“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.

McVeigh’s winner gives Huskies sweep of Cougars

U of S to defend Canada West title, earns berth to nationals

Logan McVeigh, top, celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    Even in the confines of a short series, Logan McVeigh was looking to eliminate any little voices of doubt that might be lurking.

    The sophomore centre led the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team in scoring during the course of a 28-game regular season netting 13 goals and 18 assists. Along with third-year winger Michael Sofillas and fourth-year winger Josh Roach, McVeigh was on a forward unit that became the team’s top line.

    In the Huskies 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their Canada West semifinal series against the Mount Royal University Cougars on Friday at the ancient Rutherford Rink, McVeigh’s line was unable to get on the scoreboard.

    With the Huskies locked in a 2-2 draw with the Cougars late in the second period in Game 2 on Saturday night at Rutherford, McVeigh’s unit was still searching to get on the scoreboard.

Logan McVeigh, left, finishes a check for the Huskies.

    That all changed with 3:39 to play in the second, when McVeigh took a pass from Sofillas, sped down the left wing and roofed home a shot to put the Huskies up 3-2. That tally stood up as the winner in a 3-2 final, which allowed the Huskies to sweep a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series 2-0 and advance to the best-of-three conference championship series.

    “Our line was struggling a little bit to start that game,” said McVeigh. “To get that goal, that game winner, it is huge for us going into next weekend.

    “Just to see that puck go into the back of the net is huge for confidence. We’re looking forward to next weekend.”

    For the second straight year, the series victory allows the Huskies to lock up a berth to the University Cup national championship tournament, which runs March 16 to 19 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Before nationals rolls around, the Huskies will attempt to win the Canada West championship for a second year in a row.

    The Huskies open the best-of-three Canada West championship series this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford against the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Golden Bears advanced to the Canada West final downing the U of Calgary Dinos 3-2 in Game 2 of their Canada West semi in Edmonton, which allowed U of A to sweep the set 2-0.

    The Huskies and Golden Bears met in last year’s final, which saw the Huskies pull out a 2-0 series sweep.

Winger Michael Sofillas circles in the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    At the University Cup last year, the Huskies finished fourth, and McVeigh was pumped his club had another trip locked up to that event. The Huskies will make their fifth appearance at nationals in the last six years.

    “It is exciting for sure,” said McVeigh. “We have a big job here to do next weekend against U of A.

    “Going back to nationals is huge for our organization, our team. We are excited to get out there (to nationals). We have to take care of Canada West first.”

    Against the Cougars in Game 2, the Huskies showed their resiliency. At the 5:55 mark of the first, Cougars captain Matthew Brown got in alone on Huskies star netminder Jordon Cooke and slipped home the opening goal of the game to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Levi Cable (#10) blasts home the Huskies first goal on Saturday.

    Just 49 seconds later, the Huskies responded with the equalizer to force a 1-1 draw when second-year winger Levi Cable blasted home a shot from the front of the Cougars goal past netminder Cam Lanigan.

    At the 13:49 mark of the second, Devin Gannon tucked home the Cougars second goal of the contest past Cooke to put the visitors up 2-1. Just 26 seconds later, sophomore forward Andrew Johnson one-timed a setup pass from rookie linemate Connor Gay to allow the Huskies to tie the contest up at 2-2.

    That set the stage for McVeigh to net his winner.

    “Our team moto is never say die,” said McVeigh. “We always think we have a chance to win no matter what the score is.

    “A tie game like that, we are going for win. We are not going for the tie or overtime.”

Cam Lanigan makes a stop in goal for the Cougars.

    The Cougars came out hard in the third outshooting the Huskies 13-5 in the frame. Cooke stood on his head stopping a breakaway chance from Gannon and another from David Stephens.

McVeigh wasn’t surprised by Mount Royal’s push back.

    “They have a solid team,” said McVeigh. “They work hard every shift.

    “It seems like they are always coming at us. We play defensively very well and of course, we have our MVP goaltender that stood on his head for a couple of breakaways and that helps.”

    Cooke made 29 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. Lanigan turned away 23 shots to take the loss in goal for the Cougars.

    Mount Royal finished fourth in Canada West with a 15-11-2 record, but lost nine of its last 11 games including action in both the regular season and playoffs.

Jordon Cooke, right, makes a breakaway save for the Huskies.

    The Huskies now turn their attention to their forever rivals in the Golden Bears. The Dogs topped the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 record and are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings.     The Golden Bears finished second in Canada West with an 18-8-2 mark and are rated fifth in the U Sports top 10 rankings.

    During the regular season, the Huskies took three out of the four matches against the Golden Bears.

    “We go against U of A every year it seems like,” said McVeigh. “It is a big goal of ours to take care of Canada West first and then go out to nationals and try to win that. For sure, we are going to try and do that.”

    Game 2 of the Canada West championship series is set for Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Rutherford. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will be held Sunday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Johnson, Hendricks keep Huskies women’s team alive

Rachel Johnson, (#19) scored the goal that kept the Huskies alive.

    Rachel Johnson and Cassidy Hendricks made certain their U Sports careers would live to see one more day with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    On Saturday night in Vancouver, Johnson, who is a fifth-year forward, scored at the 2:56 mark of the opening period on a setup from rookie linemate Bailee Bourassa, and Hendricks, who is a star fifth-year netminder, made 23 saves to power the Huskies to a 1-0 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Rookie Amelia Boughn turned away 17 shots to take the loss in the Thunderbirds goal.

    The Huskies victory in Game 2 of the best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the Thunderbirds forces a series deciding Game 3 Sunday afternoon in Vancouver. UBC took Game 1 of the series 2-0 on Friday in Vancouver.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    The winner of Game 3 advances to a best-of-three championship series against the U of Alberta Pandas. The Pandas swept the other Canada West semifinal series 2-0 downing the U of Manitoba Bisons 3-2 in Game 2 of that series on Saturday in Edmonton.

    Besides advancing to the Canada West championship series, the winner of Game 3 between the Huskies and Thunderbirds earns a berth to the U Sports women’s national championship tournament to be held March 16 to 19 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

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

Thomas comes up clutch for Huskies with two key goals

U of S downs Cougars 4-3 in opener of Canada West semi

Parker Thomas, left, hugs Jaimen Yakubowski after scoring on a breakaway.

    Parker Thomas seems to love playoffs.

    The third-year winger is developing a habit of delivering in big moments for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team in the post-season. At the U Sports national championship tournament held in March of last year in Halifax, N.S., Thomas scored a quadruple overtime winner to deliver the Huskies to a 3-2 quarter-final victory over the Carleton University Ravens.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Thomas delivered two big goals in two big moments to help power the Huskies to a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the Mount Royal University Cougars. The Huskies will attempt to go for the sweep when they host Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    “It is huge,” said Thomas about the win. “It is the first game of playoffs. It is only a three-game series.

    “To get that first one out of the way was big.”

Parker Thomas speeds up ice for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s first goal came with 16 seconds to play in the first period, when he cut across the face of the Mount Royal goal and tucked the puck home to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The goal helped break some momentum the Cougars had built. Mount Royal held a 14-7 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes thanks to working on a couple of power play opportunities.

    Following Thomas’s first goal, the Huskies proceeded to build a 3-0 lead with singles coming from the sticks of Kohl Bauml and Levi Cable early in the second period.

    Before the second frame ended, Mount Royal answered back with a power-play goal coming from forward Jamal Watson, who tipped home a point shot from Emerson Hrynyk, to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1. Just 1:54 into the third, the host’s edge shrank to 3-2, when Cougars defenceman Maddison Smiley blasted home a power-play goal top left corner through a screen from the point.

Parker Thomas wins a battle in the corner for the Huskies.

    When it seemed the Cougars had all the momentum on their side, Thomas came through in another key moment just before the midway part of the frame. Third year defenceman Jordan Fransoo sprung Thomas on a breakaway with a beauty stretch pass coming from the U of S zone.

    Thomas showed the finesse that made him one of the top scorers in junior A playing for the Selkirk Steelers in Manitoba from 2010 to 2014 faking Cougars goalie Cam Lanigan to the ground and tucking in the puck around the right side of the netminder. The goal gave the Huskies a 4-2 lead and stood up as the winner.

    The Cougars proceeded to throw a scare into the Huskies down the stretch, when third year forward Cam Maclise scored an unassisted goal with 3:31 to play in the third to cut the Huskies lead to 4-3. Shortly after that goal, the Cougars wired a potential equalizer off the crossbar of the U of S net.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke made 38 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Cam Lanigan turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Cougars.

Netminder Jordon Cooke snags one of his 38 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    The Cougars came off winning a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-1 last weekend in Calgary against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings, had a bye into the semifinal thanks to finishing first in the conference standings with a 21-5-2 record. The Cougars were fourth in Canada West with a 15-11-2 mark.

    Thomas, who was close a couple of times to netting a hat trick, was pleased to pick up a couple of goals, but was more focused on the bigger picture.

    “It was nice, but the win was better,” said Thomas, who didn’t think the shots on goal were indicative of the play Friday. “They are still into it a bit.

    “I think we started well. It didn’t look like we had a couple of weeks off there.”

    The 23-year-old Winnipeg product was also glad to see his team stayed out of some of the extra-curricular sparring and talking that occurred after the whistle.
    The Cougars had the top power play in Canada West this season clicking at 23.1 per cent, and it looked like there was a visible effort to draw the Huskies into penalties.

Winger Jaimen Yakubowski played a high energy game for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s line containing rookie centre Jordan Tkatch and sophomore winger Jaimen Yakubowski also came through with a number of aggressive and high energy shifts throughout the game that seemed to get the Huskies on track, when they were in a lull. Tkatch and Yakubowski drew assists on Thomas’s first goal, and the trio was arguably the Huskies’ best forward unit on the night.

    “We have a couple of big bodies, so we like to crash and bang,” said Thomas. “We were matched up against one of their bottom lines, so it was good.”

    Including the regular season, the Huskies have now won four of the five head-to-head meetings with the Cougars in the 2016-17 campaign. If the Huskies aren’t able to close out the series on Saturday, they will have another chance on Sunday if necessary in a series deciding Game 3 set for 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Huskies women’s team falls in series opener with Thunderbirds

Netminder Cassidy Hendricks made 17 saves Friday night for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team were blanked in Game 1 in their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series opener on Friday night in Vancouver.

    In a tight checking battle, the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds slowly pulled out a 2-0 win. Second-year forward Mathea Fischer scored at the 7:31 mark of the opening frame, and Madison Patrick scored early in the third to give the host side a two-goal edge. Patrick is the older sister of Nolan Patrick, who is a superstar with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and is pegged as the potential first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in June.

    Fifth-year veteran netminder Cassidy Hendricks turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Rookie netminder Amelia Boughn turned away 14 shots to pick up the shutout win in the Thunderbirds goal.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday night in Vancouver, and the Huskies need to win to stay alive in the series. If a series deciding Game 3 is needed, it will be held Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.

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

Where there’s a “Willo,” there’s a way

Willoughby delivers first round series sweep to Huskies

Kaitlin Willoughby (#17) celebrates her series-winning goal for the Huskies.

    Just when everything seemed dark, Kaitlin Willoughby brought the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team into the light.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies went into Game 2 of their best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series looking for a sweep of the University of Regina Cougars. In the third period of Saturday’s clash, things were looking bleach for the home side.

    The Huskies went into the third period holding a 1-0 lead, but the never-say-die Cougars came out hard and were throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Huskies goalie Cassidy Hendricks recording the first 12 shots on goal in the frame.

    At the 9:33 mark of the third, the Cougars finally broke through as fourth-year defender Jolene Kirkpatrick found the equalizer on her side’s 13^th shot of the period to force a 1-1 tie. The Huskies for the most part were unable to get out of their zone, and it seemed like it would just be a matter of time before the Cougars went ahead on the scoreboard.

Kaitlin Willoughby starts her drive on her game-winning goal rush.

    When all hope seemed lost, Willoughby stepped up and stormed into the Cougars zone on a spectacular individual rush. The Prince Albert product wired home the winning goal top corner on Cougars netminder Jane Kish to put the Huskies up 2-1 with 3:35 to play.

    The Huskies came to life to close out the 2-1 victory in Game 2 and sweep the series 2-0.

    “I think when they scored, it was kind of just like you just feel like so upset,” said Willoughby, who had a hat trick in the Huskies series opening 4-3 win on Friday night at Rutherford. “You just have to make sure everyone on the bench is ready to go.

    “We’re not going to let that bother us. I kind of said to everyone like let’s make sure this doesn’t affect us. We got to go out and keep doing what we are doing, because it is going to come our way. It did.

    “I am so proud of how our team played this weekend. If we play like that from here on out, we will be doing good things.”

Defender Jolene Kirkpatrick had the equalizer for the Cougars.

    During the first two periods of Saturday’s game, it seemed like the Huskies would steadily push to a low-scoring win. With 2:09 to play in the first period, Bailee Bourassa accounted for the Huskies first goal thanks to a positive bounce. Huskies sophomore forward Courtney Cormack flipped a shot high on the U of R goal, and it deflected off Bourassa into the net to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    After 40 minutes, the Huskies seemed to have control of the game holding a 17-14 edge in shots on goal and having spent long stretches in the U of R zone. In the third, the visitors came in waves, but Hendricks, who is the Huskies fifth-year money netminder, was up to the challenge of holding her team in the game.

    “It was a really hard period,” said Hendricks. “Luckily, there were a lot of faraway shots, so I could control it pretty well.

    “I just had to focus on staying like calm. I just had to focus on making saves and controlling my rebounds. It worked out for the most part.”

Cassidy Hendricks makes one of her 31 saves for the Huskies.

    Hendricks ultimately made 31 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. She admitted she got pretty pumped, when Willoughby put the hosts ahead.

    “I am just so glad to have Willo on the team,” said Hendricks. “She just always performs when she needs to, especially with last night’s three goals.

    “She is just a huge player. I love her on the team.”

    Kish turned away 21 shots to take the loss in goal for the Cougars.

    The series win was a first for Huskies interim first-year head coach Robin Ulrich, but the bench boss wasn’t overly concerned about that fact.

    “More important, the team got the win,” said Ulrich. “That is all I really care about. Overall, I think it was a real good series for us.

    “Those were a couple of excellent games for us as a team. Tonight, was a big test. Regina came with everything they had.

    “I really like the game that we brought tonight.”

    With the series win, the Huskies advance to play the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. Game 1 is set for this coming Friday in Vancouver.

The Huskies salute the crowd at Rutherford after their series sweep.

    The two clubs split their four encounters in the regular season. The Thunderbirds finished first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 record and are rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies were fourth in Canada West with a 15-10-3 mark.

    Willoughby can’t wait to take on the next challenge in the post-season.

    “I think it is going to be awesome going to UBC,” said Willoughby. “We’re not going to take them lightly, but at the same time, we know that we can beat them.

    “We just have to go do the things we’ve been doing all year that had success against them before. It will be an exciting series that’s for sure, but I think it will be good.”

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

“Willo’s” Huskies legend keeps growing

Star forward powers U of S with hat trick in 4-3 playoff win

Kaitlin Willoughby, right, celebrates one of her three goals.

    The presence of a couple of former teammates helped give Kaitlin Willoughby an extra kick to play at an all-world level.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the 21-year-old star forward with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team could peer into the alumni box to see her former linemates Cami Wooster and Marley Ervine were in attendance for Game 1 of a best-of-three playoff series against the rival University of Regina Cougars. 

    When Willoughby was a rookie in the 2013-14, the trio played an extremely important part in helping the Huskies win their first Canada West title.

    That season, Wooster was the super talented captain in her fifth and final year of eligibility, while Ervine was a third-year heart and soul feisty forward. Together, they had a huge influence in helping Willoughby become the U Sports rookie of the year, and their influence continues help Willoughby be the spectacular player and person she is to this very day.

Kaitlin Willoughby gets set for an offensive zone faceoff.

    “They always text me before games too saying they are going to be cheering me on,” said Willoughby, who helped Canada win silver at the FISU Winter Universiade earlier this month in Almaty, Kazakhstan. “That means a lot to like have those girls there just knowing what we’ve done together in the past.

    “It is just awesome to see them there.”

    The Prince Albert product proceeded to put on a show her former teammates could be proud of. She netted a hat trick to power the Huskies to a 4-3 victory before a three-quarters full house at Rutherford.

    Willoughby’s first goal came short-handed on a setup from defender Brooke Patron to put the Huskies up 1-0 early in the second period. After the Cougars went up 2-1, she rocketed home a power-play goal top corner to force 2-2 tie heading into the second intermission.

Kaitlin Willoughby wires home her hat trick goal.

    At the 4:52 mark of the third, Willoughby wired home her third goal of the night to put the Huskies up 3-2.

    “My first goal was pretty lucky there,” said Willoughby. “I just threw it on net.

    “That is what happens when you keep grinding it out. The second two shots I was actually aiming.”

    The contest was also a physical one, and Willoughby didn’t shy away from that aspect of the game either. Besides winning a number of individual battles, she turned heads in the second, when she knocked Cougars defender Krista Metz to the ice. Metz stands an imposing 5-foot-11, and she has a height advantage of five inches on Willoughby.

    Willoughby said her side got locked into the game when Cougars sophomore forward Jaycee Magwood went hard to the net on a rush and nailed Huskies goaltender Cassidy Hendricks early in the first.

Kaitlin Willoughby does a flyby celebration after one of her three goals.

    “I think right off the start we were just like OK we are not letting them have anything tonight,” said Willoughby. “We are not letting that happen again.

    “We beared down, and we battled through.”

    The Huskies lead increased to 4-2, when speedy fourth-year forward Kori Herner scored just two minutes after Willoughby netted her hat trick tally.

    Magwood capitalized on a Huskies giveaway to cut the host’s edge to 4-3 with 3:42 to play. That set the stage for Willoughby to add her final impact on the win.

    With under 35 seconds to play, she broke up ice with the puck and was tripped by Cougars rookie forward Merissa Zerr. That infraction helped put an end to the visitor’s comeback hopes.

    Huskies interim head coach Robin Ulrich said Willoughby definitely stepped up in the series opener.

    “That is an example of what an exceptional player she is and just a difference maker in the game,” said Ulrich. “She is a game breaker, and that is why she is one of the best players in the league.

    “She can make the difference.”

The Huskies celebrate their 4-3 Game 1 victory over the Cougars.

    Tamara McVannel and Magwood both replied with singles for the Cougars.

    Hendricks turned away 28 shots to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. Jane Kish turned away 25 shots to take the loss in goal for the Cougars. Kish hadn’t given up a goal to the Huskies in two regular season starts.

    The win puts the Huskies in position to sweep the series in Game 2 on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    The overall intensity of Game 1 was fairly high, and Willoughby expected it to be that way that night and for the rest of the series.

    “We go into the game thinking that it is going to be like an intense game,” said Willoughby. “We don’t take anyone lightly.

    “We went out there, and we had some fun with it. I think things just bounced our way tonight.”

    If a series deciding Game 3 is needed, it will be held Sunday night at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

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

Huskies vs. Cougars - The rivalry will return and be real

Huskies captain Lauren Zary, right, slips a past past a Cougars forward.

    They will say the right things leading up to the first game day, but those words will fail to hide the intensity that is to come.

    On Friday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will face the University of Regina Cougars in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final women’s hockey playoff series at 7 p.m. at the Ancient Rutherford Rink. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Don’t be deceived. There is no way anyone on either team wants to be on the losing side of this series.

    The women’s hockey rivalry between the Huskies and Cougars is a rivalry in its purest form. In Western Hockey League terms, this is old Regina Pats taking on the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Saskatoon Blades tangling with the Prince Albert Raiders in the 1980s and 1990s or the Medicine Hat Tigers battling the Red Deer Rebels in the 2000s.

Kaitlin Willoughby has to play at an all-world level to power the Huskies.

    To see proof of that, all one has to do is look back at the last post-season encounter between the Huskies and Cougars, when they engaged in an epic clash in the 2014 Canada West championship series.

    Every game in that series went to overtime, and the best-of-three series between the two sides featured 17 periods of hockey that totaled up to 296 minutes of ice time.

    The series deciding Game 3 was a war. While there were only four minor penalties called in the contest, there were numerous scrums after every whistle where punches were thrown. The game was physical, but it was also played with a lot of skill and heart before a packed crowd of 760 people.

    When the dust settled, the Huskies came away with a 2-1 victory in double overtime, where Kaitlin Willoughby, who was named that season’s U Sports rookie of the year, netted the winner with a shot from the left side wall.

    The Huskies return eight players from that series as do the Cougars, and the veterans do have long memories of what happened in the past. The majority of the players on both sides came up through the minor hockey system in Saskatchewan and know each other well. Those links give this series that much more of an edge.

Jaycee Magwood had a stellar campaign for the Cougars.

    Out of all the teams in Canada West the Huskies could face at home in the post-season, the Cougars are likely the opponent that will be the least affected by the deficiencies and the unique characteristics of the Rutherford Rink.

    They have probably already addressed in team meetings the atmosphere they are going to face. That will include anticipating the fact the majority of the members of the Huskies men’s hockey team, who are on a bye weekend before beginning their post-season run, will likely be in attendance to give the gears to the opposition wearing green and gold.

    Veteran Cougars head coach Sarah (Howald) Hodges, who has had lengthy involvement with Canada’s national women’s team program, always ensures her teams are well prepared. While she may appear to be quiet, she is no nonsense and holds her players to very high expectations. Her players always bring the effort to meet those expectations.

    Expect the Cougars to enter Rutherford as the outlaws looking to wreak the party.

    As far as the regular season went, not much separated these two clubs. The Huskies finished fourth in Canada West with a 15-10-3 record, while the Cougars were fifth with a 14-13-1 mark.

Kylie Gavelin is aiming for a memorable farewell run.

    The biggest difference came in the four regular season encounters, where the Cougars took three of those meetings and outscored the Huskies 7-3.

    Normally, you would assume the Huskies would have the advantage playing at home, but this series is a tossup.

    In order to win, the Huskies have to rely on Willoughby, who is now in her fourth year, captain Lauren Zary and fifth-year veteran goalie Cassidy Hendricks. Willoughby topped the Huskies in scoring with 11 goals and 10 assists in 24 regular season games. The Prince Albert product has been playing at an all-world level for over a month and just came off of helping Canada’s women’s team win a silver medal at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

    Zary appeared in all 28 regular season games for the Huskies netting five goals and 15 assists. Hendricks, who backstopped the Huskies to the 2014 Canada West title, had another stellar year in the U of S net posting an 11-9-3 record, a 1.67 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and two shutouts.

Rachel Johnson dumps a puck into the offensive zone.

    After Zary, the Huskies individual scoring falls off. Fifth-year veteran forward Rachel Johnson finished third in team scoring with six goals and six assists in 28 games.

    Also on the down side, U of S struggled on the power play all season. The Dogs cashed in on only 14-of-132 power-play chances for a 10.6 per cent clip that ranked second last in Canada West and likely cost U of S some wins.

    The Cougars have more a little more scoring depth, and their forward unit includes two players that also played for Canada at the Winter Universiade in Jaycee Magwood and Kylie Gavelin. Magwood, who is a sophomore, topped the Cougars in scoring with 12 goals and 12 assists in 24 games. Gavelin, who is in her fifth and final season, had seven goals and nine assists in 24 games.

    U of R also received solid seasons from third-year forward Emma Waldenberger and four-year forward Kylee Kupper, who both appeared in all 28 regular season games. Waldenberger had nine goals and eight assists, while Kupper had eight goals and eight assists.

    Fifth-year captain Alexis Larson, who also suited up for Canada at the Winter Universiade, eats up a lot of minute on the Cougars blue-line picking up two goals, nine assists and a plus-two rating in 24 regular season games.

Jane Kish (#31) has had a strong season in goal for the Cougars.

    In goal, the Cougars will rely on sophomore Jane Kish to carry the load. During the regular season, the Weyburn, Sask., product posted a 10-9 record, a 2.28 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts. Kish backed her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings to an Esso Cup title for female midget AAA hockey national supremacy in 2014.

    One of the big wildcards in the series might be the fact the Huskies are led by positive and upbeat first-year interim head coach Robin Ulrich, who was once a Huskies captain. Ulrich is strong at connecting with her players, and that seems to bring out the best in those wearing the green and white.

    At even strength, the Huskies play as a unit of five has been very strong this season. They need to continue that strong play to transition the puck up ice to create scoring chances.

    On both sides, the ultimate key to the series might be which team can stay the most composed, when the intensity cranks up. When the series wraps up, the winner might just be battle hardened enough to go on a long run that might result in a berth at nationals that run March 16-19 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Back in the Express with Hendricks

Goaltender Cassidy Hendricks has had a stellar career with the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with feature story on Hendricks.

    The story went to press right before the Huskies played their final two regular season games, so it doesn’t contain a final update of the impressive final career totals put up by the North Vancouver, B.C., product.

    During her five-year career in regular season play, Hendricks appeared in 117 games, recorded a 57-44-13 record, a 2.04 goals against average, a .922 save percentage and 12 shutouts.
    She ranks third on the all-time Canada West career wins list and first in all-time minutes played at 6,973.

    The story on Hendricks can be found 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.

Bourassa finds groove with Huskies

Rookie forward brings clutch playoff history from Weyburn

Bailee Bourassa, left, smiles after scoring for the Huskies.

    When Bailee Bourassa joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, she came with a playoff pedigree.

    The 18-year-old rookie forward will always be remembered in her hometown of Weyburn, Sask., for scoring the winning goal in the championship game of the 2014 Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament. Her tally helped her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings top the Edmonton Thunder 2-1 at the Gateway Ice Centre in Stoney Creek, Ont.

    With that goal, Bourassa cemented herself with hometown hero status by helping deliver a national championship to her community.

    “That was probably one of the best experiences of my entire life,” said Bourassa. “It was one of the best teams I have ever been a part of.

    “The girls were great. That was one of my best years of hockey. It was just an unreal experience being there and like how big of a deal it actually was.

    “Being the underdogs to come out on top was just an awesome feeling.”

Bailee Bourassa circles past a couple of defenders in the offensive zone.

    As a rookie with the Huskies, Bourassa has experienced the typical learning curve that comes with joining the U Sports level. She also exited the regular season on a high.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Bourassa wired home a setup from fifth-year defender Alyssa Dobler on the power-play shortly before the midway point of the second period in a match against the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The goal gave the Huskies a 2-0 edge that ultimately held up as the final outcome in a contest that closed the regular season for both sides.

    In that one moment, Bourassa displayed the scoring prowess that allowed her to net 21 goals and nine assists in 26 regular season games with the Gold Wings in her final midget AAA campaign in 2015-16.

    “It felt awesome, because our line was kind of on a dry streak,” said Bourassa, who stands 5-foot-8. “We finally put one in there, and it felt really good.”

    During her rookie campaign, Bourassa appeared in 25 regular season games with the Huskies netting four goals and five assists.

Bailee Bourassa bursts into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    In the 12 games the Huskies played since returning from the Christmas break, Bourassa found the back of the net three times and collected a couple of helpers.

    While adjusting to the university game, Bourassa quickly found a high comfort level with the Huskies.

    “I love it so far,” said Bourassa. “All the girls are awesome, and they are welcoming.

    “That was one thing I was kind of nervous about was like meeting new people. Honestly, I don’t think this could have been a better group of girls to be with.”

    In four seasons in the midget AAA ranks, Bourassa appeared in 107 regular season games with the Gold Wings piling up 40 goals and 43 assists.

    She was even more prolific in the playoffs picking up 19 goals and 10 assists in 35 career Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League post-season games. When she came to the Huskies, she knew she wasn’t going to step in and be the standout right away.

Bailee Bourassa looks for a shooting lane.

    “It is definitely different, because you go from being one of the top players to like having to start at the bottom and work yourself back up,” said Bourassa. “It has been a really good experience so far, and I am enjoying it.”

    Now Bourassa will get her first taste of post-season action at the post-secondary level. The Huskies (15-10-3) finished fourth in the Canada West conference and will host their provincial rivals the U of Regina Cougars (14-13-1) in a best-of-three first round series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    In that clash, Bourassa will be trying to score on former Gold Wings teammate in Cougars netminder Jane Kish. Kish, who is also from Weyburn, turned away 29 shots for the Gold Wings in their 2014 Esso Cup championship game win.

    Bourassa is expecting her first her first university playoff series to be a battle.

    “I think that it is going to be a fairly even matched series,” said Bourassa. “Our games against them all year were pretty tight.

    “It is going to be whoever works harder is going to win the game.”

    On Saturday against the Pronghorns, the Huskies went up 1-0 in the first period when star forward Kaitlin Willoughby converted a beauty setup pass from linemate Courtney Cormack. The tally gave Willoughby a new career high for goals in a season at 11. She recorded 10 goals in each of her first three seasons with the Huskies.

The Huskies celebrate their win over the Pronghorns.

    Fifth-year veteran goalie Cassidy Hendricks started the game between the pipes for the Huskies and turned away three shots in one period of work. She was the goalie of record when she was pulled before the start of the second period and picked up her 57^th career regular season win. The North Vancouver product is the Huskies all-time career leader in victories and is third all-time in the Canada West conference in career wins.

    Jasey Book played the final two frames in relief for the Huskies and stopped all 10 shots she faced.

    Alicia Anderson was stellar in goal for the Pronghorns turning away 40 shots to keep her side in the game. The Pronghorns finished last in Canada West with a 4-21-3 record.

    When the Huskies and Cougars clash in the playoffs, it will be their first meeting in the post-season since the 2014 Canada West championship series. The Huskies won that best-of-three series, when Willoughby scored the winner in double overtime to give the U of S a 2-1 victory in a series deciding Game 3.

Huskies men’s team eliminates Pronghorns

Wyatt Johnson scored twice on Saturday for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team ended the regular season by helping end the post-season hopes of the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns in Lethbridge.

    Powered by a goal and two assist performance from defenceman Tyler Borstmayer, the Huskies slipped past the Pronghorns 5-4. The Huskies built a 3-0 lead and never trailed in the contest despite a spirited Pronghorns comeback attempt.

    Wyatt Johnson scored twice for the Huskies, while Jaimen Yakubowski and Michael Sofillas had singles. Daniel Wapple made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Dogs, who finished the regular season topping the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 mark.

    Jay Merkley scored twice for the Pronghorns, who received singles from Justin Valentino and Ryan Chynoweth. Garret Hughson turned away 24 shots to take the loss in the U of L goal.

    With the setback, the Pronghorns finished seventh in Canada West with an 11-14-3 record. U of L was officially eliminated from the playoff picture, when the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds downed the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-1 on Saturday night in Calgary.

    The Thunderbirds improved to 12-13-3 and passed the Pronghorns for sixth place and the final playoff berth in Canada West. UBC opens the Canada West playoffs taking on the U of Calgary Dinos (18-9-1) in a best-of-three first round series in Calgary.

    The Huskies have a bye into the semifinal round of the Canada West post-season thanks to their first place finish.

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