Raiders down Wheat Kings 2-1, stay in playoff chase

Carson Latimer scored twice for the Raiders on Wednesday.

The Prince Albert Raiders are still on the outside looking in when it comes to making the WHL playoffs, but they picked up a key win to stay in the post-season race.

On Wednesday night playing before 2,430 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. The win allowed the Raiders to halt a four-game losing streak that include one overtime and three regulation setbacks.

The WHL leading Winnipeg Ice were responsible for giving the Raiders the one overtime and two regulation setbacks over that four-game skid.

In Wednesday’s win over the Wheat Kings, left-winger Carson Latimer scored twice in the first period to give the Raiders a 2-0 edge. That proved to be all the offence the Raiders needed as they eventually held on for a one-goal win.

With 5:33 remaining in the first, Latimer potted his first goal of the contest after collecting the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Evan Herman.

Latimer struck for his second tally with 3:27 remaining in the third scoring from a bad angle to the left side of the Brandon net after collecting a crossbar rebound from a shot taken by import linemate Vladislav Shilo.

The Wheat Kings cut the Raiders lead to 2-1 with 6:40 remaining in the second on a goal from associate player call up Charlie Elick. The defenceman, who turned 16-years-old in January, took a shot from the point that was going wild of the goal, but the puck bounced off Raiders defenceman Eric Johnston into the Prince Albert net.

The marker was Elick’s first career WHL regular season goal. The Calgary, Alta., product joined the Wheat Kings after playing for the Edge School’s under-18 prep team.

Tikhon Chaika made 34 saves for the Raiders on Wednesday.

After that positive bounce goal by the Wheat Kings, Raiders import netminder Tikhon Chaika slammed the door the rest of the way making 34 total saves in the contest to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders, who improved to 25-32-4-1.

Ethan Kruger turned away 24 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings, who fell to 30-25-3-2.

The Raiders sit ninth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 55 points in the standings. They trail the Lethbridge Hurricanes (27-30-3-1) by three points for eighth place and the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Hurricanes fell to eighth place after dropping a 6-4 decision at home on Wednesday to the Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos have won six out of their last seven games to improve to 26-31-5-2 to sit seventh overall in the conference one point ahead of the Hurricanes and four points ahead of the Raiders.

Also on Wednesday, the Calgary Hitmen downed the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 3-2. The Hitmen improved to 23-31-6-2 to sit 10^th overall in the Eastern Conference standings one point behind the Raiders and four points behind the Hurricanes.

The Regina Pats are staying in the congested playoff push having downed the visiting Saskatoon Blades 3-2 on Wednesday. The Pats improved to 24-31-3-2 to sit 11^th overall in the Eastern Conference five points behind the Hurricanes.

The Broncos have four games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Raiders and Hitmen have six games remaining on their respective slates, the Hurricanes have seven contests left on their schedule and the Pats have eight regular season contests remaining.

The Raiders and Wheat Kings go at it again on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Blades rally comes up short in 3-2 loss to Pats

Kyle Crnkovic scored for the Blades on Wednesday.

The Saskatoon Blades came up just short in attempting to rally past the host Regina Pats.

On Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre, the Pats built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 victory to delight most of the 3,713 spectators in attendance.

Rookie 17-year-old right-winger Borya Valis gave the Pats a 1-0 lead in the first period. Tanner Howe, the Pats 16-year-old star right-winger, and Connor Bedard, the Pats 16-year-old phenom centre, combined to set up linemate Logan Linklater for a second period tally to put the Pats up 2-0.

Just 91 seconds into the third, Pats overage offensive-defenceman Ryker Evans netted his 14^th goal of the season to give the Pats a 3-0 advantage.

With 8:34 remaining in the third, Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic netted his 36^th goal of the season to cut the Pats lead to 3-1. Blades rookie import right-winger Egor Sidorov deflected home a shot from Blades star overage centre Tristen Robins to further trim Regina’s edge to 3-2 with 2:06 remaining in the third.

Saskatoon had pulled overage star netminder Nolan Maier for an extra attacker on Sidorov’s goal.

The Blades were unable to get the equalizer at that point.

Right before the third period ended, Sidorov and Evans engaged in a fight.

Drew Sim stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats (24-31-3-2). Maier turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades (34-24-3-1).

Wednesday’s clash marked the sixth and final time the Blades and Pats faced each other in the regular season, and the Blades had won the previous five clashes between the two sides.

The Blades sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and sit three points behind the 35-22-3-2 Moose Jaw Warriors for fourth overall in the conference. The fourth place team in the conference will have home ice advantage over the fifth place club in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

The Blades and Warriors face each other on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Pats also return to action on Friday hosting the WHL leading 48-9-3-2 Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Blades announced Robins will be the captain for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign as regular captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere is set to have season ending shoulder surgery. The standout defenceman is expected to return for the start of next season for his overage campaign.

The Blades injury list is a lengthy one. Centres Trevor Wong, Jayden Wiens and Lukas Hansen, right-winger Noah Boyko and defenceman Rhett Rhinehart are all out with upper body injuries. Hansen and Rhinehart are listed as out week to week, while Wong, Wiens and Boyko are labeled as day to day.

Saskatoon/Regina make pitch as joint world juniors host

The 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation’s world junior tournament might be hosted in Saskatchewan.

On Wednesday, Tourism Saskatoon and Tourism Regina announced in a joint release that Canada has been asked by the IIHF to come up with a plan to host the 2023 world juniors, and as a result, a joint bid is being planned from Saskatoon and Regina.

The tournament was originally scheduled to start Dec. 26, 2022 and run through to Jan. 5, 2023 in Novosibirsk, Russia. 

Back on Feb. 28, the IIHF announced it was stripping Russia of its hosting rights among other sanctions due to that country’s military invasion of Ukraine.

If the Saskatchewan bid is successful, the communities of Humboldt, Swift Current, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw could also host games for world juniors.

Saskatchewan played host to the tournament in the 1990-91 and 2009-10 campaigns.

The city councils in both Saskatoon and Regina will hold special meetings on Friday to discuss a joint bid.

The SaskTel Centre, Regina Exhibition Authority Limited and the Saskatoon Destination Marketing Hotels are collaborating with Tourism Saskatoon and Tourism Regina on this venture.

Cities are required to have a business plan and event bid in to Hockey Canada by this coming Monday. A final decision is to be made on April 25 or 26.

Sharks grad Marshall gets U Sports silver

Chloe Marshall in action for the Sharks in December 2015.

Battlefords Sharks female under-18 AAA hockey team grad Chloe Marshall had the biggest three games of her playing career this past weekend at the U Sports women’s hockey championship tournament.

At the elite-eight style event, the 24-year-old Neilburg, Sask., product backstopped the North Bay, Ont., based Nipissing University Lakers to a silver medal finish at the U Sports nationals that were held at the MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

In a quarter-final contest held last Thursday, Marshall made 41 saves to allow the sixth-seeded Lakers to pull out a 1-0 overtime victory over the Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Defender Madi Solie, who is a graduate of the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings female under-18 AAA team, scored the overtime winner for the Lakers.

Solie played three seasons for the Gold Wings from 2013 to 2016 and was a member of their 2013-14 squad that won the Esso Cup as female national under-18 AAA hockey champions.

Last Saturday, Marshall proceeded to make 16 saves to back the Lakers to a 4-0 victory in a semifinal contest over the second seed University of New Brunswick Reds, who were the Atlantic University Sport conference champions. Solie had a goal in the victory over the Reds.

In the gold medal final last Sunday, Marshall stopped 33-of-36 shots in a 4-0 loss to the top-seeded Concordia University Stingers, who were the champions of the Reseau du Sport Etudiant du Quebec. The Stingers netted their final tally into an empty net.

Marshall played two seasons for the Sharks from 2014 to 2016. Before joining the Lakers, Marshall  played one season for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2017-18 and one campaign for the now defunct University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in 2019-20.

The Lakers roster also contained defender Allison Hayhurst, who is a graduate of the now defunct Melville Prairie Fire female under-18 AAA team. Hayhurst played for the Prairie Fire for five seasons from 2014 to 2019.

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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Sharks’ Glynn grows into all-around rock on defence

Blue-liner leaves mark on softball diamonds too

Madison Glynn anchors the Sharks back end.

When it came to playing hockey, it wasn’t love at first sight for Madison Glynn.

Glynn has grown up in Saskatoon playing both hockey and softball at high levels after discovering both sports at age three. She remembers that her first forays on to the ice weren’t agreeable.

“I actually started off not liking hockey,” said Glynn. “I kind of cried when I went on the ice the first few times.

“It kind of just grew on me. I liked playing with all my friends and being a part of a team.”

From that auspicious start, Glynn is now a standout 17-year-old veteran defender with the Battlefords Sharks female under-18 AAA hockey team. She is also a standout catcher in softball, but due to a knee injury, she played in the outfield for the Saskatoon Co-op Selects U-19 women’s AA team this past summer while continuing to show off a sweet stroke at the plate.

Madison Glynn is a solid hitter on the softball diamonds.

Glynn recalls her first introduction to softball was more agreeable than her introduction to hockey.

“With ball, it kind of just to me was something just fun to do like all the time, but then it just grew on me,” said Glynn.

As Glynn progressed up through minor hockey and softball, hockey began to emerge more as her main sport. She started out playing forward in hockey and switched to defence in her second year in the atom age category.

Glynn played hockey mainly on boys’ teams deciding to switch over to playing on girls’ teams full time at the peewee age level. She had the desire to ultimately play at the female under-18 AAA level.

Before that desire could be fulfilled, Glynn suffered a setback.

“Going into bantam my first year, I didn’t make the double-A team, and I only made the A-team,” said Glynn. “It kind of like motivated me more that what I wanted to do was play triple-A.”

Madison Glynn snipes a shot on goal for the Sharks.

The motivation kicked Glynn into a higher gear. After one season of hockey at the bantam age level, she attended spring camp and fall camp with the Sharks in Battleford.

After going through the disappointment of not making a bantam AA team as a 13-year-old, Glynn received an unexpected surprise from the Sharks.

“Battlefords just offered me a spot when I was 14,” said Glynn. “It wasn’t an opportunity I wanted to pass up.”

As a 14-year-old underage player with the Sharks in 2017-18, Glynn, who stands 5-foot-8, suited up for 22 regular season games netting three goals and two assists. Those were pretty solid totals for a first-year defender in her underage campaign in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League.

Madison Glynn patrolled the outfield for the Selects.

Glynn had a goal and three assists skating in 24 regular season games as a 15-year-old sophomore in 2018-19. Last season, she emerged as more off an offensive-defender posting seven goals and six assists in 28 regular season games.

After three complete seasons, Glynn had emerged as one of the most reliable defenders in the SFU18AAAHL who had a strong presence when it came to controlling play in her own zone. Going into her final campaign at the under-18 AAA level this season, Glynn feels like she has come a long ways.

“I feel like every aspect of my game has improved quite a lot,” said Glynn. “We had three different coaches.

“They all brought different aspects that allowed me to improve that much more.”

Madison Glynn is sound at controlling play in her own end.

Following the completion of the SFU18AAAHL regular season in 2019-20, all post-season play was cancelled in March after the world came under the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, the Sharks were only able to play two exhibition games and two regular season contests before the campaign was paused due to Public Health Orders that were brought in to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

As for the two regular season outings, the Sharks fell 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 21 to the Northern Bears in Prince Albert and dropped a 9-5 decision to the Northern Bears one day later on home ice at the Battleford Arena. Glynn scored a goal in the home ice setback.

The Sharks are playing under the guidance of new head coach Ricci Girolami, who had previously been a bench boss on the circuit as an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Stars from 2011 to 2013. Glynn was excited about the Sharks prospects with Girolami guiding the team.

Madison Glynn jets down the base path after a hit.

“I had Ricci as a coach for spring hockey maybe when I was like 12, and I’ve always liked him,” said Glynn. “This year like coming in, he definitely made a real big impact on our team.

“He knows what he wants. We know what he wants, and we know what to expect from him. There are no surprises.

“He definitely pushes us to be better as team. This year even our first exhibition game and our first regular season game was the best in the four years that I have played with the Sharks. It was the strongest we’ve been and the most we’ve played as a team.”

Over the years, Glynn has experienced her share of success on the softball diamonds. The Saskatoon Phantoms team she played on in 2014 qualified for the Under-14 Girls’ Canadian Fast Pitch Championship that was held in Brampton, Ont., and Glynn captured the award as the tournament’s MVP.

Madison Glynn had 13 points in 28 regular season game in 2019-20.

In 2019, Glynn helped the Phantoms win the under-16 provincial title and qualify for the Under-16 Girls’ Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Calgary, Alta.

Glynn has enjoyed the experiences she has gained in softball. She was happy to play this past summer even with the differences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her regular season with the Selects ran July and August along with a handful of days at the start of September. All invitational, provincial and national championship tournaments were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“For ball, we have practices like a lot,” said Glynn. “This year I think we maybe had like two practices once the season started.

Madison Glynn, right, has gone to two nationals on the diamond.

“We didn’t get very many. It was weird not going to tournaments every weekend and going to provincials and potentially nationals. It didn’t feel the same, but it was still good that we got to play.”

Glynn graduated from high school a year early this past June and was looking forward to focusing on training for and playing hockey.

She credits her mom, Tammy, and father, Trevor, for being the biggest influences in helping her out in playing both sports.

Following her time with the Sharks, Glynn wants to play hockey at the post-secondary level in 2021-22, but still expects to return to the softball diamonds in the hockey off-season.

Madison Glynn aims to play hockey at the post-secondary level.

“Ball is kind of just what I come back to in the summer,” said Glynn. “Hockey is like really what I want to do and what I want to continue on.

“I’ve like talked to a few schools, but nothing has panned out fully yet. That is what my end goal is it is to play university or college somewhere.”

Until something works out on that front, Glynn hopes to she will get the chance to continue the current season with the Sharks. 

Because the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the hockey schedule, Glynn tries to soak in every moment she is on the ice.

“It has definitely been really different,” said Glynn. “You don’t know what to expect.

Madison Glynn, left, has enjoyed her time with the Sharks.

“You don’t know which game is going to be your last game. You kind of have to play with the mindset like maybe this is my last game. I need to do everything I can that I am not going to regret, if I didn’t play my best.”

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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Bears’ rookie Archer slams door on Sharks in OT win

Bears G Brooke Archer turns away Sharks F Lacey Schneider.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Brooke Archer wasn’t going to let an opportunity for redemption pass her by.

Last Sunday at the SaskTel Centre, 15-year-old rookie goalie for the Prince Albert Northern Bears made her first Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League regular season start. The Mossbank, Sask., product made 27 saves coming up on the wrong end of a 7-2 loss to the host Saskatoon Stars.

The Bears played their next game after that setback on Saturday inside the friendly confines of the Art Hauser Centre, and Archer found herself getting the start again in goal. She made 21 stops helping the Bears post a 2-1 overtime victory over the visiting Battlefords Sharks.

Brooke Archer directs a shot into the corner.

The two sides go at it again on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Battleford Arena in Battleford.

Archer was pleased Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby didn’t allow her to dwell too long on the lopsided loss to the Stars.

“I was actually really surprised, but I was happy,” said Archer. “I felt that hopefully I could redeem myself this game and come back out better.”

Actually, it might be accurate to say Archer played so well she stole Saturday’s game for the Bears. She turned away speedy Sharks 17-year-old forward Jordyn Blais on three different breakaway opportunities.

Brooke Archer made 21 saves on Saturday.

Blais had two breakaway chances while the Sharks were short-handed.

During the game’s first 40-minutes, the Sharks had a slim 20-19 edge in shots on goal, but the visitors also had numerous grade A scoring chances.

Archer made a larger number of tough saves to allow the Bears to exit the first 40 minutes locked in a 1-1 tie.

“I was a little scared going into this one after what happened in the last one,” said Archer. “Once I got in the home ice, I felt my confidence went up a lot more.”

When it came to facing Blais on those three breakaway, Archer had a strategy.

“I knew she was going to shoot each time just because we had a D-man pressuring her,” said Archer. “I was just ready for the shot.”

Brooke Archer gathers up a loose puck.

After the two sides played a tight checking scoreless third period, it didn’t take the Bears long to get the win in a four-on-four overtime session. Just 35 seconds into the extra frame, Bears winger Haley Kicia sprung captain Paris Oleksyn on a breakaway to the Sharks goal with a smart pass.

Oleksyn wired the winner to the top right corner of the Battlefords net over the shoulder of Sharks 16-year-old veteran goalie Yelena Zaleschuk. The veteran 17-year-old Prince Albert centre was pumped to net the overtime winner.

Yelena Zaleschuk made 24 saves for the Sharks.

“It was a heck of a feeling,” said Oleksyn. “There was a lot nerves at the beginning.

“It was the first overtime of the year, which was kind of scary. Me and Haley (Kicia), we’re super excited. We just need to focus on getting the puck deep, and then it is four-on-four.

“It shouldn’t be that hard to create some two-on-ones which we did. We retrieved the puck, and it was just the best feeling.”

Oleksyn said the Bears had to get the win too after Archer made all her key saves to keep the host side in the contest.

“She (Archer) was having an amazing game,” said Oleksyn. “It was hard for us that we couldn’t help her out, because she kept stopping like breakaway shots and everything.

Ava Cole scored to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.

“There wasn’t a lot we could do to help her out until the end.”

After a scoreless opening frame, the Sharks got on the board first at the 3:38 mark of the second. Working on the power play, Sharks defender Ava Cole snuck down from the point and collected the loose puck at the left side of the Bears net.

Cole popped home an extra-strength marker from close in to the top corner of the Prince Albert goal to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

The Bears responded 41 seconds later when centre Sophia Zuck roofed home a shot on an offensive zone rush to even the score at 1-1.

From that point, Archer ensured the door to the Prince Albert net stayed shut helping her team improve to 2-1.

Sophia Zuck scored the equalizer for the Bears.

Zaleschuk had a solid outing as well turning away 24 shots to take the setback in goal for the Sharks, who were making their regular season debut in the 2020-21 campaign.

Willoughby said the Bears coaching staff believed they needed to let Archer start another game as quickly as possible to help her get past the loss she took in her regular season debut.

“We just felt that she needed to play,” said Willoughby. “Instead of sitting and thinking about the last game one more day, let’s just get her back in the action.

“There is no better way than to just get right back into it. I thought playing at the Art Hauser she would feel more comfortable. Obviously, it showed today.

Paris Oleksyn had the OT winner for the Bears.

“I thought she had great composure on some of the saves she had to make like three breakaways and some in tight rebounds. She had really good composure. We were glad with the decision that was made, and it paid off I think for all of us.”

Willoughby said he was happy for Archer, and believes his netminder got exactly what she needed. The veteran bench boss added the Bears skaters need to play better in front of their goaltenders but having Archer gain a boost of confidence was a big plus.

“Games can be swung either way just by how your goaltender is playing,” said Willoughby. “If we can continue to get that performance from Brooke and both our goalies, it just helps us out throughout the way here.”

The Bears celebrate their OT victory on Saturday.

On top of gaining a confidence boost, Archer will never forget getting her first win for the Bears.

“It was so exciting,” said Archer. “I just had so energy going over there, and it was just an awesome feeling.

“I hope we get lots more from there.”

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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Kulbida roars in hockey and softball’s fast lanes

Jordan Kulbida is a solid two-way forward with the Cougars.

    Jordan Kulbida was always a stellar softball player, but there was a time she wasn’t sure if she should bring hockey into her life even though she wanted to.

    These days, Kulbida is a 21-year-old solid two-way forward with the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks and ace pitcher with the Saskatoon G Force senior women’s softball team. She can also hit and field well on the diamond too.

    Back when she was about 12-years-old, Kulbida was playing softball, but she hadn’t taken up hockey. Her friend, Nara Elia, was playing the sport, and Kulbida wanted to try it out.

    With that noted, Elia was really good and Sophie Shirley was among the talented group of players that were on the ice. Elia would go on to play for Canada’s under-18 women’s team and currently is a standout with the Boston University Terriers women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks.

Jordan Kulbida is an ace pitcher with the G Force.

    Shirley has gone on to be cemented in Canada’s national team system and currently stars for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team. She helped the Badgers win an NCAA national title in 2018-19.

    “Since I did start so late in my life, I was so nervous, because all these girls were so good,” said Kulbida, who has played three full seasons with the Cougars. “They had been to all these camps and like skating stuff, and I had never done any of that.

    “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this.’ All the girls were so nice, and they were so welcoming. All those girls that I grew up with like Nara and all of them, some of them I played with them.

    “For the most part, I played against lots of those girls. They pushed me, and they helped me become better. They were all very supportive, and it was awesome.”

Jordan Kulbida in action with the Cougars in 2017.

    Kulbida quickly discovered her love for hockey. She found her groove in that game making the Battlefords Sharks as a 16-year-old rookie in the 2015-16 season in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League.

    During her second and final campaign with the Sharks in 2016-17, Kulbida was named team captain, and she piled up 17 goals and five assists appearing all of the team’s 28 regular season games.

    While she got into hockey, Kulbida kept going with softball playing with the Saskatoon Selects program through to the summer of 2018.

    In 2017, Kulbida cracked the roster for Saskatchewan’s women’s softball team that played at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg. Saskatchewan came away with a fourth place finish at that event.

    Kulbida believes softball will always be part of her life.

    “Honestly, I just loved like the atmosphere,” said Kulbida. “I was always with like the same group of girls, because it was like zone ball, when we were younger.

    “I became like really close with like all those girls. We were such good friends, and we had like such good parents and such good coaching. It was so awesome.

Jordan Kulbida plays in the outfield for the G Force.

    “I loved traveling with the team and going to tournaments. It was just so much fun. Getting to play the game that you love with all your best friends is like anything that anyone can ever ask for.”

    Due to playing in the Canada Summer Games and making nationals with the Selects, Kulbida was approached by post-secondary schools in the United States about playing softball.

    While those opportunities were there, Kulbida’s desire to play university hockey during her Grade 12 year increased. Even with the fact the goals were going into the net during her final year with the Sharks, Kulbida had her doubts if the opportunity to play university hockey would present itself.

    That all changed when she met Cougars head coach Sarah Hodges.

    “I wasn’t sure I was going to be good enough,” said Kulbida. “When Sarah (Hodges) came and talked to me at the (Athol Murray College of) Notre Dame camp (in Wilcox, Sask.), she was like, ‘I see some really good potential in you.’

Jordan Kulbida started playing hockey at around age 12.

    “I loved hockey so I was like, ‘Yeah. Sure. I should give it a shot.’ I’ve loved the past three years at the University of Regina.

    “It has been a huge eye-opener for sure. It has been super fun.”

    In 81 career regular season games with the Cougars, Kulbida has recorded 14 goals and 14 assists. Last season, she netted career high seven goals and tied her career high in points at 10 in 26 regular season games.

    By joining the Cougars, Kulbida was able to continue her duel sports life. She played for both the Selects and G Force in the summer of 2018 and with the G Force in the summer of 2019 and this past summer.

    Kulbida said her continuing efforts in softball have been supported by Hodges.

    Hodges was a multisport athlete herself playing for the Dartmouth College Big Green women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks from 1992 to 1996 as a star utility player piling up 146 points while also being a member of the school’s track and field team as a javelin thrower. On top of those sports, Hodges also played competitive rugby.

Jordan Kulbida has played softball for most of her life.

    “She (Hodges) thinks it is good that I have other interests in my life,” said Kulbida. “She knows that I play softball, and she loves it.

    “Her daughters are getting into softball too, and she always like asks me for advice or how to help them. I am able to help her in that way, so that is really awesome to be able to give back to the community like that. She is super supportive of it.

    “She loves it that I am a double sport athlete.”

    Kulbida has found that she has been a good fit with the G Force. She adds it has been fun being one of the younger athletes on the teams, as a lot of her teammates are about two years older than her.

    Kulbida has been impressed with talents her teammates bring to the game. Growing up when she wasn’t pitching, Kulbida would usually play shortstop.

    With the G Force, they have a spectacular shortstop in Brielle McCullough, and Kulbida said it is amazing to see the plays McCullough makes. Kulbida is pumped to be part of the G Force team.

Jordan Kulbida has played three full seasons with the Cougars.

    “It is so awesome,” said Kulbida. “It is such a great group of girls.

    “Those girls have mostly been together since they were little, (and) they’ve been so welcoming and so kind to me. It has been so fun. I love all the girls, and I love hanging out with them.

    “Going to a game is like the most exciting thing ever, because we are there, we are having fun and we are also winning, so that is good. The coaching staff like Dave (McCullough) and Tony (Rupps) and Cory (Volk) are all awesome. I really enjoy it.”

    While she was able to play softball this past summer, Kulbida is keeping her fingers crossed she will get to play meaningful games with the Cougars for the 2020-21 season. U Sports has cancelled all its fall national championships due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Jordan Kulbida expects to play for the G Force well into the future.

    The Canada West Conference, which the Cougars play out of, has set Oct. 8 as the latest date about making a decision on whether the seasons for men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s volleyball will continue. At the moment, all those sports are targeted to start in early January.

    Kulbida is enrolled in kinesiology and health studies at the University of Regina and like all students is doing her courses online. She is still living in Saskatoon at the moment and continuing to work at her summer job.

    She said the Cougars have set a date of Oct. 5 to have all their players return to Regina, but the team has been flexible and understanding about everyone’s real life living situations.
    Whenever she can get back on the ice, Kulbida is looking forward to continuing her career with the Cougars.

Jordan Kulbida hopes to play more hockey after her Cougars days.

    She would like to have a chance to continue to play hockey for a campaign or two after her university career wraps up to in order keep playing hockey, while continuing to play for the G Force.

    “My first three years (with the Cougars) went by so fast,” said Kulbida. “I can’t believe that I am going into my fourth year already.

    “I look back and everything, and I am like, ‘Wow. That is crazy and all the good memories and everything.’ I’ve looked at maybe going to play hockey in Europe after I am done at the University of Regina.

    “Hopefully, I will get a cool opportunity to go play there (in Europe) for a year, because that would be awesome. We will see.”

    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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Goal a constant talking point for Huskies’ Kozun

Dogs open Canada West semi against Dinos on Friday

Taran Kozun scored a goal by shooting the puck into an empty net.

    Taran Kozun’s goal has become a never ending conversation piece for the 25-year-old goaltender.
    On Jan. 18, Kozun made 22 saves backing the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to a 3-0 U Sports regular season shutout win over the University of Calgary Dinos at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary, Alta. Normally, the shutout win would be the highlight of the night for a puckstopper.

    On this outing, Kozun netted his team’s final goal of the contest scoring into an empty net with 2:49 remaining in the third period. With that tally, Kozun became just the second goalie in the history of the Canada West Conference to score a goal.

    “Everybody likes talking about it, so you kind of got to go with it,” said Kozun, who is still fielding questions about the tally over a month later. “If a goalie scores, talk is going to come with it.

Taran Kozun has been a first team Canada West all-star two straight years.

    “I’d kind of like to (keep it) a secret a little bit, but what are you going to do. Everybody wants to talk about it. Even when you go back home, everybody has to mention it and talk about it and see what happens.

    “I tell the story lots, and it is all not that bad. It would be nice to just be able to go home and not talk about it, but it is alright.”

    Kozun was actually the first goalie in the history of the Canada West Conference to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opposing net.

    Way back on October 26, 2012, U of Alberta Golden Bears netminder Curtis Mucha was credited with his team’s first goal in a 7-1 victory over the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns in Lethbridge, Alta. In that instance, a member of the Pronghorns accidentally passed the puck the length of the ice into his own empty net during a delayed penalty call.

Taran Kozun was the Canada West goaltender of the year last year.

    Since Mucha was the last Golden Bears player to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal.

    Kozun admitted he tried in the past to score a goal during his days playing in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds from 2011 to 2015.

    “I probably tried about five times throughout my junior career,” said Kozun, who is in his third season of U Sports eligibility. “I think I missed the net four times and hit my D-man in the back on one other one.

    “I figured I’d try it again. You never know what is going to happen.”

    Kozun will once again be facing the team he victimized for his goal. The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, will take on the Dinos, who are rated eight in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

Taran Kozun was the U Sports goaltender of the year last year.

    The Huskies finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-2 record, while the Dinos placed third with an 18-7-3 mark. U of S won three out of the four head-to-head encounters in the regular season between the two sides.

    The Dinos swept the U of Manitoba Bisons 2-0 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series to get to this point, while the Huskies had a bye into the semfinal set.

    Game 1 between the Huskies and Dinos is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 follows on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Of course, Kozun, who is from Nipawin, Sask., is best known for stopping the puck. During his final major junior campaign in 2014-15 with the Thunderbirds, Kozun was named a first team WHL Western Conference all-star and he claimed the WHL’s Top Goaltender award.

Taran Kozun had five shutouts in each of the past two seasons.

    Last season in his first full campaign as the Huskies starting goalie, Kozun was named a first team Canada West all-star, the Canada West goaltender of the year, a first team U Sports all-Canadian and the U Sports goaltender of the year.

    On Wednesday, he was named a first team Canada West all-star once again. 
    Kozun appeared 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 topped Canada West in wins, goals against average, save percentage and shutouts. 
    The five shutouts equal a record he set last year along with Golden Bears netminder Zach Sawchenko.

Collin Shirley was a second team Canada West all-star.

    Kozun helps the Huskies maintain a strong presence in goal that started in 2002 with Thomas Vicars, who gave way to Jeff Harvey, was passed on to Ryan Holfeld, who handed down to Jordon Cooke and was inherit by Kozun. 
    All five of those netminder have won 40 or more career regular season games stopping pucks for the Huskies.

    “The smartest coach has the best goaltender,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph with a sly grin.

    To say Adolph was happy to bring Kozun on board before the start of the 2017-18 campaign is a sizable understatement. 
    Kozun took over the starter’s roll that season when Cooke was injured in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the Dinos, which the Huskies claimed 2-1.

    “Taran Kozun has been one of the top goalies in the country since he has been 18,” said Adolph. “We are real fortunate to have him in terms of the progression after Jordon Cooke.”

    Kozun was happy he was named a first team Canada West all-star for a second straight campaign.

Gordie Ballhorn was a second team Canada West all-star.

    “It is a huge honour just for me, but it also shows that the team played in front of me,” said Kozun. “I feel like for a goalie getting an all-star and doing well a lot of it comes down to the D in front of him and the forwards coming out to help me out and making my job as easy as possible and being able to play as a team in the D-zone.

    “It makes your goalie look pretty good.”

    Things didn’t look good for the Huskies at the start of the campaign, when they stumbled to an 0-3-1 start after their first four regular season games. A large number of injuries – specifically on defence – hurt the Huskies in the early going.

    The Huskies posted a 22-1-1 mark from there and have won 11 straight heading into the playoffs.

    “It was a tough start for everybody myself included,” said Kozun. “It was a long summer off.

    “Getting back into things, we just quite weren’t ready to go as a team. It is the way it goes some years. Some years you come out flying, and the next year you might come out a little slower than in other years.
    “It got us into the mindset right off the start that if we play the wrong way we are not going to win. Throughout the second half, we proved to ourselves that if everybody buys into the system that is going on out on the ice that we have a good chance to win every night.”

Jared Dmytriw was named to the Canada West all-rookie team.

    Kozun was joined on the Canada West all-star team by left-winger Collin Shirley and defenceman Gordie Ballhorn, who were both named second-team all-stars.

    Shirley had nine goals, 17 assists and a plus-16 rating appearing in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games. Ballhorn has four goals and 15 assists skating in 24 regular season contests.

    Centre Jared Dmytriw was named to the Canada West all-rookie team after leading the Huskies in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists appearing in all 28 regular season games.
    Matthew Alfaro, who is a third-year forward with the Dinos, took home first-team Canada West all-star honours after leading the conference in regular season scoring with 15 goals and 21 assists.

    Dinos fifth-year forward Coda Gordon was named a second team Canada West all-star finishing second in U of C team regular season scoring with eight goals and 20 assists.

Taran Kozun (#31) hopes to enjoy a number of post-season wins.

    Dinos forward and Saskatoon product Kaden Elder and netminder Brodan Salmond were placed on the Canada West all-rookie team.
    Elder had 13 goals and eight assists in 25 regular season games with the Dinos. Salmond played in 15 regular season games posting a 9-2-3 record, a 2.40 goals against average, a .900 save percentage and one shutout.

    The Dinos like to utilize fourth-year veteran Matthew Greenfield in a platoon-type fashion with Salmond.

    Kozun said his Huskies will have their work cut out for them.

    “It is going to be a really close series,” said Kozun. “Every time we play them even last year and this year, it is usually a one or two-goal game.

    “We have to make sure that we are ready to go to play full 60, because they play a full 60. They play a hard full 60. They have three or four lines that are really good, and they have six D that can play.

    “They have two of the better goalies in the league over there too, so we are really going to have to make sure that we buy in. If we are not ready to go, they can take it to us pretty quickly.”

Young Stars on the rise

Emily Holmes scored the winning goal for the Stars on Thursday.

    The Saskatoon Stars have caught fire during a season where they have undergone a massive rebuild under an entirely new coaching staff.

    On Thursday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Stars scored three times in the third period to down the visiting Battlefords Sharks 4-1 in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season contest. The win was a third in a row for the Stars, who have posted a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games.

    Thanks to that surge, the Stars have improved their record to 12-12-0-3 to sit fourth in the SFMAAAHL just two standings points back of the 14-11-2 Notre Dame Hounds.

    In the SFMAAAHL, teams earn three standings points for regulation wins, two for extra time wins and one point for an extra time setback.

Arden Kliewer makes one of her 29 saves in goal for the Stars on Thursday.

    The Hounds have 41 standings points coming on 11 regulation wins, three extra time wins and two extra time setbacks.

    The Stars have 39 points with all their wins coming in regulation and three extra time setbacks.

    In Thursday’s clash with the Sharks, Sydney Mercier scored early in the first period to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Madison Glynn replied for the Sharks with 3:02 remaining in the third to even the score at 1-1.

    Defender Emily Holmes score 46 seconds into the third to put the Stars up 2-1. Mercier scored on the power play to complete a two-goal night to give the Stars a 3-1 advantage.
    Ava Metzger sealed the win with an empty-net tally with less than 35 seconds to play in the third to round out the game’s scoring.

The Stars celebrate their win on Thursday.

    Arden Kliewer made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Yelena Zaleschuk turned away 18-of-21 shots to take the setback in goal for the Sharks (9-17-1).

    The Stars finish out the regular season playing three times on the road. If they can finish fourth or higher in the league standings, the Stars will have home ice advantage for a best-of-three SFMAAAHL quarter-final series.

    The highest Saskatoon can finish in the SFMAAAHL standings is third and the lowest is fifth.

    The Stars return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Regina to face the SFMAAAHL leading Rebels (22-1-1).

    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.