Dogs aim to take Canada West final against Thunderbirds
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| Kohl Bauml will play his final home games for the Huskies this weekend. |
The fifth-year centre will be skating in the final home games he could possibly play in his U Sports career, when his University of Saskatchewan Huskies face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three series that will determine the champion for the Canada West Conference in men’s hockey.
Game 1 of
the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the
series follows on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 will
be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.
“It has
come quick,” said Bauml. “I don’t think many people expected us to be able to
be at home this weekend.
“We are
going to try and take advantage of it. We’ve been really good at home this
year. UBC is coming in hot.
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| Kohl Bauml will play in his fifth straight Canada West final for the Huskies. |
The
25-year-old will be making his final home hurrah along with fellow fifth years
in right-winger Levi Cable, left-winger Andrew Johnson and centre Logan
McVeigh. Cable is the Huskies ironman having played in 173 consecutive games
for the team including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season.
The Huskies
are appearing in the Canada West final for a fifth straight year, and this year’s
Canada West title series offers a much different storyline to the previous four
the U of S fifth-years have skated in.
Over the
previous four campaigns, the Huskies have battled their “forever rivals” in the
University of Alberta Golden Bears in a clash of the top two teams in the
conference.
This year,
the Huskies enter the Canada West final as a decided favourite against a
decided underdog in the Thunderbirds, who are enjoying a Cinderella run.
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| Kohl Bauml and the Huskies will be favoured in the Canada West final. |
The Huskies,
who will go to U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year, finished second in
the Canada West Conference with a 22-4-2 record and swept the University of
Calgary Dinos 2-0 in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Dogs
have won 13 straight games including action in the regular season and
post-season and are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.
The
Thunderbirds finished fifth in Canada West with a 9-14-4-1 record. They upset
the Mount Royal University Cougars, who were fourth in Canada West with an
18-8-0-2 record, in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-1.
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| Kohl Bauml has 108 career regular season points with U of S. |
UBC is
making its first appearance in the Canada West title series for men’s hockey
since 1978 and will make its first appearance at U Sports nationals since 1977.
Thunderbirds
netminder and Saskatoon product Rylan Toth has been the difference for the UBC
side. He has started all six of UBC’s games in the post-season posting a 4-2
record, a 2.83 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
During the
regular season, Toth appeared in 23 games for the Thunderbirds posting an
8-10-4 record, a 2.78 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.
Bauml said
a number of Huskies got to know Toth a bit after getting to play some
three-on-three hockey with him about three years back. The speedy forward said
the UBC netminder is a genuine good guy.
“I am happy
for him to have his success against U of A,” said Bauml, who stands 5-foot-8
and weighs 170 pounds. “Hopefully that doesn’t continue against us, but it was
nice to see him put in such a good weekend for himself personally and have his
team be rewarded for it.”
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| Kohl Bauml will play in a fifth straight Canada West final for the Huskies. |
Sophomore
Gordie Ballhorn topped all Huskies defenceman in regular season scoring with
four goals and 15 assists appearing in 24 regular season games.
Star
third-year netminder Taran Kozun played in 22 regular season games posting a
17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five
shutouts. He also scored a goal.
Third-year
forward Tyler Sandhu topped the Thunderbirds in scoring piling up 12 goals and
11 assists appearing in all 28 of his squad’s regular season games.
Fourth-year
veteran Jerret Smith led all Thunderbirds blue-liners in scoring with three
goals and 12 assists appearing in 27 regular season games.
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| AndrewJohnson will be playing his final home weekend with the Huskies. |
During
Bauml’s career, the Huskies captured the Canada West title just once back in
his rookie season in 2015-16, and appeared in the U Sports championship game
once falling 5-3 to the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in 2017.
Bauml said
message was to not take these opportunities for granted, and it is directed to
the whole squad.
“That was
one of the things we talked about was not letting an opportunity slip away,”
said Bauml. “We’ve been close four out of my four years so far.
“This is
kind of the last chance for me, A.J. (Andrew Johnson), Logy (Logan McVeigh) and
Cabes (Levi Cable). We were kind of just saying like, ‘Hey, let’s not let this
one slip away.’ We don’t know how many chances that we are going to get this
close every again.
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| Levi Cable will experience his final home hurrah with the Huskies. |
Huskies
head coach Dave Adolph said it is special that his fifth-year players will be
able to play the Canada West Championship series at home. The Huskies are
closing out the home schedule in their second season playing out of Merlis
Belsher Place after moving out of their long time old home in the ancient
Rutherford Rink.
Adolph
caught a media story about the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball
team hosting a winner take all Canada West title game on Friday at 7 p.m. at
the Physical Activity Complex against the U of Alberta Pandas. The veteran
hockey bench boss saw how significant that opportunity was for the Huskies
women’s basketball fifth-year team members in Sabine Dukate, Megan Ahlstrom and
Vera Crooks.
“It (the media story) was talking about what an honour it was for their fifth-year girls to actually have an opportunity to play at home,” said Adolph. “I think our guys feel the same way.
“It (the media story) was talking about what an honour it was for their fifth-year girls to actually have an opportunity to play at home,” said Adolph. “I think our guys feel the same way.
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| Logan McVeigh will skate in his final home games with the Huskies. |
While Bauml
wants to do everything he can for his team to capitalize on the chance they
have this weekend, he said it is bittersweet knowing that his playing days with
the Huskies are coming to a close. The graduate of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips
said he keeps in contact with his former Huskies teammates from previous
seasons, and everyone from this year’s squad has become buds.
“I’ve had
the five best years of my life at the university here with these guys,” said
Bauml, who posted 38 goals and 70 assists in 133 career regular season games
with the Huskies. “It is cliché and everything, but the friends that you make
here they last you a lifetime.
“You look
at the alumni group that we have and they are all buddies from back in the 80s
and 90s and early 2000s. It is stuff like that you see what you have to look
forward to in the future but also being able to remember the stuff that you did
in the past that is going to be most special to me.”
Kozun takes two huge Canada West
awards
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| Taran Kozun was the Canada West player of the year. |
The
third-year star netminder with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team
was named the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of the year.
Kozun had an outstanding campaign for the Huskies appearing in 22 regular season games posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also scored a goal.
Kozun had an outstanding campaign for the Huskies appearing in 22 regular season games posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also scored a goal.
The
Nipawin, Sask., product topped the Canada West Conference in wins and save
percentage, while posting the lowest goals against average. His five shutouts equalled
a record for regular season play in Canada West which he set last season along
with U of Alberta Golden Bears goalie Zach Sawchenko.
Thanks to
Kozun’s efforts, the Huskies finished second in the Canada West Conference with
a 22-4-2 record.
The
graduate of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds became the
first player to capture the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of
the year honours in the same campaign since former Huskies star Jordon Cooke
pulled that same distinction off in the 2015-16 campaign.
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| Jared Dmytriw was the Canada West rookie of the year. |
“I said to
somebody the other day he has been the best goalie in probably Canada since he
has been 18,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph. “He was phenomenal in
Seattle.
“He was the
goaltender of the year in the Western Hockey League (in 2015). He was probably
one of the most highly touted 20-year-olds coming out of the Western Hockey
League and decided to go pro. Somehow, he fell in our lap, so we are pretty
fortunate to have him.”
Kozun wasn’t
the only major Canada West award winner from the Huskies men’s hockey team.
Centre
Jared Dmytriw was named the Canada West rookie of the year after an outstanding
first-year campaign.
He led the
Huskies in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists appearing in all of the Huskies
28 regular season games. He was a plus-20 in the plus-minus department.
The former
captain of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants has played a key role in helping the
Huskies advance to the Canada West Championship series.
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| Levi Cable captured the Canada West sportsmanship and ability award. |
The Hudson
Bay, Sask., product has appeared in 173 consecutive games for the Huskies
including the U Sports regular season and post-season. Cable has appeared in
every game he could possibility suit up for with the Huskies.
He is the
third player in the history of the Huskies to play in 140 career regular season
games, and he collected 51 goals, 64 assists and a plus-50 rating in those outings.
U of Manitoba
Bisons fifth-year defenceman Adam Henry took home honours as Canada West’s top
defenceman and the student-athlete community service award.
U of Regina
Cougars bench boss Todd Johnson was named the Canada West coach of the year.
Haubrich captures student-athlete community
service award
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| Brooklyn Haubrich took home student-athlete community service award. |
On
Wednesday, the feisty forward for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s
hockey team was named the winner of the Canada West Conference student-athlete
community service award.
The
23-year-old product of Hodgeville, Sask., coaches a team of youth funded by the
Kinsmen Club of Saskatoon allowing families to enjoy the game who otherwise
wouldn’t be able to.
She is a
mentor in the Big Sister/Little Sister program, makes monthly visits to various
elementary schools as a Huskie Homeroom Mentor and has worked to provide on-ice
opportunities to female hockey players in rural communities throughout
Saskatchewan.
The
agricultural and bioresources student has been a U Sports academic all-Canadian
in her first four seasons with the Huskies.
Haubrich has been the Huskies captain for the past two campaigns.
Haubrich has been the Huskies captain for the past two campaigns.
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| Brooklyn Haubrich was the Huskies captain the past two seasons. |
During her
five seasons with the Huskies, Haubrich appeared in 129 regular season games
posting eight goals, 28 assists and a plus-12 rating.
She helped
the Huskies finish third in the Canada West Conference with a 17-7-2-2 record.
The Huskies were swept 2-0 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final against
the UBC Thunderbirds dropping an overtime decision and a double overtime
heartbreaker.
Haubrich is
a graduate of the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats female midget AAA team. The area she comes from has a huge community conscious, so it is fitting
Haubrich would capture the Canada West student-athlete community service award.
U of
Calgary Dinos netminder Kelsey Roberts was named the Canada West
player-of-the-year. Forward Madison Willan of the U of Alberta Pandas captured
honours at the Canada West rookie of the year.
Dinos head
coach Danielle Goyette was named the Canada West coach of the year.
When UBC last made the Can West men’s
hockey final in 1978
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| Tyler Sandhu's T-birds last appeared in the Canada West final in 1978. |
When the
Thunderbirds last appeared in the Canada West final, Cam Cole was the
statistician for Canada West that put together the year in review report for
the 1977-78 campaign. Cole is best remembered for going on to be a sports
scribe at the Edmonton Journal, National Post and Vancouver Sun.
With the
Edmonton Journal, Cole covered the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers dynasty era from 1983
to 1990, where the team won the Stanley Cup five times.
The Canada
West Conference for men’s hockey include just four teams in the 1977-78 campaign
including the Thunderbirds, U of Alberta Golden Bears, U of Calgary then known
as the Dinosaurs and the U of Saskatchewan Huskies. The four squads played a
24-game regular season against each other.
The
Thunderbirds, who were 14-10 in the regular season, fell 2-1 in the
best-of-three Canada West Championship series to the Golden Bears, who were
20-4 in the regular season.
The Golden
Bears took Game 1 of the series 4-2, but the Thunderbirds rebounded with a 2-1
victory in Game 2. U of A romped to a 9-1 anti-climatic win in a
series-deciding Game 3.
The Golden
Bears advanced on to win the U Sports national title. Their roster contained a
defenceman named Randy Gregg, who became a key member of the Oilers Stanley Cup
dynasty.
The Thunderbirds finally made it back to the best-of-three Canada West Championship series this season, and they will open that series with Game 1 on Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place against the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.
The Thunderbirds finally made it back to the best-of-three Canada West Championship series this season, and they will open that series with Game 1 on Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place against the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.
Ennis six-goal night anniversary with WHL’s Tigers
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| A Tyler Ennis Medicine Hat Tigers card. |
On Feb. 27,
2009, Tyler Ennis scored six goals for the Medicine Hat Tigers Tigers as they
downed the Prince Albert Raiders 6-2 in front of an appreciative sellout crowd
of 4,006 spectators at The Arena in Medicine Hat, Alta.
The skilled
and speedy right-winger was tallying goals of the spectacular variety. On his
fifth goal of the night, Ennis turned Raiders rookie defenceman Ryan Aasman inside
out in scoring that particular marker.
Aasman is
currently a head coach in the junior A ranks with the Grande Prairie Storm of
the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Ryan McDonald
and Igor Revenko replied with singles for the Raiders on the night Ennis had
his goal explosion.
Ryan
Holfeld made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Steven
Stanford turned away 28 shots taking the setback in net for the Raiders.
Covering
the game for the Medicine Hat News that night, I gave Ennis all three of my
game stars, which was the only time I had ever done that.
Ennis pile
up 43 goals, 42 assists and a plus-11 rating in 61 regular season appearances
in that campaign with the Tigers, which was his final season in the WHL. He
helped Canada win gold at the world junior tournament that season posting three
goals and four assists in six tournament games.
Ennis is
now an NHL veteran who has played 606 career regular season games and is
currently skating for his hometown Edmonton Oilers.
His
six-goal night with the Tigers is still a thing of beauty to watch, and it is even that much better with the call of Bob Ridley, the Tigers iconic play-by-play voice.
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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