By Mark Herbert
April 26, 2010

NORWICH, VT-After ending a successful career with the Humboldt Broncos in 2009, Davidson's Tory Allan took his game down south, where his strong play helped his new team capture a title.

Allan, who played with the Broncos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) during the team's 2007-2008 run to the Royal Bank Cup, decided he wanted to continue playing after his eligibility with the team expired, which is how he found his way south of the border.

One of Allan's coaches told the Davidson native about an opportunity to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), where the speedy forward could continue to play as a student athlete, while working towards a degree.

The second son of Perry and Jeannie jumped at the opportunity and made the trip to Vermont last fall with two of his teammates from Humboldt - Scott and Steven Schroeder - and hasn't looked back.

"We hardly ever lost," Allan boasted of his new team's success. "No complaints there."

The Norwich Cadets were an impressive 26-1-4 during the season and 16-1-1 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, recording 33 points, which was good enough for third place.

Allan got off to a slow start with his new team, but it wasn't a result of not being able to adjust to the new league, rather difficulties maintaining his health in the early stages of the season.

"I hurt both knees," Allan said, referring to injuries sustained to both Medial Collateral Ligaments within the first 10 games of the year. "I had a rough go at the start."

According to Allan the calibre of play in the NCAA is comparable to what he faced while in the SJHL and had it not been for the early-season setback it could have been a very productive first season with the Cadets.

"It's relatively the same," Allan said of the skill sets of his teammates and opponents. "It's high-level hockey."

The most noticeable difference Allan encountered was the frequency and number of games.

"We only play on the weekend," Allan said and mentioned that unlike playing in the SJHA, you don't get a second chance at any teams. "We only played each team once."

In 18 games, Allan scored eight goals and set up five others for a total of 13 points, a number that the business management student said he plans to improve upon next year.

"Hopefully I can get in all of the games and tally up a few more and improve on the stats," Allan said and mentioned the team gets a lot of support from the student body. "The rink is sold out every game. The hockey's top notch."

And the Cadets were the cream of the crop, winning the NCAA's Frozen Four - a four-team, elimination tournament March 19-20 in Lake Placid, New York at the Herb Brooks Arena, that Allan and a few teammates almost missed out on due to disciplinary reasons.

The 21-year-old freshman was suspended for one game after he was found with alcohol in his dorm during the week of spring break, but thankfully for Allan his Cadets teammates were able to defeat Plattsburg State 3-2 without him, which allowed him to suit up for the Frozen Four final against St. Norbert.

"You live and learn, I guess," Allan said and plans to stay out of trouble the remainder of his four years in the program. "I should be all right. I plan to stay the full four."

The final was a double-overtime thriller that the Norwich Cadets pulled out 2-1, giving Allan another award for the mantle and was a great conclusion to a tumultuous first year.

"It was really cool, really nice play," Allan said. There was good fan support and it was a good atmosphere."

One of the dynamics that Allan has come to enjoy is the healthy mix of American and Canadian players, something that Allan said made watching the World Junior Hockey Championships and Olympic Men's hockey finals, where Team Canada and Team USA were pitted against one another, very interesting.

"There's lots of rivalries. It's friendly though," Allan said, noting there was a lot of trash talking during both games. "We throw jabs at each other, but we got the last word."

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