Huskies heroic in defeat, but the sting hurts all the same

The Bisons and Huskies shake hands after their playoff series.

    Overtime in hockey is called sudden death for a reason, and the initial sting of losing hurts worse the longer it goes.

    On Sunday night, the ancient Rutherford Rink featured another classic game, but unfortunately for the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, they were able to come out on the winning side. At the 9:02 mark of a fifth overtime period, University of Manitoba Bisons standout forward Venla Hovi broke the hearts of the host Huskies and their supporters scoring the winning goal to deliver her side to a 2-1 victory in a match that finished at approximately 12:01 a.m. Monday.

    Hovi’s goal also ended the Huskies season as the Bisons took a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series between the two clubs 2-1. The Bisons advance on the Canadian Interuniversity Sport playoff trail to take on the University of Alberta Pandas in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

    The Huskies were left to digest the end of their season, which was not an easy thing to do. They dropped what was the longest game ever in Canada West women’s hockey history spanning 139 minutes and two seconds.

    The Dogs were also involved in the match that formerly held the record, which was also another 2-1 setback at the Ruthy coming back on March 1, 2014 against the University of Regina Cougars in Game 2 of the Canada West championship series which lasted 122 minutes and 30 seconds.

    That loss drew that series even at 1-1. The Huskies had an opportunity to bounce back the next night, which they did defeating the Cougars 2-1 on a Kaitlin Willoughby double overtime winner to take the Canada West title.

The Bisons celebrate Venla Hovi's winner in the fifth overtime period.

    In the loss to the Bisons, there is no chance to come back and play another game, because it was a series deciding Game 3.

    The effort the Huskies put up in defeat was valiant and heroic.

    They could have folded early on. Just 11 seconds into the contest, the Bisons went up 1-0 on a two-on-one break caused by a Huskies turnover. Hovi set up linemate Lauryn Keen, who put the Bisons up 1-0.

    The early U of M goal seemed to stun everyone in attendance.

    The Huskies push back was incredible. They peppered Bisons goaltender Amanda Schubert with shot after shot, while also playing some of their best hockey of the season. Their team game was solid, and they worked as a unit of five in all three zones.

    Finally at the 10:38 mark of the third period, centre Lauren Zary finally popped home the equalizer to knot the score up at 1-1. When the third period drew to a close, the two teams were going to overtime with the Huskies holding a 30-12 edge in the shots on goal department. In all reality, they deserved to have the edge on the scoreboard at that point.

    Off the two teams went into overtime. In extra time, the Huskies had to overcome some stormy seas. They killed off two Bisons power plays, where each came in the first and second overtime respectively.

Marley Ervine played in her 155th straight game for the Huskies.

    In the third overtime, the Huskies had their chance with the man advantage, but they could not find the winner. They failed to score on five power-play opportunities on Sunday night and were scoreless on 13 total power plays in the post-season. Those misfires came back to ultimately haunt the Dogs.

    The contest had become a duel of goaltenders, with experienced fourth-year veteran Cassidy Hendricks turning away shot after shot for the Huskies and the heart on her sleeve Schubert holding her ground in the Bisons’ goal.
    Hendricks would make 40 stops in the contest, while Schubert turned away 66 shots.

    On the U of S side, everyone had top grade efforts. The future is bright with rookies like defender Leah Bohlken and energetic forwards Rachel Lundberg and Brooklyn Haubrich. In that trio, you can see part of the heart and soul of the team over the next four seasons.

    Veterans who were part of the Canada West winner in 2014 like Alyssa Dobler, Kira Bannatyne, Kori Herner, Kennedy Harris, Rachel Johnson, Hailey Tyndall and Willoughby emptied the tank.

    The now graduating fifth-years in Brooke Mutch, Hanna McGillivray, Julia Flinton, Paige Anakaer and Marley Ervine did everything they could to extend their careers. Ervine, the feisty forward who appeared in all 155 regular season and post season games in her five seasons with the team, was still firing lasers in what was the final overtime frame.

Captain Paige Anakaer battles along the boards for the Huskies.

    Flinton’s end-to-end rushes as an offensive defender were as smooth as ever. Captain Anakaer battled with a heart that was unmatched and made her an inspiration to her teammates. Mutch and McGillivray were rocks as usual on the back end, and they created their own chances to net the winning goal.

    Maybe in a few days, the Huskies will reflect on how special their effort was in the series-deciding Game 3 against the Bisons. They left everything out there and have nothing to be ashamed of. To put it bluntly, “They brought it.”

    In the immediate aftermath of the marathon OT loss, the hurt is real and gut wrenching. When one sees the tears of the fifth year grads upon leaving the rink, even the hardest and most cynical of hearts had to melt.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Huskies hockey was good for me

The Huskies men's hockey team salutes the fans at the Rutherford Rink.

    Believe it or not, there were times this season I was scared with a paralyzing fear about to going to the Rutherford Rink.
    When I was there, I didn't want to be anywhere else on during the 2014-15 Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey season.
    For those that follow my posts on Twitter, they know I have battled with issues regarding anxiety. I went public with this realization when I discovered it in late 2012.
    My battles with anxiety were one of the 30 reasons that went into a big decision I made with my family. I would move away from my home of 10 years in Medicine Hat, where I had no family members, to Saskatoon, which contains a large number of relatives from my mom's side of the family.
    When I arrived as a permanent resident in late July, I had my heart set on going to most of the home games involving the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's and women's hockey teams. I big time thank the players and staffs of both teams for being good about me being around the rink writing blogs and taking pictures. As the season went on, I really feel I got better with a lot of my issues on the anxiety front.
    The members of the Huskies men's hockey team know my story the best. I met most of those players through my time covering the WHL as a beat writer, which included covering the Medicine Hat Tigers for 10 seasons.
    I have long friendships with former Huskies captain Brennan Bosch, who graduated after last season, and goaltender Ryan Holfeld, who played his final game with the Huskies last weekend. Both were former members of the WHL's Tigers, and they know my story fairly in depth.
    When I was in Saskatoon on a medical leave in November of 2012, I visited with them at length regarding how I ended up in the situation I was in. I have always felt extremely safe in my friendships with them, but I never envisioned leaning on them in this way. I later discovered Holfeld's brother, Troy, has had battles with anxiety and depression, which I think also helped when I talked with the veteran netminder about my anxiety issues.

The Huskies women's team salutes the fans at the Rutherford Rink.

    I watched Bosch and Holfeld play with the Huskies on about four different occasions on visits from Medicine Hat. Through the Huskies men's team, I started meeting players from the Huskies women's hockey team. I watched them win their first Canada West title on March 2 of last year with a 2-1 double overtime victory over the U of Regina Cougars.
    Those visits were always so good for me, because I arrived at the rink just to watch the Huskies play without any worries about covering the game. I enjoyed going to games again, and some of that love of just going to the games was lost in my final years in Medicine Hat.
    While I worked with great people in the Hat at the Medicine Hat News, my troubles developed thanks to changing stresses in the workplace that affected everybody. As a result, the joy I had in going out to cover events wasn't always there.
    When I started watching Huskies hockey home games as a Saskatoon resident, there were a number of times my sense of anxiety would heighten, and I did not expect that would happen. I was always fine when the games themselves were in progress, but I did have shaky moments before and after the games.
    The first moment of slight fear came from actually encountering players from the Huskies women's team. The player I knew the best was Cami Wooster, who was the team's captain in the Canada West championship season, and she had graduated and was no longer around.
    She knew about my battles, but the other players didn't. I had a bit of a fear the players would look at me as being some sort of weak person or a life failure due to what happened to me.
    Marley Ervine and Brooke Mutch were two remaining players from the 2013-14 season I talked with a bit in the past. When I saw them for the first time this past season, I made sure to tell them my anxiety story. I always felt it was best to be up front with this.

Goaltender Ryan Holfeld gets set in the Huskies' net.

    I also thought their coaches had to be concerned that their players were befriending this dude that has had battles with mental health. All good coaches constantly worry about their players, but I have long ago learned it is more of a good type worry. The only coach I had dealt with before this season was assistant coach Julie Paetsch and those meetings occurred during a couple of social occasions involved with the Saskatoon Valkyries women's football team.
    As the season went on, I got to meet and befriend more of the players and staff from Huskies women's team, so those fears went away.
    At first, I only went to the Huskies games to watch. I then started to write blog posts. After I purchased a new digital SLR camera body, I began taking pictures and posting them on Twitter.
    As I became more comfortable, I would get brave and experiment with doing some of the things I would normally do once again.
    I would still have weird other type fears come out of nowhere. In November, I almost stopped straight out going to games. Out of the blue, I had this fear people would see me as this sad old sports reporter that was trying to hold on to a past life and should forget about writing blog posts or shooting games.
    My mind would reason only few people cared about what was going on with the Huskies hockey teams as the men's team would average just over 600 spectators per game and the women's team attracted about 200 spectators per game, who were mostly family and friends. It was far from what seemed like the endless amounts of people that gave their opinions on the three different WHL teams I covered over 15 seasons.
    When I was at the Rutherford Rink, all those fears were gone.

Brooke Mutch follows through on a shot for the Huskies.

    Also, a couple of other turning points helped in November. I ended up going out with the Huskies men's team on a social occasion during a time my mind was really troubled, and that helped a lot. I also learned the players on the women's team really liked the action pictures I took of them, and that really raised my spirits.
    As the second semester arrived, the road blocks in my mind weren't showing up. I decided that if I enjoyed going to the games I would keep going to them. If I enjoyed writing the blog posts and taking pictures, I would keep doing those things. Flat out, I just liked being there.
    I was feeling like my normal self throughout all of game day again. At the start of the week, I actually began looking forward to going to games on Friday and Saturday nights on a consistent basis again for the first time in years.
    The friendships I was making at the rink were helping me get better. I know in my life I will always have to deal with anxiety in some way, but you have to try and keep making baby steps every day.
    Thanks to the relationships I developed with the Huskies hockey teams, I believe I made a lot of baby steps in the 2014-15 season. Day to day, I feel like myself again on a more consistent basis.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Defensive “Ds” key for Dogs

Brooke Mutch controls the puck for the Huskies.

    They are a group you almost forget about.
    When comes to the defenders on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team, Julia Flinton is easiest rearguard to notice. The member of Canada's women's team at the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain, has a unique skill set on the offensive end, which has allowed her to collect five goals and nine assists in 23 regular season games with the Dogs.
    Going pretty much unnoticed are the team's five defensive defenders in fourth-year veterans Brooke Mutch and Hanna McGillivray, third-year vet Alyssa Dobler and sophomores Kira Bannatyne and Brooke Patron. When it comes to locking down the action the action in their own zone, they are as good as any group in the Canada West Conference. They are also durable having only lost a combined three games to injury, when McGillivray sat out three contests with a concussion early in the second semester.
    As group, they have helped the Huskies give up the fourth fewest goals in the conference with 61 tallies against in 26 games. That equates to a team 2.35 goals against average.
    That stat is even more impressive given the fact the Huskies have scored the third fewest goals in the conference at 52. The struggles on the offensive end means there is that much more pressure placed on the defenders and the goaltenders to ensure the team still has a chance to win game in and game out.
    When the Huskies do get ahead by scores of 3-1 or 4-2, the defensive defenders are able to lock things down to ensure victory will be obtained.
    Mutch might be arguably the toughest of the defensive defenders. Her minus-10 rating in the plus-minus department is more of a product of her squad's offensive struggles and the fact she usually faces the top forwards of every opponent the Huskies face.
    While bodychecking isn't legal in the women's game, the Nokomis, Sask., product has thrown the odd hit that has helped turn the momentum of the game around. She is also very solid, when it comes to calmly bringing the puck out of defensive zone to transition the play up ice.
    McGillivray is a must player you have to have on the ice when you are protecting a one-goal lead in the final minute of the third period. The Saskatoon product has a plus-one rating in 23 regular season games.
   The Huskies missed McGillivray's consistency when she was injured. The Dogs gave up 11 goals in the three game they played without McGillivray.

Alyssa Dobler has played 94 straight games for the Huskies.

    Dobler has never missed a game in her career playing in 94 straight contests for the Huskies counting action in the regular season, the Canada West playoffs and last year's Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament. It almost seems automatic that she will step in and play big minutes.
    Both Bannatyne and Patron have seen their roles increase on the team as sophomores. They have stepped to the challenge knowing they won't be healthy scratched due to the fact the Huskies only have six rearguards on their roster.
    If the Huskies can shake their collective jinx around the net on the offensive end, it will make their defensive defenders that much more effective. It will decreased the pressure of giving up just one goal and make it easier to play that much more calm and in control.
    With Mutch, McGillivray, Dobler, Bannatyne and Patron controlling things on the back end, the Huskies have to feel secure about things in their own zone.
    NOTES -- The Huskies (13-10-3) close the regular season with a home-and-home series with the U of Regina Cougars (14-10-2). The two teams meet Friday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina and on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink on the U of Saskatchewan campus. Saturday's tilt will be senior's night for the Huskies, which means there will be some pre-game honours headed the way of fifth-year forwards Kandace Cook and Chelsey Sundby.

Ridley hits another milestone

Bob Ridley calls a Tigers game at The Arena.

    In what might be one of the best feel-good stories periods in sports, Medicine Hat Tigers legendary play-by-play voice Bob Ridley hit another milestone.
    On Wednesday, Ridley called his 3,600^th game as the WHL team's play-by-play voice, when the Tigers dropped a 6-3 decision to the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, B.C. The total includes 3,202 regular season games, 378 games in the WHL playoffs and 20 games in the Memorial Cup tournament. Over most of that stretch, Ridley has also driven the Tigers bus on road trips.
    With the Tigers trailing 6-1 heading into the third period, Ridley still called his classic upbeat game. When German forward Markus Eisenschmid scored for the Tabbies to cut the Ice lead to 6-3, Ridley's call made it sound like the orange and black could still make a comeback. Ridley quickly followed with the fact that there was basically less than 30 seconds to play, so you knew a rally wasn't possible.
    You can't help but be in awe of the total of games Ridley has called. That feeling of awe grows with every Tigers contest Ridley continues to call in the future.

Farewell to Beily's

    Saskatoon's night life will never been the same after this weekend after Beily's Ultralounge on 8^th Street closes its doors forever.
    This will be the last weekend Beily's will be open, as it will be shut down after a 10-year run. For most of that run, it was the hotspot to be at in Saskatoon, before a whole bunch of different pubs opened up in downtown. NHL players often stopped in at Beily's. For a number of years, there was often an annual impromptu gathering there during the weekend NHLers came to town to support the annual fundraising golf tournament for the Royal University Hospital.
    For the longest time, it was one of the places that even as a male you would dress up classy to go out to. During most of the 10 years Beily's was open, it also was one of the few night establishments that had regular staff work there over long stretches of years. That helped attract regulars.
    Beily's industry nights on Sunday nights were legendary, as large numbers of staffs from the other night clubs in the Bridge City would meet for fun nights out. There will be one more of those fun nights this coming Sunday.
    For myself, I had a lot of memorable nights there, and I appreciated how great the staff always was. I also appreciated the fact cabs always seemed to be available at the end of the night.
    I think the night I was best known for being out there was a Sunday back in 2012 when I bought about 25 members of the Saskatoon Valkyries shots to celebrate one of their victories in Western Women's Canadian Football League playoffs.
    Cheers to Beily's. Thanks for all the great times.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

Huskies impress with sweep

Defending Canada West champs down Wickenheiser and Dinos

Goalie Cassidy Hendricks kicks out a shot for the Huskies.

Well that was definitely the definition of team effort.

            The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team was in top form on the weekend and passed a big early season test. Sitting with a 3-3 record going into the weekend, the defending Canada West champs faced a University of Calgary Dinos team that had some big additions from a season ago.

            The Dinos roster contained Canadian National team icon Hayley Wickenheiser and Russian national team standouts Iya Gavrilova and Alexandra Vafina. All three were not with the Dinos last season because it was Olympic year. Wickenheiser and Gavrilov helped the Dinos win a Canadian Interuniversity Sport title in 2012, while Vafina is in her first year of eligibility on the Calgary side.

            With that trio in the fold, the Dinos entered the weekend leading the Canada West standings with four wins and two overtime losses.

            Even with all those additions, the Huskies pulled out a sweep in a two-game series at the ancient Rutherford Rink. On Friday, the Huskies rallied from a 3-1 deficit to pull out a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory. Brown University transfer Lauren Zary potted the winner at 2:52 into extra time.

            On Saturday, the Huskies scored three times in the second period to go up 3-0 and cruised to a 3-1 victory.

            All of the Huskies forward lines and defensive pairings played strong system wise, forechecked hard and took away a lot of the passing lanes the Dinos thought they had, when they tried to work up ice.

            The hosts also played physical too. That was best shown when Huskies defenceman Brooke Mutch crushed Dinos forward Jenna Smith in the second period of Friday’s encounter.

            Mutch was given an elbowing penalty, but her team killed off the infraction. It also seemed to spark a turn of momentum in that contest.

            The Dinos led 3-1 at the time of the hit. When Mutch’s penalty was killed, the Huskies closed the second period scoring on a power play of their own, when fifth-year forward Kandace Cook tallied to make it 3-2.

Edmonton product Rachel Johnson scored another Huskies power-play goal early in the third to knot things up at 3-3 as a prelude to Zary’s heroics in the extra session.

            Kaitlin Willoughby, who was the CIS rookie of the year last season, was huge for the Dogs offensively on Friday netting her team’s first goal and collecting two assists.

The Huskies celebrate a Kandace Cook goal on Saturday.

            Cook and Zary scored again on Saturday, while Chelsey Sundby had her team’s third goal.

            Cassidy Hendricks kept adding to her reputation as a money goalie turning away 69-of-73 shots in the two contests. She also had a couple of key bailout saves on the weekend too.

            Dinos netminders Hayley Dowling and Carissa Fischer combined to turn away 60-67 shots over the two contests.

            Now 5-3, the Huskies have a bye week before traveling to Calgary to face the Mount Royal University Cougars on Nov. 7 and 8.

            NOTE – The women’s Canada West conference is using a news system for tallying points in the standings this season, which is similar to one used in the Olympics. Regulation time wins are worth three points, extra time wins two points and one point is awarded for an extra time loss. Under that system, the Huskies are currently fifth in the eight-team Canada West with 13 points.

            The same system is being utilized in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League. 

 

Football team locks up home playoff date

Keegan Arnyek (#16) returns a missed field goal for a TD.

            The U of S Huskies football team has a home playoff game in the bag.

            On Saturday, the Huskies locked up second place in Canada West with a 41-23 victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears before 3,605 spectators at Griffiths Stadium. The win was a huge bounce back game for the Huskies, who were trounced 41-8 in their previous outing at the hands of the University of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg.

            The contest against the Golden Bears was close for a lengthy time, before the Huskies pulled away. Just past the midway point of the fourth quarter and the Huskies leading 27-17, the Golden Bears were attempting a field goal to cut the U of S lead to seven.

            The field goal was missed, and Keegan Arnyek returned the miss 116 yards for a spectacular touchdown. The return was aided by some huge blocks from Geoffrey Hughes and Mark Ingram.

            With the win, the Huskies improve to 5-2 and close the regular season traveling to Vancouver to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds this coming Saturday.

            The Huskies will host a Canada West semifinal playoff game on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

Soccer team makes history 

 

 

Erica Hindmarsh in action for the U of S Huskies.

           The U of S Huskies Women’s Soccer team made history on Sunday.

            The Huskies captured their first playoff win downing the MacEwan University Griffins 2-1 at PotashCorp Park. Carmen Gorlick and Erica Hindmarsh scored for the Huskies, while Cara Santaga picked up the win in goal.

            With the win, the Huskies advance to the women’s Canada West final four tournament, which opens this coming Friday in Langley, B.C. The Trinity Western University Spartans host the tourney, which will include the University of Alberta Pandas and the Fraser Valley Cascades.

            The Huskies men’s soccer team cruised to a 5-1 Canada West quarter-final victory over the University of Winnipeg also on Sunday at PotashCorp Park. Brett Levis scored twice for the Huskies, while Garrett Peters, Bobbi Nicholat and Sam Whiting all had singles. Michal Bandula picked up the win in goal.

            With the win, the Huskies will host the men’s Canada West final four tournament this coming Friday and Saturday. The tourney will include the U of A Golden Bears, the UBC Thunderbirds and the University of Victoria Vikes.

           

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

The right mix

Huskies women’s hockey team has intangibles to make another memorable season

           

The U of S Huskies pose with the Canada West banner and trophy.

They are a group that is hard to dislike, and they appear to have the “it” factor to create another memorable season. 

            The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team had a historical campaign in 2013-14 winning their first Canada West title and capturing a bronze medal at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament.

            Most of that team returns for the 2014-15 campaign. Watching them interact with each other during and after their two exhibition wins last weekend against the Red Deer College Queens of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, it was obvious to see a strong bond exists between the Huskies players.

            They like being together, and they like hitting the ice at the Rutherford Rink or any other rink. They are confident in their abilities on the ice, and they are confident and comfortable with themselves are as persons on the ice and away from the rink.

            When any team has all those attributes, that club becomes a very difficult opponent to face and defeat.

             On the ice this season, the Huskies will face their share of challenges. As the defending conference champ, every one of their opponents will view a match against them as a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

            Even the Queens came out in last weekend’s exhibition series at the Rutherford Rink looking to prove something. On Saturday, the visitors came out with a big initial push, and their effort didn’t waver.

            The composure of the Huskies showed through. Even when they didn’t have the momentum, it didn’t seem like they were in trouble. They built a 2-0 lead and held off a late Queens charge for a 2-1 win.

            During Sunday’s rematch, the Huskies took their game to another level. After giving up an early power-play goal, they kept the Queens contained in their zone with an aggressive forecheck. The hosts rolled to a 5-1 win, and they were buzzing all over the place.

            Individually, the Huskies have a lot of players that can be difference makers. Kaitlin Willoughby, last year’s CIS rookie of the year, looks physically stronger and more powerful on the ice than a season ago. She also has an offensive skill set that very few players have.

            Forward Marley Ervine provides a lot of feistiness and grit, which seems to be a trademark of players regardless of gender that come from her hometown of Kindersley.

            Fifth year forward Kandace Cook can seemly be set up with a variety of linemates up front, and she makes herself and her linemates shine through.

            Veteran rearguards Brooke Mutch, Hanna McGillivray and Julia Flinton are super solid on the back end. They can both shut things down on the defensive side, and control play when they have the puck. Flinton, a second team Canada West all-star, has the best playmaking ability and vision offensively out of that group.

            Third-year netminder Cassidy Hendricks was a second team Canada West all-star last season, and she proved she doesn’t get fazed when it comes time to play in the clutch. During the 2-1 best-of-three Canada West championship series win over the University of Regina Cougars, Hendricks made a huge amount of key stops with all three games going to overtime resulting in 17 periods and 296 minutes of hockey.

            Rookie forward Chelsea Wilson also showed flashes against the Queens, which could mean she could potentially come through in key moments as the season progresses.

            I have seen few teams personally in my time that had the veteran presence, the intangibles and overall “it” factor the Huskies have.

The Medicine Hat Tigers in 2006-07 had it in the major junior ranks and went on to win a WHL title and earn a berth in the Memorial Cup final.

            The 2000-01 U of  R Cougars women’s basketball team had it and went on to win a conference and a CIS title. The 1998 Regina Rams had it and went on exit the Canadian Junior Football League as national champs before joining the university ranks.

            For the Huskies to have success, the focus can’t be on the end result. All the players on the three other teams I mentioned just enjoyed where they were at that moment of time in their everyday lives in their respective campaigns.

            The Huskies just need to enjoy going to the rink with the aim of getting better each day, because at the end of a long stretch they will be a lot better.

            They have to enjoy and cherish the everyday interactions with their friends and buds on the ice, because that helps make the rink one of the best places to be.

            Also, they have to enjoy the game. At one point in time, they all got into hockey because it is a fun game where you simply score more goals than the other team, and that must be something that is never lost.

            When they do all those things, the Huskies will arrive at the end of the season before they know it, and they shouldn’t be surprised if they are in a lot of important post-season games as a result. They will have a chance to accomplish all their end goals.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.