to contribute in different ways every night. We are excited to see him take the next step in his future, and wish him the best of luck at Concordia,” says Crusaders Head Coach Adam Manah.
The Thunder are coached by Edmonton, AB native Dan Glegloff and in 2016-17 finished sixth in the ACAC Standings with a record of 8-20-1, losing in the first round of the playoffs two games to none against SAIT.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Thunder and as well with Dan. I was able to play for him on two different teams at the Bantam and Midget AAA levels with the South Side Athletic Club in Edmonton,” noted Sowa.
“We are thrilled to be adding a player of Ben's caliber to our roster. Ben was one of the top defenceman in the AJHL last season and will be a huge addition to our blue line. Ben is also a tremendous person with excellent leadership attributes and we look forward to his contributions to our school community,” said Glegloff.
The blueliner will join former Crusaders David Randall and Adam Moghrabi at Concordia and is enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts Program.
With the Sowa commitment to Concordia, the Crusaders now have five players committed to post-secondary institutions for the 2017-18 season as defenceman Chase Torontow is committed to UNLV of the ACHA, forward Gage Joel is committed to Central Oklahoma of the ACHA and forwards Tyler Maltby and Tanner Younghans are committed to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology of the ACAC.