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| The Huskies football team will now be led by Scott Flory as head coach. |
The University of Saskatchewan stuck to the familiar when it
came to naming a new head coach for its Huskies football program.
During a news conference on Monday, the Huskies announced
that alumnus Scott Flory would be the new head coach of the football team.
Flory, who had been the team’s offensive coordinator for three seasons, had
been serving as a co-head coach since Jan. 12 along with Brian Guebert.
U of S had been in search of a new full-time football head
coach after long time bench boss Brian Towriss stepped down back on Dec. 19,
2016 after a career lasting 33 years.
Since retiring after playing a star role on the offensive
line for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes from 1999 to 2013, Flory joined the Huskies
coaching staff a short time later and was often viewed as the man that would
ultimately be Towriss’s successor. That vision played out on Monday, when Flory
was named head coach.
Flory was picked by a selection committee that was chaired by Chad London, who is the dean of the U of S College of Kinesiology, former Huskie and current CFL player Patrick Neufeld, Football Canada president Kim Wudrick and U of S women’s basketball head coach Lisa Thomaidis.
Before having a storied career winning three Grey Cup
championships and being named a CFL all-star nine times with the Alouettes,
Flory was a star on the Huskies offensive line from 1994 to 1998 and helped the
team win Vanier Cup championships in 1996 and 1998. The 40-year-old Regina
product was really a nice safe selection on a lot of fronts.
First, he maintains a link to the program’s past successes,
and it feels natural that he should be handed the chance to bring the team into
the future. Flory has a whole host of experiences from his CFL days to bring
into his new role. He said there would be a shift in the approach to how
football is handled at the U of S and said all aspects will be under the
microscope to see what improvements can be made.
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| Quarterback Kyle Siemens (#19) calls signals for the Huskies last season. |
There was a large feeling a force out took place, when
Towriss stepped down. The uproar resulted in a joint statement being made by U
of S president Peter Stoicheff and Towriss on Dec. 27, 2016, where Stoicheff
apologized for how the news of Towriss’s resignation was handled.
The statement seemed to calm a lot of the uproar around
Towriss’s situation. Flory’s appointment will likely help other disillusioned
alums rally back around the Huskies logo. The memories athletes make being part
of a program like the one the Huskies run creates long lasting bonds and
loyalties for those involved with the program’s various teams.
Flory’s presence creates a solid line of succession that
extends from Val Schneider, to Towriss and now to Flory at the head coach
position.
Also, Flory knows all of the returning players, which helps
ease uncertainty in that area. The Huskies finished with a 5-3 regular season
record in 2016, but were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs in
recording an eighth consecutive post-season loss.
Even with that in mind, the Huskies really aren’t that far
from becoming a team that can win the Vanier Cup again. In the current era
where the rules allow for pass-happy football, the Huskies just need to make a
few more key plays offensively and force one or two more turnovers defensively
to become a club that goes all the way.
Flory doesn’t have to take on an extensive rebuild. He just
needs to find the right tweaks and success could possibly come sooner than
anyone thinks.
Huskies draw Lions at University Cup
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| Josh Roach motors up ice for the Huskies. |
On Sunday, the Huskies found out they will be the sixth seed
at the University Cup and will face the third seeded York University Lions in
one of two quarter-final matches on Friday. The University Cup begins on
Thursday at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton with the event’s
first two quarter-final games. For the third straight year, the University Cup
will be played under an elite-eight single elimination format.
The Lions advanced to nationals after winning the OUA
championship last Saturday with a 4-3 victory at home over the Queen’s
University Gaels. The Lions posted an 18-6-4 record during the regular season
and a 7-1 mark in their OUA playoff run.
Third-year defenceman Derek Sheppard led the Lions in
regular season scoring with 12 goals and 20 assists. York’s highest scoring
forward was Trevor Petersen, who was in his second year of eligibility. The
Thornhill, Ont., product piled up 11 goals and 20 assists during the regular
season.
Saskatoon product Mack Shields, who played in the WHL from
2012 to 2016 with the Calgary Hitmen, Prince George Cougars and Medicine Hat
Tigers, was the Lions main man in goal. Shields, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs
195 pounds, started 18 regular season contests recording a 13-4-3 record, a
1.78 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and one shutout.
The Huskies qualified for nationals after making the
best-of-three Canada West championship final, which they lost to the U of
Alberta Golden Bears 2-1. The Dogs topped the Canada West standings with a
21-5-2 record and were 3-2 in the Canada West playoffs.
U of S will be looking for a post-season breakout from its
top forward line of Logan McVeigh, Michael Sofillas and Josh Roach at the
University Cup. The trio combined for one goal and three assists in five games
in the Canada West playoffs.
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| Jordon Cooke holds the fort in goal for the Huskies. |
Jesse Forsberg, who was named the top defenceman in Canada
West, led all Huskies blue-liners with 11 goals and 16 assists in the regular
season. Jordon Cooke, who was named the top goaltender in Canada West for a
second straight year, was impressive in the regular season posting a 19-4-2 record,
a 1.94 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and four shutouts.
While the Huskies were rated second in the U Sports top 10
rankings for most of the season, the fact they were given the sixth seed at the
University Cup shouldn’t be that big of a worry. The seed likely came from the
fact the Golden Bears were given the top seed, and seeding the Huskies sixth
means the only time those two team could meet is in the tournament final this
coming Sunday.
The second seed was given to the Atlantic University Sport
champion St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.
At the University Cup, every team is good, and anything can
happen in a single-elimination format. The Huskies have as good of a chance to
win as any squad in the eight-team field.
Huskies women’s hoops team can have no regrets
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| Sabine Dukate, left, drives to the hoop for the Huskies. |
Hitting the court with a roster that contained six rookies
and four second-year players, the Huskies, who won the U Sports title a year
ago, really overachieved posting a 15-5 record in the regular season earning a
second straight Canada West title. The Huskies grew by leads and bounds as the
season moved on, but their run of success came to an end at the U Sports championship
tournament in Victoria, B.C.
Last Thursday, the Huskies fell to the Universite Laval
Rouge et Or 69-59. Rookie forward Summer Masikewich led the Huskies with 17
points.
In a consolation semifinal last Friday, the Huskies downed
the University of Cape Breton Capers 65-51. Second-year guard Sabine Dukate
topped the Huskies with 19 points.
In the consolation final last Saturday, the Huskies dropped
a 79-76 decision to the U of Regina Cougars. Fourth-year forward Megan
Lindquist topped the Huskies with 18 points.
Despite not having a better showing at nationals, the
2016-17 campaign will go down as a special one for head coach Lisa Thomaidis
and her crew. The best for this generation of the Huskies women’s basketball
team is still to come.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this, feel free to email them to
stankssports@gmail.com.
