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.

Spectacular showdown at Rutherford

Huskies slip past Pronghorns in stellar CIS game

Andrew Johnson burst into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

  It was a game the late Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports editor Doug McConachie would have loved.

    Known as one of the great characters in Canada’s sports media circles, McConachie would almost fall out of the press box due to over excitement, if he was witnessing a really good hockey game.

    McConachie was best known for the columns he wrote on the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, but he would have been pumped had he seen what took play at the ancient Rutherford Rink on the University of Saskatchewan campus on Friday night. In an action packed match, the host Huskies downed the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-2 in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey clash.

    While the contest wasn’t the highest scoring game you might see, it was filled with tonnes of offensive chances. Huskies netminder Jordan Cooke and Pronghorns counterpart Dylan Tait, who are both WHL graduates, both put on shows.

    Cooke turned away 24 shots, and his best stop might have come on an early second period breakaway, when he made a kick save on Pronghorns defenceman Tim Campbell. Tait, who recently beat testicular cancer, stopped 31 shots, and he was tested constantly in tight, as the Huskies drove hard to the net.

    The Huskies also appear to have found a new star in the early going in rookie forward Andrew Johnson, who seems to have the golden touch around the net. The local product accurately snipped home his club’s second and third goals of the night.

    The first tally came late in the second and gave the Huskies a 2-1 edge going into the second intermission. The second marker came just 56 seconds into the third to put the host side up 3-1.

Dylan Tait makes a stop in the Pronghorns goal.

    In the Dog’s 3-0 start, Johnson has netted the winner in every contest and has four goals and an assist so far this season.

    The Pronghorns made their share of plays as well in falling to 1-2. Sophomore left-winger Justin Valentino set up both his squad’s goals. His first helper was put in by Cassidy Mappin, who gave the visitors a 1-0 early in the first period.

    Valentino’s second helper came on a goal from Dalton Sward, who scored just before the midway point of the third period to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2.

    Jesse Ross accounted for the Huskies other goal with a beauty snipe of his own in the first frame.

Both teams transitioned up and down the ice at a very high tempo, blocked shots in the defensive end and threw some solid clean hits. The pace moved so fluidly that all the officials had to do was stay back and let both sides play.

Huskies goalie Jordon Cooke pushes a puck out of harms way.

    The men in the striped shirts had to do their biggest work after the third period expired, as what amounted to a minor scrum occurred behind the Huskies net. The mix up included a lot of wrestling and angry shouting but not much more than that.

    The Huskies entered Friday’s game as the fifth rated team in the CIS’s top ten rankings. The spectators saw a great show, and if Friday’s game is a sign of things to come, the old barn on the U of S campus is going to be the place to be.

    The Huskies and Pronghorns go at it again Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.
    NOTE - The Huskies players all hit the ice for warm ups sporting #24 jerseys like the one that was once worn by team alumnus Cody Smuk, who passed away in June due to cancer. The team plans to keep doing that all season to honour the late gritty and hard working forward. 

    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.

Great night for Smuker

Cody Smuk drops the ceremonial faceoff at Friday's Huskies game.

   For one night, the rusting deficiencies of the Rutherford Rink were forgotten.
   The 85-year-old facility on the University of Saskatchewan campus was the warmest place to be.
   On Friday night, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team hosted their long-time rivals the University of Alberta Golden Bears to close the regular season in a match that celebrated the rink's birthday during a vintage night promotion.
   The bigger thing everyone was focused on was the fact the game would be a fundraiser for Marty's Men, which is the really for life team for alumnus Cody Smuk. Smuk has been battling cancer since May of last year.
   He had gone through five days of chemotherapy treatments to deal with cancer in his lung before Friday's contest rolled around. As a result, there was some uncertainty if he would be able to attend the game himself.
   There shouldn't have been any doubts. Smuk was there and received a loud and warm standing ovation when he dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff. That was followed by first the Golden Bears lining up, so they could all shake his hand. The host Huskies then followed suit, and some of those handshakes turned into heartfelt hugs with former teammates.
   In seeing Smuk, you could tell he lost a little bit of weight, but it was clear he had some extra jump in his step, when he was at the game. He seemed to be energized by the positive vibes.
After the game, he spent just over an hour visiting with former teammates and friends, and it was inspiring to see how positive and upbeat he was.
   Over the course of his cancer battle, he also developed into a top rate public speaker, when it comes to dealing with cancer related issues. On his Twitter account, he has been retweeting posts that contained stories of the testicular cancer battles U of Lethbridge Pronghorns goaltender Dylan Tait and equipment manager and athletic therapist Brennan Mahon are going through.
   Smuk originally had testicular cancer and tests show he is clear of that form of the disease.
   The only thing that didn't happen on Friday night was the fact the Huskies couldn't pull out a victory.

Cody Smuk shakes hands with the Huskies players.

Playing in front of largest crowd of the season at the Rutherford Rink, which included the school's pep band, the Huskies fell behind 4-0. They tried to rally late, but the Golden Bears skated away with a 4-2 victory.
   Kruise Reddick, T.J. Foster, Johnny Lazo and Jordan Hickmott netted singles for the Golden Bears, while Luke Siemens made 24 saves to earn the win in goal.
   Sean Aschim and Michael Sofillas responded with singles for the Huskies, while Jordon Cooke made 39 stops suffering the loss in goal.
   The Golden Bears finished the regular season first overall in the Canada West Conference with a 24-3-1 record and have a bye into the semifinal round of the conference playoffs.
   The Huskies finished sixth in the conference with a 10-15-3 mark. They will travel to Calgary to face the Mount Royal University Cougars (17-10-1) in a best-of-three quarter-final series slated to start on Feb. 20.
   As far as events on Friday went, the highlight was seeing Smuk with a big smile on his face. During the game itself, $2,300 was raised for Marty's Men. By Saturday, $3,500 has been raised.
   Those looking to donate to the Relay for Life team can do so right here.

Holfeld valiant in final home stand

Ryan Holfeld makes a stop for the Huskies.

   Ryan Holfeld almost pulled off a Miikka Kiprusoff type victory.
   With the Huskies locked into playoff all their games in the 2015 post-season on the road, Holfeld, the team's fifth-year goaltender, made his final home start on Thursday at the Rutherford Rink, when the Huskies hosted the Golden Bears in the first match of a two-game set. The LeRoy, Sask., product made 48 saves through regulation and two overtime periods as the Huskies and Golden Bears went to a tiebreaking shootout locked in a 1-1 draw.
   In the shootout, Holfeld turned away the first four Alberta shooters before being beaten by Reddick. The Golden Bears took the tiebreaking session 1-0 and the game 2-1.
   Holfeld was the reason the Huskies got to a tiebreaking shootout. At the other end, Golden Bears netminder Kurtis Mucha made 21 saves over 70 minutes and stopped all five shooters he faced in the shootout.
   Hickmott gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead in the second, but Jesse Ross picked up the equalizer for the Huskies just under three minutes later to make the score 1-1.
From there, Holfeld did whatever he could to keep the Golden Bears off the scoreboard. In overtime, the Huskies had a number of chances to steal the victory, which included a pair of breakaway chances. The hosts couldn't find the back of the net to win the game.
   Holfeld finished the season with an impressive .922 save percentage and a stellar 2.42 goals against average. The Huskies, who have 12 first year players on their roster, struggled with scoring all season, and as a result, Holfeld only had a 5-8-1 record on the season.
   Cooke also had strong numbers posting a .905 save percentage and a 3.13 goals against average. Due to the team's lack of scoring, he had a 5-9 record on the year.
   The Huskies couldn't ask for any more out of their goaltenders in the regular season. It is too bad they couldn't pull out a few more wins for the puck stoppers.

Cook slams down gorilla

Kandace Cook played OT hero for the Huskies on Saturday.

   It definitely wasn't an overstatement to say the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women's team slammed down a big gorilla that was on their collective backs.
   The Huskies took a seven-game losing streak into their match against the U of Alberta Pandas on Saturday in Edmonton. Before the skid, the Huskies were sitting first overall in the Canada West Conference. They dropped to fifth due to the slide, while the Pandas jumped into first.
   Locked into a 1-1 draw heading into a second five minute overtime period to be played three skaters versus three skaters, fifth-year forward Kandace Cook slammed the gorilla to the ground. Just 27 seconds into the frame, the fearless Cook popped home her ninth tally of the season to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory. Linemate Kaitlin Willoughby picked up the assist.
   In the second period, Cook set up Willoughby to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Hannah Olenyk scored for the Pandas in the third to tie things up at 1-1.
   Cassidy Hendricks made 32 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies (12-9-3). Lindsey Post turned away 18 shots taking the loss for the Pandas (17-6-1) in goal.
   Due to injuries and defender Julia Flinton's departure to play in the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain, the Huskies played with 17 skaters, which is one short of the regular number of 18.
   On Friday night in Edmonton, the Pandas downed the Huskies 4-1. Lauren Zary gave the Huskies an early 1-0 lead with a power-play goal.
   Olenyk, Alison Campbell, Deanna Morin and Gillian Altheim had singles for the Pandas.
   Hendricks turned away 21 of 24 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Post made 10 saves picking up the win for the Pandas.
   The Huskies travel to Lethbridge this Friday and Saturday to face the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Young duo shines for Stars

Nara Elia in action for the Saskatoon Stars.

   Nara Elia and Sophia Shirley might be one of the best kept secrets in the Saskatoon sports scene.
   The two 15-year-old forwards with the Saskatoon Stars team are the top two scorers in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League. Elia tops the scoring race with 20 goals and 15 assists, while Shirley is second with 21 goals and 13 assists. The linemates have powered the Stars to top spot in the league at 22-2, and they were key factor in the Stars winning the female division of the prestigious Mac's Midget Tournament in Calgary.
   The Stars posted an easy sweep of the struggling Notre Dame Hounds at the Agriplace Arena by scores of 8-1 and 7-0 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Saskatoon rolled its lines in those two contests, and Elia and Shirley were far ahead of everyone else on the ice. They also seemed to know where each other was on the ice making numerous creative plays.
   Watching the duo on the ice, you almost can't believe they will still play two more full seasons together at the midget AAA level before moving to the post-secondary ranks. With Elia and Shirley on the ice, the Stars will take part in a lot of big games this season and in the two campaigns that will follow.

Blades make youngsters happy

   From the unexpected file, members of my family have been sending a number of thank-you messages to the Saskatoon Blades.
   My cousin Jeff Chomitzky, who was a single father, passed away recently and was only about a couple of months in working with the maintenance crew with the Sasktel Centre, which is the Blades' home rink. Roger Vaillancourt, who is a family friend, wanted to take Jeff's two young sons, Braden, 11, and Blake, 9, to see the Bridge City Bunch play.
   In what was put together in less than a couple of days, Braden and Blake became Blades for a day during the team's 4-0 home win over the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. They got to read out the team's starting lineup and stand on the bench for the national anthem. The experience was definitely a big highlight for the two.
   The Blades put together a wonderful little documentary video which can be viewed here.

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