2000-01 Cougars get call to Sask. Sports Hall of Fame

Women’s basketball team still revered in Regina

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor leads a post-game cheer after a CIAU title win.

The 2000-01 University of Regina Cougars Women’s Basketball team holds mythic status in Saskatchewan’s capital city.

That season the Cougars posted a 30-5 overall record, captured a third straight Great Plains Athletic Conference title and won the first Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union national champion for women’s basketball in the history of the U of R athletics program. The CIAU is now known as U Sports these days.

The Cougars team picture after winning the 2001 CIAU title.

When the subject of basketball comes up among Regina residents, it is common for someone to say, “You should have seen the 2000-01 national champion Cougars Women’s Basketball team play. They were great.”

Sometimes the exploits of forward Corrin Wersta, who was the U Sports player of the year in 1998-99, or guard Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer, who was the U Sports player of the year in 2003-04, can reach tall tale status.

On Thursday, it was announced the 2000-01 Cougars will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. It is an honour the team very much deserves.

Corrin Wersta goes up for a score in 2001.

The Cougars will enter the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame with a pretty cool 2021 class. The 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who won the Grey Cup that year at their iconic home park of Taylor Field, are being inducted in the team category as well.

Individual athletes who will be entering the Hall include Saskatoon soccer star Kaylyn Kyle, Moose Jaw’s Justin Abdou in wrestling, Fillmore’s Rod Boll in trapshooting, Porcupine Plain’s Colette Bourgonje in track and cross-country skiing and Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush in bobsleigh.

Former Canadian senior national women’s hockey team head coach Shannon Miller, who was born in Tisdale and raised in Melfort, enters the Hall in the builders’ category. Miller played hockey for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the early 1980s.

This class was selected in 2020, but the class announcement and induction was postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. While the 2021 class was named, there won’t be an official induction this year.

Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer sets for a free throw in 2001.

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame will do the official enshrinement at an appropriate time that allows for safe communal gatherings while following all provincial health guidelines.

Going into the 2000-01 season, the Cougars were well established as having one of the top women’s basketball programs in Canada. They had a huge following in Regina, and fans were constantly crammed into the small main gym at the Physical Activity Centre on the U of R campus to watch their games.

Hoops went up on driveways outside of houses in Regina as little girls started to take up the sport to be like the Cougars. It was common after home games for the Cougars players to be swamped outside of their dressing room by little girls looking for autographs.

Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen sets on defence in 2001.

The Cougars obtained celebrity status in “The Queen City.”

The only thing that eluded the Cougars was a gold medal finish at the CIAU elite-eight women’s basketball championship tournament. The Cougars finished fourth in 1998, fifth in 1999 and third in 2000 at that event.

The key element that allowed the Cougars to ultimately win the CIAU title game in the main gym at the Van Vliet Complex at the University of Alberta in Edmonton on March 11, 2001 was the fact they enjoyed and focused on the daily journey it took to get there. No matter where the team was during the course of the season, the Cougars always stayed present in that moment.

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor drives the ball in 2001.

Still, there was a sign early on that the 2000-01 campaign could be special. The Cougars opened their regular season schedule hosting the defending CIAU champion University of Victoria Vikes on Oct. 27 and 28, 2000.

U of R swept the series with an 83-75 victory on night one and an 82-69 win on night two. Following the second win, I found myself visiting with legendary Vikes head coach Kathy Shields.

I remember Shields telling me she thought this was the campaign where the Cougars were going to win it all. I took the comment as a complement for the U of R side, because the regular season was only two games old at that point.

Heather (Dedman) McMurray had epic moments in 2000-01.

It also stuck with me that someone like Shields that early in a season would say an opposing team was going to win the CIAU national title at campaign’s end.

With that noted, the Cougars played with great consistency and the wins piled up. In games that were tight, playmakers always seemed to step up on the Cougars side to make the difference in the final two minutes.

The biggest adversity for the team might have occurred away from the court.

While driving to a team practice in December of 2000, Wersta hit a patch of black ice on Ring Road causing her car to slide off the street and roll over. The fifth-year veteran captain had never missed a practice during her time with the team, so the fact Wersta missed her first practice due to a car accident kind of shook up the squad for a short time.

Bree Burgess could drop the threes for the Cougars.

Wersta came away from that accident having suffered a concussion, and it didn’t keep her out of the line up for long.

The injury did prevent her from playing in a tournament in Calgary that was held after Christmas Day and wrapped up before New Year’s Day. The Cougars weren’t at their best in the Calgary tournament winning one of their three games.

At that point in time, head coach Christine Stapleton and assistant coaches Dave Taylor and Diane Hilko did a terrific job of guiding the team through that rough patch. They allowed the players to work through the fact they got spooked emotionally.

Becky (Poley) Schutz was key player for the Cougars inside game.

The Cougars players ended up bonding more closely together, and from the start of January of 2001, they took off posting a 20-1 overall record including a 14-game winning streak to finish off the campaign.

Three of the team’s most memorable wins came in the post-season. In Game 2 of the best-of-three GPAC Championship series, fifth-year guard Heather (Dedman) McMurray hit a body twisting transition layup at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 61-60 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons and a 2-0 sweep of the series.

Dedman’s score provided one of the most memorable moments ever for the Cougars at the Physical Activity Centre.

The Cougars celebrate Heather (Dedman) McMurray’s buzzer beater.

In a CIAU semifinal contest against the University of Calgary Dinos, the Cougars were holding on to a slim 69-67 lead in the game’s dying seconds. Dinos star forward Leighann Doan was driving to the hoop for a potential game-tying score only for Bernauer to come up with a clutch steal for the Cougars.

A pair of free-throws iced a 71-67 victory.

In the CIAU title game on March 11, 2001, the Cougars faced the host University of Alberta Pandas. The Pandas took a 4-0 edge moments into the contest.

The Cougars GPAC title winning team picture from 2001.

The Cougars responded with an 11-0 run to go ahead 11-4 and never looked back from that point. U of R’s advantage grew to 50-39 at halftime before settling out to a 94-85 final.

The 94 points the Cougars scored to capture the Bronze Baby trophy is still a record for most points scored in a CIAU/U Sports women’s basketball final.

In the 2001 national championship game win, seven members of the Cougars hit double digits in scoring.

Fifth-year guard McMurray led the way with 24 points being named the game’s MVP and earning a tournament all-star nod. 

Cougars HC Christine Stapleton calls out directions from the bench.

She kept making free throws inside the final two minutes of the game, when the Pandas were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Fifth-year forward Becky (Poley) Schutz finished her final game with the Cougars with 14 points. Forwards Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen and Wersta had 13 and 12 points respectively.

Shooting guard Bree Burgess had 11 points. Bernauer and guard Crystal (Heisler) McGregor each netted 10 points.

Bernauer was named the most valuable player of the tournament and a tournament all-star.

Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer drives the ball up court for the Cougars.

McGregor, who was one of the Cougars most popular players, would later pass away on May 15, 2014 after an inspiring battle against cervical cancer lasting over two years in length.

She was only 35-years-old – a proud wife (of Paul McGregor) and mother (of Aija and Zayden).

During the campaign, the Cougars received key contributions at different times from Rumali Werapitiya, Jana (Schweitzer) Linner, Leah (Anderson) Levy, Tara-Lee Crosson, Kaela McKaig and Sheena Aitken.

The celebration is on as the Cougars win the 2001 CIAU title.

Trainers Erin Walton and Kate Stefan ensure any time missed due to minor injuries was minimal.

Now 20 years after that campaign was completed, the players from that Cougars team have become successful mothers, lawyers, businesswomen, coaches, trainers and community leaders.

Stapleton coached the Cougars for one more season and is now the director of sports and recreation at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. Taylor became the head coach of the Cougars women’s team in 2006.

After Crystal (Heisler) McGregor passed in May of 2014, that generation of the Cougars had a reunion for her celebration of life. They have had a few other reunions since that time.

The Cougars raise the CIAU championship banner in 2001.

When the 2000-01 Cougars come together again for their Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, they will again remember McGregor and celebrate all that happened in 2000-01.

They provide the ultimate example of what it is like when a sports team truly does become a family. Their family bonds are ones that last forever.

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

-------

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.

CIAU title cemented Cougars as legends in Regina

The Cougars raise the CIAU championship banner in 2001.

For the University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team, the 2001 Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championship game was going to be fun.

After getting past the University of Calgary Dinos 71-67 in an all-time classic in one tournament semifinal clash, the Cougars settled in to watch the host University of Alberta Pandas take on the Queen’s University Golden Gaels. The Pandas posted a solid 70-62 victory in the main gym at the Van Vliet Complex on the U of A campus in front of a raucous crowd.

As the final seconds of the Pandas semifinal win ticked away, the Cougars players looked at each other taking note of the atmosphere in the building. Then, a light went on.

Heather (Dedman) McMurray drives the lane for the Cougars.

The Cougars realized the national final was going to be your classic road game against a hostile crowd. When they stepped into the U of A main gym for the national final, the Cougars knew they were going to be the outlaws.

Nobody in the building was going to want them to win. After that tidbit was brought up, everyone smiled.

To be fair, the Cougars were going to be backed by a sizable contingent of supporters. When the 2001 CIAU championship game was played, at least 300 out of the standing room crowd of 2,750 spectators were backing the Regina side.

Corrin Wersta, right, was one of the Cougars top players.

In the Saskatchewan capital, the Cougars women’s basketball team had risen to the status of being one of Regina’s most popular teams.

In 2001, you could argue the Cougars status was at the same level of the University of Regina Rams football team, who fell 42-39 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Vanier Cup in December of 2000, and the WHL’s Regina Pats, who were going to host the Memorial Cup in May of 2001.

In 1993, Christine Stapleton, who helped the Laurentian University Lady Vees win back-to-back CIAU titles in 1990 and 1991 as a player, became the Cougars head coach and took on the massive task on rebuilding a proud program that has fallen on hard times.

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor drive up court in the 2001 CIAU final.

Stapleton and her Lady Vees met the Cougars in the 1991 CIAU final and posted a 79-72 victory in overtime. After that game, the Cougars slipped to the status of struggling program.

Arriving in Regina, Stapleton realized the talent existed in Saskatchewan to rebuild the Cougars. She was tenacious recruiter who was able to befriend players and show a genuine interest in their lives.

Stapleton was able to find talented players who were good character persons as well. When Stapleton had to deliver a message that something wasn’t good enough, the players understood where it came from and were motivated to get better.

Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen had 13 points in the 2001 CIAU final.

The odd time, Stapleton had to give the suck it up and get tough speech. When time came she had to deliver those words, you knew she was right and where she was coming from.

Overall, Stapleton genuinely cared for her players, and the players knew their coach was always in their corner.

On the court, the Cougars played an exciting brand of basketball, where they tried to run their foes out of the gym and burn out the lights on the scoreboard.

Defensively, the Cougars played man defence most of the time mixing in a bit of a 1-3-1 press. The players were so good at one-on-one defence that it became very frustrating to the opposition.

Cougars HC Christine Stapleton call out directions from the bench.

In the 1996-97 campaign, the Cougars made it to first in the CIAU Top 10 rankings for the first time under Stapleton’s watch. They became a powerhouse from that point onwards.

In most games from that point in time, Stapleton just had to turn her team loose and offered encouragement and made adjustments with a smile. She also surrounded herself with great assistant coaches in Diane Hilko and Dave Taylor, which help keep everything moving forward.

All over Regina, hoops started to go up on driveways outside of houses as little girls started to take up the sport to be like the Cougars. 

Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer, right, drives up court for the Cougars.

It was common after home games playing in the cramped Physical Activity Centre for the Cougars players to be swamped outside of their dressing room by little girls looking for autographs.

The Cougars obtained celebrity status in “The Queen City.”

While the Cougars reached big heights, they still had to work their way through baby steps when they started appearing at the CIAU elite-eight national championship tournament. The Cougars got to nationals under Stapleton’s watch for the first time in 1998 and finished fourth.

The Cougars bench looks on intently during the 2001 CIAU final.

A fifth place finish followed in 1999 before the Cougars captured a bronze medal at the 2000 tournament, which was also hosted at U of A. In the 2000 bronze medal game, the Cougars downed the host Pandas 66-53, so they knew what to expect in the 2001 CIAU final against that same foe.

In finally getting to the CIAU title game, the Cougars weren’t going to be denied. They had too much experience, athleticism and heart.

The Cougars had stars like fifth-year forward Corrin Wersta was the CIAU player of the year for women’s basketball in 1998-99 and sophomore forward Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer would capture that same honour in 2003-04.

Bree Burgess (#8) had 11 points in the 2001 CIAU final.

Overall, the Cougars had the best depth they ever had in team history in the 2000-01 campaign.

On Sunday, March 11, 2001, the Cougars stepped into the main gym at the U of A and downed the host Pandas 94-85.

The Pandas started the contest jumping out to a 4-0.

The Cougars proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to take an 11-4 advantage and never looked back from that point. U of R’s advantage grew to 50-39 at halftime before settling out at the 94-85 final.

Becky (Poley) Schutz pulls down a rebound in the 2001 CIAU final.

For a lot of the clash, the Cougars held a lead of nine or 10 points.

The 94 points the Cougars scored is still a record for most points scored in a CIAU women’s basketball final. In the present day, the CIAU is now known as U Sports.

In the 2001 national championship game win, seven members of the Cougars hit double digits in scoring.

Fifth-year guard Heather (Dedman) McMurray led the way with 24 points being named the game’s MVP and earning a tournament all-star nod. She kept making free throws inside the final two minutes of the game, when the Pandas were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Heather (Dedman) McMurray (#4) led the Cougars with 24 points.

Fifth-year forward Becky (Poley) Schutz finished her final game with the Cougars with 14 points. Forwards Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen and Wersta had 13 and 12 points respectively.

Shooting guard Bree Burgess had 11 points. Bernauer and guard Crystal (Heisler) McGregor each netted 10 points.

Bernauer was named the most valuable player of the tournament and a tournament all-star.

McGregor, who was one of the Cougars most popular players, would later pass away on May 15, 2014 after an inspiring battle against cervical cancer lasting over two years in length.

The celebration is on as the Cougars win the 2001 CIAU title.

She was only 35-years-old – a proud wife (of Paul McGregor) and mother (of Aija and Zayden).

Fifth-year guard Cathy Butlin topped the Pandas with 30 points.

With a comfortable lead, the Cougars ensured their most veteran players were all on the court when the final buzzer sounded. When the final buzzer sounded, they stormed the court in celebration along with their family, friends and fans.

The on court celebrations lasted about two hours after the game ended before players drifted to the dressing room to shower and change for the return trip to Regina.

Crystal (Heisler) McGregor leads the post-game cheer.

The Cougars finished the 2000-01 campaign with a 30-5 overall record. They had a 7-0 post-season mark that included a third straight Great Plains Athletic Conference title.

During the campaign, they received key contributions at different times from Rumali Werapitiya, Jana (Schweitzer) Linner, Leah (Anderson) Levy, Tara-Lee Crosson, Kaela McKaig and Sheena Aitken.

Now 20 years to the day of that game, the players from that Cougars team have become successful mothers, lawyers, businesswomen, coaches, trainers and community leaders.

Rumali Werapitiya, left, and Phoebe (De Ciman) Haugen enjoy victory.

Stapleton coached the Cougars for one more season and is now the director of sports and recreation at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. 

Taylor became the head coach of the Cougars women’s team in 2006.

The Cougars returned to the national final in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013, but were unable to recapture the Bronze Baby trophy as national champions.

Still, the Cougars women’s basketball program continues to be one of Regina’s most storied teams.

The 2000-01 Cougars are CIAU champions. 

To this day, the members of the CIAU champion 2000-01 Cougars are remember in Regina as legends.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. The video tribute below for the 2000-01 Cougars comes courtesy Becky (Poley) Schutz.

-------                                     

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.

Remembering the night the West was won

Cougars captured conference crown in February 2001

The Cougars pictured after winning the 2001 Canada West title.

On the cusp winning their first Canada West Conference championship, the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team didn’t want to rely on second chances.

With Regina experiencing frigid conditions on Saturday, February 17, 2001, the Cougars arrived at Exhibition Stadium holding a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Canada West Championship series against the defending U Sports champion University of Alberta Pandas.

The Cougars claimed a 2-1 overtime victory the previous night in the dungy confines of their ancient home rink with sophomore forward Erin Balfour netting the winning goal. Game 2 of the series marked the first time the Cougars were one win away from capturing the Canada West title.

I should note here that as this column looks back on events from 20 years ago, I’ve elected to identify those involved with these events by the maiden names they went by in 2000-01.

Looking back at the time, women’s hockey was still relatively a new sport in U Sports, which was then known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union. Overall, women’s hockey was still a fledging sport that was on the verge of a serious growth curve.

The 2000-01 campaign marked the fourth season a national title was up for grabs in U Sports women’s hockey. In the United States during that same campaign, the first official National Collegiate Athletic Association national championship at the Division I level was contested for the first time.

The Pandas took part in the inaugural season for U Sports women’s hockey in 1997-98, fell in the national final the very next season before capturing their first national title in 1999-2000. As hockey is a prime sport at U of A in both the men’s and women’s games, the Pandas had already established themselves as a league power.

Brandy West in action for the Cougars in 2000-01.

The Cougars entered U Sports for the second official season a national title was contested in women’s hockey in 1998-99. They quickly became one of the league’s top teams as captain Brandy West was named the MVP of the Canada West Conference in 1999 and 2000.

In 2000-01, the Cougars topped the Canada West standings in their third season of existence and West was again named the MVP of the conference, and she would later be named the U Sports MVP for that campaign. Erin Tady, who was West’s linemate, would take home honours as the rookie of the year for the Canada West Conference and U Sports.

U of R was still looking for a breakthrough it wanted on the post-season front and didn’t get it when the Canada West champion was determined in a post-season tournament.

With the 2000-01 campaign marking the first time the Canada West women’s hockey final was decided via a best-of-three series like the Canada West men’s final traditionally had been, the Cougars were poised for the breakthrough they sought.

Still, there was a feeling that this Canada West final between the Cougars and Pandas was far from over. Game 1 could have gone either way as it was decided in overtime.

There was a sense a series-deciding Game 3 could be needed, and it would be a short turnaround as it was set for 1 p.m. the next day right on the heels of the night time clash in Game 2.

The Cougars came into Game 2 focused on the present and on just winning the game that night.

The focus was helped by the fact the players families would be in the stands like they had religiously been for each home game that season. 

Laura Paradis focuses in goal for the Cougars in 2000-01.

Back in those days when the 50/50 draw was made for that night’s contest, it was usually won by a player’s family member, who would donate the winnings back to the team.

It was another aspect on the Cougars side that showed how committed everyone was for trying to make the third-year team work.

A few more in the family and friends department showed up for Game 2 of the series between the Cougars and Pandas. Attendance at that game was 273 persons, which was a season high for the Cougars.

That smaller figure was another sign that women’s hockey was still in a fledging stage as a sport.

Those that saw Game 1 of the series took in an all-time classic battle, and everyone in the rink for Game 2 thought there would be another classic battle. What they saw was the Cougars having one of their finest nights in program history.

The Pandas ran into penalty trouble late in the first period of Game 2, and the Cougars showed how opportunistic they could be.

With 2:11 remaining in the first and working on a power play, Cougars third-year veteran forward Tanya Hutcheon tipped home a point shot to put the host side up 1-0. Defenders Andrea Creurer and Trina Rissling picked up assists on the play.

Just 54 seconds later, the Cougars top line scored an even-strength marker to go up 2-0 with West pulling the trigger on the tally and Tady and Julie Foster picking up assists.

Joell Fiddler patrols the back end for the Cougars in 2000-01.

After West’s goal, the Pandas took an unsportsmanlike penalty and another minor infraction for body contact right as the opening frame ended.

Just 1:42 into the second, Rissling potted the Cougars second power-play goal to extend U of R’s edge to 3-0. Rookie forward Kelsey Rezansoff and Balfour picked up assists on Rissling’s tally.

The Cougars went 2-for-4 on the power play in the contest, while the Pandas were 0-for-5.

After the game, Cougars head coach Sarah Howald noted the three-goal surge determined the outcome of the contest.

“I think Alberta lost their mind, and we took advantage,” said Howald.

While they had a big advantage on the scoreboard they didn’t expect, the Cougars effort didn’t let up the rest of the way. Territorially, they played the Pandas even through to the end of the contest.

With 6:57 remaining in the third, Pandas star centre Lori Shupak scored to cut the Cougars advantage to 3-1 with Mandy Kinjerski and Nicole Chapdelaine picking up assists on the play.

The Cougars defence anchored by all-Canadian all-star Joell Fiddler shut things down the rest of the way to ensure the 3-1 score held up as the game’s final outcome.

Laura Paradis turned away 20 shots to pick up the win for the Cougars. Stacey McCullough turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pandas.

Following the game, West, who had been to two U Sports nationals as a major award nominee, was elated to be going to nationals with her team. It meant more to her to do that as opposed to going solo for a major award.

The 2000-01 Cougars are still best friends to this day.

“It is going to be the best time of my life,” said West, who was soaked in tears of joy. “There is nothing like a team playing the best sport in the world with your best friends in the world.”

The Cougars advanced to nationals that were held that year in Calgary. At nationals, they dumped the St. Francis Xavier X-Women 6-0 and slipped past Concordia University Stingers 3-2 to earn a berth in the U Sports title game.

In the national final that was broadcast across Canada on TSN, the Cougars fell behind 3-0 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues but rallied back to even things up at 3-3 early in the third period. The Blues potted the winner later in the frame and held on for a 4-3 victory.

The Cougars returned to Regina with a silver medal and lots of optimism they would be back to that stage again. To date, the 2000-01 campaign marks the only time the Cougars have won a Canada West Conference title.

They returned to nationals in 2002 and 2003 as the tournament’s host team.

Following their loss in the 2001 Canada West Championship series, the Pandas proceeded to roll off a 110-game undefeated streak that included 109 wins, one draw and three U Sports titles. The Pandas have won the most national titles in the history of U Sports women’s hockey at eight.

Still, the events of the 2000-01 campaign created lifetime bonds for the Cougars. Any time there is a reunion of the program’s alums, it seems at least 13 members minimum from the Canada West title winning team make it to the reunion.

The Cougars return to U of R with their silver medals from nationals

In the current day, many of those players are coaching their children in minor hockey usually around the Regina area. Speedy checking forward and all-time beauty Natalie Cudmore has become the cool mom and ace volunteer hockey coach for her three kids in her hometown of Yorkton.

While life has taken the Cougars in different directions, they will always walk together thanks to the journey they took on that 2000-01 Canada West Championship winning season.

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

-------

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.

Flashback Friday - “West is the Best”

Cougar hockey star rips up CIAU women’s league

By Darren Steinke
Special to CIAU.ca

Brandy West in action for the Cougars in the 2000-01 campaign.

    (*Note – This piece originally ran on the CIAU.ca website on January 4, 2001. Unfortunately in Canadian sports, pieces like this usually get lost for the ages. I rediscovered this piece and decided to run it as a flashback post, so it could see the light of day once again.*)

    In CIAU women’s hockey, there are players, there are stars, there are superstars and then there is Brandy West.

    West is the undeniable premier player in the CIAU. In her first two years with the Cougars, she has been a CWUAA first team all-star twice, the CWUAA rookie-of-the-year in 1999, the CWUAA player-of-the-year twice and a CIAU all-Canadian twice.

    Over her first two seasons, this third-year forward has scored 63 goals and recorded 47 assists for 110 points in 50 games. Up to the Christmas break of this season, West has averaged 2.17 points per game in regular season play. She is arguably the greatest female athlete in the history of all University of Regina Cougars programs.

    “She probably works as hard as anybody on the ice and off the ice as well,” says head coach Sarah Howald. “She is the first one in the gym in the summer and the last one out as well.

    “She has got the goal scoring tough that not very many people are blessed with.”
    West, who hails from Langbank, Saskatchewan, started playing hockey with the boy’s team in Kennedy, Saskatchewan at age seven. She joined the team after spending a year watching a friend play.

Brandy West was the CIAU player-of-the-year in 2000-01.

    Even though she played on a boy’s team, West says she was treated like any other play. The sport was a way of life in her home-town area.

    “It was what you did after school,” she says. “You went outside and played shinny out in the dugout.

    “That is what you did in the winter.”

    After growing up playing hockey, West decided to attend the University of Regina to get her education degree. Since the sport of women’s hockey was growing, the U of R did not have a team in CIAU women’s hockey during her first year. She spent that season playing on a women’s club team.

    When the University of Regina established a Cougars Women’s Hockey Team in her second year, West decided to tryout. She did not realize what she was about to accomplish.

    “It was unexpected,” says West, who is the Cougars team captain. “I came out and tried my hardest.

    “I started out with some good players and put some in.”
    The move also brought Howald into West’s life. Aside from her grandfather John Cancade, West says the biggest influence in her hockey career has been Howald.

    “She has given me new things to try,” says West.
    This five-foot-six forward’s efforts on and off the ice have been appreciated by her teammates. They see her as the team’s leader.

Brandy West, right, takes part in a ceremonial faceoff in February of 2001.

    “She always puts the team before herself,” says teammate Tanya Hutcheon. “She is an open ear. You can always talk to her.”

    Guen Kernaleguen, who plays defence for the Cougars, says West is usually cheerful and good-natured.

    “I think she is definitely a role model for a lot of female athletes,” says Kernaleguen. “She brings spectators, and she brings other female athletes out.”

    Despite her individual success and the success of the Cougars, West has obtained her accomplishments in relative obscurity compared to the other Cougars women’s programs. The U of R’s traditionally strong and established women’s basketball program often overshadows West and her team. It is a situation that does not bother West.
    “This whole thing is real new for me, so any recognition at all is kind of like an honour,” says West. “You see the basketball team, and they are winning all the time.

    “Those are the teams that are going to get the recognition.”

    However, West’s Cougars are on a path to establish a tradition of excellence that will match their basketball counterparts. After the Cougars Women’s Hockey Team completed their first season with a 7-19 overall record, the U of R met the heavily favoured University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West quarter-final in the 1999 playoffs.

Brandy West, left, and the Cougars are all smiles after a goal in 2000-01.

    West scored four goals as the Cougars eliminated the Huskies with a 5-3 victory. She regards that game as the most memorable moment of her hockey career.
    After losing in the 1999 Canada West semifinal 4-1 to the University of Alberta Pandas, the Cougars moved on to post an impressive 18-4-2 overall record last season. This success did not translate into playoff success.

    The Cougars finished fourth in the 2000 Canada West Championship tournament after suffering one-goal losses to the University of Calgary Dinosaurs and the University of Manitoba Bisons.

    West believes this is the year the Cougars can make a long playoff run.

    “This year we are going to be close,” says West. “We are going to come a long way this year.”

Besides hoping to help the Cougars obtain their playoff goals, West also has a dream of playing hockey after university.

    “I’d like to go all the way to the Olympic team,” says West. “I will keep trying as long as I can.”

Howald sees this type of potential in West.

    “I don’t think it is out of reach for her,” says Howald. “I think she has a shot at national team at some point.”

    Until that time, the Cougars look forward to having West as a key part of their team. They are also glad she still has two years of eligibility remaining after this year.

    “I think when she is gone it will be a big loss for our team,” says Hutcheon. “It will be a big letdown when she leaves the rink.”

The Cougars are 2001 CWUAA champs. (Photo from Erin Balfour-Marshall)

    (*Epilogue – West was named the CIAU player-of-the-year for her exploits in the 2000-01 campaign. West topped the Cougars in regular season scoring with 22 goals and 15 assists for 37 points powering the Cougars to a first place finish in Canada West with a 13-1 record. In February of 2001, West led the Cougars to their only Canada West title to date. They swept the Pandas in the best-of-three Canada West Championship series 2-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Regina. West helped the Cougars advance to the CIAU championship in Late February of 2001 in Calgary, where they fell 4-3 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. West’s jersey from the 2000-01 campaign sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame.*)

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

-------                                     

    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.

Flashback Friday – 2000 Rams were unbelievable

Magical playoff run highlights second CIAU season

Darryl Leason sets fire a pass for the Rams in 2000.

    (*NOTE – I originally wrote this piece in December of 2000 at the request of University of Regina Rams head coach Frank McCrystal. I believe it originally ran in a provincial football publication. I recently rediscovered it and decided to share it once again.*)

    The 2000 Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union season was almost a script out of a Disney movie for the University of Regina Rams.

    After going 0-8 in their inaugural year in the university league, the Rams, the former 15-time national champions in junior football, played in the last game they could possibly play in 2000. They made a miraculous playoff run which culminated in a 42-39 loss in the Vanier Cup to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

    “I think at the start of the season people didn’t give us much of a chance,” says Rams quarterback Darryl Leason, who led the CIAU with 2,277 yards passing. “I was confident right from the start of the season it was going to be something special.

Head coach Frank McCrystal guided the Rams to a Vanier Cup appearance.

    “The Rams have a rich history of playing in championship games. It doesn’t surprise anybody in the Rams organization the team made it to the Vanier Cup.”

    The Rams began their journey to the Vanier Cup by opening the regular season with a 31-25 home win over the University of Calgary Dinosaurs. It was Regina’s first regular season win over a CIAU opponent.

    However, a three game losing streak at mid-season dropped the Rams to 2-4. Most football experts were writing them off, but Regina maintained its confidence heading into their final home game against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    “I think we were doing the right things, but there was a miscue here or there to make us not succeed,” says Rams head coach Frank McCrystal. “We knew, that if we stayed to the course, we were eventually going to succeed.”

Jason Clermont (#11) jets up field after making a catch in 2000.

    After falling behind 14-0 to the Thunderbirds, the Rams scored 30 straight second quarter points on route to a 47-37 victory.

    “That is when we felt we knew what kind of weapons we had on offence,” says Rams slotback Jason Clermont, who was named a second team CIAU all-Canadian. “We knew what we could do.”

    Regina’s win over the Thunderbirds was the start of a five game winning streak. The Rams would defeat the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Dinosaurs, University of Manitoba Bisons and the Saint Mary’s University Huskies on the road to the Vanier Cup.

    The Rams did not bow out of the Vanier Cup without a fight. After trailing the Gee-Gees 35-10 at halftime, Regina made a furious rally to lose by three.

Jon Ryan unloads a punt for the Rams in 2000.

    While the loss hurt at first, the Rams have been able to appreciate their success as the weeks have gone on.

    “The defence came up big in the third and fourth quarter,” says Clermont. “We were in a position where we could come back and win the football game.

    “It is a big accomplishment (to get to the Vanier Cup). There have been guys that don’t go there their whole career.”

    While the Rams enjoyed success in the football field in 2000, the Regina community and the province of Saskatchewan came around the team to support it. This included a sold out fundraising luncheon at Regina’s Delta Hotel and a huge Vanier Cup party at the U of R’s campus bar, the Owl.

Darryl Leason (#8) marks a Rams touchdown in 2000.

    “It was a great accomplishment for the university and the community as a whole that they could support a team that achieved the success we’ve achieved,” says McCrystal. “It was just a great partnership between institution and community that allowed this type of success to take place.”

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

-------                                     

    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.