Who hoo! It is playoff time

Drew Burko (#2) slings a pass for the Huskies.

            Playoffs! Please tell me about playoffs.

            I don’t know how someone could not be excited when post-season play arrives for football. With my sporting background being linked to football, I am likely biased that way. On the other hand, this is Saskatchewan, and football is number one.

            The next couple of days are going to be fun. Tonight at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (6-2) host the University of Manitoba Bisons (4-4) in one Canada West semifinal playoff match.

            On Saturday, the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops are in Langley, B.C., to take on the host Langley Rams for the Canadian Junior Football League championship, the Canadian Bowl. The Toppers are in quest of their 17^th national title, and kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

            First up is the Huskies and their intriguing match with the Bisons. Last year in Winnipeg, the Bisons slipped past the Huskies in a Canada West semifinal 37-36.

            As strange as this sounds, the Huskies will be hosting their first home playoff game since 2010. They haven’t won a playoff contest since defeating the University of Regina Rams at Griffiths back in 2009.

            In other words, there is pretty much a whole generation of students at the University of Saskatchewan that have never seen the Huskies football team win a playoff contest, and a small representation of that current student body likely remembers the 2010 home post-season game, where the Huskies fell 31-30 to the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies are also 1-7 in post-season play over the past seven campaigns.

            The team’s three Vanier Cup titles in the 1990s and the four Vanier Cup appearances between 2002 to 2006 seem like a distant memory.

            The Huskies recent troubles in the post-season also coincide with the run of the University of Calgary Dinos winning the last six straight Canada West titles under head coach Blake Nill. In Canada West, you have the Dinos and then everyone else.

            This season has the potential to be different. Huskies have had some up and down games, but they managed a 6-2 finish. They enter the playoffs with solid back-to-back wins downing the Golden Bears 41-23 on Oct. 25 at Griffiths and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 38-18 last Saturday in Vancouver.

            The win over the Thunderbirds was a good one, because the Huskies had nothing to gain in the standings, and they played that contest out hard.

            The Bisons are the last team from Canada West to win the Vanier Cup back in 2007, which was the year before the Dinos began their current conference title run. This season, the Bisons have been all over the map posting a 4-4 mark looking impressive one week and then a question mark the next week.

            In Week One, the Huskies downed the Bisons 44-24 at Griffiths. On Oct. 17, the blowout margin went the other way as the Bisons stomped the Huskies 41-8 in Winnipeg.

            It will be interesting to see which team advances tonight. The other Canada West semifinal features the heavily favoured Dinos (6-2) against the Rams (3-5). Barring something unforeseen, the winner of the tilt versus the Bisons and Huskies will be traveling to Calgary in a week’s time.

Jared Andreychuk gets set to unload a pass for the Hilltops.

            In the CJFL, the Hilltops (8-2 overall) roll into the Canadian Bowl riding a seven-game winning streak. The Rams (9-3 overall) have won three straight.

            Saskatoon has improved significantly as the season has gone on. The Rams have 15 players in their 22-year-old graduation year and experience will be on their side. The Hilltops have only five graduating players.

            These teams met in the Canadian Bowl two years ago, and the Hilltops battled back from a 15-point third quarter deficit to pull out a 23-21 victory. Expect this year’s game to likely be as close.

            The Hilltops will have veteran receive Chad Braun back in the lineup, who missed five games due to foot and knee injuries. Dynamic running back Wayndel Lewis, who rushed for 1,063 yards in the regular season, will be out for a second straight game with his injured left ankle.

            The one weird thing with the CJFL was the fact the Ontario Football Conference wasn’t eligible to compete for the Canadian Bowl this season. The OFC changed it age rules, which has provisions to allow players to play until the age of 24.

            With that development, the Canadian Bowl doesn’t have the national championship title feel like it did in past years.

            Despite that fact, the Hilltops and Rams both earned their way into the title game, and a championship victory is always a great thing to achieve.

A salute to Huskies men’s soccer squad

Brett Levis motors down the pitch for the Huskies.

            The Canadian Interuniversity Sports men’s soccer championships turned out to be a heartbreaker for the U of S Huskies men’s soccer team.

On Thursday night, the host University of Prince Edward Island Panthers downed the Huskies 2-0 in extra time in Charlottetown. Jared Murphy scored at the 110^th minute and Logan Dawson tallied at the 119^th minute to lift the host Panthers to victory.

Brett MacDonald earned the win in goal for the Panthers, while Michal Bandula was saddled with the loss for the Huskies.
            On Friday, the Huskies were eliminated from the tournament dropping a 4-3 decision after penalty kicks to the Universite de Montreal Carabins.
            Bryce Marinus, Garrett Peters and Sam Whiting netted singles in regulation for the Huskies. Bandula again took the loss in goal. Vincent Perret, Alan Torrent and Louis Simard picked up singles for the Carabins. Simard and Samuel Dufort both saw action in goal for Montreal.
           The Carabins took the shootout 3-2, with Maxime Laurey, Mircea Ilcu and Fernando Herrera picking up goals. Luigi Bekwayo and Carson MacDonald netted the Huskies markers in the shootout.
           After they get over those two setbacks, the Huskies can reflect on what was a special season. A program best 9-1-2 record in the regular season and the team's first ever Canada West title were impressive accomplishments.
           Also, a few more casual local spectators have taken notice of the Huskies soccer program. The team would have loved to have sent fifth-year captain Jordain Farahani into graduation as a national champ.

The Huskies could potentially return the rest of their roster next season. One can already imagine the exciting possibilities that await this club a year from now.

 

Goals dry up

 

 

Ryan Holfeld tends goal for the Huskies.

             It appears all the graduations up front are catching up to the Huskies men’s Hockey team.

            After opening the regular season with four straight wins, the Huskies have lost six straight in the ultra-competitive Canada West Conference. During the skid, the Huskies have managed to score just eight goals. The losses have come at the hands of the Golden Bears (9-1), the Dinos (8-2) and the Bisons (5-5), with the last four setbacks coming on the road.

            The Huskies return home to face the Mount Royal University Cougars (6-4) at 7 p.m. both tonight and Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

            As far as preventing goals goes, not much more can be asked of the Huskies. Fifth-year goaltender Ryan Holfeld has stellar numbers with a 1.78 goals against average, a .938 save percentage and one shutout. Rookie Jordon Cooke has a 2.63 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and one shutout.

            The Huskies graduated their top four scorers last season in forwards Derek Hulak, Kenton Dulle, Andrew Bailey and Brennan Bosch. Hulak was the Canada West MVP last season and is now playing for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

            That foursome just doesn’t get replaced right away. At this point, a goal gusher would go a long way to restoring confidence offensively for the Huskies. Getting just three goals in a game might be enough to get a win with the way the goaltending and defence has played.

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

Golden opportunity knocks

Huskies one win away from claiming Canada West title at home

The Huskies celebrate their Canada West semifinal win.

            The dream season for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Soccer team marches on.

            On Friday at PotashCorp Park, the Huskies, who were hosting the Canada West final four tournament for the first time ever, downed the University of Victoria Vikes 2-0 in a semifinal match before a healthy gathering of spectators. With the win, the Huskies, who have never won a Canada West championship, will host the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the conference title game on Saturday at 2 p.m. at PotashCorp Park.

            For years, it seemed like a dream would be the only way the Huskies would ever have a chance to win Canada West title at home. This year’s powerhouse squad, which posted a program best 9-1-2 regular season record, is just one win from making that dream a reality.

            Against the Vikes on Friday, the Huskies pulled out a tight playoff contest by controlling possession of the ball. Garrett Peters scored at the 23^rd and at the 30^th minute to provide all the offence the home side would need. Michal Bandula picked up the shutout victory in goal for the Huskies, while Noah Pawlowski suffered the loss in goal for the Vikes.

            The Golden Bears claimed the other semifinal downing the defending national champions for the past two seasons the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-0. The bronze medal game between the Vikes and Thunderbirds is set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Thunderbirds beat the Huskies in last year’s Canada West title game.

            During the regular season, the Huskies won both their encounters with the Golden Bears, which were held at PotashCorp Park. The Dogs claimed a 4-1 triumph on Oct. 3 and a 6-1 victory on Oct. 5 .

            Both the Huskies and the Golden Bears will advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament, which will be hosted by the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers from Nov. 6-9 in Charlottetown.

            On Thursday, Huskies head coach Bryce Chapman was named the Canada West coach of the year, while forward Luigi Bekwayo was conference’s student-athlete community award recipient.

            Centreback Jordian Farahani and striker Brett Levis were named first team Canada West all-stars, while Bandula and Bekwayo were named second team conference all-stars.

            On the Huskies women’s soccer team, striker Jenelle Zapski and defender Jennifer Miller were named Canada West second team all-stars.

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

Crunch time for Huskies soccer

Kelly Cerowniak in action for the Huskies.

             It is make or break time for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies soccer teams this weekend.

            Both squads did their part Friday at PotashCorp Park to ensure it is “make” time. The men’s soccer team downed the University of Alberta Golden Bears 4-1, and the women’s squad blanked the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-0.

            While it is only early October, the regular season is nearing a close, and both teams are trying to roll off a final sprint. The Huskies men’s team wants to inch closer to first place in the Prairies Division of Canada West. The Huskies women’s team wants lock up a playoff berth.

            In the men’s game, Garrett Peters and Luigi Bekwayo staked the Huskies out to a 2-0 lead. Cj Gilroy scored for the Golden Bears early in the second half to cut the host’s lead to 2-1. The Huskies pulled away with singles from Bobbi Nicholat and Jordian Farahani.

            Michal Bandula picked up the win in goal for the Huskies, while Connor James suffered the loss for the Golden Bears.

            With the win, the Huskies improve to 6-0-1 to sit four points up on the 4-2-3 Golden Bears for first in the division. If the Huskies just post a tie in Sunday’s encounter with the Golden Bears (2:15 p.m. PotashCorp Park), they will be sitting pretty in the race for first.

            After Sunday’s match, the Huskies will have four games remaining on their schedule. They play the University of Winnipeg Wesmen (2-5-1) twice and the Mount Royal University Cougars (1-4-1) twice. As it stands right now, the Huskies would only need to win two of those final four encounters to capture top spot in the division.

            On the women’s side, the Huskies need wins to keep their playoff hopes alive in the tightly packed Prairies Division. They entered Friday’s game holding a slim one-point edge for fourth place and the division’s final playoff berth.

            In the shutout win of the Pronghorns, Kelly Cerkowniak scored twice in the first half to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge, and Prince Albert product Erica Parenteau rounded out the scoring with a single in the second half.

            Cara Santaga picked up the win in goal for the Huskies, while Myriah Marino took the loss in the Pronghorns net.

The victory helped end a four-game winless skid, as the Huskies improved to 4-2-3. The Pronghorns fell to 1-6-2.

            The two teams meet again on Sunday at 12 p.m. at PotashCorp Park. If the Huskies win, it will put them in a good position to play the waiting game.

            They close out the regular season by hosting the University of Regina Cougars (4-2-2) on Oct. 18 and 19. By that time, the picture of what the Huskies still need to do to get in the playoffs should become clearer. If the Huskies don’t earn a win over Lethbridge on Sunday, they could be forced into a position where they need to win both of their final two games to make the post-season.

            The best part for both soccer squads is they control their own respective destinies. At this point in the campaign, that is all the players on either team wants.

            If they can keep winning, there could be the odd home playoff game at PotashCorp Park.

           

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