Moose Jaw's Eric Soar brings home a silver medal from international event

Hockey players dream of the day they get to represent this country on an international stage.  

For Moose Jaw’s Eric Soar, 25, that dream became a reality.  

The Minot State Beavers defenseman represented Canada at the World Cup of University Hockey in Romania last week.  

He and Team Canada came home with a silver medal, losing to their arch-rival the United States 4-0 in the gold medal game.  

“It was amazing! Anytime you get that opportunity, it’s going to be something you will never forget, but it was also cool to experience it with such a great group of guys,” says Soar. “It was awesome to have that experience with them but also experience the culture and way they do things over there. It was awesome to see how another side of the world lives.” 

The eight-team tournament featured the top university players from Romania, USA, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Sweden to see who the best was within the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the European University Hockey Association (EUHA).  

Soar mentioned that it took some time to get used to the European style of hockey.  

“Playing on the big Olympic-sized ice surface physicality is a big factor for them. A lot of what they try to do is play more of a skilled and controlled puck game. The biggest thing adjusting for us was if they don’t have a good lane or entry, they will cycle the puck back and will keep winding it back until they have a clear lane or speed to beat a guy.” 

European-sized rinks are about 13 feet wider than an NHL rink, which Soar had to learn on the fly how to defend.  

“The biggest part for me as a defenseman was making sure I wasn’t getting caught too far out in certain scenarios. A big part of it was picking and choosing your battles and trying to use instinct as much as possible to say hey this is when I can and can’t go.” 

Soar mentioned that it took him a couple of games to get used to the wider rink and the European style of play.  

Team Canada dropped their opening game to the host Romanian’s but aside from the loss, Soar explains that it was an atmosphere, unlike anything he has ever seen before.  

“They had a band and a drum banging the whole time. You’re skating the puck up the ice and you’re hearing the band banging on the drum or if there was turnover the entire crowd was erupting for them. That played a huge factor.” 

The team was able to find their stride later in the tournament and earned themselves a birth in the semi-finals against Slovakia. A 6-2 win over Slovakia punched their ticket to the gold medal game against the United States.  

It wasn’t the result they were looking for, losing to the USA 4-0, but Soar notes that the score didn’t reflect how the game was played.  

“For the second [period] and the majority of the third [period] we controlled a lot of the play in their zone, we just couldn't seem to find a good lane or if we did, we couldn’t seem to finish. I know we had a couple of times where guys walked right down the slot, and we missed the net, or they got a stick on it last minute. Credit to them, they played a very solid game.” 

Soar says that right from the beginning of the tournament, the goal for Canada was to battle the USA in the gold medal game.  

“It was awesome to play a little North American style of hockey and be a little familiar with who our opponent was going to be and what they were going to bring to the table.” 

To make the experience even better Soar was joined by a few of his teammates from Minot State on Team Canada and Team USA.  

“It’s something we will always share together.” 

While in Romania, Soar said he along with his Canadian teammates felt like celebrities, as residents were eager to talk with them anywhere, they went.  

“They loved Canadians over there and always stopped to talk to us and we were kind of celebrities over there so that was really an awesome experience.” 

Soar is back in the United States and is looking forward to the next chapter in his life, as his hockey career has come to an end at Minot State.  

He is currently in his fourth year of a biology and chemistry degree and then next fall will be applying to dental school.  

His hope is that hockey will still be a part of his life in the future whether it is at a recreational or semi-professional level.