Huskies’ resilience tested in second half of 2017-18 season

Injured goalie Jordon Cooke is helped off the ice on February 22.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team showed they can still keep plugging along even when things aren’t going smoothly.

    Like most years, the Huskies entered the 2017-18 campaign as a team pegged to contend for Canada West and U Sports national championships. With that said, the uncontrollable variables of a season can always throw a wrench into any lofty hopes.

    The Huskies entered the Christmas break sitting second in the Canada West Conference holding a 13-2-1 record. The first sign that foreshadowed the second half of the campaign could be a rough one occurred on Jan. 6, when the Huskies lost sophomore forward Wyatt Johnson to a concussion injury in a 4-2 road setback to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. Johnson ultimately missed the rest of the campaign.

The Huskies suffered a big blow when star goalie Jordon Cooke was injured.

    After Johnson went down, the Huskies kept motoring on, and they sat in a tie for first place with their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears when play concluded on Jan. 20. Both team were posting 18-3-1 records at that time.

    From that point, the injury bug started taking more and more bites out of the Huskies roster and players fell in and out of the lineup. At one point in the post-season, the Huskies entire first line of left-winger Michael Sofillas, centre Logan McVeigh and right-winger Josh Roach were all on the shelf.

    Veteran Huskies head coach Dave Adolph usually carries a 26 player roster just in case injuries strike. He ultimate needed to use everyone on his roster out of necessity as opposed to rotating players in through games.

Right-winger Josh Roach led the Huskies in scoring.

    The Huskies finished the regular season sitting second in Canada West with a 20-7-1 mark.

    Their biggest obstacle came in the first game of the playoffs on Feb. 22 against the University of Calgary Dinos at the ancient Rutherford Rink. On the Dinos first goal at the 6:59 mark of the first period, a scrum of players crashed into star netminder Jordon Cooke.

    He suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the post-season and likely clouds his immediate hockey future. In that moment, the Huskies lost the goalie that is second on their team’s all-time career list for regular season wins (59) and regular season saves (2,358).

    Cooke was the U Sports goaltender of the year and a U Sports first team all-Canadian in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. The Leduc, Alta., product was named a Canada West first team all-star, the Canada West goaltender of the year and a second team U Sports all-Canadian this past season.

Captain Kendall McFaull won the U Sports community service award.

    Shortly after Cooke departed that contest with the Dinos, the Huskies found themselves down 3-0. At that point, one had to wonder if the Dogs were going to quickly fall out of the post-season picture.

    The Huskies rebounded that night to pull out a 6-4 victory. The Dinos took Game 2 by a 2-1 final to force a deciding Game 3 in the best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

    U of S claimed a 3-1 victory in Game 3 with sophomore left-winger Carson Stadnyk scoring the winning goal with 24 seconds to play in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. The Huskies added an empty-net tally a short time later to round out the victory.

    The Dogs proceeded to limp into the best-of-three Canada West championship series in Edmonton and was swept away by the Golden Bears 2-0.

    The Huskies moved on to the David Johnston University Cup elite eight U Sports men’s hockey championship for the sixth time in the last seven years. At this year’s tournament in Fredericton, N.B., they were a sixth seed that was expected to make an early exit.

John Lawrence gave a gritty effort every night for the Huskies.

    Sofillas, McVeigh and Roach all played in the quarter-final, where the Huskies knocked off the McGill University Redmen 4-1. Sofillas was knocked out of the lineup again after that win and didn’t return for the rest of the tournament.

    That set the scene for the Huskies to face the Golden Bears in their 504^th all-time encounter in a semifinal contest. U of S built a 2-0 lead after two periods before running into penalty trouble in the third frame.

    The Golden Bears rallied for a pair of power-play goals to force a 2-2 tie and send the contest into overtime. Trevor Cox scored for the Golden Bears in overtime causing the Huskies to fall 3-2. Between the regular season, Canada West championship series and University Cup tournament, the Golden Bears won six of their seven head-to-head encounters with the Huskies in 2017-18.

Puck moving rearguard Connor Cox wrapped up his time with the Huskies.

    On Sunday, U of S fell in the bronze medal game to the host University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds 5-4 in overtime.

    The Golden Bears claimed their 16^th national title in team history and third championship in the last five years downing the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men 4-2 in the tournament’s championship game.

    During the post-season, rookie Taran Kozun played admirably and picked up a lot of experience playing goal for the Huskies in place of the injured Cooke. Kozun was the WHL goaltender of the year in the 2014-15 campaign playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Besides stopping the puck, Kozun turned heads with his ability to play the puck and gives the Huskies stability in that position going forward.

    Roach, who led the Huskies in regular season scoring with 13 goals and 27 assists, claimed the Canada West sportsmanship and ability award, was a first team Canada West all-star and a second team U Sports all-Canadian. McVeigh, who was second in Huskies regular season scoring with seven goals and 22 assists, was a second team Canada West all-star.

Taran Kozun performed admirably in the playoffs for the Huskies.

    Captain Kendall McFaull was a second team Canada West all-star, a University Cup tournament all-star and claimed the Canada West and U Sports Student-Athlete Community Service awards.

    The Huskies graduate McFaull, Roach, gritty centre John Lawrence and puck moving defenceman Connor Cox, with them all completing their fifth-years of eligibility.

    They still have all sorts of depth going into the future. Defenceman Jesse Forsberg, who recorded five goals and 15 assists to lead all Huskies rearguards in regular season scoring, Jordan Fransoo, Colby Harmsworth and Tanner Lishchynsky are some of the steady blue-liners who are eligible to return.

    At forward, the Huskies could potentially return the likes McVeigh, Sofillas, Stadnyk, Kohl Bauml, Alex Forsberg, Parker Thomas, Levi Cable, Andrew Johnson, Jaimen Yakubowski, Jordan Tkatch, Connor Gay and Collin Shirley.

Carson Stadnyk had the playoff series winner versus the Dinos.

    The Huskies remain one of the top men’s hockey programs in U Sports, but they would probably like to have a little more success at U Sports nationals. 

    Since winning their lone national title in 1983, the Huskies have appeared in the University Cup 15 times, advanced to the championship game on four occasions and haven’t been able to capture an elusive second national title.

    The Golden Bears sit at the other end of the spectrum making the University Cup championship game 21 times in their history coming away with 16 wins to keep piling up national championship banners.

    When fall comes around, you can be sure the Huskies will give it their best shot to win it all controlling everything they are able to control. If the factors they can’t control finally decide to fall in their favour, that dream of an elusive second national title might just be realized.

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

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

No one outworks the Dogs – Huskies upset Redmen 4-1

Josh Roach returned from injury to the Huskies.

    The underdog role seems to fit the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team just fine.

    On Friday at the University Cup in Fredericton, N.B., the Huskies never trailed as they put together one of their best performances of the season to down the third seeded McGill University Redmen 4-1 in a quarter-final match before 2,739 spectators at the Aitken University Centre. With the win, the Huskies advance to the “frozen four” semifinal round of the U Sports elite eight national championship tournament for a third straight year.

    Entering the University Cup, the Huskies were pegged as a team that could be eliminated in one game due to the fact they were playing without star goaltender Jordon Cooke due to a knee injury. Cooke was named the U Sports goaltender-of-the-year and a first team U Sports all-Canadian in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

    The Leduc, Alta., product claimed honours as the Canada West goaltender of the year for a third straight season this past campaign and he was named a second team U Sports all-Canadian.

    Taran Kozun started his fifth straight post-season game, and the rookie, who was the WHL goaltender of the year in the 2014-15 campaign while playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds, was stellar making 33 saves to pick up in goal for the Huskies.

    The Huskies had injuries to three key forwards in sophomore Wyatt Johnson, who is battling a concussion, and first liners Josh Roach and Michael Sofillas were pegged to possibly return from undisclosed ailments. Roach, who is in his fifth and final season with the Huskies and was the team’s scoring leader with 13 goals and 24 assists in 27 regular season games, had a higher likelihood of returning than Sofillas.

Connor Cox had a goal for the Huskies on Friday.

    Roach, who was a second team all-Canadian all-star, and Sofillas played and helped the Huskies go up 1-0 with a power-play goal at the 12:42 mark of the first period.

    Working the point, Roach fed the puck down low on the right side of the Redmen zone to centre Logan McVeigh. McVeigh passed the puck out front to Sofillas who knocked home the game’s first  goal.

    Just 63 seconds into the second, the Huskies entered the Redmen zone on a three-on-two rush. Defenceman Connor Cox drove down low to the left side of Redmen goal and fired home the rebound from a shot taken by right-winger Levi Cable to put the Huskies up 2-0.

    With 2:23 to play in the second, the Redmen cut the Huskies lead to 2-1, when forward Antoine Dufort-Plant potted the rebound from the point shot from defencemen Maximilian Daigle for a power-play goal.

    Huskies extended their lead to 3-1 at the 9:58 mark of the third on a bit of a positive bounce goal. A point shot from defenceman Jordan Fransoo deflected off the stick of Andrew Johnson, off Redmen defenceman Nathan Chiarlitti, flipped high in the air and as it was coming down was knocked into the Redmen goal by Huskies left-winger Carson Stadnyk.

Carson Stadnyk scored for the Huskies.

    Skilled centre Kohl Bauml iced the win for the Huskies scoring into an empty net with 65 seconds remaining in the third.

    Louis-Philip Guindon turned away 29-of-32 shots to take the setback in goal for the Redmen.

    The Redmen posted a 22-4-2 record in the regular season and a 7-2 mark in the OUA playoffs. The Huskies posted a 20-7-1 record during the regular season and 2-3 mark in the Canada West playoffs.

    The Huskies now advance to play their “forever rivals” in the second seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears in a semifinal on Saturday (1 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).
    Between the regular season and playoffs, the Golden Bears have won five of the six head-to-head meetings with the Huskies including sweeping the best-of-three Canada West championship series 2-0.

    The Golden Bears prevailed in their quarter-final match earlier on Friday 8-6 over the seventh seeded Acadia University Axemen.  

    Saturday’s earlier semifinal features the top seeded tournament host and defending University Cup champion University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds taking on the fifth seeded St. Francis Xavier University X-Men. The Varsity Red came into the tournament having won the Atlantic University Sport conference title.

Kohl Bauml had an empty-net goal for the Huskies.

    Last year, the Varsity Reds as the host squad defeated the Huskies 5-3 in the championship final of the University Cup.
    For the first time since the championship tournaments in both men’s and women’s hockey in U Sports switched to an elite eight format in the 2014-15 campaign, the Huskies have both their men’s and women’s teams qualified for the semifinal round in the same year.

    At the women’s tournament in London, Ont., the seventh seeded Huskies will take on the host and third seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs in one semifinal on Saturday, while the other semifinal sees the top seeded University of Manitoba Bisons battle the fourth seeded Concordia University Stingers.

    The bronze medal and champion games for both elite eight tournaments are slated for Sunday.

@HuskiesMHKY have beaten @McGillAthletics 4-1, and advance to the @USPORTS_Hockey Semi-Finals! Watch it live on Sportsnet 360, and on Sportsnet NOW‼️

Les @HuskieAthletics ont battu les @HockeyRedmen 4-1 et accèdent à la demi-finale de hockey masculin U SPORTS! ✨#ChampSZN 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HGS24MD3AE

— Coupe U Cup (@coupeUcup) March 17, 2018

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

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Forsberg brothers help Huskies dismantle Cougars 6-0

Jesse Forsberg picked up three points for the Huskies.

    The brotherly duo of Jesse and Alex Forsberg look pretty sweet in the brand new white jerseys the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey are wearing this season.

    While the two Waldheim, Sask., products can make a great fashion statement along with the rest of their teammates, the Forsberg brothers looked equally impressive on the ice Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Saturday’s contest marked the first time the two played together as home as members of the Huskies.

    Jesse had a goal and a pair of assists, while Alex had a goal and an assist as the Huskies bombed the University of Regina Cougars 6-0.

    The two last played together as members of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars in the 2011-12 campaign. Alex came to the Huskies last season, but sat out as a red shirt as he healed up a shoulder injury from his final WHL campaign with the Victoria Royals in 2015-16.

    Jesse had a dream season playing in his third year of eligibility with the Huskies in 2016-17 developing into a stellar offensive defenceman netting 11 goals and 16 assists in 28 regular season games to top all Canada West defencemen in scoring.

    He was also a plus-eight in the plus-minus department, named a Canada West first team all-star, captured honours as the Mervyn “Red” Dutton trophy winner as the top defenceman in Canada West and was named a second team all-Canadian all-star.

Alex Forsberg had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

    Now that Alex, who is 22-years-old, has been cleared to play, the two brothers showed they can be a force for the Dogs.

    With the Huskies up 3-0 nearing the nine-minute mark of the third period, Jesse, who is 24-years-old, combined with centre Logan McVeigh to set up Alex, who tucked the puck past Cougars netminder Michael Herringer to give the hosts a 4-0 edge.

    About four minutes after that tally, Alex drew an assist on Jesse’s seeing eye point shot power-play goal that gave the Huskies a 5-0 lead.

    When Alex speeds down the left wing, you can almost anticipate the skilled forward is going to make a dynamic play. While Jesse, who is in his fourth year of eligibility, has become a force offensively, he still plays strong in the defensive zone. You can see his passion in his physical play.

    The two will only get to play together for a maximum of two seasons, but you can expected they will make their share of big plays on a deep Huskies side.

The Huskies celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    After the Huskies and Cougars played through a scoreless first, John Lawrence and Connor Gay netted singles to give the U of S a 2-0 lead in the second period. Josh Roach and Connor Cox picked singles to go along with the tallies of the Forsberg brothers in the third.

    Nipawin, Sask., product Taran Kozun made 24 saves to pick up the shutout and first career U Sports win in goal for the Huskies (2-0). Rookie Michael Herringer did his best to keep the visitors in the game making 36 saves only to see the Cougars fall to 0-2.

    The Huskies return to action on Friday, when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Upgang, Willoughby power Huskies to road win

The Huskies received great leadership from Kaitlin Willoughby on Saturday.

    Sophomore winger Emily Upgang and star captain Kaitlin Willoughby proved to be too much for the U of Regina Cougars to handle.

    On Saturday night at the Co-operators in Regina, Willoughby set up Upgang on a pair of second period power-play goals and Willoughby added a goal of her own as the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team downed the Cougars 4-3.

    U of S led 1-0 after the first period thanks to a tally by winger Bailee Bourassa. Upgang scored her first early in the second period to give the visitors a 2-0 edge before rookie Jordan Kulbida tallied for the Cougars to cut the Huskies lead to 2-1.

    Upgang added her second goal late in the second, and Willoughby tallied at the 12:44 mark of the third to put the Huskies up 4-1.

Leah Bohlken (#4) mixed it up in the rough areas.

    Cougars star forward Jaycee Magwood and Emma Waldenberger added singles late in the third in a last ditch comeback attempt that came up short.
    Saturday’s encounter had its rough moments too. Cougars forward Chelsea Hallson and Huskies defender Morgan Willoughby booth took boarding infractions. Huskies defender Leah Bohlken was tagged with a body checking minor and Cougars sophomore centre Lilla Carpenter-Boesch took an elbowing minor. The game ended with an old school WHL style scrum, but no penalties were dished out.

    The Huskies cashed in on 2-of-8 power-play chances, while the Cougars 0-for-3 on the power play.

Chloe Marshall made 29 saves to pick up her first career U Sports win in goal for the Huskies (1-1). Morgan Baker turned aside 29 shots to be saddled with the loss in net for the Cougars (1-1).

    The Huskies return to action on Friday, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-1-1).

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

Huskies good out of the gate

Dogs dump Thunderbirds 4-1 in regular season opener

Jordan Fransoo starts a rush up ice for the Huskies.

    Matt Hewitt couldn’t hold off the University of Saskatchewan Huskies forever.

    The fourth-year goaltender from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds men’s hockey team looked poised to steal the regular season opening game between the two squads on Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Hewitt was standing on his head turning away the various waves of pressure applied by the Huskies, but his armour finally cracked.

    With 4:01 to play in the second period, third-year defenceman Jordan Fransoo snuck home a point shot to put the Huskies up 1-0. The tally came on the Huskies sixth power-play opportunity and proved to be a just reward for all the chances the hosts were creating.

    At the 2:15 mark of the third period, the Huskies offence continued to roll when centre Logan McVeigh slipped home his first of the season. Just over four minutes later while working on another power play, McVeigh picked up his second goal of the game tapping home a loose puck in the crease of the UBC net to put the Dogs up 3-0.

The Huskies crash in on Thunderbirds goaltender Matt Hewitt.

    Thunderbirds forward Luke Lockhart replied with a single with 4:57 to play to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1, but that was as close as the visitors would get.

    The Huskies locked things down defensively, and Michael Sofillas potted an empty net goal to cement a 4-1 victory.

    U of S enters the current campaign as defending Canada West champions, and for the first time out, the Huskies had to be satisfied with their effort. Hewitt turned away 33 of 36 shots to allow the Thunderbirds to stay in a contest, where they spent numerous stretches getting pinned in their own zone.

    Jordon Cooke, who was named the most outstanding goaltender for Canadian Interuniversity Sport last season, turned away 18 shots to steady the Huskies in their own end.

    U of S also has a lineup that features nine first-year players, which included a good looking forward line made up of Carson Stadnyk, Wyatt Johnson and Connor Gay. The recruiting class was filled with individuals who had outstanding careers in the Western Hockey League, which was one of the reasons the Dogs topped the Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll.

    With a huge influx of new players, one had to wonder how quickly it would take this new group to jell.

    Early on, it’s apparent the chemistry is coming. The Huskies rolled four forward lines that came at the Thunderbirds with speed. In all reality, the home side likely deserved to be rewarded with a few more goals.

Veternan D Connor Cox had two assists for the Huskies.

    The power play looked sound and going 2-for-7 with the man advantage puts a big check mark in that area. The Huskies also killed off all five power play chances the Thunderbirds had, which included a five-minute kill, when Huskies left-winger Jaimen Yakubowski was given a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct.

    That power-play chance came just over four minutes in the second period, when the contest was still tied 0-0. On that kill, the Huskies never let UBC really get set offensively, and the visitors were constantly sent back into their own zone after the Dogs cleared the puck down the ice.

    While the Huskies turned heads with the newcomers they brought in, the returnees accounted for all the offence, which included two assist nights coming from fourth-year defenceman Connor Cox and fourth-year winger Josh Roach.

    The Huskies and Thunderbirds will go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink. With the way the Huskies looked and considering the potential they could reach, a ticket buyer will never go wrong in making a trip to the U of S campus to see this group in action.

Vilgrain too much for Huskies women’s team to handle

Cassidy Hendricks made 19 stops in the Huskies setback to the Thunderbirds.

    The newest addition to the roster of the UBC Thunderbirds women’s hockey team had an impressive coming out party at the expense of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night in Vancouver.

    Calgary product Cassandra Vilgrain transferred to the Thunderbirds from the University of New Hampshire Wildcats of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and potted a goal and two assists to lead her new team to a 4-0 regular season opening victory over the U of S. Vilgrain is in her fourth year of eligibility, and she gives the Thunderbirds, who enter the season as defending Canada West champs, an added dimension offensively.

    Nicole Saxvik, Alexa Ranahan and Madison Patrick, who is the older sister of Brandon Wheat Kings star and high first round NHL draft prospect Nolan Patrick, all picked up singles for the Thunderbirds. Amelia Boughn made 17 stops to earn the shutout in the UBC goal.

    Fifth-year veteran Cassidy Hendricks turned away 19 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies.

U of S held a 9-4 edge in shots on goal after the first period before momentum swung in the Thunderbirds favour, when Saxvik opened the game’s scoring 3:51 into the second period.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday 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.

Supporting cast seals sweep

Huskies head to nationals for fourth time in five years

Huskies defenceman Tyler Borstmayer celebrates his first career CIS goal.

    The unsung heroes delivered when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team needed them the most.

    All season, the Huskies prided themselves on the fact they had more depth and balance throughout their lineup than they did a season ago. That showed when the team topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 mark.

    During the clutch moments, the rookie line of Levi Cable, Kohl Bauml and Andrew Johnson seemed to lift the Dogs to another level. Their ability as a unit to flat out create offence has been a game changer.

    In a long playoff run, teams can’t just rely on their top offensive line. The deeper you go in the post-season the harder it becomes to score. Others need to step up and deliver on the scoreboard.

    Others did just that on Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, as the Huskies posted a 5-3 victory over the U of Calgary Dinos to sweep a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series 2-0. U of S’s high scoring rookie line accounted for one goal, which Cable dumped into an empty net with 12 seconds to play to lock up the final outcome.

    With the Dinos doing their best to limit the Huskies top unit, U of S had to look towards other sources to score and pull out victory.

Cameron Blair has three assists for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The challenge to have others score also got that much bigger, when the Dinos jumped out to a 2-0 just 5:44 into the contest on singles from Ryan Suchorab and Danny Gayle. The tallies silenced a packed Ruthy for a short time, and one had to wonder if a series deciding Game 3 was going to be needed on Sunday.

    Despite the Dinos fast start, the Huskies, who are rated third in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top ten rankings, gained some traction when gritty rookie forward Jaimen Yakubowski, who had three points in 15 regular season games, tallied at the 11:50 mark of the opening frame. Yakubowski’s goal re-energized the packed and raucous crowd at the Rutherford Rink and was an early momentum changer.

    While the Huskies continued to mount pressure, Dinos netminder and former Saskatoon Blades star Steven Stanford was doing his best to keep the host side at bay. U of S broke through again on the scoreboard at the 13:49 mark of the second, when an on ice point shot from sophomore defenceman Tyler Borstmayer found its way to the back of the Dinos goal. Borstmayer’s first ever CIS goal pulled the Huskies even at 2-2.

Parker Thomas played a strong energy game for the Huskies.

    With 3:43 to play in the second, Kendall McFaull, who is earning a reputation as the Huskies “Captain Clutch,” put home an accurate off-speed point drive to put the Dogs up 3-2. Early in the third, the Huskies lead expanded to 4-2, when Connor Cox, who is a former Saskatoon Blades blue-liner, laser beamed home another point shot through a screen.

    In the four-goal outburst, sophomore forward Cameron Blair quietly helped set up three tallies. He almost matched his regular season total of assist in one game. Blair played in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games collecting seven goals and four assists.

    The Dinos still didn’t go quietly. U of C star forward Elgin Pearce potted his sixth of the post-season with 1:17 to play in the third to cut the Huskies edge to 4-3. U of S clamped things down defensively from there, and Cable’s goal ensured a comeback was not to be.

    Stanford, who stopped 77 shots in a 4-3 double overtime loss to the Huskies in Game 1 on Friday, turned aside 38 of 42 shots to take the loss in goal for the Dinos in Game 2.

    Cooke made 21 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, who took all six of their encounters with the Dinos this season.

The crowd at the packed Rutherford Rink cheers a Huskies goal.

    Besides the offence, the Huskies also received strong contributions from players like energy forward Parker Thomas, who was key for the green and white on the forecheck.

    U of S advances to host the best-of-three Canada West championships series against their forever rivals - the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Golden Bears, who have won the last two CIS titles, swept their semifinal series slipping past the Mount Royal University Cougars 4-3 in Edmonton on Saturday. Game 1 of the Canada West championship series will start this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    The Huskies also earned a berth to the eight-team CIS championship tournament, which runs March 17-20 in Halifax. That will mark their fourth appearance at nationals in the last five years.

    If the Huskies want their playoff success to continue, they need the X-factors to keep producing along with their top players. If that keeps happening, they might just win it all for the second time in team history.

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

Cox heroic in OT for Huskies

Connor Cox tucks home the OT winner for the Huskies.

    Connor Cox believes he accomplished a first on Saturday night for his hockey career.

    The 23-year-old defenceman netted the winning goal in double overtime to lift the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to a 4-3 victory over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the ancient Rutherford Rink. At the 2:49 mark of a five minute three-on-three overtime period, Huskies rookie forward Kohl Bauml sprung Cox on a partial breakaway slipping a pass behind a Pronghorns defender.

    Cox cut across the face of the Lethbridge goal and slipped home the winner short side, when Pronghorns goaltender Dylan Tait tried to come out for a poke check.

    “It was pretty special for me,” said Cox, who spent five seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades and Everett Silvertips before joining the Huskies. “I don’t think I have ever gotten an overtime goal for myself in a career, not that I can remember anyways.

    “It was pretty exciting for me. That is two overtime wins for the boys this year. It is pretty special every time that you can go that.”

    The Huskies other overtime victory this season was a 6-5 triumph on the road over the University of Calgary Dinos on Oct. 9.

Connor Cox celebrates scoring an OT winner for the Huskies.

    In the extra time win at home over the Pronghorns in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport clash, Cox almost couldn’t believe he found himself in a one-on-one situation with an opposing goaltender. Defencemen don’t really get too many chances in deep in the offensive zone.

    “To be honest, I actually panicked at the start, because I wasn’t sure what I was doing down there,” said Cox. “It was a partial break.

    “I saw Taiter come out for the poke check, and I saw the short side open up. I just chipped it over the pad and got it past him.”

    Saturday’s contest between the Huskies and Pronghorns was a back-and-forth match, where the hosts held a 1-0 lead after the first period and a 2-1 edge after the second frame.

    In the third, the Pronghorns jumped ahead 3-2 thanks to a pair of goals coming from the stick of Brandon Clowes. It appeared the visitors were going to sneak out of “the Bridge City” with a victory, but that changed when Pronghorns forward Justin Valentino took a hooking infraction with 2:22 to play in the third.

    On the ensuing power play, Bauml centred a smart pass out to linemate Andrew Johnson, who potted the equalizer for the Huskies to tie things up at 3-3 with 54 seconds to play.

    Kendall McFaull and Bauml also had singles for the Huskies, who improved to 4-0. Ryon Moser picked up the Pronghorns (1-2-1) other goal.

    Jordon Cooke made 31 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. Tait turned away 46 shots taking the extra time setback in the Pronghorns net.

Kohl Bauml had a goal and two assists for the Huskies on Saturday night.

    The teams played through a scoreless five minute four-on-four overtime period before moving into a three-on-three session, where Cox picked up the winner. Cox, who is from Lethbridge, said he wasn’t sure if his winner was the most fancy goal he had ever scored.

    “It sure felt the best for sure,” said Cox. “Playing against a bunch of guys I know from back home was pretty special for me and going against a goaltender that I know pretty well in Dylan Tait it felt pretty good.

    “I don’t know if it was the nicest, but I am just happy it went in.”

    The Huskie return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the University of Regina Cougars (1-3).

Huskies women’s squad hands Pronghorns first loss

Leah Bohlken had a pair of assists on Saturday for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team knocked the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns out of the undefeated ranks during a successful visit to southern Alberta.

    On Saturday in Lethbridge, the Huskies dumped the Pronghorns 3-1 in a CIS contest to improve to 4-1-0-1. Kennedy Harris, Rachel Johnson and Kori Herner all netted singles for the Huskies, while Leah Bohlken picked up a pair of assists. Tricia Van Vaerenbergh replied for the Pronghorns, who fell to 5-1.

    Cassidy Hendricks made 20 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. Alicia Anderson made 31 stops to take the loss in goal for the Pronghorns.

    During that win, steady Huskies veteran defender Alyssa Dobler was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for a checking from behind infraction, which might be reviewed for a possible suspension.

    The Huskies and Pronghorns also met on Friday in Lethbridge, and Jocelyn Sabourin netted the winner at the 3:12 mark of overtime to lift the host side to a 4-3 victory.

    Harris, Courtney Cormack and Kaitlin Willoughby all picked up singles for the Huskies, while Hendricks made 31 saves in goal. Cormack’s tally was her first in CIS regular season play.

    Brett Campbell, Mackenzie Gal and Katelyn Breitkreuz all had singles for the Pronghorns, while Anderson made 27 saves in goal.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they host the U of Regina Cougars (4-2) at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out more game photos on Twitter @StanksSports.

Holfy valiant in last stand for Huskies

Huskies goaltender Ryan Holfeld gets focused for action.

    Ryan Holfeld did all he could do to extend his CIS career to another weekend.
    As has been the case a number of times this season, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team couldn't score enough goals to support him.
    On Sunday night at the Flames Community Arena in Calgary, Holfeld was once again in net for the Huskies this time in a deciding Game 3 of a Canada West quarter-final series against the Mount Royal University Cougars. The fifth-year netminder kept making save after save and finished the contest making 41 stops in total.
    As far as the scoreboard was concerned, the effort went for naught. The Huskies were unable to score and fell 3-0 to bring their 2014-15 campaign to an end. Cam Lanigan made 23 stops in the Cougars goal to pick up the shutout.
    In defeat, Holfeld was once again heroic. He again gave his Huskies every opportunity to earn victory.
    His teammates paraded to the penalty box allowing the Cougars to have 15 power-play chances. Holfeld, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds, only surrendered one goal on those chances, and it likely should have been more. Playing like a focused pro, he wouldn't let the game get away from his squad.
    This past weekend, Holfeld left one last big memory over three games of work to once again show just how amazing he could play in goal. He stopped 100-of-108 shots fired his way for a .926 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average.
    In Game 1 of the series Friday in Calgary, he made 25 stops through regulation as the Huskies and Cougars played to a 1-1 draw. MacKenzie Johnston gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the first period, while Sean Aschim netted the equalizer for the Huskies in the third.
    The Huskies dominated play in the final frame of regulation outshooting the Cougars 14-3. During the regular season, the Dogs scored the third fewest goals in the eight-team Canada West Conference, and their struggles around the net were showing up again.
    Just 36 seconds into overtime, Holfeld was beaten by Cougars forward Matthew Brown on the first shot of the extra session to help the hosts skate away with a 2-1 win. Once again, the netminder had to suffer through a heartbreaking loss. His Huskies arguably had what would be their best outing of the series as Lanigan made 31 stops to pick up the win.

Ryan Holfeld makes a stop in goal for the Huskies.

    In Game 2 on Saturday in Calgary, Sebastien Pare gave the Cougars an early 1-0 lead. Before the opening 20 minutes finished, the Huskies finally had an offensive spark going up 3-1 with singles coming off the sticks of Jesse Ross, Zak Stebner and Connor Cox. Overall, the Huskies scored three times on five shots in the first.
    The visitors played a strong second, but the Cougars came out with a whole pile of pressure in the third. Pare would net his second of the contest, and Emerson Hrynyk tied the contest up at 3-3 with 7:20 to play in the stanza.
    From there, the Holfeld kept the Cougars at bay, and the Huskies were able to stave off elimination. With 29 seconds to play in the third, rookie forward Michael Sofillas scored to give the visitors a 4-3 victory, which ended a six game skid including the regular season and playoffs.
    Holfeld made 34 stops to earn the win. Lanigan turned away 23 shots in goal for the Cougars. The series and the battle between two former members of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers was tied 1-1.
    As it turned out, the OT loss in Game 1 was the one that got away for the Huskies. In Game 3 on Sunday, Tyler Fiddler scored 30 seconds into the first to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. They outshot the Huskies 26-6 in the second and added two more goals on singles from Jamie King and Tyler Jewitt.
    The Cougars were on their way to face the Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series this coming weekend. 
    Holfeld's career was left to tick away.
    The 25-year-old LeRoy, Sask., product goes down as one of the best goaltenders the Huskies men's program ever had. In the regular season, he finished with a 53-34-2 record, a .919 save percentage, a 2.43 goals against average and eight shutouts. His 2,452 career saves in regular season play is a record for the Huskies men's team.
    During the 2014-15 regular season, he split time in goal with rookie Jordon Cooke, who came off a stellar WHL career with the Kelowna Rockets. The Huskies posted their first losing record in 19 years with a 10-15-3 mark due in large part to their goal-scoring struggles.
    Holfeld was still sensational recording a .922 save percentage, a 2.42 goals against average and one shutout in posting a 5-8-1 record.
    In his first four seasons at the U of S, the Huskies never finished lower than third in the Canada West standings. While those Huskies teams had a larger number of high end forwards, Holfeld did steal his share of games.

Ryan Holfeld (#31) gets congratulated after a win in early Jan.

    Due to mostly being made up of graduates of the major junior and junior A ranks, the players in Canada West are good at critiquing their own performances, and when Holfeld stole a win, there were a lot of players telling him thank-you afterwards, while vowing to play better going forward. He was key in helping the Huskies win a Canada West title in 2012.
    Away from the rink, Holfeld endeared himself to his teammates and players on other Huskies teams for being a comedian that would say the most humourous things out of the blue. He also knew when it was time to be serious and was the teammate others could confide to, if they were having troubles in their lives.
    Holfeld also excelled in the classroom, which allowed him to be accepted into law school after his third year with the team. Over the past two seasons, he was usually busy studying, when he wasn't at the rink. He was still able to squeeze in time to visit with family and friends for short periods after games.
    For all that he was able to do in his five seasons with the Huskies, it would have been nice if he could have gotten one more series win.
    On and off the ice, he will always be viewed as one of most proud success stories of the U of S athletic program.

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

Roughed up at Rutherford

Kaitlin Willoughby gets in a scrum with two UBC players.

    It was an odd sight to see Kaitlin Willoughby exchanging punches with opponents, but it was something you could see coming.
    On Saturday night at the Rutherford Rink, the Huskies were trailing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 5-1 late in the third period of a Canada West women's hockey game. The clash featured constant exchanges of chirps and pushes and shoves between whistles. The 5-1 score would be the final outcome, but before the game concluded, the frustration of last season's Canadian Interuniversity Sport rookie of the year took over.
    As she drove to the Thunderbirds net late in the third, you could see in her eyes she was driving to the goal motivated by rage, which isn't uncommon at that point in a chippy contest. You either suspected Willoughby would score on that rush, drive goaltender Danielle Dube into the net or get involved in an altercation.
    Willoughby's shot was stopped as she went to the net hard, and then she got involved with a UBC forward Rebecca Unrau and defender Madison Patrick. Both sides got off two to three serious punches each in the scrum, before the officials broke things up without handing out penalties.
    With that setback, the Huskies dropped their fourth game in a row. They also dropped a 1-0 decision at the Rutherford Rink on Friday. Having sat first overall in Canada West at the semester break, the Huskies have dropped to fifth in the conference and face the biggest stretch of adversity they have encountered all season.
    In the losses to the Thunderbirds (12-4-4), the Huskies (11-7-2) visibly got dragged down over time by all the extra-curricular activities that occurred between the whistles. Out of all the teams the Huskies faced in the tight Canada West conference this season, the Thunderbirds arguably are the best skating team they have encountered. UBC also has a lot of talented players like Rafter and Unrau.
    The Thunderbirds also came into the games playing with a high tension edge, which is similar to that of the NHL's Boston Bruins or Philadelphia Flyers. That was a characteristic you hadn't seen to that extent in any other team in the Canada West women's league.
    During Saturday's game, a lot of words were exchanged between whistles. As players went off for line changes, they would usually bump into or shoulder each other as a way to pester each other. A few times, the odd slashes would get traded.
    The Thunderbirds also ran over Huskies netminder Cassidy Hendricks a couple of times early in the contest, which resulted in goaltender interference calls. That also added to the frustration for the home side.
    In some form or other, the exchanges between whistles, be it verbal or physical, will always be part of hockey. The Huskies have to do their best to skate away from that type of activity, because it takes the focus of what they should be doing in the game.

Kandace Cook takes a draw for the Huskies.

    By the sounds of things, that type of activity was even more prevalent in Friday's setback than it was in Saturday's loss.
    Besides the on ice distraction factor, the Huskies need to contend with the fact their offence has dried up, as they have scored only four goals in their four-game skid. Defence has also been the name of the game in the Canada West ranks as only five players are averaging a point or more per game.
    In Saturday's contest Unrau and Tatiana Rafter each scored twice for the Thunderbirds, while Nicole Saxvik had a single. Dube made 27 stops to earn the win in goal for UBC.
    Kandace Cook had the lone goal for the Huskies, while Hendricks made 25 saves suffering the loss in goal for the defending conference champs.
    On Friday night, Thunderbirds forward Stephanie Schaupmeyer had the lone goal of the contest, while Samantha Langford made 25 stops to earn the shutout win in the UBC goal. Hendricks made 25 stops in goal for the Huskies.
    Going forward into their final eight games, the Huskies need to focus on having a good outing in their next outing against the University of Manitoba Bisons (14-5-1). Those two teams meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink. There is still lots of time for them to get their game back to the level it was in the first semester before playoffs roll around.

Fourth time a charm for Adolph

Head coach Dave Adolph works the Huskies bench. 

    Dave Adolph finally got the record.
    The head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team became the Canadian Interuniversity Sport leader in career conference wins on Friday night, when his Huskies down the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 4-3 in double overtime in Vancouver. Friday's victory gave Adolph his 378^th career conference victory, which passed the old mark of 377 held by legendary University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Clare Drake. Adolph also holds the record for career games coached in the CIS, which stood at 722 after Friday's action.
    "There's only one Clare Drake," said Adolph to UBC sports information assistant Tim Huebsch. "In my mind, he's responsible for the success of CIS men and women's hockey. I've been fortunate to have coached for a long time, and although records are meant to be broken, Clare Drake remains in a league of his own."
The veteran bench boss had to wait for the record breaker. The Huskies lost their previous three games before pulling out the double overtime victory over the Thunderbirds.
    For a while, it appeared Friday's game would be a fourth straight setback. The Thunderbirds led 3-0 on goals from Nick Buonassisi, Luke Lockhart and David Robinson. Robinson's tally came at the 6:51 mark of the third, and it appeared the game was over.
    The Huskies, who have had trouble scoring goals in bunches this season, stormed back to force a 3-3 tie to send the contest to overtime. Craig McCallum scored for the Huskies on a power play, and Jesse Ross added another goal for the visitors just 33 seconds later to cut the lead to 3-2. Defenceman Connor Cox picked up the equalizer with 5:27 to play in the frame.
    After playing a scoreless four-on-four first overtime period, McCallum scored in the three-on-three second overtime frame to give the Huskies a 4-3 win.
    Ryan Holfeld made 30 saves to earn the win in goal. Eric Williams turned away 22 shots in net for the Thunderbirds.
    The Huskies weren't able to duplicate the comeback heroics one night later falling 5-0 to the host Thunderbirds. Buonassisi, Greg Fraser, Brad Hoban, Joe Antilla and Anthony Bandaro netted singles for the Thunderbirds (11-9-4). Matt Hewitt made 22 saves for the shutout win in the UBC goal.
    Jordon Cooke made 32 saves suffering the loss in goal for the Huskies (10-13-1).
    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the University of Manitoba Bisons (12-12). U of S needs to earn four more points in the standings to lock up a playoff berth.

Mistaken identity

Tigers forward Trevor Cox celebrates a goal. 

    So it appears Connor Cox was in two places at the same time on Friday night.
    Out in Vancouver, Cox had the equalizer for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team to tie the UBC Thunderbirds 3-3 in the third period. The Huskies would win that contest 4-3 in double overtime.
    Back in Saskatoon, a Blades online game story from their 5-4 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in a WHL clash at the Sasktel Centre gave the Tigers fourth goal to Connor Cox.
    The line in the game story said, "Connor Cox would add to his league-leading points total, scoring just seconds after a Tiger power play ended."
    The story meant to say Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL in scoring, picked up the Tigers fourth goal.

The real Connor Cox manning the Huskies blue-line

    To be fair, I understand how easily the mistake could happen. During his career in the WHL, Connor Cox played 121 regular season games with the Blades from 2010 to 2012. Over that time, Connor became extremely popular in the Blades' dressing room, with the team's staff and the local media that covered the hockey club. He also became a fan favourite as he developed his strong reputation as being a team-first guy.
    You can be sure the staffers with the Blades have a bunch of good memories of Connor, and his name was likely ingrained in the head of the person writing the game story for the web.
    I know for myself I have made my share of errors during my years writing stories. You don't want them to happen, but they do.
    As for the one from the online story, it allows those that know and are friends with Connor to engage in some humour with him.

Blades looking good

The Saskatoon Blades celebrate Friday's win.

    Speaking of the Saskatoon Blades, they played their first home games since the WHL trade deadline and Jan. 10, and the team's young roster impressed.
    Stuck near the bottom of the league standings, the Blades made a bunch of moves leading up to the deadline to build a more youthful roster. Currently the Blades only have two overage players and four players in their 19-year-old seasons.
    On Friday night, they pulled off a major 5-4 upset of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who are once again a powerhouse club in the league. The contest was a back-and-fourth affair, where the Blades ultimately overcame a 4-3 deficit to pull out a one-goal victory.
    Rookie defenceman Nolan Reid scored the winner near the midway point of the third.
    Best part about that win for Saskatoon was the fact the Blades played aggressive the whole game and weren't afraid to make plays offensively. They also received some much needed breaks getting a pair of goals to go in off the skates of Tigers defencemen and capitalized on a giveaway on a short-handed situation.
    On Saturday night, the Blades slipped past the Kootenay Ice 3-2 at the Sasktel Centre. Wyatt Sloboshan played the role of hero scoring the winner for Saskatoon with 10.8 second to play in the third to break a 2-2 tie.
    With three wins in a row, the Blades improve to 12-29-2-1. While the win column has been dry for long stretches of the season, the work ethic has been there for the Blades. The wins should supply some confidence and help the team to continue to set building blocks for the future.

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