Willoughby will always be an all-time champ in life

Huskies defender under appreciated in her playing career

Morgan Willoughby skates out for a game on Feb. 8.

    Morgan Willoughby might have been one of the most popular players on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team who never got her full due.
    Last Saturday, the fifth-year defender played the final game of her U Sports career when her Huskies fell 1-0 in double overtime in Game 2 of a Canada West quarter-final series to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Having lost Game 1 of the set 3-2 in overtime one night earlier, the Thunderbirds swept the best-of-three series 2-0 in two epic clashes between archrivals.

Morgan Willoughby (#9) in action for the Huskies last Saturday.

    The loss on Saturday by the Huskies brought an end to the careers of eight fifth-year players who gave their heart and soul to the program in Willoughby, Leah Bohlken, Courtney Cormack, Shyan Elias, captain Brooklyn Haubrich, Rachel Lundberg, Emma Nutter and Elizabeth Salyn. Fourth-year defender Kayla Kirwan, who emptied the tank during her time with the team, is finishing her agricultural and bioresources studies and has elected at the moment to not return for her fifth year.

    Willoughby always puts others before herself and would hate to be put above any teammates she ever played with. I believe in this case an exception can be made, because she always seemed to do the right thing, and I feel we all took advantage of that characteristic.

Morgan Willoughby in action for the Huskies in October of 2015.

    You got so used to her be reliable you would never ask how she was doing on any particular day. It was like you never questioned Willoughby was going to come to the rink every day and be an effective physical defensive defender.

    When the opposing team’s top line hits the ice, you put Willoughby and Nutter, who is her long time defensive partner, on the ice, and you just expect them to handle it.

    If there are misunderstandings with the players in the dressing room or between coaches and players, it was like Willoughby will handle it and nothing will be a problem.

Morgan Willoughby (#28) enjoys a Huskies win in October of 2015.

    When the players from the Huskies go out to community events where they wear their jerseys, Willoughby is the first to return the jersey or any team items that were brought out to be used as the event. Other players often would do the young person thing and forget their jerseys in laundry piles at home for a couple of days.

    Willoughby was fiercely competitive, but she was always under control to never let that competitive streak make her go over the line on the ice or off the ice. That said, if there was something that had to be taken care of on the ice due to an underhanded play and a figurative bell needed to be answered, Willoughby would take care of that.

Morgan Willoughby pictured with teammates at 2016 Huskie Salute.

    With all that said, Willoughby only had 28 penalty minutes in her U Sports regular season career, and her presence alone lessened the motivation for anyone to start trouble.

    All these intangibles allowed Willoughby to be named an assistant captain for her final two seasons for the Huskies. While in that role, you never worried about what she was thinking or feeling. She would make the team go and that was never questioned.

    Physically, Willoughby, who stands five-foot-eight, had all the tools to be a solid defensive defender. Few could skate as well as she could.

Morgan Willoughby works the point in October of 2016.

    Of course with being a defensive defender, her statistics won’t blow anyone away. In 117 career U Sports regular season games, Willoughby had six goals, eight assists and a minus-four rating in the plus-minus department. The minus rating was due to the fact she consistently played against the opposition’s top forward units.

    This season, Willoughby appeared in 26 regular season games collecting one goal, two assists and a plus-five rating.

    If she had the scoring touch of former Huskies great offensive defender Julia Flinton to go with her current skill set and personality make up, Willoughby would have been on Hockey Canada’s radar to be brought into camps for Canada’s national women’s team system.

    Actually, it always seemed Willoughby would be destined to be underappreciated in some form, because the 22-year-old came up through the sport in the shadow of sister Kaitlin, who is two years Morgan’s senior.

    Kaitlin was the talented high scoring forward who could play with grit, and everyone marvelled at what she could do.

Morgan Willoughby in action in October of 2016.

    Morgan was often greeted with, “Oh, you’re Kaitlin’s sister, how sweet.”
    Kaitlin, of course, played five seasons for the Huskies from 2013 to 2018 and finished as the program’s second all-time leading scorer piling up 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 career regular season games. Kaitlin was a plus-30 during her regular season career too.

    Kaitlin and Morgan played together on the Huskies for three seasons from 2015 to 2018.

    Good luck to anyone trying to find one time where Morgan ever got upset or jealous about Kaitlin being in the spotlight at any time. I am pretty sure it never happened with the Huskies or at any time in the respective lives of both young ladies.

    Morgan was always super proud of Kaitlin and tried her best to be viewed as her older sister’s biggest supporter.

    Believe it or not, I had been planning to write a column about Morgan Willoughby after her career ended for about the last four months.

    In my view, our interactions have had their bumps over the years, and it was never her fault.

    I never saw our interactions being in an outstanding, straight line fashion with no adversity like my interactions have been with a number of female players from Saskatoon, Prince Albert and surrounding areas who have been popular and have had a sizable impact in the local game.

Morgan Willoughby controls the puck in February of 2017.

    Some of those players include Jordan Ashe, Kianna Dietz, Ashley Messier, Mackenna Parker, Sophie Shirley, Willow Slobodzian, Abby Soyko and Cami Wooster.

    From my side, the bumps started and quickly peaked in the 2016-17 campaign, which was Morgan’s second season with the Huskies. At the moment, 2016-17 campaign still goes down as my least favourite covering the Huskies program as a whole, and that came about due to a number of things that happened that season.

    First from my view, I ended up getting on bad terms with Kaitlin. As usual, Morgan ended up being the go-between that helped navigate the rough waters. That navigation went partially into the 2017-18 campaign as well.

    Morgan didn’t have to play that role, but I am thankful on my side that she did. As time went on, I felt really bad on my side that Morgan was placed in that spot at all.

    That situation had the unfortunate timing of developing at around the same time when the awkward separation occurred where legendary Huskies football head coach Brian Towriss retired from the team and working at the U of S. 

Morgan Willoughby, right, moves in on a check in February of 2017.

    That whole situation when it developed in December of 2016 wasn’t handled well by the U of S and Huskie Athletics, and it was largely viewed in the public the Huskies had heartlessly cut Towriss adrift.

    There was a time the story on Towriss’s departure was the number two trending national story in Canada.

    That situation even consumed my life for the two-week period around the Christmas season that year when it went down. I have always respected Towriss a tonne having known him for a long time, and I was feeling a lot of pressure to do something to hold the Huskie Athletics accountable.

Morgan Willoughby (#9) salutes a home crowd with sister Kaitlin (#17).

    I was overwhelmed by messages that said anyone associated with Huskie Athletics was basically dirt and scum. I had alums from various Huskies programs including women’s hockey message me saying they were embarrassed to have ever been part of the overall Huskie Athletics program.

    With all that negative messaging happening and negative emotions swirling around Huskie Athletics at an all-time high, I ended up by chance attending the same public New Year’s Eve social function as both the Huskies women’s and men’s hockey teams. I didn’t know the two Huskies hockey teams were going to be at that function, which I was given an invite to.

Morgan Willoughby (#9) celebrates a goal in November of 2017.

    I don’t think they realized I was there, but I thought the two Huskies hockey teams got a little too rambunctious on that night out. Looking back now, I believe the teams acted in a more normal young person rambunctious manner that night, but with all that was going on at that time, I didn’t take it that way.

    I remember seeing Morgan out that night, and she was as always being the responsible one.

    I remember her looking absolutely stressed trying to ensure no one got really out of hand. The Huskies hockey teams left that social function a short time after I discovered them there.

    At that time, I hadn’t learned the lesson to let things sit for a day and then proceed to reflect on them.

    That night I sent Morgan a bad email saying she had no honour and the Huskies hockey teams she deeply cared about had no honour. I knew saying that would be the worst thing you could ever say to Morgan to hurt her.

Morgan Willoughby (#9) in action for the Prince Albert Northern Bears.

    Morgan is an alumna of the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team and was a captain of that team for two seasons.

    In Prince Albert, those that play hockey in that centre try to live up to the romantic vision of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in being the team of Mike Modano and Dave Mansion – the franchise where honour still matters.

    To think that Morgan had a point at any time in her life where she didn’t have honour is totally ridiculous. She has so many characteristics and traits in common with Manson it is actually crazy to think about.

Morgan Willoughby jets up ice in January of 2018.

    She always had honour and always lived up to that romantic vision – Kaitlin too, who happens to be another former Bears captain.

    I apologize to both thinking otherwise even for the shortest span of time that anyone can imagine.

    Thinking the Huskies hockey teams don’t have honour is dumb too, and I apologize for thinking that as well.

    Even with being that mean, Morgan still worked to be the one to bring everyone together, and as usual, she succeeded.

    My dealings with Kaitlin improved and approximately all four times we’ve crossed paths since her Huskies career ended have been outstanding.

    (*Side note – big props to current Huskies football head coach Scott Flory for bringing the family back together there and growing the family over the years since that rough time on the football side.*)

Morgan Willoughby, middle, walks to the ice in February of 2018.

    Still, it kept crossing my mind, “Don’t be mean to Morgan.”

    There are times I still feel like I slipped up on that front, and I feel ashamed of myself every time it happens even in the smallest instance.

    I believe I unintentionally made life hard on her during what turned out to be her final weekend with the Huskies.

    Leading up to the Huskies series with the Thunderbirds, I wrote a rivalry column about the two teams and inserted some old school Western Hockey League showmanship used to sell tickets by taking some jabs at the Thunderbirds.

    The Huskies had a strong regular season finishing third in the Canada West Conference with a 17-7-2-2 record, and they looked to have the potential to win the conference and possibly U Sports nationals.

Morgan Willoughby in action in January of 2019.

    The Thunderbirds underachieved during the regular season with a stellar and skilled roster finishing sixth in Canada West with a 10-13-4-1. They were 2-11-3 in their last 16 regular season games.

    In the emotional aftermath of the series, it is only human nature to think that there were players on the Huskies roster that felt that rivalry column cost the Huskies the series and post-season glory. There has been a big surge in page views for that rivalry column after the Thunderbirds claimed that Canada West quarter-final.

    The jabs in that column towards the Thunderbirds and Saskatoon product, Thunderbirds defender and former Bears captain Hannah Koroll, who has the potential to be one of the best players the Thunderbirds have ever had, was poking the bear, and that was very clear to see in that series.

Morgan Willoughby celebrates her final U Sports goal on Feb. 8.

    While the two games of that set were phenomenal, that was likely little consolation to the Huskies. Knowing how competitive Morgan is, I suspect those sort of thoughts have to cross her mind over the past few days as she has reflected on things.

    As usual, Morgan played like a warrior despite the outside noise. She did everything in her power to help her team.

    After the shock of the double overtime heartbreaking loss in Game 2, Morgan’s only focus was caring for and coming to the emotional aid of her teammates despite her career being over. That was clearly visible on the ice.

    Once again what she was feeling was secondary to helping her teammates.

Morgan Willoughby (#9) hugs Emma Nutter after last Saturday’s game.

    I apologize for every moment I made life slightly hard for Morgan and for taking her for granted.

    More importantly, I want to thank Morgan Willoughby for everything she did for me during her hockey career and especially during her time with the Huskies. 
    I also want to thank her for her leadership over the years and for being the perfect example of being a leader.

    I deeply appreciate everything she has done for me.

    She deserved to get a national championship ring throughout her hockey playing career, and it is one of the unfair aspects of sport that will never happen. Still, she will always be a champion in the game of life.

    With saying that, I suspect there are others out there that have taken Morgan Willoughby for granted too.

Morgan Willoughby will always be an all-time champ in life.

    I hope you all will correct that oversight and thank her and tell how much she truly is appreciated.

    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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Willoughby raised the bar for Huskies women’s hockey

Kaitlin Willoughby, centre, celebrates a goal with her teammates.

    When Kaitlin Willoughby arrived on the University of Saskatchewan campus, no one could have seen the profound impact she would have on the Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The star forward wasn’t an out of nowhere story, but she wasn’t expected to be a difference maker that could will her team to victory.

    Arriving on campus in late summer of 2013, she came to the Huskies with the reputation of being a solid player netting 34 goals and 63 assists in 96 career regular season games over five seasons with Prince Albert Northern Bears from 2008 to 2013 in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League. 

    Originally from Canwood, Sask., her family relocated to Prince Albert when her father, Jeff, became the Bears head coach before the start of the 2011-12 campaign.

Kaitlin Willoughby made a profound impact with the Huskies.

    Before her family moved, Kaitlin lived with relatives in Prince Albert when she played for the Bears.

    While she was a good player and finished with the Bears as their captain, Willoughby skated in an era of the SFMAAAHL when players like Emily Clark, who is now on Canada’s senior national women’s team, and Olivia Howe were putting up insane point totals.

    Willoughby recorded 10 goals and 23 assists in 28 regular season games during her final season with the Bears in 2012-13 to be the team’s second leading scorer after Kelly Regnier, who had 23 goals and 19 assists in 27 regular season games.

    Upon joining the Huskies, Willoughby would be suiting up with the teammates that piled up points just as or more prolifically than she did in midget AAA. At the university level, players that were once prolific scorers most often take on new roles like being a defensive forward to help their new club.

Kaitlin Willoughby could score goals and lift her teammates.

    The Huskies had only won one playoff series before Willoughby arrived, which allowed the program to qualify for U Sports nationals back in 2004. Before the start of the 2001-02 campaign, post-season tournaments were often used at some stage of the playoffs to help determine a champion in the Canada West Conference.

    The supremely talented Breanne George played five seasons for the Huskies at forward from 2007 to 2012 becoming the team’s all-time leading scorer piling up 86 goals and 63 assists in 107 regular season games, and she experienced just one single playoff game win in five trips to the post-season.

    George is still the most decorated player when it comes to individual awards won by a member of the Huskies women’s hockey team.

Kaitlin Willoughby (#28) breaks away from a defender in her second season.

    Willoughby got to experience four playoff series wins, a Canada West championship win in her rookie campaign in 2013-14, a bronze medal finish at U Sports nationals that same season, and another appearance in the Canada West championship series and a second trip to nationals this past season.

    During Willoughby’s time with the team, the Huskies finished second twice in the Canada West regular season standings in 2013-14 and this past season. Until Willoughby arrived at the U of S, the highest the Huskies finished in the Canada West regular season standings was third on a number of occasions.

Kaitlin Willoughby (#28) enjoy the Huskies Canada West title win in 2014.

    As a rookie, she was placed on a line with ultra-talented fifth-year captain Cami Wooster and took off right away. Willoughby piled up 25 points playing all of the Huskies 28 regular season games, while Wooster led the team in scoring with 31 points.

    In that campaign’s post-season, Willoughby had her signature moment, which is still the biggest moment to this day for the Huskies women’s team.
    In a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West championship finals, she slipped home a mid-range shot from the left boards at the 5:09 mark of a second overtime period to deliver the Huskies to a 2-1 victory over the University of Regina Cougars at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

Kaitlin Willoughby shows off her speed in her second year.

    With the Huskies set to move to the brand new Merlis Belsher Place part way through next season, Willoughby’s tally to win the team’s first Canada West title will go down as the biggest goal scored in the history of the Huskies women’s hockey program at Rutherford.

    While Willoughby had a spectacular first campaign, the most telling part about how good she really was came from the fact she kept putting up points over the next four seasons after Wooster graduated. Willoughby finished as the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the Huskies women’s program with 111 points. She continued to have big moments in the playoffs and in key regular season games.

    She very quickly became targeted by opponents when Wooster was no long by her side. Night after night, Willoughby faced the best defensive players the Huskies opponents sent at her.

Kaitlin Willoughby circles in the offensive zone in her third year.

    Opponents would often give her unwanted extra attention in an attempt to get her off her game by giving her a shot after the whistle often with a hack on the wrist. She received the odd punches to the head and a few attempts to put her to the ground with a hit. Willoughby often gave up size in these encounters as her 5-foot-6 frame faced players that were 5-foot-11 or 6-feet tall.

    Over her last four seasons, the Huskies weren’t able to find a player to place on Willoughby’s line who was at her level. It seemed a different player would rotate on Willoughby’s line year after year and have a career season because she was Willoughby’s linemate.
    As a result, the extra attention from opponents on Willoughby increased.

Kaitlin Willoughby (#17) celebrates a playoff hat trick in 2016.

    She learned how to fight through the extra attention, and that only seemed to drive her more and make her battle harder. Willoughby kept improving rapidly year after year earning her the chance to skate in Hockey Canada women’s camps in the summers of 2016 and 2017, and she helped Canada’s women’s hockey team win silver at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in February of 2017.

    Most of her peers that scored prolifically in midget AAA never got close to matching the offensive totals Willoughby put up with the Huskies at the university level.

    Her maturity grew by light years at the U of S as well. When she arrived on campus at age 18, it felt like she was still really young, and she definitely projected being younger than her age.

Kaitlin Willoughby drives home a playoff hat trick goal in 2017.

    As she turns 23 today, it feels like she was a lot older on the maturity front than her age in years.

    During her fourth season, I felt from my side there were times we weren’t always on the best terms, which is something that happens in life. Still, she is the perfect lead by example leader, which is a leadership style I always responded well to.

    I felt moved to do as well as in reporting her exploits as she played on the ice, but I always came up short. I ensured the effort was always there, because something in my gut told me I had to do that.

Kaitlin Willoughby starts a rush to score a playoff series winner in 2017.

    By her own admission, Willoughby said she wasn’t strongest on the academic front in her first two years at U of S, but she found a way to improve enough in that area to become a U Sports academic all-Canadian and crack into the school’s nursing program.

    Willoughby became the team’s captain in her final season, and performed so well in that role you started to believe she should have been given that responsibility earlier in her career. The Huskies had a togetherness this season that was a step above the three previous seasons.
    It was due to Willoughby knowing how to inspire the rookies that were in awe of every move she made to the fifth years she had been friends with for a lengthy period of time.

Kaitlin Willoughby (#17) walka to the ice for a game in her last season.

    When the Huskies defeated the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-1 on Feb. 24 to sweep a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, Willoughby was penalized for roughing with 35 seconds to play in the third period after getting mixed up with a Thunderbirds player who hit Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance. 

    Had the Thunderbirds tied the contest on that power play and rallied to win that game, Willoughby was ready to take the fall for her team, even though she did the right thing in coming to the aid of her goalie.

    The fact she was ready to sacrifice herself and shoulder all the blame in a tough moment for the team makes her a leader you rally behind and sacrifice yourself for.

Kaitlin Willoughby (#17) played beside sister Morgan (#9) for three seasons.

    “I don’t think I’ve had a harder time in hockey,” said Willoughby following that contest. “I was almost in tears in the penalty box.

    “I had belief in my team. I knew they were going to get it done. My bad in taking that penalty.

    “I was just sticking up for my goaltender. It is too bad that they had to call a penalty. Thank God for my team there. They stuck with it and battled it out.”

    To add an extra side bonus to everything, Willoughby got to play with her younger sister and sound defensive defender, Morgan, during her final three seasons with the Huskies.

    For the local girls playing minor hockey in the city and everyone back in Canwood and Prince Albert, Kaitlin Willoughby is a hero.

    She is a hero you can go and see, because she played close to home. In playing for the Huskies, Willoughby proved how valuable it can be when a star player plays close to home.

Kaitlin Willoughby makes a rush up ice in her final playoff home game.

    During her final season, she found a way to juggle being the Huskies star player and captain, her studies in an intense nursing program and a romantic relationship. A lot of others have cracked and failed following a similar path, but Willoughby is one of the few that has the make up to be able to succeed. Most can’t do what she has done.

    On a sports front, we might not ever see Willoughby at her best as most athletes hit their physical prime around age 27.
    She plans to spend the next year at U of S finishing her nursing, which is the smart move.
    When she gets her nursing degree, she guarantees she will always have a job wherever she wants to live.

The Willoughby family pictured at the Rutherford Rink.

    Willoughby is part of the top one per cent of female players in Canada and could contend to be on the senior national team. There are younger players that are further ahead to accomplishing that, but it is something Willoughby has the ability to do.

    With that said, the reality is you can do everything right in your power to make the senior national team and still not make it. That program cuts a lot of outstanding players and the margin between making the team and being cut is super slim.

    In life after hockey, Willoughby will be a success. Like her hockey career, it seems she is destined to make good things happen.

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

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Huskies’ Vance should be Canada West MVP

Goalie Jessica Vance, left, gives a fist bump with Kennedy Harris.

    In the season of the shutout, Jessica Vance has reigned supreme.

    As a result, the sophomore goalie from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team should be the most valuable player in the Canada West Conference.

    Vance, who stands 5-foot-7, had an impressive first campaign with the Huskies posting a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average, a .964 save percentage and nine shutouts. She topped the conference in most wins, the best save percentage and most shutouts.

    Her shutout total equals former University of Alberta Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in the Canada West Conference in one U Sports regular season. McCullough posted nine shutouts in the 2000-01 campaign.

    Lindsey Post, who is another former Pandas netminder, holds the Canada West record for most shutouts in one U Sports regular season at 10 recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.

Jessica Vance topped Canada West in wins, save percentage and shutouts.

    Thanks to Vance’s efforts, the Huskies posted 12 total shutouts as a team in the campaign to equal a Canada West Conference team record for one season. The Pandas also posted 12 shutouts coming in the 2008-09 campaign.

    The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product played a key part in helping the Huskies finish second overall in Canada West with a 19-7-2 record. The 19 wins marked a new Huskies team record for most victories in one regular season. That finish allows the Huskies to host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series that is slated to start with Game 1 on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    Vance helped the Huskies get to a place in the standings they haven’t been since they last finished second in Canada West back in the 2013-14 campaign with an 18-4-6 record. The Huskies also won the Canada West title in that campaign and a bronze medal at the U Sports national championship tournament.

    Since the 2013-14 season, the Huskies have still been good finishing fifth in 2014-15 and fourth in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. They were in search of that extra edge to push them back into one of the top two spots in the standings, and Vance gave them that edge. That fact should play a major part in naming her the most valuable player in the conference.

Jessica Vance played with a great calm in goal for the Huskies.

    Vance posted a 6-3-1 mark and two shutouts in the combined starts she made against the University of Manitoba Bisons, the defending U Sports champion Pandas and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In the latest U Sports Top 10 rankings, the Bisons are rated first, the Pandas second and the Thunderbirds are fifth.

    The Huskies didn’t crack the U Sports Top 10 even with their second place finish in Canada West and the wins they put up against the Bisons, Pandas and Thunderbirds. If the Huskies aren’t worthy of being rated in the U Sports Top 10 rankings with their Canada West foes, then Vance should be given that much more credit for the record the Huskies had and add to the reasons she should be the Canada West MVP.

    In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, which meant the pressure was on the goalies to not even give up a single goal on most nights. Through the whole season, Vance never got rattled by that type of pressure. She had a calm about her in net that few goalies female or male have.

    On top of all of that, Vance went over two-and-a-half years between competitive starts.

Jessica Vance’s play was key in a second place finish for the Huskies.

    Way back on March 25, 2015, Vance played her final game with the Prince Albert Northern Bears making 20 saves in a 2-0 loss to the Saskatoon Stars in Game 3 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series at the Agriplace Arena. The Stars swept the best-of-five series 3-0.

    With her midget AAA career having reached a conclusion, Vance originally planned to join the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team, but she sat out the 2015-16 season as a medical redshirt after suffering a major leg injury playing competitive softball in the summer of 2015.

    Vance dressed for one game as a backup goalie early last season for the Bisons before electing to play closer to home choosing to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team. Due to dressing for that one game, she wasn’t eligible to play for the Huskies until Nov. 1, 2017.

    Normally, that type of absence would cause a major setback for most high-level athletes.

    Vance never lost her game, and she was the main factor in helping the Huskies reach a higher level in the standings.

    Her story seems unbelievable, and that is what makes it special. The case for her being the Canada West MVP is a clear one, and that honour should come her way.

Willoughby proves she’s P.A. tough

Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby, right, has played through a few battles.

    Kaitlin Willoughby’s biggest accomplishment of the 2017-18 U Sports regular season might be the fact she skated through it in one piece.

    The star captain of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team has always drawn extra attention from the opposition due to her ability to score. It seemed the attention she received on the ice in her fifth and final season of eligibility was greater than in any of her first four campaigns.

    While bodychecking is illegal in women’s hockey, it was apparent players on opposing teams were out to deliver a few physical blows Willoughby’s way. 

    The most obvious case came in the Huskies 2-1 victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Jan. 27 at the Rutherford Rink, when Willoughby was on the receiving end of a hip check from Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer. There was no call on the play.

    Throughout the season, Willoughby’s presence on the ice resulted in opponents cross-checking her, slashing her after the play was blown dead and a few failed attempts to level her with a hit worthy of former star NHL defenceman Scott Stevens. It is almost a certainty a few opponents landed the odd punch on Willoughby in scrums, which do happen in the women’s game.

    Despite all the attempts to target her, beat her down and knock her off her game, Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, still finished fifth in the Canada West scoring race with nine goals and 10 assists in 26 regular season appearances.

Kaitlin Willoughby faces a lot of attention from opposing teams.

    The treatment the 22-year-old Prince Albert product has received on the ice isn’t foreign to what star players receive at any level of hockey.

    In the WHL, Nolan Patrick encounter similar treatment from opponents leading the Brandon Wheat Kings to a league championship in the 2015-16 campaign. In the 2016 WHL playoffs, he played through lots of extra shots and successfully remained at the top of his game.

    Adam Brooks and Sam Steel played through a lot of abuse powering the Regina Pats to an appearance in the WHL championship series last year. Mathew Barzal endured is share of unwanted physical shots helped the Seattle Thunderbirds win the WHL title last season.

    In U Sports men’s hockey, Derek Hulak had to play through lots of unwanted physical attention earning the Canada West most valuable player award in his final campaign with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team in 2013-14.

    At times, it seemed like the abuse all these players received was a borderline attempt to injure.

Willoughby showed her physical toughness this season and her mental toughness. In her first couple of seasons with the Huskies, the odds of her getting knocked off her game and seeing her get involved in trash talking sessions with opposing players was higher, if she received some unwanted hacks.

    She never lost her composure no matter what happened to her this season. In that, Willoughby accomplished a pre-season goal to emulate her former Huskies captain from her rookie season in Cami Wooster.

    In the process of playing though taking unnecessary physical shots, Willoughby upped the level of her teammates. They could see what was happening, and when something underhanded happened on the ice, you could see their focus becoming that much sharper.

Kaitlin Willoughby, centre, is surrounded by teammates who have her back.

    Willoughby’s teammates were right behind her, and they were ready to respond in the physical department. That was another obvious sight in the little battles you could see all over the ice.

    It felt like opponents would be wiser if they tried to avoid doing something that got the collective attention of the Huskies. The Huskies always seemed to win, when that happened.

    The Huskies begin their playoff march hosting Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    One last playoff run now awaits Willoughby, and she has a group of battle-hardened teammates right behind her that have her back. That gives the Huskies a huge chance to reach some very lofty heights.

    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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“Willo” says she won’t be the sole reason for Huskies success

Kaitlin Willoughby, left, and Cassidy Hendricks talk during a break.

    Kaitlin Willoughby believes her teammates might surprise a few people in the U Sports ranks this season.

    The captain of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team believes she won’t be the only reason for any success her club has in the 2017-18 campaign. The 22-year-old Prince Albert product, who is in her fifth and final season of eligibility, is confident she is leading a capable group.

    Last season, the Huskies posted a 15-10-3 record to finish fourth in the Canada West Conference, swept away their provincial rivals the U of Regina Cougars 2-0 in a best-of-three first round series and fell 3-1 in a series deciding Game 3 in a Canada West semifinal series against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    A notion went around the Canada West women’s hockey ranks that the Huskies got that far because of Willoughby and a goalie – namely now graduated veteran Cassidy Hendricks. Basically, U of S’s formula for winning kind of resembled the NHL’s Calgary Flames during the era when they had power forward Jarome Iginla and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

    The joke around Calgary’s NHL franchise at that time was that Kiprusoff would made 46 saves, Iginla would pop in a couple of goals and the Flames would win 2-1.

    The Huskies have respect for being sound defensively to tinker with the formula a bit. Instead, it was Hendricks would make 27 to 30 saves, Willoughby would pop in a couple of goals and the Huskies would win 2-1.

    U of S opens the regular season on Friday hosting the U of Regina Cougars at 7 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    When asked about the notion that the Huskies rely on her for offence and couldn’t win if she didn’t score, Willoughby didn’t seem too happy with the query but took time to calmly jump to the defence of her teammates.

    “I wouldn’t say that they rely on me,” said Willoughby, who topped the Huskies in scoring with 11 goals and 10 assists in 24 regular season games in 2016-17. “Obviously, I am the one who scored the most goals last year.

    “I don’t think that really matters, because we each have like our own things that we are good at. There are some girls that are like super good penalty killers, and our penalty kill was like the top of the whole (U Sports). I feel like everyone has their own role in that way.

    “I’m happy in my role too. I’m really happy to just score goals. I’m hoping that this year our lines click and we have a couple more people that have really good (offensive seasons) this year.”

    In checking that statistics, Willoughby was pretty bang on. The Huskies had the fifth best penalty kill in all of U Sports women’s hockey posting an impressive 91.1 per cent efficiency rate last season.

    Judging by the returning players the Huskies have on defence like Leah Bohlken, Morgan Willoughby, who is Kaitlin’s younger sister, Kayla Kirwan, Kira Bannatyne and Emma Nutter, U of S should be as sound defensively and on the penalty this season as they were last season.

    While Hendricks is no longer around to tend goal, the Huskies have three solid options to turn to in net in Chloe Marshall, Jasey Book and Jessica Vance.

    Offensively, the Huskies look to get a boost from their returning forwards who seem a little faster and stronger in the pre-season due to the work they put into off-season training. Sophomore forward Bailee Bourassa, who was a star in midget AAA with her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings, looks stronger and more confident.

    The same can be said of fellow second-year forwards Emily Upgang and Danielle Nogier and third-year forwards Shyan Elias, Rachel Lundberg and Courtney Cormack. Third-year feisty forward Brooklyn Haubrich will arguably be the hardest player to battle against in the U Sports ranks.

Kaitlin Willoughby jets up ice for the Huskies.

    The Huskies still have fifth-year forwards Kennedy Harris and Kori Herner, who bring key intangibles to the team. Harris knows how to ensure the team doesn’t get too high or too low and stays grounded, while Herner is viewed as the greatest teammate and the upbeat presence that lifts the atmosphere in the dressing room.

    Rookies Chloe Smith and Abby Shirley come to the Huskies with reputations as high-end scorers from the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League. As the captain of the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats, Smith finished third in last season’s SFMAAAHL scoring race with 18 goals and 31 assists in 28 regular season games. Shirley was 10^th in league scoring piling up 14 goals and 18 assists in 25 regular season games.

    While the Huskies have a couple of really skilled first-year forwards, the captain wanted to ensure there were no unrealistic expectations for the newcomers.

    “It is a lot of just getting used to (U Sports),” said Kaitlin Willoughby. “It is a lot different for the rookies coming in.

    “Hopefully, lots of people can take that transition really well. I hope that is the case for our team this year.”

    The Huskies roster is also getting a boost from women’s hockey transfers from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference ranks. Forward Chelsea Broadhead, who is in her fourth year of eligibility, comes to the Huskies from the Olds College Broncos and defenders Madison Colbow and Teagan Borbandy join the U of S side coming from the SAIT Trojans and Red Deer College Queens respectively. Colbow and Borbandy are both entering their third seasons of eligibility.

    The trio should help the Huskies in every aspect of their game.

    Willoughby, who is in nursing, is focused on helping her team bond together.

    “If I look back on the year and I know that everyone had fun that everyone felt as if we were a family, I think that is the number one thing for success I think is when you can click and get along,” said Willoughby.

Kaitlin Willoughby expects her team to enjoy a number of goals.

    In what will be her first and only season as captain, Willoughby wants to emulate her first captain with the Huskies in Cami Wooster. The two made an impressive offensive duo on the Huskies top line in their lone campaign together in 2013-14. They played a key part in helping the Huskies win their first Canada West title and a bronze medal at the U Sports nationals in that campaign.

    Wooster was a huge positive influence on the players on the Huskies Canada West championship winning team and made countless big plays to help the Huskies win games. At the moment, Wooster goes down as the best and most influential captain in the history of the Huskies women’s team.

    “She is so calm on the ice, and she just like always knows where to be,” said Willoughby. “She is an unreal player. I miss her.”

    After the Huskies posted a 5-1 record in the pre-season, Willoughby is looking forward to getting going for real.

    “I’m just happy to get my fifth year started and see what it can bring,” she said.

Smith still thinks about missed SFMAAAHL title chance

Chloe Smith in action for the Wildcats in March of 2016.

    Chloe Smith still thinks about the title chance that got away from her Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats.

    Smith, who is an 18-year-old rookie forward with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, was playing our her 16-year-old season of midget AAA eligibility with the Wildcats in 2015-16, when they advanced to the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series. The Wildcats posted a 19-6-3 regular season record but were underdogs in the best-of-series to the Saskatoon Stars, who were the defending league champions and topped with SFMAAAHL with a 24-4 record.

    The Wildcats traveled to Saskatoon and took Game 1 of the series 4-3. The Stars took the next two contest by respective 1-0 and 2-1 scores.

    In Game 4 of the series in Swift Current, the Wildcats jumped out to a 3-1 lead in front of a raucous home crowd at the Fairview Arena with 4:39 to play in the second period. For a short time, it appeared the two teams would have to play a series deciding Game 5 in Saskatoon.

    The Stars proceeded to rally cutting the Wildcats edge to 3-2 heading into the second intermission. Saskatoon netted the equalizer to force a 3-3 tie in the third and 14-year-old forward Grace Shirley fired home the game and series winning goal at the 4:08 mark of overtime to give the Stars a 4-3 win in the game and a 3-1 victory in the series.

    For Smith, the result of that series still stings.

    “It still bugs me,” said Smith. “That was a good series.

    “All of us actually kind of talk about it nowadays too. It still bugs us, because we had a good team that year.

    “We were wanting to go a little further than we did. Things happened. Saskatoon, they stepped it up in that third period, so it was good for them.”

    Smith is playing on the Huskies with defender Kayla Kirwan and goalie Jasey Book, who were also teammates on the Wildcats club that fell in the 2016 SFMAAAHL title series. Besides the team success, Smith had a breakout year offensively on a personal front netting 13 goals and 19 assists in 26 regular season games to finish fourth in the SFMAAAHL scoring race in 2015-16.

    She became the Wildcats captain in her final campaign with the team last season. Overall, the SFMAAAHL title loss doesn’t dampen the memories Smith made with her hometown squad.

    “We have a great organization,” said Smith. “Terry Pavely is the head coach, and he has done good job with that organization. It is one of the ones where lots of girls come to and they leave happy.

    “It is a great group of girls, a good city. I loved my years with the Wildcats. They were awesome.”

Nogier suffers serious injury with Moose

Nelson Nogier suffered a serious shoulder injury.

    Saskatoon area product Nelson Nogier could miss most of his second season of professional hockey with a serious injury.

    On Wednesday, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reported Nogier suffered a shoulder injury playing for the Manitoba Moose in an American Hockey League pre-season game in Grand Forks, N.D., last Friday. The 21-year-old, who is a graduate of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels, suffered the injury on his first shift in the Moose’s 3-2 victory over the Iowa Wild.

    It is expected that Nogier will need surgery.

    Last season as a rookie professional, Nogier, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 191 points, recorded two goals, 11 assists and a minus-five rating in the plus-minus department in 60 games with the Moose. He finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 10-game call up to the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, where he posted a minus-one rating as the Jets posted an 8-2 record over that stretch.

    Nogier played 235 career regular season games for the Blades and Rebels from 2011 to 2016 recording eight goals, 42 assists, 196 penalty minutes and an even rating in the plus-minus department.

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