Warriors’ Yager takes Round 1 versus Pats’ Bedard

Contacts’ grad nets three points in OT win

Brayden Yager in action for the Contacts in 2019-20.

The initial Connor Bedard versus Brayden Yager battle delivered beyond anyone’s expectations.

On Tuesday, Bedard’s Regina Pats took on Yager’s Moose Jaw Warriors in a WHL regular season clash in a bubble environment played without fans at the Brandt Centre in Regina. The encounter was the first head-to-head match between the two young phenom centres.

In the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, Bedard was selected first overall by the Pats and Yager went third overall to the Warriors.

Bedard became the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL as a 15-year-old on a full-time basis.

After playing with the Saskatoon Contacts male under-18 AAA as a 14-year-old underager in 2019-20, Yager went through the process to try and gain exceptional player status to play in the WHL along with Contacts linemate Riley Heidt. Heidt went second overall in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft to the Prince George Cougars.

Yager and Heidt weren’t given exceptional player status.

Due to the fact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gutted the minor hockey season in 2020-21, Yager and Heidt were allowed to join their WHL teams on a full-time basis after the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League decided against resuming its 2020-21 campaign after it was paused in late November of 2020.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHL clubs are playing a shortened 24-game regular season inside of the circuit’s four divisions. The developmental campaign had a late start with the Central Division getting going on Feb. 26, and the East Division’s bubble taking the ice on March 12.

All of those factors allowed the initial Bedard versus Yager clash to happen on Tuesday.

In that contest, the Pats jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held a 4-1 advantage after the first period. The Warriors battled back to ultimately take the game in overtime 5-4.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, had two assists for the Pats. The 15-year-old North Vancouver, B.C., product has three goals, three assists and a plus-one rating over the Pats first three games.

On Wednesday, Bedard had the winning goal, an assist and a plus-three rating in the Pats fourth game of the campaign as they slipped past the Swift Current Broncos 3-2.

2-0 good guys!

Denomie from Bedard and we're rolllling early vs. @MJWARRIORS

More $$ for @BBBSRegina from PTI#JoinTheRegiment pic.twitter.com/G30XLM3ijm

— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) March 17, 2021

Heading into Tuesday’s action, Yager, who turned 16-years-old in early January, had been held off the scoresheet in his first two games with the Warriors. On the Sunday, the Warriors slipped past the Prince Albert Raiders 2-1 after a tiebreaking shootout, and Yager did net the winner in the tiebreaking session.

Against the Pats on Tuesday, Yager, who stands 6-feet and weighs 160 pounds, had a breakout game offensively. The Saskatoon area product netted his first career WHL goal and posted a pair of assists and a plus-three rating.

Yager picked up a helper on Moose Jaw’s overtime winner. The Warriors improved to 3-0 with the win.

After Wednesday’s action, the Pats record sits at 1-2-1.

In normal times, Tuesday’s clash between the Pats and Warriors would have been a marquee match on the CHL circuit due to the presence of Bedard and Yager.

Traditionally, the Pats and Warriors have had arguably the most heated and best rivalry on the CHL circuit. The storyline of Bedard versus Yager adds a unique element to the rivalry.

While it takes more than one player for a hockey team to have success, more people will pay attention to the games between the Pats and Warriors due to the Bedard versus Yager angle.

As for another crazy aspect, the coaching staffs of both teams are playing the two young skaters in all situations. Normally, young rookies like them are eased into the lineup.

Early on in Tuesday’s contest, it looked like Bedard would capture the headlines. As the Pats took a 3-0 lead, Bedard set up Regina’s second and third goals both scored by overage left-winger Carson Denomie.

Defenceman Tom Cadieux had Regina’s first tally.

At the 10:41 mark of the opening frame, Yager scored his first career WHL regular season goal tipping home a point shot from 16-year-old rookie defenceman Denton Mateychuk to cut the Pats lead to 3-1.

On that tally, Yager showed he isn’t afraid to go to the hard areas of the ice and stood his ground in front of the opposition net to tip home a goal.

Brayden Yager tips one home for his first career WHL goal.#SubwayWHLHub pic.twitter.com/stKuZF74Km

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) March 17, 2021

A short time later, Cole Dubinsky scored to extend the Pats advantage to 4-1 heading into the first intermission.

In the second period, the Warriors trimmed the Pats lead to 4-3 with singles coming from the sticks of Tate Popple and Eric Alarie.

Just 63 seconds into the third, Yager picked up his first assist of the night, when veteran Warriors centre Ryder Korczak popped home a loss puck in the crease of the Regina goal to even the score at 4-4.

In overtime, Yager gave defenceman Daemon Hunt a drop pass at the Regina blue-line. The 2020 NHL Entry Draft selection of the Minnesota Wild proceeded to do his best Paul Coffey imitation weaving around a Pats defender and roofing home the winner to the top left corner of the Regina goal.

Veteran netminder Boston Bilous started the contest for Moose Jaw turning away 12-of-16 shots sent his way. He was pulled after the Pats fourth goal.

Brett Mirwald, who is a 17-year-old rookie, played the rest of the game in relief turning away all 27 shots he faced to pick up his first career WHL victory. Mirwald is a graduate of the Saskatoon Blazers under-18 AAA team.

Following the game, Yager told Claire Hanna of CTV Regina that Bedard congratulated him after he scored his first career WHL goal. The congrats came during a stoppage in the opening frame.

“It was a class act by him (Bedard),” said Yager. “He congratulated me on my first goal.

“It shows what kind of a person he is. He’s a great kid. We’re buddies.

“I mean, he didn’t have to do that. It was just a nice act.”

Yager added he previously passed on congratulations to Bedard, when Bedard netted his first career WHL regular season goal.

While the Pats and Warriors have an intense rivalry, there has been a lot of respect and class shown by both sides over the past five to six years.

Bedard and Yager, who have also known each other through minor hockey for about four years, are continuing that aspect of respect and class too.

If there were any doubts that the head-to-head meetings between these two players were must-watch encounters, those doubts were erased by what took place on Tuesday night at the Brandt Centre.

It should be great to see how this latest aspect of the rivalry between the Pats and Warriors plays out for at least the next two-to-three years to come.

What a play from @mnwild prospect Daemon Hunt, who drives the net & wins it in OT for the @MJWARRIORS! #SubwayWHLHub pic.twitter.com/w46aLK2BIA

— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 17, 2021

Lisowsky getting big minutes for Blades

Brandon Lisowsky, right, in action for the Blades on March 6, 2020.

Brandon Lisowsky is being allowed to find his top gear skating in his rookie season with the Saskatoon Blades.

The 16-year-old left-winger has been skating on a line with overage captain Chase Wouters playing centre and overager Caiden Daley holding down right wing.

Lisowsky, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 160 pounds, was selected by the Blades in the first round and ninth overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. In the team’s abbreviated 24-game regular season played against East Division teams in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world, the Blades coaching staff is playing Lisowsky in all situations in the developmental campaign.

In the Blades season opener this past Saturday, Lisowsky scored his first two career WHL regular season goals in a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos.

He scored the Blades first goal at the 6:41 mark of the second period converting a backdoor set up from Wouters. Lisowsky also potted Saskatoon’s final tally in that victory.

He was held off the scoreboard in the Blades 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats on Sunday and the Blades 2-1 overtime setback to the Winnipeg Ice on Wednesday.

So far in the Blades 2-0-1 start, Lisowsky is experiencing a typical rookie season for a 16-year-old in the WHL as far as offensive production goes.

With that said, Lisowsky did get to play in two regular season games as a 15-year-old call up in 2019-20. The Blades are doing the right thing in ensuring Lisowsky benefits from some valuable experience in this shortened developmental campaign.

Founder leaves NWHL, other notes

It has been a tough 2021 so far for the National Women’s Hockey League.

Having had the 2020 Isobel Cup championship game originally set for March 13, 2020 between the Minnesota Whitecaps and the host Boston Pride ultimately cancelled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that had gripped the world, the NWHL was hoping to crown a league champion for the 2020-21 playing in a bubble format.

The circuit’s six team were supposed to play in a bubble environment taking part in a short regular season round and a playoff round running from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York.

The bubble environment ended up being too loose allowing COVID-19 to infiltrate the teams. The Metropolitan Riveters and Connecticut Whale pulled out of the bubble while the regular season portion of the campaign was in progress.

On Feb. 3, action in the NWHL bubble was suspended due to new positive COVID-19 tests and resulting concerns over player safety. The suspension occurred right before the playoff round was supposed to occur.

Since the circuit first hit the ice in 2015, the collapse of the bubble in Lake Placid, New York, has been arguably the NWHL’s biggest failure.

The NWHL is planning to finish the season with semifinals and a championship game for the Isobel Cup to be held March 26 and 27 at the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, the NWHL announced that league founder Dani Rylan Kearney was leaving the circuit. The 33-year-old announced her resignation as an NWHL advisor and president of W Hockey Partners, which is the entity that owns the Buffalo Beauts, the Whale, Riveters and Whitecaps.

W Hockey Partners operates those four member clubs with the intent to sell those teams to new owners.

The expansion Toronto Six rounds out the NWHL’s membership.

The Whale, Whitecaps, Pride and Six are the teams slated to compete in the upcoming playoff round.

At age 27, Rylan Kearney founded the NWHL in 2015-16 as the first women’s professional hockey circuit that paid its players. At the moment, the NWHL splits its revenues 50 per cent with the players on the circuit.

Rylan Kearney was the league’s inaugural commissioner.

Rylan Kearney held that role until stepping down on Oct. 12, 2020. She was replaced by Tyler Tumminia as interim commissioner.

Also on that day, the NWHL changed its governing model to an incorporated association that is overseen by a board of governors with on representative per team. At that time, Rylan stayed on with the NWHL as an advisor while becoming president of W Hockey Partners.

During her time with the NWHL, Rylan Kearney had an icy relationship with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. The CWHL had been a longer standing women’s professional league operating in North American until it folded on May 1, 2019.

Rylan Kearney also had icy relationships with the biggest names in the women’s game and became one of the most polarizing figures in women’s hockey.

It should be noted that Rylan Kearney’s roll started to change with the NWHL after she married Sean Kearney on Aug. 1, 2020.

After the CWHL folded, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association was formed as a non-profit, and its members include most of the high-profile players that skate for senior national teams in Canada, the United States and Europe.

The PWHPA said it was boycotting the NWHL and any other women’s professional league in North America until players received health insurance and a livable salary.

Basically, the PWHPA would like to see the NHL come in and have the same relationship the NBA has with the WNBA, where the NBA fully backs the WNBA.

The PWHPA participated in a series of exhibition games in 2019-20 called the Dream Gap Tour.

For the 2020-21 campaign, the PWHPA organized into five hubs. The Canadian hubs are Calgary, Montreal and Toronto and the United States hubs are Minnesota and New Hampshire.

PWHPA teams have played a number of exhibition games in the United States in 2020-21 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dream Gap Tour continued with a game on Feb. 28 at Madison Square Garden that aired live on the NHL Network in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada.

At the moment, it would appear the PWHPA is looking better than the NWHL.

While Rylan Kearney was a polarizing figure, she put in a tremendous amount of work to build a league from the ground up. During her time with NWHL, she showed she was skilled at growing the business side of the game.

Now that Rylan Kearney is out of the picture, it remains to be seen what direction professional women’s hockey will head in North America.

It is highly unlikely the PWHPA and the NWHL will get together and make nice any time soon.

• Medicine Hat Tigers overage defenceman Cole Clayton was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on Sunday. Clayton had four goals and three assists in the Tigers three games this past week against the Calgary Hitmen. The Tigers won two of those three contests. In the Tigers seven games this season, Clayton has five goals, nine assists and a plus-one rating. Moose Jaw Warriors veteran netminder Boston Bilous was named the WHL goaltender of the week for the week ending on Sunday. Over the seven-day period ending on Sunday, Bilous, who turned 20-years-old in February, won both his starts stopping 46-of-50 shots sent his way posting a 1.90 goals against average.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Monday, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League announced Saskatoon Stars netminder Kaitlyn Cadrain has committed to play for the Maryville University Saints women’s hockey team in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2021-22, the Saints will be a sophomore Division I program in the independent American Collegiate Hockey Association. In three seasons with the Stars from 2018 to 2021, Cadrain played in 29 regular season games posting an 18-8 record, a 2.24 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and four shutouts.
• On Monday, the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League announced Notre Dame Hounds forward Brynn Maclean has committed to play with the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets women’s hockey team in the NCAA Division III ranks. The school is located in Superior, Wisconsin. In four seasons with the Hounds from 2017 to 2021, Maclean has appeared in 65 regular season games posting five goals and 14 assists. She had one goal and five assists in four games with the Hounds in the 2020-21 campaign before it was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Tuesday, the Prince Albert Raiders announced their captain and star defenceman Kaiden Guhle will be out indefinitely with a hand injury. He suffered the injury in the Raiders 2-1 setback in a tiebreaking shootout to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday.
• On Tuesday, Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post reported Regina Pats left-winger Jakob Brook is out for the after undergoing surgery to repair a break in his lower right leg. The injury occurred 34 seconds into the Pats regular season opener this past Friday, when they fell 6-3 to the Prince Albert Raiders. Brook helped the Raiders win the WHL title as a 16-year-old rookie in 2018-19 before being traded to the Pats on Jan. 9, 2020 in a blockbuster deal that saw netminder Max Paddock sent to the Raiders.
• Sophie Shirley, who is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team, has been named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award presented to the top player in the top level of NCAA women’s hockey. In 19 overall games this season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team, the skilled third-year forward has 12 goals, 13 assists and a plus-18 rating in the plus-minus department. Shirley was nominated for the same honour last season. On Thursday, the Badgers are slated to play an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game against the Ohio State University Buckeyes in Erie, Pennsylvania.
• While there is optimism things will return to normal during these COVID-19 pandemic as vaccines across Canada are distributed for COVID-19, one wonders how much variants of COVID-19 will continue to prevent things from returning to normal. The B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, is present in Saskatchewan, and it has a sizable enough presence in Regina that it will continue to have slightly tighter restrictions than the rest of the province. On March 4, the Mayo Clinic listed three variants that are causing concern including the B.1.1.7 variant, the B.1.351 variant found in South Africa and the P.1 variant found in Brazil. These variants seem to spread easier and quicker than the regular COVID-19 strain. The Brazil variant has been identified as potentially the most dangerous and less vulnerable to antibodies generated by a previous COVID-19 infection or a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Gord Steinke, who is not related to me, of Global Edmonton had a good interview with Kaleb Dahlgren, who is a player that survived the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018, on Tuesday. They chatted about Dahlgren’s new book. The interview can be found by clicking right here.

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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Wildcats stand in Stars return road to Esso Cup

The Stars aim to build off their latest SFMAAAHL title win.

    Only one more obstacle stands in the Saskatoon Stars way of returning to the Esso Cup.

    On Friday, the Stars will begin a best-of-three Western regional playdown series against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the series is slated for 3:45 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at Merlis.

    The winner of the series advanced to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national hockey championship tournament, which runs April 21 to 27 in Sudbury, Ont.

    The Stars posted a 27-1 regular season record in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and went on to capture their fourth league title in the last five years. They advanced to the gold medal game of last year’s Esso Cup falling 2-1 to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash, who claimed the national crown for a second straight year.

    The Wildcats topped the regular season standings of the Manitoba Female Midget AAA Hockey League with a 21-5-2 record before advancing on to win the league crown. They also won the inaugural Esso Cup title back in 2009.

    The Stars will enter the series as favourites due to carrying a roster that contains players that have loads of post-season experience blended in with some talented rookies and second-year players.

Ashley Messier has had an outstanding season on the Stars blue-line.

    Grace Shirley, who is the Stars outstanding 17-year-old captain, led the team in regular season scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points. She was the second leading scorer in the SFMAAAHL.

    Shirley was on the Stars roster in their three previous visits to the Esso Cup in 2015, 2016 and last season. She played in the 2015 tournament as an associate player call up.

    Kaitlin Jockims, who is another standout 17-year-old forward, finished second in Stars team scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points. All of those totals were career highs for Jockims.

    Anna Leschyshyn was third in team scoring with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points and is also looking to graduate from the midget AAA ranks after this season on a high note.

    Joelle Fiala, who is also playing her final midget AAA season, was fourth in team scoring with 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points.

    The Stars have a strong defensive unit that can get things done offensively as well. Ashley Messier, who just turned 17-years-old in late March, led all Stars defenders in regular season scoring with career highs in goals (five), assists (27) and points (32).

    Chace Sperling, who turned 17-years-old in January, had a breakout year on the back end posting career highs in regular season play in goals (eight), assists (12) and points (20).

    In goal, the Stars will likely turn to steady third-year veteran Arden Kliewer. Kliewer, who turned 17-years-old in February, was outstanding in the regular season posting a 16-0 record, a 1.21 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Arden Kliewer has been stellar in goal for the Stars.

    For the Wildcats, their two most dynamic scorers are Alisha O’Hara and Paige Hubbard. O’Hara, who is in her final season of midget AAA eligibility, led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.
    Hubbard, who is also in her final midget AAA campaign, was second in Wildcats team scoring with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points.

    Defender Jori Hansen-Young quarterbacks the power play leading all Wildcats blue-liners in scoring with four goals and 13 assists.

    In goal, 15-year-old Natalie Williamson carried the bulk of the workload in the playoffs for the Wildcats. In 12 regular season appearances, Williamson posted a 9-2-1 record, a 1.73 goals against average, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts.

    Way back in 2009, the Wildcats swept the first ever Western regional playdown series against the Prince Albert Northern Bears 2-0. A Manitoba champion hasn’t won that series since 2012, when the Morden-based Pembina Valley Hawks swept the Notre Dame Hounds 2-0 and moved on to capture the Esso Cup.

    Last year, the Stars swept away the Eastman Selects in Steinbach, Man., 2-0.

Blazers had a great run

Nolan Allan had an outstanding season for the Blazers.

    The Saskatoon Blazers are likely still feeling some lingering disappointments, but they had a great run in 2018-19.

    Last Friday, the Blazers saw their season come to an end, when they fell 4-1 in Game 4 of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League Championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox, Sask. Notre Dame took the best-of-five series 3-1.

    The Hounds won the SMAAAHL title for the second straight year and are hoping to win the Telus Cup midget AAA national title for a second straight year too.
    Notre Dame heads to the four team Telus Cup Western Regionals tournament that starts Thursday and runs to Sunday in Tisdale, Sask. The winner advances to the Telus Cup, which runs April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

    Last Friday, the Blazers and Hounds were locked in a 1-1 after two periods before the Hounds closed the contest out with three goals in the third.

    Trey Funk scored for Notre Dame in the first period and Keenan Allan replied for the Blazers in the second frame.

    In the third, Maxwell Joy and Coalson Wolford put the Hounds up 3-1, and Cam Recchi sealed the win with an empty-net goal inside of the final 30 seconds of the third.

    Thomas Wardle made 18 saves in goal for the Hounds. Matthew Pesenti turned away 20-of-23 shots in goal for the Blazers.

    The Blazers finished third in the SMAAAHL regular season with a 31-10-3 record, while the Hounds were fourth with a 28-12-2-2 mark.
    The campaign was an outstanding one for the Blazers, who finished five points behind the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the regular season.

Rhett Gibson sets to fire a shot on goal for the Blazers.

    Nolan Allan, who was a 15-year-old rookie with the Blazers, was named the top defenceman of the SMAAAHL and a first team all-star. Having been selected in the first round and third overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders, Allan will likely make the jump to the WHL club next season.

    He had 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 39 regular season games with the Blazers. Allan appeared in seven regular season games with the Raiders collecting one assist.

    Cole Nagy, who is 17-year-old forward with the Blazers, was named a first team SMAAAHL all-star, while 15-year-old rookie netminder Brett Mirwald was a second team SMAAAHL all-star.

    Due to the fact most SMAAAHL rosters experience almost a 70 per cent turnover from year to year with players moving to the major junior and junior A ranks, the Blazers are far from guaranteed from having a follow up stellar campaign next season.

    With that said, those that were part of the Blazers team this season made memories they will never forget.

Labach is “the queen” of the Huskies

Julie Labach won two major Huskies awards.

    Track star Julie Labach has to take the title as “the queen” of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    Last Friday at the Huskie Salute held at TCU Place, Labach, who stands 5-foot-7, completed a fifth and final season with the Huskies being named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the program’s female athlete of the year for a second straight year. The 22-year-old also claimed the Valerie Gisberger Award as the top female all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    To say Labach had a sensational year might actually be an understatement. She had a season that was beyond a dream.

    Labach was named U Sports female track athlete of the year. At U Sports nationals, Labach won gold in women’s 1,000-metre race and added silver in the women’s 600-metre race. She was also a member of the Huskies 4 X 400 women’s relay team that capture gold.

    At the Canada West Conference championships, Labach won gold in the women’s 600 and 1,000 metre races and helped the Huskies women’s team capture the team conference championship.

    In the classroom, Labach was named an academic all-Canadian in her first four seasons with the Huskies. She is currently completing her first year of studies in law school.

    Actually, Labach is so gifted and outstanding that we would all be fortune to work for her or be her “yes person” in the future. She is pretty personable and modest, so you have to like her when you meet her.

Julie Labach had a dream final U Sports season.

    Labach became the first double winner of the all-around and athlete of the year awards since former wrestler Daniel Olver pulled of the same feat on the men’s side in 2011.

    These days, Olver is the head coach of both Huskies wrestling teams, and he was named the winner of the Colb McEwon Trophy as the coach of the year for the Huskies program. Olver guided the Huskies women’s wrestling team to a Canada West title and a second place finish at U Sports nationals.

    He also took home honours as the Canada West and U Sports coach of the year in women’s wrestling.

    Midfielder Payton Izsak of the Huskies women’s soccer team won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the Huskies female rookie of the year.

    Sophomore netminder Taran Kozun of the Huskies men’s hockey team claimed the E. Kent Phillps Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Kyle Siemens, who was the fifth-year quarterback of the Huskies football team, took home the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the top male all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    Logan Sloan of the Huskies men’s wrestling team captured the Howard Nixon Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Brianna Antonichuk and Melinda Ardagh were both winners of the Dr. Walter Hader Student Trainer of the Year Award.

CWHL’s demise leaves a big hole

This morning we were informed the #CWHL is folding. As players, we will do our best to find a solution so this isn’t our last season of hockey but it’s hard to remain optimistic. #NoLeague

— Kaitlin Willoughby (@willowtree92) March 31, 2019

    One of the surprising news stories of the week occurred on Sunday, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced it will be folding on May 1 after 12 seasons of existence.

    The circuit first hit the ice in 2007 creating a new professional league for women’s hockey.

    The announcement to fold seemed to shock everyone involved with women’s hockey.

    On Tuesday, the National Women’s Hockey League, which is based in the United States, announced plans to expand to Toronto and Montreal for the start of next season. The possibility that the NWHL could add more expansion teams wasn’t ruled out.

    The CWHL had four teams in Canada, one in Worcester, Massachusetts and one in Shenzhen, China. It is uncertain if any of these franchises will resurface in another league.

    Here is hoping that the void can be filled that the demise of the CWHL will leave.

    In its final season existence, the CWHL provided a great opportunity to Kaitlin Willoughby, who is a forward from Prince Albert, Sask., originally hailing from Canwood, Sask.

    Willoughby, who turned 24-years-old in late March, starred for five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team becoming the program’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.

    From 2008 to 2013, she appeared in 96 regular season games with the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.

    When her midget AAA career finished, Willoughby was viewed as a good player, but she wasn’t declared a phenom that was on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    During her university career, Willoughby continued to improve and blew past a larger number of players that put up more points than she did or were viewed as better than her in midget AAA.

    Hockey Canada took notice, and Willoughby earned a spot on Canada’s women’s team that won silver at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2017.

    She was invited out to Hockey Canada summer development camps for three straight years from 2016 to 2018. Last September, Willoughby was one of 59 players invited to Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team’s Fall Festival in Dawson Creek, B.C.

    That camp is used to evaluate and develop Canada’s top female players and players can earn a chance to play on Canada’s Senior National Women’s team from that camp.

    During each of those points, Willoughby earned an invite from her accomplishments with the Huskies. At the Fall Festival, it could be argued that Willoughby was just there to be a camp body, but she managed to create a bigger blip on the radar for herself.

    If the CWHL didn’t exist at that point, it was possible Willoughby’s career as a competitive hockey player could have been done there.

    She suited up for the Calgary Inferno and played with and against the top women’s players in the world including senior national team members from Canada, the United States and a few countries in Europe.

    Willoughby had a goal and five assists in 27 regular season games with the Inferno and played in their 5-2 victory in the Clarkson Cup final on March 24 over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in Toronto, Ont. While her point total was modest, she showed off her athletic ability including her great speed that allowed her to pull away from players even at that level.

    Willoughby learned the ins and outs of playing with top level players, where you have to get to spots on the ice and the puck will be on the tape of your stick. She performed well enough that there was talk of having her play further up the Inferno’s lineup.

    A player like Willoughby is still improving, and you still wonder how good she could actually be. She has played well enough that if you cut her the person that makes that cut likely goes home and feels sick all night over that decision.

    Willoughby might play for Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey team and might play in a Winter Olympics one day. If she doesn’t have a league like the CWHL to play and improve in, all of a sudden she doesn’t have the vehicle that will give her the opportunity to reach her full potential.

    She also skated again for Canada in the last FISU Winter Universiade that recently wrapped up as the captain of the women’s hockey team in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. On March 11, Willoughby led Canada to the gold medal game, where they lost a 2-0 heartbreaker to the host Russian side.

    If there isn’t that professional option, it lessens the chance for female players that have their biggest improvement curves after high school to get on the radar of Hockey Canada. You have to hope you go to camp for or make Canada’s under-18 women’s team to get on that radar.

    While there is uncertainty in the women’s professional game, hopefully something works out to keep the players that were on the six CWHL clubs playing. It would be unfortunate to tell someone like Willoughby the time has come to pack it in after all the strides forward she has made.

    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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Arnold OT hero for Stars in Game 1 of SFMAAAHL final

Calli Arnold netted the OT winner for the Stars on Saturday night.

    Calli Arnold stepped into the spotlight for the Saskatoon Stars on Saturday night.

    The 15-year-old sophomore winger netted the winning goal at the 3:26 mark of overtime to give the Stars a 2-1 victory over the Regina Rebels in Game 1 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is slated for Monday at 7:45 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    Arnold’s goal was her first tally of the playoffs with veteran linemates Anna Leschyshyn and Joelle Fiala picking up assists.

    Going into the post-season, Arnold, who is from Dodsland, Sask., had a breakout out year netting 12 goals and 15 assists appearing in all of the Stars 28 regular season games.

Chantel Weller made 29 saves in goal for the Rebels on Saturday.

    The Stars jumped out to a 1-0 lead in Saturday’s contest as offensive-defender Ashley Messier netted a power-play goal at the 2:12 mark of the first period.

    Veteran forward Lauren Focht, who turned 17-years-old in January, scored for Regina at the 14:48 mark of the opening frame to force a 1-1 tie.

    The goaltenders for both sides had stellar performances in the SFMAAAHL title series opener.

    Arden Kliewer made 32 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Chantel Weller turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

    Saskatoon finished first in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 27-1 mark, while Regina was second with a 17-7-4 record. The Stars won three out of the four head-to-head regular season games with the Rebels.

    Game 3 of the series is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Stars alums Clark and Shirley win NCAA title with Badgers

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Worth the wait. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

A post shared by emclark.26 (@emclark.26) on Mar 24, 2019 at 6:26pm PDT

    Saskatoon Stars alums Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley experienced a career highlight they will never forget.

    On Sunday, the two skilled forwards helped the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team win their fifth National Collegiate Athletic Association title in team history. The top seeded Badgers blanked the second seeded University of Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-0 in the championship game of the women’s Frozen Four at the People’s United Centre in Hamden, Connecticut.

    Clark is a senior forward with the Badgers who was playing in her final NCAA career game. Shirley is a freshman with the Badgers.

    Both were held off the scoresheet in the championship final.

    Sophia Shaver and Annie Pankowski netted singles for the Badgers.

    Kristen Campbell, who is from Brandon, Man., made 27 saves to earn the shutout win in goal for the Badgers, who finished with a 35-4-2 overall record. Alex Gulstene turned away 30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Golden Gophers, who finished with a 32-6-1 overall record.

    Sunday’s win marked the first time the Badgers captured the NCAA title since 2011. A national championship in NCAA women’s hockey was first awarded in 2001.

    The Badgers blanked the fourth seeded Clarkson University Golden Knights 5-0 in a semifinal game on Friday. Clark had an assist in that contest.

    The Golden Knights won the NCAA title in each of the previous two years.

    Both Clark and Shirley are members of Canada’s national women’s hockey team program. Clark skates with the senior women’s team, and Shirley is a member of the national development team.

    Clark, who played for the Stars from 2009 to 2012, missed time at the beginning of the season due to an injured left leg. Skating in her fourth and final season with the Badgers, Clark has appeared in 34 overall games recording 14 goals, 14 assists and a plus-25 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Shirley, who played for the Stars from 2012 to 2015, had had an outstanding rookie season with the Badgers appearing in 41 overall games recording 20 goals, 18 assists and a plus-36 rating.

    The Golden Gophers blanked the Cornell University Big Red 2-0 in Friday’s other semifinal.

    Stars alum Willow Slobodzian is a sophomore defender for the Big Red. In 36 games with the Big Red this season, Slobodzian, who played for the Stars from 2014 to 2017, had four goals, eight assists and is a plus-22.

Willoughby captures Clarkson Cup with Inferno

All smiles from the 2019 Clarkson Cup Champs! pic.twitter.com/SgeQZAWTFh

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) March 24, 2019

    Kaitlin Willoughby capped her rookie season as a professional hockey player in championship style.

    The speedy winger helped the Calgary Inferno win the Clarkson Cup as Canadian Women’s Hockey League champions with a 5-2 win over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in the circuit’s title game in Toronto, Ont., on Sunday.

    Willoughby wasn’t able to collect any points in Sunday’s final Ricoh Coliseum, but she still finished a year playing key minutes on a stacked Inferno squad this past season.

    The Inferno led Sunday’s clash with Les Canadiennes 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 after the second framed before cruising to a three-goal victory.

    Zoe Hickel scored twice for the Inferno, while Halli Krzyzaniak, Brianna Decker and Rebecca Johnston had singles. Ann-Sophie Bettez scored both goals for Les Canadiennes.

    Alex Rigsby turned away 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Inferno. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 26-of-30 shots taking the setback in goal for Les Canadiennes.

    The Inferno topped the CWHL regular season standings with a 23-4-0-1 record. Les Canadiennes finished second with a 21-6-0-1 mark.

    Willoughby has appeared in 27 regular season games with the Inferno collecting one goal and five assists. On March 11, the 23-year-old forward from Prince Albert, Sask., who originally hails from Canwood, Sask., captained Canada’s women’s hockey team to a silver medal win at the FISU Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

    Canada fell 2-0 in the gold medal game to the host Russian side. In six games at the tournament, Willoughby had a goal, three assists and was a plus-five.

    Before joining the Inferno, Willoughby was a star for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team from 2013 to 2018 finishing as the squad’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 career regular season games.

    From 2008 to 2013, Willoughby appeared in 96 regular season games with the SFMAAAHL’s Prince Albert Northern Bears piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.

    While playing for the Inferno and for Canada at the FISU Winter Universiade, Willoughby is competing her studies in nursing at the U of Saskatchewan.

    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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Stars a win away from returning to SFMAAAHL final

Grace Shirley had two big playoff games for the Stars.

    It appears the rust factor hasn’t hampered the Saskatoon Stars.

    After going 25 days between games, the Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series against the Notre Dame Hounds. The Stars, who are the defending SFMAAAHL champions, will be looking to close the series out in Game 3 on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Saskatoon concluded its regular season schedule blanking the Hounds 6-0 in Wilcox, Sask., back on Feb. 17. The Stars topped the regular season standings with a 27-1 record.

    Due to a schedule break to allow SFMAAAHL players to take part in the Canada Winter Games that were held in Red Deer in late February and earlier this month and the fact the Stars had bye into the semifinal round of the post-season, the Stars hit the ice last Friday having gone 25 days without playing a game.

    In Game 1 of their SFMAAAHL semifinal series with the Hounds on Friday, the Stars posted a 6-1 victory at Merlis Belsher Place. The Stars led 1-0 after the first period, 4-0 after the second period and were up 6-0 in the third before the Hounds replied with their single goal.

    Captain Grace Shirley had a goal and three assists for the Stars, while Anna Leschyshyn had a pair of goals. Makena Kushniruk, Joelle Fiala and Kaitlin Jockims had singles for Saskatoon, while offensive defender Ashley Messier had a pair of assists.

    Kaitlyn Gilroy replied for the Hounds, who finished fifth in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 12-13-3 record.

    Arden Kliewer made 17 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Kaitlyn Ross turned away 32 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hounds.

    The series shifted to the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox for Game 2 on Sunday, where the Stars pulled out a 3-1 win. Saskatoon led 1-0 after the first period and 3-0 after the second frame before the Hounds answered back with a goal in the third.

Kaitlyn Ross made a number of big saves for the Hounds.

    Alison Olorenshaw, Jockims and Messier netted singles for the Stars. Shirley assisted on all three Saskatoon goals.

    Brynn Maclean had a single for the Hounds.

    Kliewer made 16 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Ross turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Hounds.

    The Stars SFMAAAHL league award winners and all-star selections were announced, when their series with the Hounds began.

    Kushniruk claimed the Fiona Smith Most Sportsmanlike Player award, and Messier captured the Colleen Sostorics Top Defenceman award, while being named a first team all-star.

    Shirley and Jockims were named first team all-stars at forward.

    Kliewer was named a second team all-star along with Leschyshyn at forward and Chace Sperling on defence.

    If the Hounds are able to win Game 3, they will host Game 4 on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Duncan McNeill Arena.

    If a series deciding Game 5 is required, it will be held this coming Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Rebels, Wildcats SFMAAAHL semi even at 1-1

Neena Brick had two strong games for the Rebels against the Wildcats.

    It appears the SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the Regina Rebels and the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats will be a lengthy one.

    The Rebels and Wildcats split the first two games of their best-of-five set. Game 3 is slated for Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    In Game 1 of their series on Saturday at the Co-operators Centre, the host Rebels skated to a 3-0 victory.

    Samantha Sichkaruk, Jordan Fry and Neena Brick all scored singles for the Rebels.

    Chantel Weller turned away 11 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for Regina.

    Amaya Giraudier turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Wildcats.

    Swift Current played without two key veterans in Game 1 as captain Taylor Lind, who is the SFMAAAHL’s MVP, and defender Tobi Fontaine were both nursing minor undisclosed injuries.

Crystal Wale came up big in a Game 2 win for the Wildcats.

    Both Lind and Fontaine were back in action for the Wildcats in Game 2 on Sunday at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current. They weren’t able to pick up any points, but their supporting cast helped deliver the Wildcats to a 3-1 win.

    Ashlee Wolfe and Crystal Wale netted singles to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Brick replied for the Rebels with the lone goal in the second period to cut the Wildcats edge to 2-1.

Ryleigh White scored for the Wildcats on the power play with 3:04 remaining in the third period to cement Swift Current’s victory.

    Giraudier stopped 40 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats, who were third in the SFMAAAHL’s regular season with a 17-10-1 record. Weller turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels, who were second in the SFMAAAHL’s regular season with a 17-7-4 mark.

Game 4 of the series between the Rebels and Wildcats is slated for Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current.

    If a series deciding Game 5 is needed, it will be held this coming Friday at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

Stars alums off to NCAA’s Frozen Four

Emily Clark will be playing in her last NCAA Frozen Four.

    A trio of alums from the Saskatoon Stars are headed to the Frozen Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s national women’s hockey championship tournament in Division I play.

    Last Saturday, Stars grads Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley, who are both forwards, helped the top seeded University of Wisconsin Badgers blank the Syracuse University Orange 4-0 in a quarter-final contest at the LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wisconsin, before 2,423 spectators.

    Clark, who played for the Stars from 2009 to 2012, had assists on the Badgers first two goals, which were both scored by Annie Pankowski. Shirley, who played for the Stars from 2012 to 2015, was held without a point for the Badgers on Saturday.

    Both Clark and Shirley are members of Canada’s national women’s hockey team program. Clark skates with the senior women’s team, and Shirley is a member of the national development team.

    Clark missed time at the beginning of the season due to an injured left leg. Skating in her fourth and final season with the Badgers, Clark has appeared in 32 overall games recording 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-22 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Shirley had had an outstanding rookie season with the Badgers appearing in 39 overall games recording 20 goals, 18 assists and a plus-35 rating.
    The Badgers have a 33-4-2 overall record this season and advance to the Frozen Four for a sixth straight year. The Frozen Four runs this coming Friday to Sunday at the People’s United Center in Hamden, Connecticut.

    In one semifinal on Friday, the Badgers face the fourth seeded Clarkson University Golden Knights (30-7-2). The Golden Knights won the NCAA title the last two straight years.

Willow Slobodzian in action with the Stars in 2017.

    The third Stars alum heading to the Frozen Four is Willow Slobodzian, who is a defender for the Cornell University Big Red.

    Slobodzian, who played for the Stars from 2014 to 2017, had an assist for the Big Red as they won a 3-2 overtime thriller against the third seeded Northeastern University Huskies in a quarter-final match at the Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass.

    Gillis Frechette had the OT winner for Cornell.

    Cornell heads to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2012.

    The Big Red improved their overall record to 24-5-6, while the Huskies finish at 27-6-5.

    The Huskies roster contains Prince Albert Northern Bears alum Brooke Hobson, who had an assist for Northeastern University in the setback. Hobson played for the Bears from 2011 to 2017.

    In 35 games with the Big Red this season, Slobodzian had four goals, eight assists and is a plus-22.

    Hobson finished her second season with the Huskies appearing in 38 games recording six goals, 22 assists and a plus-27 rating.

    The Big Red will take on the second seeded University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (31-5-1) in the other NCAA semifinal set for this coming Friday.

    The semifinal winners will meet this coming Sunday in the NCAA championship game.

    For anyone in Saskatchewan that gets the Big Ten Network on their television packages, the Big Red semifinal game this coming Friday featuring Slobodzian will be shown live at 2 p.m. Saskatchewan time. The Badgers semifinal game featuring Clark and Shirley will follow at 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

    Sunday’s NCAA championship game will be shown life at 12:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time on the Big Ten Network.

Willoughby to play for CWHL title with Inferno

Kaitlin Willoughby in action with the Huskies in 2018.

    Kaitlin Willoughby will try to close her rookie season as a professional with a Canadian Women’s Hockey League title.

    This coming Sunday, the 23-year-old forward from Prince Albert, Sask., who originally hails from Canwood, Sask., will travel with her Calgary Inferno to Toronto to face Les Canadiennes de Montreal in a one-game league championship final for the Clarkson Cup. The Clarkson Cup will be played at the Coca-Cola Coliseum and will be shown life on Sportsnet at 10 a.m. Saskatchewan time.

    The Inferno topped the CWHL regular season standings with a 23-4-0-1 record. Les Canadiennes finished second with a 21-6-0-1 mark.

    Willoughby has appeared in 27 games with the Inferno collecting one goal and five assists. On March 11, she captained Canada’s women’s hockey team to a silver medal win at the FISU Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

    Canada fell 2-0 in the gold medal game to the host Russian side. In six games at the tournament, Willoughby had a goal, three assists and was a plus-five.

    Before joining the Inferno, Willoughby was a star for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team from 2013 to 2018 finishing as the squad’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 career regular season games.

    From 2008 to 2013, Willoughby appeared in 96 regular season games with the SFMAAAHL’s Prince Albert Northern Bears piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.

    While playing for the Inferno and for Canada at the FISU Winter Universiade, Willoughby is competing her studies in nursing at the U of Saskatchewan.

    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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Ball heating up again for Bears

Kate Ball leads the Prince Albert Northern Bears in scoring.

    When Kate Ball starts scoring, the Prince Albert Northern Bears start winning.

    The Bears 17-year-old star centre appears to be heating up once again, which bodes well for the powerhouse Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League squad. Last Saturday, Ball had her team’s fifth goal in a 5-2 victory over the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    When those same two teams met a day later at the Art Hauser Centre, Ball scored twice inside of the first nine minutes of the contest and added a hat trick goal in the third period to help the Bears skate away with convincing 9-1 victory.

    With those efforts, Ball leads the Bears in scoring with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points appearing in 10 of her team’s 12 regular season games. In games where Ball scores a goal, the Bears are a perfect 5-0 this season.

    Ball, who stands 5-foot-5, turned heads as a 15-year-old rookie in 2016-17 finishing second in team scoring piling up 15 goals and 15 assists appearing in all 28 of the Bears regular season games. The Saskatoon product helped the Bears win their second SFMAAAHL title that season, win a Western regional playdown series and appear in the Esso Cup national championship tournament.

    During the first half of her sophomore season with the Bears, Ball committed to play for her hometown University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team for the start of the 2019-20 U Sports season.

Bears C Kate Ball battles Wildcats C Taylor Lind for a draw.

    Ball’s commitment was a big one for the Huskies to land, as they managed to keep a skilled local product from venturing down to the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks in the United States.

    Coming off a standout rookie campaign and having made a commitment to a post-secondary team, the Bears opponents started to key more on Ball.
    Having great vision and creativity on the ice, Ball piled up 18 assists appearing in all of the Bears 28 regular season games in 2017-18. Her goal total slipped to seven playing against tighter checking.

    During the off-season, it appears Ball took her training up a notch. In her third SFMAAAHL campaign, she appears faster and stronger than she ever has before.

    She is finding her spots to show off her accurate shot, which has allowed her to surpass her goal total from a season ago. At the moment, she is on pace to set new career highs in all statistical categories.

    To coincide with Ball’s production, the Bears as a team seem to be hitting stride as all four of their forward lines seemed to be in top gear against the Wildcats.

Goal celebrations have been frequent for Kate Ball this season.

    Winger Miranda Heidt had a goal and two assists in Sunday’s win, while defender Tobi Fontaine and forwards Alli Soyko and Paris Oleksyn each had a goal and an assist.

    Jadyn Kushniruk and Paige Dawson had singles for the Bears.
    Underage 14-year-old rookie netminder Scout Anderson had another big game for the Bears making 29 saves to pick up the win in goal.

    The Bears improved to 7-4-1 with the sweep of the Wildcats to sit alone in third place in the SFMAAAHL with 21 standings points. Prince Albert was 1-4-1 in its previous six games before taking on the Wildcats.

    Maddy McCleary had the lone reply on Sunday for Swift Current. Amaya Giraudier turned away 22 shots taking the setback in net for the Wildcats (3-6-1).

    The Bears return to action this coming Saturday, when they host their archrivals the Saskatoon Stars (12-0) at 5 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Wildcats’ Lind on verge of many milestones

Taylor Lind is one of the SFMAAAHL’s all-time best players.

    Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats centre Taylor Lind will go down as one of the best players the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League has ever seen.

    The 16-year-old product of Shaunavon, Sask., is on the verge of a number of big milestones. When the Wildcats fell 9-1 last Sunday against the Northern Bears in Prince Albert, Lind picked up an assist on Swift Current’s lone goal.

    With that point, the Wildcats captain has piled up 69 goals and 57 assists for 126 points in 65 career regular season games to equal Lauren Zary for seventh on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time scoring list. Zary, who played for the Saskatoon Stars from 2008 to 2012, collected her 126 points on 44 goals and 82 assists in 103 career regular season games.

    Of course, Lind, who stands 5-foot-7, needs to collect one more point to sit alone in seventh spot on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time scoring list. She needs to score one more goal to become just the fifth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to score 70 or more career regular season goals.

    Lind’s 69 goals and 126 points are career regular season records for the Wildcats. She is closing in the Wildcats career regular season assists record of 62 set by Chloe Smith, who played for the team from 2013-2017. Smith is currently playing in her sophomore season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.

Taylor Lind is on the verge of a number of scoring milestones.

    In Saturday’s 5-2 to the Northern Bears in Prince Albert, Lind had helpers on both Swift Current goals. She was so good that game that she could have easily had a hat trick and at least another assist had it not been for the stellar play of Bears netminder Lexi Beuker.

    Lind has committed to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks for the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri, for the 2019-2020 season.

    Two of the players in the top six of the SFMAAAHL regular season scoring list are still active. Saskatoon Stars captain Grace Shirley is the SFMAAAHL’s third all-time leading scorer piling up 85 goals and 60 assists for 145 points in 94 career regular season games.

    Stars assistant captain Anna Leschyshyn in the SFMAAAHL’s sixth all-time leading scorer recording 61 goals and 67 assists for 128 points in 99 career regular season games.

    The Wildcats (3-6-1) return to action this coming Saturday, when they host the Notre Dame Hounds (2-5-2) at 7:45 p.m. at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current.

Willoughby nets first professional goal

Your @TimHortons three stars of the game:

⭐️⭐️⭐️Ann-Sophie Bettez
⭐️⭐️Rebecca Johnston
⭐️Kaitlin Willoughby pic.twitter.com/vhF0aG7ABf

— Calgary Inferno (@InfernoCWHL) November 25, 2018

    Kaitlin Willoughby picked up her first professional goal scoring against one of the top goalies in the world.

    Dressing for her nine regular season game for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the Prince Albert, Sask., product, who originally hails from Canwood, Sask., skated hard to the net and drove home a rebound from a shot taken by linemate Louise Warren to give the Inferno a 1-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiennes at the 8:31 mark of the first period. Willoughby’s goal sparked the Inferno out to a 3-0 first period lead, and Calgary would hold on to a 4-2 victory at the WinSport Arena in Calgary.

    Her tally came against Canadiennes netminder Emerance Maschmeyer, who was the goalie partner of the legendary Shannon Szabados on Canada’s senior national women’s team that won silver at the 4 Nations Cup on Nov. 10 in Saskatoon.

    In CWHL action, the 24-year-old Maschmeyer had shutouts in three consecutive games before being beaten by the 23-year-old Willoughby, who is an alumna and former captain of both the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, concluded her time with the Huskies last season. In five campaigns, she finished as the program’s second all-time leading scorer recording 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.

    Last August, she was selected in the seventh round and 37^th overall in the CWHL Draft by the Inferno. Last September, she attended Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team’s Fall Festival in Dawson Creek, B.C., along with 58 other players, who were graded to possibly be part of Canada’s senior national women’s team one day. Most of the members of Canada’s senior national women’s team skated in the Fall Festival.

    So far in her rookie season with the Inferno, Willoughby has appeared in all 10 of Calgary’s regular season games collecting one goal, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

    The Inferno and the Canadiennes met again on Sunday in Calgary with the host side skating to a 3-2 victory. Calgary sits first in the CWHL with a 9-1 record having won nine straight games.

    The Inferno returns to action this coming Saturday hosting the Markham Thunder (6-3-2) at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary.

KAITLIN WILLOUGHBY SCORES HER FIRST @TheCWHL GOAL! @InfernoCWHL lead 1-0 #CWHL pic.twitter.com/5afu07PPwY

— Women's Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) November 25, 2018

    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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