Huskies Track and Field Teams have mastered family feeling

The Huskies Women’s Team enjoys an eighth straight Canada West title.

Track and field might be mostly an individual sport, but you never feel alone when you are with the University of Saskatchewan Track and Field Teams.

It is something you can easily see during the Canada West Track and Field Championships the Huskies teams hosted this past February 20 and 21 at the Saskatoon Field House. Over the course of the two-day event, the Huskie athletes that weren’t competing in any track disciplines or were done competing were moving around to various other track disciplines to cheer on other members of the Huskies teams.

If you were on the floor of the Field House where all the track competition is taking place, it was seemingly impossible to not cross paths with a Huskie athlete. While it looks like the competition floor is large, it feels like the track events are happening right on top of each other as everything is actually taking place in a compressed space.

Thanks to the tight confines, Huskie athletes had no problems cycling from the running track, the sand pits used for long and triple jumps, the throwing area, the high jump area and the pole vault area. When a Huskie athlete sets to do an event, that athlete was usually accompanied by a vocal cheering section. That athlete was not alone.

When the competition came to a finish, the Huskies Women’s Team took home an eighth consecutive Canada West title finishing first in the team standings with 186 points. On the men’s side, the Huskies placed fourth in the team standings with 103 points, while the University of Alberta Golden Bears took top spot with 143.5 points.

Hannah Hagerty (#428) is cheered on by her Huskies teammates.

The family feeling on the Huskies track teams saw the strong team results come from a whole host of individual results.

On the women’s side, the Huskies took the top three spots in the 60-metre sprint. Kailee Woitas claimed top spot with a time of 7.46 seconds just edging Hannah Hagerty, who had a time of 7.47 seconds. Selena Keyowski came in third with a time of 7.51 seconds.

Hagerty, who is in her fifth and final season of eligibility, picked up a gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 6.30-metres, which was good for a Huskies record. The record she broke was set in 1990 by Vanessa Monar at 6.27-metres.

Along with the medals in the 60-metre and the long jump, Hagerty collected a gold medal as part of the Huskies 4 X 400-metre relay team that included Jaedyn McLaughlin, Grace Igbiki and Emma Egert. That foursome took top spot with a time of three minutes and 47.07 seconds.

Igbiki, and Egert would team up with Hailee Woodhouse and Keyowski to take the 4 X 200-metre relay in a time of 1:35.75 to set new Canada West Conference and Canadian indoor records.

Nicole Ostertag won the final of the 60-metre hurdles in a Canada West record time of 8.07 seconds. Olamide Olaloku took the triple jump with a Canada West record leap of 12.73-metres breaking an 18-year-old mark previously held by Janine Polischuk of the U of Regina Cougars.

The Huskies Women’s Team sweeps the podium in the 60-metre sprint.

Woodhouse, who would take honours as the Canada West rookie of the year, picked up a gold in the 300-metre race in a time of 38.34 seconds.

Jason Reindl, who is head coach of both Huskies Track and Field Teams, was named the Canada West Women’s coach of the year, and Huskies assistant Karlyn Wells took honours as the Canada West Women’s assistant coach of the year.

On the men’s side, Liam Oster captured gold in the 60-metre Hurdles with a time of 8.29 seconds. Ashwin Witt topped pole vault clearing a bar set at 4.85 metres, and Nathan Pinno took first in shot put with a throw of 16.60 metres.

Josh Tam placed second in the heptathlon collecting 4,899 points over seven events. Tam also took honours as the Canada West Men’s Community Service Award winner.

The Huskies have built a storied history in track and field. The Huskies Women’s Team has won 29 Canada West titles and seven U Sports championships, and the Huskies Men’s Team has captured 20 Canada West crowns and five U Sports titles.

Most of the Huskies history was built under the watch of the late Lyle Sanderson, who left an iconic legacy as head coach from 1965 to 2004. Reindl, who was a Huskies athlete in their U Sports team title wins in 2002 and 2005, became the Huskies head coach in 2017 and has played a key part in allowing the Huskies to continue to be one of Canada’s top track and field programs. The Huskies track athletes roll with a family togetherness you often find with the best squads in teams sports like baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

The Huskies Women’s Team does a conference champions parade.

Before the 2025-26 season comes to an end, the Huskies Teams head to the U Sports Track and Field Championships that start Thursday and run through to Saturday in Winnipeg, Man., at the James Daly Fieldhouse.

The track programs from the University of Guelph and the University of Western Ontario are expected to be the favourites to challenge for the Women’s and Men’s team titles.

While those squads are strong, you can expect the athletes from the Huskies Teams will leave their marks before all is said and done.

Draper era ends with Pandas

The Howie Draper era has come to a close at the University of Alberta.

On Monday, the U of Alberta Athletics Program announced that Howie Draper has decided the 2025-26 campaign was his last working behind the bench as head coach of the Pandas Women’s Hockey Team and has elected to retire. In the summer of 1997, he was hired on as the Pandas first head coach in team history as they embarked on the inaugural campaign in U Sports women’s hockey.

Since that start, Draper has been the Pandas head coach for all but one season of their existence. The born and raised Edmonton product has guided the Pandas to a record 15 Canada West Conference titles, eight U Sports national titles and the most wins in U Sports Women’s Hockey at 715.

“Though my passion for serving our student-athletes has always been and will continue to be strong, I feel like it’s time for the program to have a new coach who possesses fresh energy, ideas and enthusiasm to help bring the program back to national prominence,” said Draper in a release. “My experience as a student-athlete at the U of A was life changing, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have played a similar role for those within the Pandas Hockey program for the past 28 years.”

This past season Draper guided the Pandas to a 12-9-2-5 record where they finished fifth overall in Canada West. The Pandas season came to an end after they fell 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series to the U of Manitoba Bisons. The Bisons have since advanced to the Canada West Championship Series.

One season earlier in 2024-25, the Pandas finished second overall in the Canada West regular season standings with a 24-3-0-1 mark. The Pandas would advance to the Canada West Championship Series to face the first place University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. U of A swept that best-of-three series 2-0 winning both games of the set in overtime with star forward Abby Soyko scoring the extra time winners in both contests.

At the 2025 U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship Tournament, the Pandas fell 3-0 to the host U of Waterloo Warriors in a quarter-final and finished the event with a 1-2 record.

Draper, who will turn 59-years-old on April 3, has been named the Canada West coach of the year eight times and the U Sports coach of the year four times in women’s hockey. He was the inaugural coach of the PWHL’s New York franchise in 2023-24 and picked the first ever regular season head coaching victory on that circuit.

Draper has been inducted into the Alberta Hockey and City of Edmonton Sports Hall of Fames. With the 2002-2007 Pandas hockey dynasty teams that won five national titles and six straight Canada West championships, Draper was inducted with those squads to the U of A Sports Wall of Fame. From the start of the 2001-02 campaign, Draper coached the Pandas through an undefended streak that lasted 110 games and included 109 wins, one tie and three U Sports championships.

He earned the University of Alberta Alumni Excellence Award in 2007.

In 2025, Draper was given the Hockey Canada Gordon Jukes Award for outstanding contribution to the development of amateur hockey in Canada at the national level.

To go along with his time with the Pandas, Draper has extensive international coaching experience. He guided Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 World Under-18 Championship in Wisconsin. He has also spent time as an assistant coach with Canada’s Women’s National Team and was the head coach of the 2013 Canadian FISU Team in Trentino, Italy.

Before his coaching days, Draper was a defenceman on the U of A Golden Bears Men’s Hockey Team from 1985 to 1990 playing under head coaches in the iconic Clare Drake and Billy Moores. Draper helped the Bears win the University Cup as U Sports champions in 1986, which was ultimately Drake’s last national championship win with the team. Draper also helped the Bears win the Canada West title in 1989.

The U of A will conduct a nation-wide search to find the next head coach of the Pandas hockey program later this spring.

Illness causes absence

It is never fun being sick.

I admit I have been down with a hanging around illness, which has kept me off here. My last previous post came back on February 18.

I got it around February 19, while cleaning up after a big snowfall here in Saskatoon. I thought I got over it on February 21, but it came back after finishing up the big snowfall clean up a day later.

The illness is now down to congestion and a cough. I suspect I am dealing with a bacterial infection. I tried to go see a doctor once to get an antibiotic to deal with this, but the medical clinic was overflowing with people who were under the weather, so I elected to try and ride this out.

I am pretty much over the illness now, so hopefully, I will have clear sailing ahead.

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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De La Gorgendiere eyes up long playoff run with Golden Bears

U of A pulls out 5-4 OT win over Huskies in Game 3

Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#6) shields the puck from a checker.

Welcome to the world of U Sports men’s hockey Aidan De La Gorgendiere.

The Abbotsford, B.C., product, who is best known for being a career member of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, is making an immediate impact with the storied University of Alberta Golden Bears. On Sunday playing a series deciding Game 3 of a Canada West Conference quarter-final set against the Golden Bears “forever rivals” in the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place, De La Gorgendiere scored his team’s first goal and picked up an assist on the overtime winner in a 5-4 victory.

The win allowed the Golden Bears to take the best-of-three set 2-1. The Huskies took Game 1 of the series 4-2 on Friday at Merlis, and the Golden Bears claimed Game 2 by a 3-2 final on Saturday at the same venue.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere had the Golden Bears first goal on Sunday.

With the series win, the Golden Bears advance to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the dates and times to be determined for this coming weekend.

“It obviously feels awesome,” said De La Gorgendiere. “We didn’t play near to our best on Friday there.

“I feel like the last two games we kind of figured it out and got back to what makes us successful. We were skating good. We were moving our feet out there.

“It feels awesome to get the win.”

Aidan De La Gorgendiere drives a shot on goal for the Golden Bears.

When Sunday’s clash between the Golden Bears and Huskies went to overtime locked in a 4-4 tie, it seemed like the visitors found another gear holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. At the 4:53 mark of the extra session, De La Gorgendiere, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 188 pounds, got the puck over to rookie right-winger Connor McClennon on the right wing.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere assisted on the OT winner on Sunday.

McClennon fired a shot on goal that was redirected by Golden Bears fourth-year left-winger Daneel Lategan past Huskies netminder Roddy Ross to give the visitors their dramatic 5-4 victory to the disappointment of most of the 1,236 spectators in attendance.

In May of last year, De La Gorgendiere and McClennon were on opposite sides of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. De La Gorgendiere was skating for the Blades and McClennon was playing for the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice swept the best-of-seven series 4-0 to bring an end to De La Gorgendiere’s WHL playing days.

Just a little over nine months later, De La Gorgendiere and McClennon were teaming to set up an overtime series winning goal for the Golden Bears.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere, left, gets in a net front battle.

“It is pretty crazy to think about,” said De La Gorgendiere, who will turn 22-years-old this coming Thursday. “Me and Connor have played against each other it seems like our whole lives.

“Being on the same team with him is pretty nice. Obviously, he is a pretty talented player and a skilled player. It is awesome to have him out there.

“We’re looking forward to the next round.”

De La Gorgendiere came to the Golden Bears after trying to find the right opportunity in the professional ranks. After he exhausted his WHL eligibility with the Blades, he went to camp with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche before the start of the current campaign.

When things didn’t work out with the Avalanche, De La Gorgendiere went to camp with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The Admirals are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

Cade Hayes scored the Huskies first goal on Sunday.

De Le Gorgendiere was then sent down to the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. He played 10 games for the Gladiators posting one goal, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

During that time, it crossed De La Gorgendiere’s mind that maybe he should put his professional hockey aspirations on the back burner and make sure he has something to fall back on in going the university hockey route to get a degree.

“Probably mid November, I kind of decided I should reconsider my schooling package I got with the Western Hockey League,” said De La Gorgendiere, who is in the arts faculty at the U of A. “I am here now.

“I’m focused on winning a championship. Obviously, I still want to play pro.”

Dawson Holt (#16) had the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

De La Gorgendiere began playing with the Golden Bears after they returned from their Christmas break. In 10 regular season games with the Golden Bears, De La Gorgendiere recorded one goal, 10 assists and a minus-two rating. In the three-game series victory over the Huskies, De La Gorgendiere posted one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating.

He added he got swayed to joining the Golden Bears due to the fact they had a number of his former Blades teammates on their roster including Blake Gustafson, Wyatt McLeod, Noah Boyko, Eric Florchuk and Josh Paterson.

Alex Thacker had a pair of goals for the Golden Bears on Sunday.

“It did for sure,” said De La Gorgendiere about joining the Golden Bears due to the presence of numerous Blades alums. “Obviously, the program speaks for itself the history of guys signing pro deals and NHL deals, American League deals and whatever it may be out of this program.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me.”

As for Sunday’s game between the Golden Bears and Huskies, momentum seemed to jump constantly between the two sides. The Huskies got out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by rookie centre Cade Hayes, and the hosts pushed their edge out to 2-0 early in the second on a tally from third-year right-winger Dawson Holt.

Ty Prefontaine had a short-handed goal for the Huskies.

At the 4:20 mark of the second, De La Gorgendiere scored for the Golden Bears to get them some traction and cut the Huskies lead to 2-1. Golden Bears rookie left-winger Alex Thacker followed with a pair of goals to put the visitors up 3-2.

With 5:09 remaining in the second, Huskies third-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine scored a short-handed goal to even the score at 3-3.

De La Gorgendiere said the intensity of the clashes between the Golden Bears and Huskies was similar to what he experienced in the rivalry games in the WHL played between his Blades and their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. He said the momentum changes in Sunday’s contest between the Golden Bears and Huskies were noticeable.

Vince Loschiavo gave the Huskies a 4-3 lead in the third.

“I think on our end we probably could have been a little more tight in our neutral zone and defensive zone there,” said De La Gorgendiere. “We had a couple of breakdowns there.

“It is the ebbs and flows of hockey. It seems like it happens in every game. This one seemed to be a little more I guess.

“All in all, I thought we competed hard and played well.”

The Huskies went back out in front 4-3 at the 6:44 mark of the third after third-year star right-winger Vince Loschiavo scored on the power play. The host side finished the contest 1-for-4 on the power play.

Tyler Preziuso scored for the Golden Bears to force OT.

The Golden Bears would even the score at 4-4 with a power-play goal of their own coming at the 10:49 mark of the third off the stick of third-year right-winger Tyler Preziuso. The visitors were 1-for-7 on the power play.

That set the stage for the Golden Bears to get the game and series winner in overtime from Lategan.

Second-year netminder Ethan Kruger made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Golden Bears. Ross turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Huskies.

Going into this Canada West quarter-final series, the two sides weren’t separated by a whole lot. The Huskies, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, finished fourth in the Canada West regular season standings with a 20-6-1-1 record. The Golden Bears placed fifth with an 18-8-2 mark.

Daneel Lategan scored the OT winner for the Golden Bears.

U of A will be an underdog in a semifinal series against the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-1-1 mark. They also won three out of the four head-to-head meeting with the Golden Bears in the regular season.

With that noted, De La Gorgendiere believes the chemistry of his Golden Bears side is coming around, and he has faith his squad will give the Thunderbirds a good battle.

“They are a skilled team,” said De La Gorgendiere. “Obviously, they have some high end talent up front and some good D-men as well.

The Golden Bears celebrate their OT win and series victory on Sunday.

“We just have to bring our A-game. We have to come ready to skate and come ready to play, and I think we should find success.”

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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Golden Bears say “not so fast,” even series with Huskies 1-1

Series deciding Game 3 of Can West quarter Sunday at 6 p.m.

U of A’s Adam Hall (#12) battles U of S’s Landon Kosior for the puck.

The University of Alberta Golden Bears weren’t going to make life easy for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Facing elimination from the U Sports post-season in a best-of-three Canada West Conference men’s quarter-final playoff series, the Golden Bears came out with a gutty effort on Saturday at the Huskies home rink in Merlis Belsher Place. Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes, Golden Bears third-year forward Tyler Preziuso scored the equalizer on a power play at the 6:07 mark of the second period to force a 2-2 tie.

Playing at even strength, Preziuso potted his second of the night at the 8:08 mark of the third to put the visitors up for good by the game’s final score of 3-2 to the disappointment of most of the 1,342 spectators in attendance.

Connor McClennon had a goal for the Golden Bears on Saturday.

The win allowed the Golden Bears to even the series at 1-1. The Huskies and Golden Bears will now meet in a series-deciding Game 3 on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Merlis. U of S took Game 1 of the series 4-2 on Friday at Merlis.

In Game 2 on Saturday, the Huskies went ahead 1-0 scoring 78 seconds into the contest on a power-play tally from fourth-year forward Justin Ball.

Just 62 seconds later, a pair of former members of the WHL’s now defunct Winnipeg Ice franchise combined to pull the Golden Bears even with the Huskies at 1-1. Second-year forward Jakin Smallwood set up rookie forward Connor McClennon for the equalizer for the visitors.

At the 12:32 mark of the first, Huskies star third-year forward Chantz Petruic scored with his team working on a two-man advantage to give the host side a 2-1 lead.

Justin Ball had a goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

That set the stage for Preziuso to come through with his equalizer and winner.

Second-year netminder Ethan Kruger stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Golden Bears.

Third-year goalie Jordan Kooy stopped 15-of-16 shots playing the first period in goal for the Huskies. He was pulled after the opening frame due to illness. Roddy Ross played the rest of the way in relief turning away 17-of-19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

The Huskies, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, finished fourth in the Canada West regular season standings with a 20-6-1-1 record. 

The Golden Bears placed fifth with an 18-8-2 mark.

The winner of the series between the Huskies and Golden Bears will advance to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Thunderbirds, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-1-1 mark.

The Golden Bears celebrate their win on Saturday.

The Mount Royal University Cougars, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, swept the other Canada West quarter-final series 2-0 against the MacEwan University Griffins in Calgary. The Cougars took Game 1 of the series 4-1 on Friday and Game 2 of the set 6-4 on Saturday.

The Cougars finished third in the Canada West regular season with a 21-6-0-1 mark. The Griffins were sixth in the Canada West regular season with a 9-17-0-2 record.

Mount Royal will face the defending Canada West champion U of Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three conference semifinal series with the dates and times of the contest still to be announced. The Dinos, who are rated sixth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, placed second in the Canada West regular season with a 21-5-1-1 mark.

Huskies WHKY forced to go to series deciding Game 3

Game 2 of a Canada West Conference women’s hockey series between the U of Saskatchewan Huskies and the U of Calgary Dinos belonged to the Saskatoon Stars.

On Saturday, a pair of alums of the Stars under-18 AAA program accounted for both Dinos goals as they blanked the Huskies 2-0 before 424 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place to push the best-of-three quarter-final set to a series deciding Game 3 in the U Sports post-season. Game 3 is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Merlis.

The Huskies took Game 1 of the series 2-1 on Friday at Merlis.

In Saturday’s clash, Sydney Mercier, who is a second year Dinos forward and a Stars graduate, scored just 22 seconds into the contest to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Fifth-year forward Elizabeth Lang and third-year forward Courtney Kollman picked up assists on Mercier’s tally.

With 3:55 remaining in the second, rookie Dinos offensive-defender Brooklin Fry banged home a rebound in front of the U of S net on the power play to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Lang and Mercier, who is from Saskatoon, picked up assists on that tally.

Fry played last season with the Stars, and the Shell Lake, Sask., product skated for two seasons with the Prince Albert Northern Bears under-18 AAA team from 2020 to 2022.

Dinos fourth-year netminder Gabriella Durante made 28 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal. Huskies fifth-year star netminder Camryn Drever turned away 14 shots to take the setback in net for the Huskies.

The Dinos were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Huskies failed to score on four power-play opportunities.

The Huskies finished fourth in the Canada West regular season standings with a 19-7-1-1 record, while the Dinos were fifth in Canada West with a 12-14-2 mark.

The winner of their series advances to play the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series in Vancouver. The Thunderbirds, who are the defending Canada West champions, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 24-1-1-2 record and closed the regular season with 13 straight wins.

The Mount Royal University Cougars, who are the defending U Sports champions, swept the U of Manitoba Bisons 2-0 in the other best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series in Calgary. The Cougars took Game 1 on Friday 6-0 and closed out the series with a 5-1 win on Saturday.

The Cougars, who are rated sixth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, finished third in Canada West with a 20-7-1 mark, while the Bisons were sixth in the conference with a 10-17-1 record.

Mount Royal will face the storied U of Alberta Pandas in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series in Edmonton with the times of the games still to be determined. The Pandas, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, finished second in Canada West with a 21-3-1-3 mark.

Raiders pull out miraculous OT win in Lethbridge

Sloan Stanick scored the OT winner for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders worked a miracle in Lethbridge.

Taking on the host Hurricanes in a WHL regular season contest on Saturday night, the Raiders trailed 3-0 after 40 minutes of play while being outshoot 24-11. They rallied scoring three goals in the third including two tallies in the last minute of the frame and the winner 17 seconds into overtime to pull out a 4-3 victory before 3,666 stunned spectators at the Enmax Centre.

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from 17-year-old left-winger Trae Wilke. The opening 20-minutes also feature a fight between Raiders defenceman 18-year-old defenceman Terrell Goldsmith and Hurricanes 20-year-old defenceman Joe Arntsen late in the frame.

In the second, the Hurricanes pushed their lead out to 3-0 on goals from breakout star 17-year-old right-winger Miguel Marques and rookie 17-year-old defenceman Kale Tipler. Tipler’s tally was his career WHL regular season goal.

At the 8:46 mark of the third, Raiders 18-year-old rookie import left-winger Krzysztof Macias potted his 19^th goal of the season to cut the Hurricanes lead to 3-1. Things proceeded to get really crazy from there.

With just under 41 seconds to play, Raiders offensive-defenceman Justice Christensen fired a shot on Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin that got out from under the puck stopper and trickled over the goal-line. Originally, there was no goal called on the play, but the officials went to a video review and confirmed Christensen did indeed score to trim the Hurricanes lead to 3-2.

Christensen’s ninth goal of the season would go down as a short-handed marker. The Raiders had star netminder Max Hildebrand pulled for an extra attacker.

After getting back to even strength with Hildebrand again pulled for an extra attacker, Hurricanes centre Sean Tschigerl fanned on a clearing attempt that would have sealed victory for the hosts. The puck went to Raiders overage centre Turner McMillen who buried the equalizer that tied the contest up at 3-3 with 4.8 seconds remaining in the frame.

Just 17 seconds into overtime, Raiders star 20-year-old winger Sloan Stanick blew home his 24^th goal of the season from the front of the Lethbridge net to deliver the visitors to a 4-3 victory.

Hildebrand stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Meneghin turned away 22 shots to take the extra time setback in net for the Hurricanes.

The Raiders improved to 26-25-1-3 having won their last three straight games. They sit seventh in the WHL’s Eastern Conference three standings points ahead of both the Hurricanes and the Calgary Hitmen.

The Hurricanes record moved to 24-24-5 and they are tied with the Hitmen (23-23-6-1) for the eighth and ninth positions in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hurricanes and Hitmen each have two games in hand on the Raiders.

Lethbridge gets back at it on Monday traveling to Red Deer to take on the 28-19-2-6 Rebels (2 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

The Raiders return home to host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Thursday (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The “Hockey Town North” crew will played nine out of their last 13 regular season games at home.

Minten’s OT winner gives Blades 10^th straight win

Fraser Minten had the OT winner for the Blades on Saturday.

Fraser Minten might be developing a habit of coming through for the Saskatoon Blades in overtime.

On Saturday in Medicine Hat, the Blades went into overtime locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season contest with the host Tigers at Co-op Place. Just 68 seconds into the extra session, the Blades had the puck in the Medicine Hat zone on a two-on-one break.

Blades star 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky had the puck coming down the left wing. He passed the puck across the front of the Medicine Hat net to Minten coming down the right wing. Minten measured up his scoring chance and blew home a goal to the top right corner of the Medicine Hat net to deliver the Blades to a 4-3 victory to the disappointment to most of the 3,626 spectators in attendance.

The overtime tally was second such goal for Minten on the season and also his second goal on Saturday to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

The Blades, who are rated first in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, now have victories in their last 10 straight games improving their WHL leading record to 41-9-2-3. The Tigers continue to lead the WHL’s Central Division as their record moved to 32-17-4-2.

The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period of Saturday’s clash. The markers came from 18-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin scoring his 20^th goal of the campaign and centre Shane Smith, who turned 19-years-old in January, potting his 27^th goal of the season with the Tigers working on the power play.

Smith’s power-play goal came with Blades captain Trevor Wong serving a double minor for high-sticking. Wong’s infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

With 4:08 remaining in the first, Lisowsky netted his 31^st of the season to give the Blades a big traction tally cutting the Tigers lead to 2-1. Lisowsky potted his second of the contest and 32^nd of the season with 5.8 seconds remaining in the second to even the score at 2-2.

At the 4:57 mark of the third, Minten netted his first of the contest to give the Blades a 3-2 lead. Tigers sophomore 17-year-old centre Tomas Mrsic scored for the host side with 7:32 remaining in the third to even the score at 3-3.

That set the stage for Minten to become the hero for the visitors in overtime scoring the winning goal.

Blades star netminder Austin Elliott stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal. Tigers 17-year-old rookie netminder Ethan McCallum turned away 20 shots to take the extra time setback in net.

Wong picked up a pair of assists in the win.

The Blades return to action on Monday when they travel to Brandon to take on the 27-21-5-1 Wheat Kings (2 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

The Tigers also return to action on Monday when they travel to Edmonton to face the 18-32-2-1 Oil Kings (2 p.m. local time, Rogers Place).

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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Normal playoff time makes U Sports absence even more eerie

The Huskies enjoy a players series OT win in 2019.

While whole world has been in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for a little more than 11 months, it doesn’t prevent getting a weird feeling due to the absence of events that occur regularly on the calendar.

In Canada’s sports scene, post-season action in U Sports would normally be well underway right now. Sports like football, rugby and soccer would normally play their nationals in the fall semester, so everyone with connections there would have felt that absence.

The winter semester usually sees sports conclude that run year round. Sports like basketball, hockey, track and field, volleyball and wrestling would have started their post-season paths.

Usually by this time of year, first round action would have taken place in basketball, hockey and volleyball. 

Kirsten Chamberlin tightly identifies with the Pandas.

Playoff fever would be well in the air and it would usually wrap up around the middle of March, when the last scheduled national championship tournaments are played.

At the moment, U Sports arenas and gyms sit empty across Canada on regular post-season game days.

On the grounds of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, the Butterdome multi-purpose sports complex is a field hospital in waiting. It was recently turned into a field hospital in waiting due to urgency created due to a big spike of new COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations in Alberta.

On the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the twin pad hockey rink facility in Merlis Belsher Place, which has two basketball courts, has been a field hospital in waiting for a number of months. It is being used to help process COVID-19 tests and be a centre to administer COVID-19 vaccinations.

Those are the realities of the pandemic, which in Canada has pushed U Sports to the backburner.

While some will argue how relevant U Sports is on Canada’s overall sporting scene, the truth is it still has sizable relevance.

Golden Bears players have deep links to their team.

Just ask members of the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team and the University of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey team how deeply imbedded their identification is to their programs along with the alums of each squad. Wherever those players go, they will be Golden Bears and Pandas for life.

In Saskatoon, current players and alums have strong identifications with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies programs on campus. It seem like you could always find someone wearing gear with the Huskies logo on it anywhere in Canada or seemingly around the world.

Over the last decade, it has become common for the Huskies men’s and women’s basketball and hockey teams to host home playoff games. At the start of the post-season, there was always great anticipation when the first of these contests came around.

Right now, the start of that playoff fever is missing. It is noticeable because this is the time the intensity level gets dialed up another notch.

The Huskies claimed a U Sports women’s basketball title in 2020.

Over the past 10 years, the Huskies women’s basketball team and the Huskies men’s hockey team have hosted a number of Canada West Conference championship games and series.

On February 28, 2020, a standing room crowd of 2,515 saw the Huskies women’s basketball team down the Pandas 62-51 in a winner take all Canada West Championship game at the Physical Activity Complex. 

No one at that game figured that would be at the moment the last time they saw a Huskies basketball team play at home.

Of course guided by their brilliant head coach Lisa Thomaidis, the Huskies women’s basketball team advanced to win the U Sports title. 

Levi Cable came up big for the Huskies in the 2020 post-season.

The Huskies thumped the Brock University Badgers 82-64 in the U Sports title game at TD Place in Ottawa, Ont.

Following that win, the Huskies returned home to enjoy an on campus victory rally on March 11, 2020 right before shutdowns and restrictions started to take root to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

On February 29, 2020, a record standing room crowd of 2,667 watched the Huskies men’s hockey team down the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 3-1 in Game 2 of the Canada West Championship series to sweep the best-of-three set 2-0.

As the Huskies raised the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy as Canada West champions, no one at Merlis that night could have imagined that was the last time to this day they would see a Huskies hockey team play at home.

The Huskies were able to play their quarter-final game at the University Cup in Halifax, N.S., before the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Fans cheer the Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place on Feb. 29, 2020.

With a number of players legitimately down with the flu, the Huskies fell 3-2 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

No one knew that would be the last contest Dave Adolph would work as the Huskies legendary and one of a kind character head coach. 

Adolph will officially retire as Huskies head coach on May 1 of this year.

Willie Desjardins, who was the captain of the Huskies men’s hockey team that won the U Sports national title in 1982-83, said as head coach and general manager of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers on a frequent basis that legends are made in the playoffs.

In 2020-21, there were no opportunities for legends to be made as there is no U Sports action at all due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Huskies celebrate a Canada West title in 2020.

Anyone with attachments to U Sports has to hold on to hope that things will be different in 2021-22.

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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Huskies’ Klassen goes full speed ahead in whirlwind ride

Colton Klassen is healthy and ready to play football.

    Colton Klassen expected to write a classic injury comeback story, but world events had different ideas.

    Back on October 26, 2019, the star utility offensive player for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team went down with a gruesome dislocated right ankle near the end of the first quarter of 22-9 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears at Griffiths Stadium. The contest closed the regular season for both sides, which meant Klassen wasn’t able to play in the Huskies two post-season games.

    The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team hit the comeback trail with great focus and determination.

    Miraculously at the beginning of March, he recovered to the point he was ready to attend CFL scouting combines.

Colton Klassen (#7) with his Huskies teammates on Oct. 26, 2019.

    At that point, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took hold in North America causing massive shutdowns to occur starting on a big scale on March 11 and 12, especially in the sports world.

    “Looking back on it, I’m trying to be positive with it, because I know everyone is kind of going through the same thing right now with there being no season,” said Klassen, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 200 pounds. “I know individually from the point I got hurt until now it definitely went a way in which I never thought it would, and I don’t think anyone would ever imagine happening.

    “I’ve been lucky with my recovery. It has only been eight almost nine months since I’ve had surgery. It is amazing how quick the body can heal once you put the work in and put in the time.”

Colton Klassen leaves Griffiths Stadium after being injured on Oct. 26, 2019.

    Ignite Athletics held testing in late March and Klassen ran the 40-yard dash in under 4.6 seconds which showed the incredible progress he had made. On April 30, he was selected in the eighth round and 69^th overall by the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL Draft.

    He hasn’t been able to report to the Alouettes as the CFL season still hangs in limbo due to the pandemic. That development hasn’t deterred Klassen from his training.

    “It is unfortunate that I didn’t get the chance this year at least yet to go to a CFL camp or get to go and show what I can do,” said Klassen, who caught 37 passes last season for 456 yards and two touchdowns and was named a Canada West Conference all-star. “I’m definitely feeling good.

Colton Klassen returns a kick on special teams for the Huskies.

    “The big thing now I think with myself and any athlete right now is just trying to stay positive and stay mentally safe and healthy and just try to be as positive as we can be given the situation that we are in.”

    Still, the bumps kept coming.

    On June 8, U Sports cancelled all its fall national championships including football, and the Canada West Conference cancelled play in all team sports for fall because of the ongoing battle with COVID-19.

    Just nine days into July, it appeared Klassen would lose the potential opportunity to return to the Huskies for his fifth and final season of eligibility. U Sports had at first decided to continue to enforce its age cap rule for football, and due to the fact Klassen would be 25-years-old as of Sept. 1, 2021, he wouldn’t have been eligible to play.

Colton Klassen, right, secures a catch in traffic for the Huskies.

    On July 27, U Sports announced it was launching a review regarding its eligibility policies for football and ruled all players who would be 25-years-old as of Sept. 1, 2021 would be allowed to play in the 2021 campaign. That meant Klassen could play his final campaign for the Huskies in 2021.

    After again riding the roller-coaster this time because of the age cap issue, Klassen couldn’t believe how many different adversities had piled up, but he still wanted to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.

    “This year has just kind of been a punching bag in the face,” said Klassen. “First of all the injury and then everyone has their personal stuff to go through, so there is a lot of personal stuff to deal with after the injury and everything going forward.

Colton Klassen has celebrated a lot of big plays with the Huskies.

    “With COVID happening and stuff getting shut down and sports getting shut down, going forward with the future of my life, I don’t know if there will ever be a year or a time that will have this much negativity or so much doubt or uncertainty. If we can make it through this with everything that is going on, we can make it through anything.”

    The graduate of the CJFL’s Regina Thunder found a saving grace on June 8, when Ignite Athletics reopened after a government imposed shutdown. Klassen, who was the offensive player of the year of the Prairie Football Conference with the Thunder in 2015, was able to train again in a group setting with his Huskies teammates, who live in Saskatoon.

    He was happy to see athletes from other football teams and other sports out at Ignite too.

Colton Klassen was selected by the Alouettes in the CFL Draft.

    “Just seeing (co-owner and strength and conditioning coach) Joel (Lipinski) and seeing all those guys there and just seeing the positivity that those guys bring, I think that definitely helps,” said Klassen. “Definitely after quarantine and everything and the restrictions you have with seeing friends and people, when you go to the gym now, it is not just to get a lift in.

    “It is to get that social interaction aspect of your life back in. I know for me the gym right now is my life. I love going there.

    “I honestly don’t know what I would do without it or where I would be right now or what condition I would be in. Honestly, that is one of the things keeping me same right now.”

    Going forward, Klassen is working for the day he gets to play a game of football again.

    “I try to have the mindset that I am still going to have the opportunity to play football, and this virus won’t end it all,” said Klassen. “With this hitting us, this is more than just football.

Colton Klassen looks forward to the day he plays a football game again.

    “This is hitting you in every aspect of your life. I am just trying to look at it in the most positive way I can and just try to use it as a learning experience. I am just trying to stay positive and just trying to think about 12 or 13 months from now instead of just worrying about tomorrow or the day after.

    “It is just keep working and eventually we’ll be in a time I believe that is more normal than it is now.”

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Didn’t realize significance of last U Sports, WHL moments

The Huskies celebrate winning the Canada West title on Feb. 29.

    Have I seen my last U Sports and WHL games for an undetermined lengthy stretch?

    That question has passed through my mind the last four days or so. With the world in the grip of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it has crossed my mind it could be some time before I see action in either circuit.

    When they resume, life might take me to a point, where I won’t have involvement in either circuit. It is possible life could take me out of the city of Saskatoon.

    Actually, I try not to think about what the mid to long term future might look like, because I find I engage in mental gymnastics that eats up time and raises the anxiety.

    With that said, it seems pretty obvious the sports scene in Canada will look a lot different and potentially unrecognizable when the pandemic ends. If the shutdowns and restrictions in North American last to next year and even just two years, you can already see a number of teams, leagues and minor sports organizations fold.

Levi Cable scored twice for the Huskies in their Canada West title clincher.

    Add in all the businesses that are struggling and closing, it is hard to conceive there would be enough government money to hand out to keep everything afloat. All of these entities would be healthy, if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic which can cripple daily revenue streams by 50 to 90 per cent.
    While the province of Saskatchewan is undergoing phases of a reopening plan, I had an eerie feeling all is still not well, when I stopped at an intersection between the Saskatoon Inn and Heritage Inn on Saturday.

    At each hotel, I saw just two cars in the parking lot. This has gone on for three months. I know that is not a good sign.

    Usually, those hotels are starting to rock with the wedding season in summer.

Even with the shutdowns and restrictions that have been in place since the middle of March, there has already been unprecedented damage done to the economy, and things won’t be what they were for a very long time.

    Unfortunately, the only options to navigate the pandemic are all bad and difficult.

    There is a great and legitimate fear about how contagious and how fast COVID-19 can spread.

    One of the most recent reminders came Monday when reports surfaced a number of members from the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texas tested positive for COVID-19 including Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Carson Stadnyk scored in the Canada West title clincher.

    The government and medical health officials are trying to find the least crappy option through all this, but there isn’t a good option.

    Still, the mind drifts back to a naïve time that was not that long ago.

    Back on Feb. 29, I was at Merlis Belsher Place when it was still serving its original purpose of being a hockey rink as opposed to a COVID-19 field hospital in waiting.
    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies downed the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 3-1 in Game 2 of the Canada West Championship series in men’s hockey before a record crowd of 2,667 spectators. The Huskies swept the best-of-three series 2-0 to capture the title.

    Levi Cable scored twice for the Huskies, and Carson Stadnyk had a single in the win. Netminder Taran Kozun, who would be named the U Sports player of the year and goaltender of the year in March, made 17 saves to earn the win in goal.

    The crowd at Merlis might have been the loudest it had ever been for a Huskies game in the new facility. The Huskies moved to Merlis before the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

    No one at the Huskies Canada West title winning game envisioned U Sports coming to a halt. There will be no national championships in fall or no to possibly limited action in three conferences.
    If hockey gets off the ground, it won’t be until January of 2021, and the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams will have to play in different digs.

A crowd of 2,667 saw the Huskies win the Canada West title at Merlis.

    If that Canada West title win was the last time I potentially work a Huskies game, at least the departure was a memorable one.

    In dealing with U Sports since moving to Saskatoon in the summer of 2014, I realize there is a political spectrum you have to accept and deal with on that circuit that wasn’t always fun and did in some years make me not want to hang around on that sports body.

    I found I had a good natural chemistry dealing with the Huskies football team the past two seasons and the Huskies men’s hockey team this past season that brought the fun back.
    I know my February playoff rivalry pieces regarding the Huskies women’s hockey team and the Thunderbirds women’s team weren’t the most popular things I typed out. After the Huskies women’s team was swept 2-0 falling twice in extra sessions, I know I wasn’t the most liked person with some in that camp.

    I have passed a couple of email messages with graduated captain Brooklyn Haubrich and graduated star defender Leah Bohlken since that time.

    With all that has happened in the world over the last three months, those rivalry pieces don’t even look like that big of a thing to me anymore.

Aliaksei Protas and the Raiders rolled to an 8-3 win on March 3.

    Overall, I regained my joy being on the U Sports circuit, and just when that happens, it stalls out because of factors beyond the circuit’s control.

    March 3 marked the last time I was in the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. The defending WHL champion Raiders hammered the visiting Calgary Hitmen 8-3 before 2,481 spectators.

    The Raiders sat first in the WHL’s East Division, and there was optimism in “Hockey Town North” about there being another long playoff run.

    I remember the post-game interview with Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid rolled really great that night. Prince Albert products and Huskies women’s hockey team members Morgan Willoughby and Jessica Vance were saluted before that contest during the ceremonial puck drop.
    No one envisioned the Raiders would only play three more games in the 2019-20 campaign before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season.

    March 6 marked the last time I worked a live WHL game as the Regina Pats faced the Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre. Just 29 seconds into overtime, left-winger Kyle Crnkovic scored off a backdoor setup from Tristen Robins to give the Blades a 2-1 victory before 4,478 spectators.

    That win officially locked up a WHL playoff berth for the Blades, and the mood was upbeat and vibrant on the Saskatoon side during post-game interviews. Little did anyone know, that would be the Blades final home game for the 2019-20 campaign.

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates his OT winner for the Blades on March 6.

    About eight days later, the Blades players were bound for their off-season homes as the shutdowns started to occur due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    During the Huskies Canada West title winning game, the last Raiders game I was at or that final Blades home game, it never occurred to me to soak in the night, because it was going to be awhile before these things happened again.

    Today, the WHL put out a release targeting Oct. 2 as a potential start date for the 2020-21 campaign with hopes each team will play a standard 68-game regular season. Due to the league’s 22 clubs playing in four provinces and two states in the United States, I realize there are a lot of hurdles to go before any meaningful hockey games are played on the circuit.

    For now, at least my final recollections of being at home games involving the Huskies men’s hockey team, the Raiders and the Blades were good ones. If that is the end of chapter for me, at least it went out on a high.

Money crunch hammers U of Alberta athletics, other notes

Trevor Cox and the Golden Bears won’t be on the ice in 2020-21.

    It was a move that will send shock waves through not just the scene in U Sports but Canada’s national sports scene as a whole.

    On Wednesday, the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas athletics program announced it will not be participating in men’s and women’s hockey, volleyball and basketball in the upcoming 2020-21 U Sports season due to a lack of financing.

    The U of A athletics program is viewed as one of the greatest in all of U Sports. The Golden Bears and Pandas teams in men’s and women’s hockey, volleyball and basketball have combined to win a total of 43 U Sports national titles.

    Back on June 8, U Sports cancelled all of its fall national championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On top of those announcements on June 8, the conferences of Atlantic University Sport and Ontario University Athletics announced all varsity sports will shut down for the remainder of 2020.

    Also on June 8, the Canada West Conference, which U of A plays out of, cancelled play in all team sports through to the end of 2020. Canada West will determine the fates of conference championships in men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross-country running and men’s and women’s swimming to be held in fall by July 15.

    Men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s volleyball are targeted to start in early January of 2021. A decision on the fate of those sports will be made by Oct. 8.

Kirsten Chamberlin and the Pandas won't play in 2020-21.

    Due to a budget crunch, the U of A athletics program decided to pull the plug on those programs now.

    In a release, the Golden Bears and Pandas program cited cuts to the Campus Alberta Grant, the demand from the Government of Alberta that universities balance their budgets and reduce expenditures in year and the reduction to the University of Alberta Athletics and Recreation student fee in causing a major shortfall.

    The University of Alberta Athletics and Recreation student fee was completely waived for the spring and summer semesters.

    “This scenario has brought most of our diverse revenue streams to a complete halt, and the athletics budget is no longer able to support participation for the 2020/2021 season,” said U of A athletics director Ian Reade in a release. “While this is an extremely hard decision for us, it is in the best interest of the student-athletes that we make this decision now, so their future is somewhat more clear.”

    Reade said the U of A athletics department will remain committed to those student-athletes who have written commitments to receive Athletic Financial Assistance.

    At the moment, the Golden Bears and Pandas teams still plan to participate in tournament sports including wrestling, cross-country running, track and field, rugby sevens, curling and swimming at the Canada West Conference level.

    U of A is slated to host the U Sports nationals for men’s and women’s wrestling on Feb. 26-27, 2021.
    In an interview with The Gateway, which is the U of A student newspaper, Reade said the school’s athletic programs is budgeting for University of Alberta Athletics and Recreation student fee will be reduced by 70 per cent for the fall term by the U of Alberta Students’ Union due to an expected reduction of access because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cole Sanford created lots of excitement for the Golden Bears.

    Reade told the student newspaper U of A athletics lost $1-million, when it couldn’t run its summer sports camps due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He told The Gateway he expects an estimated $1.2-million loss in base funding for the U of A athletics program.

    Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it would have been hard to imagine the Golden Bears and Pandas sitting out a sports season.

    The Golden Bears have won the most titles in U Sports national titles in men’s hockey at 16 and the Pandas are the all-time leaders in most national championships in U Sports women’s hockey at eight.

    The Golden Bears men’s volleyball team has captured eight U Sports national titles, and the Pandas women’s volleyball team has won seven U Sports national championships.

    The Golden Bears men’s basketball team has earned three U Sports national titles, and the Pandas women’s basketball team has won one U Sports national crown.

    The Golden Bears and Pandas teams are so storied you would think their unofficial theme songs would be “The Best” by Tina Turner and “We are the Champions” by Queen.

    Their exploits alone should cause Edmonton to restore the “City of Champions” signs at all entrances to the Alberta capital.

    Overall, the Golden Bears and Pandas student-athletes have the right type of good confidence and swagger. Along with winning a lot, the Golden Bears and Pandas team member carry themselves well.

    They epitomize winning with class and losing with class.

Autumn MacDougall of the Pandas led Canada West in scoring last season.

    If the U of A teams aren’t able to go in 2020-21 due to financial reasons, one wonders how many other U Sports programs might decide to pack it in and not play during that campaign as well.

    Across Canada, a number of teams, leagues and minor sports organizations are having talks regarding decisions to play or not to play, and if those teams, leagues and minor sports organizations do play, those bodies have to figure out if they will be throwing good money after bad money.

    Despite all that gloom, the U of A athletics program is aiming to return to regular participation in U Sports in 2021-22.

    Reade and the U of A decision makers are doing their best to ensure the Golden Bears and Pandas teams will add to their epic exploits in the future after the 2020-21 campaign.

• On Monday, Golf Canada cancelled all of its amateur competitions for the duration of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It previously announced the cancellation and postponement of a number of its junior and amateur competition scheduled through mid-June.
• On Wednesday, Golf Saskatchewan announced it will go ahead with eight individual championships but will not host the Women’s Rosebowl or the Mixed Championship, which operate in shotgun start formats. The first event is the 102^nd Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Championship set for the Willows Golf and Country Club in Saskatoon from July 9 to 11. The dates for all the tournaments can be found by clicking right here.
• On Sunday, the Assiniboia Southern Rebels junior B team announced they had requested and been approved of a one-year leave of absence from the Prairie Junior Hockey League. The Rebels cited uncertainty created due to the COVID-19 pandemic as reason for the move.
• On Tuesday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies announced their Dogs’ Breakfast fundraiser set for Sept. 3 has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is an annual fundraiser for the Huskies football team. Those who bought a ticket can donate the purchase to the Huskies football team, defer the ticket to the 2021 Dogs’ Breakfast, receive a partial refund or a full refund. More info on how to deal with a Dogs’ Breakfast ticket can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, Medicine Hat Tigers right-winger Lucas Svejkovsky was invited to the United States World Junior Summer Showcase slated for July 24 to Aug. 1 in Plymouth, Mich. In 52 regular season games split with the Vancouver Giants and Tigers last season, Svejkovsky, who will turn 19 in November, netted 18 goals, 20 assists and a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus category. The camp is used by the United States to evaluate players for the upcoming world juniors slated to start Dec. 26, 2020 and run to Jan. 5, 2021 in Edmonton and Red Deer. Svejkovsky came to the Tigers from the Giants last season via a trade.
• On Tuesday, Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Kaiden Guhle was invited to be part of Hockey Canada’s virtual national junior team development camp, which runs July 27 to 31. Prince Albert product Braden Schneider, who plays defence with the Brandon Wheat Kings, will also take part in the virtual camp. The virtual camp also includes two Saskatoon products in Adam Beckman, who plays left wing with the Spokane Chiefs and Connor Zary, who plays centre for the Kamloops Blazers.
• On Tuesday, Saskatoon Blades head coach Mitch Love was named an assistant coach for Canada world junior team for a second straight year. Love helped Canada win gold at last season’s tournament.
• On Wednesday, the Saskatoon Blades released popular utility player Randen Schmidt, who is set to enter his overage season. Schmidt played three season for the Blades appearing in 129 regular season games collecting three goals, 17 assists and a plus-one rating.
• Over recent weeks, I know there has been a call for police departments across North America to do better. I believe any local calls from Saskatoon to defund the Saskatoon Police Service are misguided. I do have family and friends who are members of the Saskatoon Police Service. If you ask members of the police service, they would agree more funds should go into social programs, because it would prevent the chances of those growing up in not the best social circumstances cycling into the justice system as an offender. Defunding the police right now would create a lot of problems. While you can always improve, all one needs to do is talk to retired Saskatoon Police Service sergeant Ernie Louttit about how much the Saskatoon police have improved from the 1980s until now. Also, the Saskatoon Police Service put out this music video back in September of 2018, which allows people in Saskatoon to say their police service is better than yours.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.