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| Goalie Jessica Vance, left, gives a fist bump with Kennedy Harris. |
As a result, the sophomore goalie from the University of
Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team should be the most valuable player in
the Canada West Conference.
Vance, who stands 5-foot-7, had an impressive first campaign
with the Huskies posting a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average, a .964
save percentage and nine shutouts. She topped the conference in most wins, the
best save percentage and most shutouts.
Her shutout total equals former University of Alberta Pandas
netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in the
Canada West Conference in one U Sports regular season. McCullough posted nine
shutouts in the 2000-01 campaign.
Lindsey Post, who is another former Pandas netminder, holds
the Canada West record for most shutouts in one U Sports regular season at 10
recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.
 |
| Jessica Vance topped Canada West in wins, save percentage and shutouts. |
The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product played a key
part in helping the Huskies finish second overall in Canada West with a 19-7-2
record. The 19 wins marked a new Huskies team record for most victories in one
regular season. That finish allows the Huskies to host a best-of-three Canada
West semifinal series that is slated to start with Game 1 on February 23 at
1:30 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.
Since the 2013-14 season, the Huskies have still been good
finishing fifth in 2014-15 and fourth in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17
campaigns. They were in search of that extra edge to push them back into one of
the top two spots in the standings, and Vance gave them that edge. That fact
should play a major part in naming her the most valuable player in the
conference.
 |
| Jessica Vance played with a great calm in goal for the Huskies. |
In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the
Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, which meant the
pressure was on the goalies to not even give up a single goal on most nights.
Through the whole season, Vance never got rattled by that type of pressure. She
had a calm about her in net that few goalies female or male have.
On top of all of that, Vance went over two-and-a-half years
between competitive starts.
 |
| Jessica Vance’s play was key in a second place finish for the Huskies. |
With her midget AAA
career having reached a conclusion, Vance originally planned to join the
University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team, but she sat out the 2015-16
season as a medical redshirt after suffering a major leg injury playing
competitive softball in the summer of 2015.
Vance dressed for
one game as a backup goalie early last season for the Bisons before electing to
play closer to home choosing to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan
Huskies women’s team. Due to dressing for that one game, she wasn’t eligible to
play for the Huskies until Nov. 1, 2017.
Normally, that type
of absence would cause a major setback for most high-level athletes.
Vance never lost her
game, and she was the main factor in helping the Huskies reach a higher level
in the standings.
Her story seems
unbelievable, and that is what makes it special. The case for her being the
Canada West MVP is a clear one, and that honour should come her way.
Willoughby proves she’s P.A. tough
 |
| Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby, right, has played through a few battles. |
The star captain of
the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team has always drawn
extra attention from the opposition due to her ability to score. It seemed the
attention she received on the ice in her fifth and final season of eligibility was
greater than in any of her first four campaigns.
While bodychecking
is illegal in women’s hockey, it was apparent players on opposing teams were
out to deliver a few physical blows Willoughby’s way.
The most obvious case
came in the Huskies 2-1 victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Jan. 27 at the Rutherford Rink,
when Willoughby was on the receiving end of a hip check from Thunderbirds
centre Mathea Fischer. There was no call on the play.
Throughout the
season, Willoughby’s presence on the ice resulted in opponents cross-checking
her, slashing her after the play was blown dead and a few failed attempts to
level her with a hit worthy of former star NHL defenceman Scott Stevens. It is
almost a certainty a few opponents landed the odd punch on Willoughby in
scrums, which do happen in the women’s game.
Despite all the
attempts to target her, beat her down and knock her off her game, Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, still finished fifth in the Canada West scoring race with nine goals and 10
assists in 26 regular season appearances.
 |
| Kaitlin Willoughby faces a lot of attention from opposing teams. |
In the WHL, Nolan
Patrick encounter similar treatment from opponents leading the Brandon Wheat
Kings to a league championship in the 2015-16 campaign. In the 2016 WHL
playoffs, he played through lots of extra shots and successfully remained at
the top of his game.
Adam Brooks and Sam
Steel played through a lot of abuse powering the Regina Pats to an appearance
in the WHL championship series last year. Mathew Barzal endured is share of
unwanted physical shots helped the Seattle Thunderbirds win the WHL title last
season.
In U Sports men’s
hockey, Derek Hulak had to play through lots of unwanted physical attention
earning the Canada West most valuable player award in his final campaign with the
University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team in 2013-14.
At times, it seemed
like the abuse all these players received was a borderline attempt to injure.
Willoughby showed
her physical toughness this season and her mental toughness. In her first
couple of seasons with the Huskies, the odds of her getting knocked off her
game and seeing her get involved in trash talking sessions with opposing players
was higher, if she received some unwanted hacks.
She never lost her
composure no matter what happened to her this season. In that, Willoughby
accomplished a pre-season goal to emulate her former Huskies captain from her
rookie season in Cami Wooster.
In the process of
playing though taking unnecessary physical shots, Willoughby upped the level of
her teammates. They could see what was happening, and when something
underhanded happened on the ice, you could see their focus becoming that much
sharper.
 |
| Kaitlin Willoughby, centre, is surrounded by teammates who have her back. |
It felt like
opponents would be wiser if they tried to avoid doing something that got the
collective attention of the Huskies. The Huskies always seemed to win, when
that happened.
The Huskies begin their playoff march hosting Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.
One last playoff run
now awaits Willoughby, and she has a group of battle-hardened teammates right
behind her that have her back. That gives the Huskies a huge chance to reach
some very lofty heights.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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