Madness starts early for Huskies

Matthew Forbes slams down a huge basket for the Huskies.

    One elimination game down, and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team hopes to experience a lot more do-or-die matches in March.
    The Huskies didn't take the easy road in claiming a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series 2-1 against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack. In all three games, U of S fell behind by sizable margins, but managed two successful comebacks to stay alive in the post-season. In a series deciding Game 3 on Sunday at the Physical Activity Complex, the Wolfpack led the host Huskies 39-29 at one point in the second quarter.
    The visitor's led was cut to 43-42 at halftime after Huskies guard Evan Ostertag hit a three at the buzzer. The hosts took a 61-57 lead after the third quarter and rolled in the fourth quarter to an 84-71 victory. The win was capped by a monster dunk by Huskies post Matthew Forbes inside of the contest's final minute.
    Thanks to that win, the Huskies will have the rare privilege of host the men's Canada West Final Four tournament this coming Friday and Saturday at the Physical Activity Complex. The opening match at 6 p.m. on Friday sees the U of Victoria Vikes, who were 15-5 in the regular season, take on the Abbotsford, B.C., based University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, who were 17-3 in the regular season. At 8 p.m., the U of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who were 14-6 in the regular season, face the Huskies, who were 15-5 in the regular season.
    The Huskies host the final four, because they topped the Conference's Pioneer Division. The Cascades topped the Explorer Division.
    Before the Huskies could think about hosting the final four, they had to down a determined Wolfpack side. Games 1 and 2 were held at St. Joseph High School due to the fact the U of Saskatchewan was hosting the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men's Volleyball Championship tournament. The atmosphere at the packed high school gym was raucous on both nights.
    In Game 1 last Friday, the Wolfpack, who were 11-9 in the regular season, jumped out to a 27-19 lead after the first quarter and held a 49-43 edge at halftime. The Huskies dominated the second half and rolled to a 96-82 victory. Veteran post Matthew Forbes led the way for the Huskies with 20 points, while second-year forward Shane Osayande came off the bench and hit all seven of his shot attempts to finish second in team scoring with 14 points.

Dadrian Collins drives the lane for the Huskies at St. Joseph High School.

    In Game 2 last Saturday, the Huskies faithful packed the gym at St. Joseph High School hoping the first half scare the Kamloops, B.C., based Wolfpack gave the U of S side would only happen for one game. It didn't.
    The Wolfpack stormed out to a 16-0 lead and held a 40-25 edge at halftime. The Huskies rallied in the second half and closed to within 71-69 late in the game. The visitors scored to go up 73-69 and closed out an 81-75 victory to tie the series 1-1.
    Andrew Henry and Dadrian Collins led the Huskies with 12 points each in the Game 2 setback.
    Game 3 back at the PAC wasn't an easy one for the Huskies to pull out. Wolfpack fifth-year guard Brett Rouault went off for a game-high 33 points mostly due to hitting 7-of-10 shots from three-point range.
    Forbes countered topping the Huskies with 30 points to help the hosts get their series clinching 84-71 win.
    Going forward in the post-season, the Huskies would like to have some better starts, but they should have some confidence knowing the can pull out big comeback victories if they need to.
    Now, they face was is essentially another elimination game. The two teams that make the final of the Canada West Final Four advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final Eight championship tournament hosted by Ryerson University in Toronto.
    The winners of the semifinal games of the Canada West Final Four this coming Friday will ensure they will play in the final weekend of the 2014-15 campaign. Being at home for basically a do-or-die match, you have to like the Huskies chances of advancing, even if they do fall behind once again.

Huskies women's hoopsters hit the road

Kabree Howard dishes the ball for the Huskies.

    The Huskies women's basketball team will be on the road for the duration of their playoff run.
    They had a chance of hosting the women's Canada West Final Four tournament had the U of Regina Cougars upset the UBC Thunderbirds in a best-of-three quarter-final series in Vancouver. 
    The favoured Thunderbirds prevailed. UBC took Game 1 on Friday 75-59 and Game 2 on Saturday 68-63.
    As a result, the women's Canada West Final Four opens on Friday in Vancouver. The Huskies, who were 17-3 in the regular season, face the U of Victoria Vikes, who were 13-7 in the regular season. 
    The Thunderbirds, who were 17-3 in the regular season, take on the U of Alberta Pandas, who were 16-4 in the regular season, in the other semifinal.
    The Huskies enter the final four having won 15 straight games combined in the regular season and playoffs.

Men's CIS volleyball championships a hit

The Huskies salute their home crowd after their last regular season game.

    Huskie Athletics should get all sorts of high praise for host an outstanding Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men's Volleyball Championship tournament.
    There had to be a bit of fear with regards to how well attended the event would be at the Physical Activity Complex if the host Huskies weren't able to advance to the semifinal round. The Huskies did not qualify for the Canada West playoffs finishing the regular season with a 12-12 record and were seeded eighth in the eight-team event.
    They played hard in the quarter-final round but committed too many errors in being swept away by the top seeded McMaster University Marauders by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-18. Officially attendance was 2,223 at the PAC, which seats 2,500. Those that were there said it was hard to find a seat, and spectators filled the standing space that rung round the track at the top of the stands.
    With the Huskies knocked to the consolation side, attendance stayed fairly strong. A total of 1,841 spectators attended Friday's semifinal round and 2,127 were out for the medal round games on Saturday. Those numbers have to be considered huge successes.
    Overall, this year's CIS Men's Volleyball Championship tournament was viewed as being extremely well run.
    In the title game, U of Alberta Golden Bears repeated as champs sweeping the Trinity Western University Spartans 25-19, 25-17 and 25-15. McMaster swept Dalhousie University 3-0 in the bronze medal game.
    The host Huskies downed Universite de Laval 3-1 in a consolation semifinal match and took the consolation final 3-1 over York University to finish fifth.
    Once again, Canada West showed it is the powerhouse conference in men's volleyball, as its three entries finished in the top five of the CIS tournament. That powerhouse showing takes a whole new light considering the Huskies just missed making the Canada West Conference playoffs and were still fifth at nationals.
    Canada West Conference teams have claimed 20 of the last 21 championships in CIS men's volleyball.

Stars advance to final four

Courtney Cormack, left, and Danielle Nogier celebrate a goal.

    The Saskatoon Stars will enjoy a little bit of time off before they resume their quest to earn a provincial title.
    On Sunday, the Stars completed a 3-0 sweep of their best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League quarter-final series over the Notre Dame Hounds. Saskatoon took Game 1 in Wilcox 7-2 on Thursday, and Games 2 and 3 at the Agriplace Arena by respective scores of 9-5 and 10-0 on Saturday and Sunday.
    Those results weren't much of a surprise as the Stars finished first in the league at 25-3, while the Hounds were last in the eight-team circuit at 4-22-2.
    The Stars top forwards Nara Elia and Sophia Shirley each had six goals and six assists in the series. Their linemate Julia Rongve had three goals and six assists. Forward Courtney Cormack have five goals and an assist in the three games.
    Saskatoon's opponent for the semifinal round is still to be determined as two quarter-final series were still ongoing after Sunday. The post-season road will definitely become more challenging from here on out for the Stars, who won the female title in the Mac's Midget AAA Tournament on Jan. 1.
    As they progress through the playoffs, they will pick up more and more attention in the Saskatoon area as a number of other local teams see their campaigns come to an end.
    At the moment, the Stars are still one of the best kept secrets in the Bridge City. By the end of March, they will likely have an increased profile.

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

New rule adds to dogfight in Can West women’s hockey

Lauren Zary wheels with the puck for the Huskies.

            Wow! Two regulation wins later and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies jump from a tie for fifth into a tie for first in the Canada West women’s hockey standings.

            Last weekend, the Huskies swept away the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns by scores of 3-0 and 2-0 on Friday and Saturday night respectively at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The victories allowed the Huskies to improve to 9-3-2 and vault into a four-way tie for first in the conference with 26 points at the halfway point of the regular season.

            The four-way tie was caused because the women’s Canada West conference is using a news system for tallying points in the standings this season, which is similar to one used in the Olympics. Regulation time wins are worth three points, extra time wins two points and one point is awarded for an extra time loss.

The same system is being utilized in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

            The Huskies recorded their 26 points thanks to six regulation wins. The other three teams with 26 points include the Alberta Pandas (9-5) with eight regulation wins, the Manitoba Bisons (9-4-1) with seven regulation wins, and the UBC Thunderbirds (8-3-3) also with seven regulation wins.

            The Calgary Dinos are a point back of that foursome with a 7-3-4 record. All of their wins have come in regulation. The Regina Cougars sit holding the final playoff berth in the conference at 9-4-1, but they only have 22 points in the standings due to only winning three times in regulation.

            If the standings were still tallied the old way where a win in any form was worth two points, the Huskies would have been alone in first with 20 points. The Bisons, Thunderbirds and Cougars would have all been tied for second with 19 points. The final two playoff berths would be held by the Pandas and Dinos tied with 18 points.

            So what does one make of the logjam?

            The rule for putting in three points for a regulation win was put in to reward a squad for earning victory in the regular three periods of play. The idea of this rule has been bantered around at the NHL level. In theory, it was expected earning three points for a regulation win would create more separation in the standings.

            In the Canada West women’s standings where there isn’t that much difference between the teams, the standings are still tight even with three points being awarded for a regulation win.

            The Regina Cougars could argue they are the biggest loser under the new system. To be fair, they found the heart to get six wins done in extra time, but are given no reward for having that heart. That is the downfall of a system that awards three points for a regulation win as opposed to giving two points for any type of win.

            For me, the jury is still out on which system is better. The final judgment will likely be made during the Canada West league meetings in the off-season.

            As for the Huskies at this point in time of the season, there are always things to improve on, but they have to be really happy with where they sit. They have been very consistent in executing game plans, overcoming points of adversity and taking each step of the way very professionally.

They are not visibly too high after wins or too low after setbacks, and that is a very impressive thing to see.

In the sweep of the Pronghorns, the Huskies big players came through. Goaltender Cassidy Hendricks made 34 save over the two matches to up her shutout total to three on the season.

Marley Ervine, Kaitlin Willoughby and Julia Flinton had singles on the first night. Rachel Johnson scored twice on the second night.

They conclude play before heading into the Christmas break and final exam period this coming Friday and Saturday hosting Mount Royal University Cougars (2-9-3) at 7 p.m. each night at the Rutherford Rink.

Back to .500

Michael Sofillas in action for the Huskies.

            The Huskies men’s hockey team extended their winning streak to three games earning a pair of wins on the road against the Pronghorns.

            On Friday, the Huskies exploded for a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 win. Michael Sofillas, who is starting to find an offensive touch, scored twice, while Sean Aschim had a single. Ryan Holfeld made 31 saves for the win.

            On Saturday, the Huskies posted a much more convincing 5-1 victory. Josh Roach scored twice, while Matthew Spafford, Sofillas and Parker Thomas all had singles. Jordon Cooke made 29 saves to pick up the win.

            The Huskies (8-8) have been up and down in the goal scoring department this season, so they will be looking to keep the offensive numbers up during their final two games before the Christmas break. They travel to Calgary this coming Friday and Saturday to take on the Mount Royal University Cougars (10-6).

            Those two clubs split their two meetings earlier this month at the Rutherford Rink.

Collins is on fire

The Huskies men's basketball team huddles around their bench.

            Dadrian Collins was sinking threes like he was a secret character on that 1990s legendary video game NBA Jam on Saturday.

            The fifth-year forward went off for the Huskies men’s basketball team from beyond the arch going 8-for-8 from downtown on Saturday at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of Saskatchewan campus. He hit seven of his threes in the game’s first half. Overall, he finished the contest with 28 points helping the Huskies cruise to a 95-70 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes.

            One night earlier, the Huskies downed the Vikes 82-70, and fourth-year guard Michael Scott led the way for the Dogs with 19 points. The Huskies sit at 4-2 in regular season play.

            The Huskies women’s team earned a sweep over the Vikes winning 71-62 on Friday and 89-68 on Saturday. Star post Dalyce Emmerson led the way leading the Huskies with 17 and 20 points on respective nights.

 One year anniversary of Grey Cup joy

           

Mosaic Stadium at the close of the 101st Grey Cup.

            Most people in Saskatchewan will be able to remember where they were a year ago today.

            The Saskatchewan Roughriders blasted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 in the 101^st Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium, which I still refer to commonly as Taylor Field. It was the last Grey Cup to be played as Mosaic, as a new stadium is currently being built in Regina.

            The contest also marked the first time the Roughriders were in the Grey Cup final at home and the only time they would win the legendary trophy on the field they have called home since 1910.

            I was at the game in person and being there in person was beyond anything you could have imagined for the bucket list. I have been at Taylor Field in many difference capacities for many football games at various levels, and the 101^st Grey Cup was definitely the most memorable.

            I also remember partying until like 5:30 a.m. out in the streets and in various locations in Regina. I think it took like two days to sleep that all off.

            The night had a euphoric experience from a fan perspective I had never seen before or since. I could not imagine what the feeling was like for the players, and I had a few buds on the team.

            As for players, I was most happy for quarterback Darian Durant, who put so many years of hard work in with the team and finally won the big one as the starter. In my handful of dealings with him, it is very evident he cares a lot about the Roughriders franchise, and I still don’t think the team’s fan base fully appreciates that fact.

            I was also really happy for my old Regina Rams bud Neal Hughes, who won his second Grey Cup ring. He took the victory with the joy of a little kid playing minor football on Regina’s Leibel Field.

            In my heart, I hope that wasn’t the last Grey Cup win he tasted as a player. The 34-year-old fullback was limited to playing just two games because of a nagging foot injury this past season. After 11 seasons in the league, there is no certainty his playing days will continue.

            With that said, it is great for today to look back and remember how great the day was.

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