Tigers clash with Raiders a stellar display for WHL

Max Gerlach (#16) centres a pass for the Tigers.

    The WHL got a gem of a game on Wednesday night at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    Before 1,750 spectators, the host Raiders fell 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers in a thrilling contest where both sides jetted up and down the ice. 

    In the immediate aftermath, you miss the fact WHL games are no longer shown on Shaw across Western Canada, because Wednesday’s contest between the Raiders and Tigers was a prime example of how great and entertaining that major junior circuit can be.

    The 2017-18 campaign was supposed to be the final season Shaw showed WHL games under a contract the two bodies had, but the television network bought itself out of showing games in what is now the current campaign.

Goalie Jordan Hollett had a stellar game for the Tigers.

    While the Raiders versus Tigers game wasn’t on television, it should be referred to as a selling feature of how great games in the WHL can be. Whether news of the game spreads by word of mouth or by fans over social media channels, it was a game that is worthy of water cooler chat.

    That contest had so many turning points you could point to almost anything in being the difference in the game.

    Besides the teams getting up and down the ice, the biggest talking point would have been the goalies, who were both outstanding. Ian Scott, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 168 pounds, had a solid night making 34 saves over 65 minutes before the game went to a shootout, where he was beaten twice. The quality of saves Scott made were high, and the Calgary product showed he is one of the circuit’s elite goalies.

Ian Scott of the Raiders showed he is one of the WHL’s elite goalies.

    Tigers netminder Jordan Hollett, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 210 pounds, was even better turning away 49 shots over 65 minutes and both shooters he faced in the shootout. The Langley, B.C., product, who was the Regina Pats backup goalie last season, proved he is ready for a primetime starting role.

    If video of Hollett’s performance made it down to Regina, you would likely have some Pats fans gripping the 18-year-old puck stopper should have been the goalie the Pats kept in a season where that team hosts the Memorial Cup this coming May.

    The star players came out to play on both sides. Overage centre Jordy Stallard, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 179 pounds, potted a pair of goals to continue to lead the Raiders in scoring with 21 goals and 20 assists in 29 games. Stallard’s play was complimented by Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid post-game.

Jordy Stallard tops the Raiders in scoring.

    “He (Stallard) plays quality minutes,” said Habscheid, whose team is 11-11-5-2 so far this season. “He plays a lot of minutes, but he responds.

    “He has scored some big goals for us, and he has been a good player for us.”

    Tigers overage captain Mark Rassell, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 186 pounds, scored twice, picked up an assist and potted his team’s first goal in the tiebreaking shootout. He leads the Tigers in scoring with 27 goals and 12 assists in 29 games. Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said Rassell has been another one of those skilled and speedy players the team seems to constantly find that overlooked.

    “He is such a great story for so many young players, and we’ve had a few of them,” said Clouston, whose team is 17-11-1. “He is the next guy who didn’t play at (age) 16.

    “He wasn’t drafted. He was a list player and undersized. He just happened to grow, and now he is one of our bigger guys.

    “He just stayed the course, stayed positive. He was in and out of the lineup at 17 and became a full-time player at 18 and then at 19 tore it up. He has picked up where he left off last year and even taking it up a notch.”

    There were key performances by others. Eric Pearce, who is a 16-year-old rookie centre, tipped home the Raiders fourth goal of the game.

Captain Mark Rassell has been lighting it up offensively for the Tigers.

    The Raiders showed they have a couple of players that can move the puck well from the defence in Vojtech Budik and Max Martin.

    Tigers rearguard David Quenneville might be the best offensive-defenceman in the WHL. The 19-year-old veteran picked up his 10^th goal of the season on Wednesday to go with his 24 assists in another outstanding campaign.

    Right-winger Max Gerlach showed he still has one of the best shots in the league, when he wired home the shootout winner.

    No matter who you cheered for on Wednesday night, the clash between the Raiders and the Tigers was a showstopper, and it is always worthy of discussion.

Goalies rule Canada West women’s hockey

Huskies goalie Jessica Vance has a .955 save percentage so far  this season.

    The goalies have to be give their due in the Canada West Conference in U Sports women’s hockey.

    With a little over half of the regular season now in the books, goal scoring has been a challenge for the eight teams in the Canada West Conference. Only star forward Venla Hovi of the University of Manitoba Bisons is averaging a point a game with four goals and eight assists in 16 appearances.

    On the other end, five of the conference’s goalies have a save percentage that is .950 or better. Kelsey Roberts of the University of Calgary Dinos has the best save percentage in the conference at .959 to go with her 6-7-1 record, 1.46 goals against average and five shutouts.

    The goalies are straight out just getting it done.

    The Dinos are tied with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for giving up the fewest goals in the conference at 23.

    The Huskies have three second-year goalies who have combined for six shutouts. Jessica Vance has three shutouts, Chloe Marshall has two shutouts and Jasey Book has one shutout.

Vance has the third best save percentage in Canada West at .955 to go with her 4-2 record and 1.18 goals against average.

    To further show just how tough it has been to score in Canada West, Kaitlin Willoughby, who is the third all-time leading scorer in the history of the Huskies, has five goals and five assists in 14 appearances, but sits only four points back of Bisons forward Jordyn Zacharias for the conference’s scoring lead.

    There are a tonne of good goalies in the Canada West Conference in women’s hockey and right now they are a step ahead of the conference’s point producers.

Kish makes a step up with Cougars

Jane Kish has brought her game up another level playing for the Cougars.

    Jane Kish is one of those elite performers who keeps getting better.

    The third-year goalie with the University of Regina Cougars women’s team has brought her game up another level from the previous season. While she had a great campaign in her sophomore season, Kish, who stands 5-foot-4, had a tendency to go down a little early playing the butterfly style and due to her short height, the top part of the net was exposed.

    The book to beat Kish was to shoot the puck high and put it over her shoulders.

    This season, Kish is still playing the butterfly style but is staying upright to take away the top part of the net. Now, the Weyburn, Sask., product has become that much more of a difficult goalie to beat.

    During the Cougars last two games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, Kish was beaten only once by a gritty net scramble power-play goal. She turned back 54-of-55 shots in those two contests.

    On the season, Kish has posted a 6-4-1 record, a 1.26 goals against average, a .951 save percentage and two shutouts. Her goals against average is the third lowest in the conference and her save percentage is the fourth highest.

    Back in 2014, Kish backstopped her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings to an Esso Cup title for female midget AAA hockey national supremacy. She has the mental toughness to take a team all the way. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she repeated what she did in midget AAA at the university level.

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

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Bannatyne’s veteran move helps Huskies best Dinos

Defender Kira Bannatyne (#20) celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    Kira Bannatyne is best known for her defence, but she made a veteran move offensively when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team needed it the most.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies entered the third period of a U Sports regular season contest locked in a 0-0 draw with the visiting U of Calgary Dinos. The hosts held a 33-6 edge in shots on goal over the first 40 minutes, and sophomore netminder Kelsey Roberts was doing her best to try and steal the contest for the Dinos.

    With 9:34 to play in the third, the Huskies top forward line of Kaitlin Willoughby, Emily Upgang and Brooklyn Haubrich were pressing for the game’s first goal. As the intensity increased around the Dinos net, Bannatyne, who a fifth-year defender for the U of S, pinched down from the point to the right side of the U of C goal.

Kira Bannatyne gets set to fire a shot on goal.

    A shot from Upgang from the left side of the goal snuck past Roberts and sat loose backdoor in front of an open net. Bannatyne tucked home the loose puck to put the Huskies up 1-0. The Dogs proceeded to add two more goals to pull out a 3-0 win.

    With the way the contest had been going, Bannatyne was thankful she picked up the game’s first tally to break the deadlock.

    “It was such a relief actually,” said Bannatyne. “We obviously didn’t put any in until the third, so it was all banking on the third.

    “Going into it, we knew that we had to score and we did. We came out winning, so it was good.”

    The 22-year-old Winnipeg product has been known as a solid defensive defender throughout her U Sports career.
    Between action in the regular season and playoffs, her last goal before Friday came way back on Feb. 20, 2015, when she had the Huskies only tally in a 5-1 playoff game loss to the Dinos in Calgary.

    Bannatyne, who stands 5-foot-7, hadn’t scored a goal in the regular season since her rookie campaign in 2013-14, when the Huskies won the Canada West title. She had two goals in regular season play as a first-year player.

    Against the Dinos on Friday, Bannatyne played a big part on the Huskies second goal.

Goalie Kelsey Roberts makes a blocker stop for the Dinos.

    With 6:53 to play in the third, she sprung right-winger Bailee Bourassa on a breakaway with a stretch pass.

    Bourassa’s initial backhander was stopped by Roberts, but the sophomore forward banged home her rebound to put the hosts up 2-0.

    “It is a nice cushion, but we can’t give up,” said Bannatyne. “We still have to play as hard as we did.”

    Fifth-year right-winger Kori Herner sealed victory scoring into an empty net to put the Huskies up 3-0 with 28 seconds to play.

    Roberts stopped 43-of-45 shots in a spectacular effort in the setback for the Dinos, who fell to 1-5-1.

    Jasey Book stopped all 13 shots sent her way to earn her first career U Sports regular season shutout and help the Huskies improve to 4-2-1.

Winger Bailee Bourassa (#14) had the Huskies second goal on Friday.

    Book’s efforts were a testament to her mental stamina, because she kept her concentration in the contest during long stretches of inaction.
    The Loreburn, Sask., product turned away some quality chances from the Dinos including a breakaway by sophomore forward Rachel Paul with the game still scoreless early in the third.

    While the puck didn’t go in for the Huskies for the longest time, Bannatyne said everyone on her team didn’t panic.

    “I don’t think there is like any time to be nervous,” said Bannatyne. “You just have to play how we have been playing.

    “If you do what you have to do and you do your roles, then it turns out good on your side, and it did.”

    Over the Huskies first seven games, Bannatyne has posted a goal, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
    While she has put up good statistics, she believes she hasn’t been as consistent as she would like to be.

Netminder Jasey Book, left, enjoys her shutout with Emma Nutter.

    “I’d say I’ve had not so good games and some good games,” said Bannatyne. “It has been up and down.

    “I am trying to steady it out and just have some good games from here on out.”

    Along the way, she is trying to soak in all the moments of her final campaign.

    “It goes by fast,” said Bannatyne. “Five years, it just flies by.

    “You don’t really realize it until your last year. It is crazy.”

    The Huskies and Dinos go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.
    U of S is in search of its first weekend series sweep of the campaign.

Cooke takes goalie duel after shootout

Star goalie Jordon Cooke backed the Huskies to a win in Calgary.

    Jordon Cooke, who is the star goalie for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, had to be on his game on Friday night on the road in Calgary, because his counterpart in goal for the U of Calgary Dinos was trying to steal the show.

    Dinos sophomore netminder Matthew Greenfield made 42 save through regulation and two five-minute overtime periods to allow his side to go to a tiebreaking shootout with the Huskies locked in a 1-1 draw. Cooke saw plenty of action as well making 29 stops, which included seven saves in the overtime sessions to ensure the Huskies made it to the shootout at the Father David Bauer Arena.

    Huskies captain Kendall McFaull and Dinos fourth-year rearguard Dylan Busenius traded singles in the second period.

    In the shootout, Huskies forward Connor Gay scored the lone goal giving the Huskies a 1-0 win in the shootout and a 2-1 victory in the game. Cooke stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout, while Greenfield turned away one of two shooters.

    The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve to 6-0-1, while the Dinos, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, saw their record move to 3-1-3.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday in Calgary.

Hebig’s hatty powers Blades to big road upset win

Cameron Hebig is on fire for the Blades.

    Cameron Hebig’s first hat trick of the WHL season powered the Saskatoon Blades to major 4-3 road upset win over the Broncos in Swift Current.

    With the Blades trailing the Broncos 1-0 entering the second period, Hebig went to work scoring three straight goals to give the visitors a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission at the Credit Union i-plex. Saskatoon’s advantage grew to 4-1 at the 5:51 mark of the third when 17-year-old forward Tyler Lees potted his second career WHL goal.

    The Broncos attempted to mount a comeback before a crowd of 2,132 spectators. Just 12 seconds after Lees’ goal, Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin netted his ninth of the campaign to cut the Blades lead to 4-2.

    Shortly before the midway point of the third, Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin scored to further trim the Blades lead to 4-3. Swift Current was unable to final the equalizer from that point. Winger and Finnish import Aleksi Heponiemi scored for the Broncos in the first period.

    Ryan Kubic turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades, who ended a three-game winless skid to improve to 4-7-1. Logan Flodell turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos, who fell to 9-2-1. The Broncos are currently ranked second in the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 rankings.

    With his hat trick, Hebig has 10 goals and seven assist in 10 games with the Blades this season.

    The Blades return to action on Saturday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (9-4-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

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

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Huskies shake away pesky Pronghorns with comeback

Logan McVeigh (#14) sets to embrace teammates after scoring an OT winner.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team always seems to have a battle on their hands, when the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns come to town.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies needed some late game heroics to rally from a 3-2 deficit and pull out an exciting 4-3 double overtime victory. Trailing the Pronghorns 3-2 late in the third, the Huskies pulled netminder Jordon Cooke for an extra attacker.

    With 75 seconds to play, Huskies right-winger Levi Cable attempted a wraparound and his shot rebounded out to teammate Collin Shirley, who was alone in front of the Pronghorns goal. Shirley fired the equalizer home into an empty right side of the U of Lethbridge goal to force a 3-3 tie and send the U Sports regular season contest to overtime.

Centre Logan McVeigh gets set to fire a shot on goal for the Huskies.

    After a scoreless five minute four-on-four overtime period, the Huskie won the contest 44 seconds into a three-on-three second overtime session with a breakaway goal from centre Logan McVeigh. After a shot block in the Huskies end, McVeigh found himself in a race with Pronghorns captain Mitchell Maxwell for the puck into the centre ice zone.

    Maxwell toe picked and went down to allow McVeigh to have a clean rush into the Pronghorns zone. McVeigh smartly tucked a backhand shot past Pronghorns netminder Garret Hughson to win the game.

    Hughson had a spectacular night turning away 46 shots to take the loss in goal for the Pronghorns, who fell to 1-1-1.

    “It was a tight finish,” said McVeigh, whose Huskies improved to 3-0. “Coming back late in games, that is what good teams do.

Winger Collin Shirley (#11) celebrates scoring a game-tying goal.

    “We want to be that good team that can be down a goal late in the third and comeback, so that is good for us.”

    The Pronghorns protested at first thinking McVeigh hauled down Maxwell to get the breakaway. At full speed, it could appear that McVeigh committed an infraction, but that wasn’t the case.

    “They were pretty upset about it,” said McVeigh. “I thought it was just a battle for the puck.

    “I managed to stay on my feet, and he managed to fall over. It was just a hockey play.”

    The Huskies actually never held the lead in Friday’s encounter until McVeigh potted the winner in overtime.

    In the first period, rookie right-winger Tyler Maltby gave the Pronghorns a 1-0, but fifth-year left-winger Josh Roach tallied for the Huskies to send the teams into the first intermission locked in a 1-1 tie.

    The Huskies brought tonnes of pressure Hughson’s way in the second period, but the Pronghorns exited the frame with a 2-1 edge, when Maxwell fired home a shot from the slot with 59 seconds remaining in the stanza.

Pronghorns G Garret Hughson (#29) pokes the puck out of danger.

    At the 3:33 mark of the third, the Huskies tied the contest up at 2-2, when Roach found rookie left-winger Alex Forsberg on a backdoor feed. Forsberg made no mistake in firing the puck into an open cage.

    Just over three minutes later, sophomore right-winger Torrin White tipped home a point shot from Maxwell to put the Pronghorns up 3-2.

    That set the stage for the late heroics coming from Shirley and McVeigh for the Huskies. The pair have teamed up with Forsberg to form a dangerous offensive line for the Huskies in the early going of the campaign.

    “I love playing with Collin (Shirley) all the time,” said McVeigh. “To see him getting that equalizer late in the third, it is awesome.

    “Thankfully, I managed to get the overtime (winner).”

Netminder Jordon Cooke (#32) makes a big stop for the Huskies.

    While Hughson had to stand on his head, Huskies fourth-year star veteran goalie Jordon Cooke put on a strong performance turning away 27 shots to pick up the win in the U of S net.

    Friday’s game was a real high tempo contest with a lot of back-and-fourth action up and down the ice.
    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford, and McVeigh is expecting another tough contest.

    “They are not usually that great of a team in the standings, but they always play us well,” said McVeigh. “They always play well in this rink.

    “Their goaltender played a heck of a game. They always play us hard, and thank goodness we got the win.”

Anderson steals victory for Pronghorns women’s team

Kira Bannatyne had an assist for the Huskies.

    Netminder Alicia Anderson turned into “the Great Wall” of Lethbridge on Friday night, and that spelled big trouble for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The third-year Calgary product turned away 44 shots to back the host U of Lethbridge Pronghorns to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Huskies at the Nicholas Sheran Arena. Alli Borrow scored at the 4:02 mark of a four-on-four overtime period to give the Pronghorns (2-1) the win.

    The Huskies outshot the Pronghorns 21-9 in the opening frame, but came away only with a 1-0 lead on a tally from third-year forward Elizabeth Salyn. Rookie centre Chloe Smith and fifth-year defender Kira Bannatyne picked up assists on the play.

    Pronghorns fourth-year forward Brett Campbell scored to force a 1-1 tie at the 2:52 mark of the second.

    The Huskies, who were playing without star fifth-year captain Kaitlin Willoughby due to a suspected undisclosed injury, couldn’t find the go ahead goal despite hold a big edge in territorial play. Jasey Book stopped 20 shots to take the loss in net for the Huskies (1-1-1).

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday night in Lethbridge.

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

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Cougars gut out road win over energized Huskies

Bailey Braden (#8) celebrates her winning goal with Jane Kish (#31).

    In sports, you can play well and lose, and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team got a lesson in that fact during their regular season opener.

    The Huskies came out with a very strong effort on Friday night against their provincial rivals the University of Regina Cougars and outshot the visitors 44-18 at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Powered by a 42-save effort from third-year goaltender Jane Kish, the Cougars skated away with a 3-2 victory in the opening game of the Canada West regular season for both sides.

    The Cougars played the perfect gritty defensive road hockey game, took advantage of their scoring opportunities when they came and skated away with victory.

    U of S fired a steady barrage of shots on Kish and tried to go high on the netminder that stands 5-foot-4. Kish stood tall in a stellar effort.

Chloe Smith (#13) celebrates her first career U Sports goal.

    The Huskies were unable to score on four power play chances despite have good puck moment. One positive bounce for the Cougars resulted in a short-handed goal from fifth-year winger Bailey Braden, who scored the winning goal to break a 2-2 tie at the 16:14 mark of the second period. The Cougars also managed to cash in on their lone power-play chance.

    U of S jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 79 seconds into Friday’s game, when rookie centre Chloe Smith banged home her first career regular season U Sports goal during a net scramble situation. Moments later, the Huskies thought they had a goal from winger Courtney Cormack, but it was waved off after the officials determined the puck didn’t cross the goal-line.

    Around the midway point of the opening frame, the Cougars surged ahead 2-1 scoring two goals 1:56 apart from each other. First, Cougars fourth-year forward Emma Waldenberger scored in close on the U of R’s lone power-play chance to tie things up at 1-1.

Chloe Smith (#13) breaks into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    After that tally, Shaelyn Vallotton had the Cougars second goal of the surge taking a perfect pass from linemate Jordan Kulbida across the face of the U of S goal, and tucked the puck into an open caged to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

    The Huskies gained momentum scoring early in the second, when sophomore winger Bailee Bourassa wired home a wrist shot to the top left corner of the Cougars goal to force a 2-2 tie. A short time after getting the equalizer, U of S had a big chance to go ahead but star captain Kaitlin Willoughby was denied in close twice by Kish.

    With 3:46 to play in the second, the Huskies were working on a power play, but they were caught on a line change, when the puck took a bounce off the boards resulting in an odd person situation favouring the Cougars in the Huskies zone.

Goalie Jane Kish made 42 saves to back the Cougars to a gutty road win.

    Cougars rookie Czech winger Martina Maskova won a race to a loose puck and slid a pass while on her butt to an open Braden in front of the Huskies net. Braden snapped a shot past Book to put the Cougars up 3-2.

    In the third, the Huskies held a 14-2 edge in the shots on goal department, but the Cougars kept a lot of those chances to the outside. The visitors keyed on protecting their lead defensively by dumping the puck into the Huskies zone and trapping the host side as they came up the ice.

    The Huskies thought they scored with 7:19 to play in the frame during a net scramble, but the officials quickly waved off that tally saying the puck didn’t go into the net.

    The Huskies had two solid chances inside of the final minute of the third to try and get the equalizer. A screen shot by Willoughby was turned aside by Kish.

Kayla Kirwan (#11) misses a last attempt to get the equalizer for the Huskies.

    With about 15 seconds to play, Huskies sophomore defender Kayla Kirwan pinched in deep to the left side of the Cougars goal and had Kish falling down leaving the top of the goal exposed.

    Kirwan lifted a backhander over top of the Cougars goal ending the Huskies last real chance to force overtime.

    Book turned away 15 shots to take the loss in the Huskies net.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

McVeigh’s three helpers power Huskies to win

    Logan McVeigh was the main setup man and eight different players found the back of the net to power the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team to a season opening win on Friday night in Regina.

    McVeigh, who topped the Huskies in scoring last season, had three assists to back the Huskies to an impressive 8-2 victory over the U of Regina Cougars at the Co-operators Centre in Regina in the Canada West regular season opener for both sides.

    Just past the midway point of the first period, the Huskies scored three goals 59 seconds apart from each other coming from the sticks of Andrew Johnson, Alex Forsberg and Levi Cable. Wyatt Johnson and fifth-year captain Kendall McFaull potted singles in the second to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.

Carson Stadnyk, Parker Thomas and Josh Roach rounded out the scoring for the Huskies in the third. Zachary Zborosky and Tyler King responded with singles on the power play for the Cougars in the third.

    Jordon Cooke made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Michael Herringer turned away 37 shots to take loss in goal for the Cougars.

    The team teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Steenbergen on fire early for Broncos

Tyler Steenbergen (#17) has 10 goals in four games.

  It seems like no one can stop Swift Current Broncos star winger Tyler Steenbergen in the early part of the WHL season.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, Steenbergen had an impressive night firing home four goals and collecting an assist powering the Broncos past the host Blades 6-2 before 3,536 spectators. In helping the Broncos vault out to a 4-0 start, the 19-year-old Sylvan Lake, Alta., product has 10 goals, six assists and is a plus-12 in the plus-minus department. He also took home Canadian Hockey League player of the week honours for the week ending Oct. 1.

    Against the Blades on Friday night, the Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to singles coming from captain Glenn Gawdin and centre Kaden Elder. Steenbergen proceeded to score three straight in the second to give the Broncos a 5-0 lead and added his fourth goal of the night in the third.

    Braylon Shmyr and Bradly Goethals netted singles for the Blades in the third.

    Logan Flodell turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Joel Grzybowski stopped 18 shots to take the loss in goal for the Blades (1-3).

    The Broncos return to Swift Current on Saturday to host the Kootenay Ice (2-3-1) at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union i-plex. The Blades travel to Regina to face the Pats (2-3-1) at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

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

Bourassa finds groove with Huskies

Rookie forward brings clutch playoff history from Weyburn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bailee Bourassa bursts into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bailee Bourassa looks for a shooting lane.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Huskies celebrate their win over the Pronghorns.

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

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

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

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

Huskies men’s team eliminates Pronghorns

Wyatt Johnson scored twice on Saturday for the Huskies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Puck luck smiles on Huskies

Kennedy Harris breaks up ice for the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team never gets upset when a few bounces go their way.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies built a 3-0 on the Mount Royal University Cougars due to some positive bounce breaks. From there, the hosts ultimately hung on for a 3-2 victory to end a two-game skid.

    The Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports top 10 rankings, jumped ahead 1-0 just before the midway point of the first period, when a seeing-eye point shot from offensive defender Leah Bohlken found the back of the goal. The two clubs played a fairly even opening 20 minutes, where the Huskies held a 9-7 edge in shots.

    Just 2:10 into the second period, the Dogs went ahead 2-0 thanks to a positive bounce goal from fourth-year forward Kennedy Harris. Harris was trying to centre the puck from the right corner of the offensive zone and managed to bank the puck off the legs of Cougars goalie Zoe DeBeauville into the net.

    A short time after that tally, the Huskies went up 3-0 thanks to some good awareness from third-year utility player Brooke Patron, who was playing on the U of S’s top line. After Huskies star winger Kaitlin Willoughby was stopped on a drive to the Cougars goal, Patron found the puck loose in the crease and popped it home to give her side a three-goal edge.

Kori Herner circles with the puck in the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    DeBeauville was injured on the play in a collision with Willoughby and left the game stopping eight-of-11 shots. Emma Pincott entered the contest in relief and turned away all nine shots fired in her direction.

    At that point, the Huskies started playing at a faster pace. They almost picked up their fourth goal on a two-on-one. Feisty forward Brooklyn Haubrich found a pinching Bohlken alone on the left side of the Cougars goal with a perfect pass, but Bohlkin was stoned by Pincott.

    The Cougars managed to gain some traction before the second frame ended, when Sarah Weninger picked up her fourth tally of the season to cut the Huskies edge to 3-1.

Jasey Book makes a stop in goal for the Huskies.

    In the third, the Huskies found themselves pinned in the defensive zone. The Cougars worked hard on the forecheck, but they were only able to beat rookie goalie Jacey Book with 3:44 to play.

    During a net scramble, Gabreille Seper picked up the rebound from a Weninger shot to cut the host’s lead to 3-2.

    That was as close as the Cougars would get in their search for the equalizer.
    Book slammed the door shut making 12 stops in the third period and 24 saves overall in the contest. The Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats midget AAA team grad has won both of her starts with the U of S.

    The Huskies improve to 6-3 with the win. The Cougars fall to 2-5-2.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Huskies men’s team thumped on the road

Jordon Cooke and the Huskies had a rough night in Calgary.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team had a second period they would like to forget on Friday night.

    Taking on the Mount Royal University Cougars, who are rated seventh in the U Sports top 10 rankings, the Huskies gave up four goals in the second period to fall behind 4-0. The Cougars cruised through the third period to post a 6-0 victory in Calgary.

    Cam Maclise, Luke Simpson, Jesse Lees and Jamal Watson all netted singles for the Cougars in the second. David Stephens and Matthew Brown rounded out the scoring for the host side in the third.

    Colin Cooper stopped all 25 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Cougars. Jordon Cooke turned away 18-of-23 shots starting and taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Backup Daniel Wapple stopped 6-of-7 shots making a relief appearance for the visitors.

    The Huskies, who were rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings, fell to 6-2-1. The Cougars improved to 5-2.

    The two teams face each other again on Saturday in Calgary.

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

Forsberg blasts Huskies to OT victory

Rearguard scores twice in comeback over Pronghorns

Jesse Forsberg celebrates his OT winner.

    A pair of Jesse Forsberg point blasts broke the hearts of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Pronghorns led the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 2-1 going into the third period before Forsberg stepped up to the forefront. At the 11:55 mark of the third, the third-year defenceman wired a point blast past Pronghorns goaltender Garret Hughson to tie the contest up at 2-2.

    The contest proceeded to go to overtime, and at the 3:31 mark of the extra session while working on a four-on-three power play, Forsberg drove home the winner from the point to give the Huskies to a 3-2 victory.

    During the Huskies first five games, Forsberg has jumped out to a fast start netting three goals and three assists. The Waldheim, Sask., product is looking to surpass his Canada West career high totals of three goals and seven assists recorded in 16 regular season games last season.

    Forsberg’s heroics allowed the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports top 10 rankings, to find a way to improve to 4-1 against a foe that came out playing at a high level.

    In the opening frame, the Pronghorns had the Huskies pinned for lengthy stretches in their own zone holding a 17-6 edge in shots on goal. Thanks to stellar play of netminder Jordan Cooke, the hosts exited the first 20 minute locking in a 1-1 draw.

    Third-year centre Justin Valentino beat Cooke on the power play during a net scramble to put the Pronghorns up 1-0. The Huskies gained some traction when Logan McVeigh and Carson Stadnyk combined to set up Michael Sofillas for his third of the season to force a 1-1 tie with 2:50 remaining in the first.

Josh Roach charges into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    The teams played an even second, but Cooke had to make a few bailout saves, when the Huskies made a number of turnovers in the centre ice zone.

    One of those turnovers did result in Valentino’s second of the night to give the Pronghorns a 2-1 edge with 6:07 to play in the second. After U of L received a giveaway in the centre ice zone, Valentino score after his side applied a stretch of sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

    The Huskies came out flying in the third playing their best hockey of the contest. After Forsberg picked up the equalizer, he almost didn’t have a chance to be the overtime hero.

    In the dying seconds of the third period, Huskies captain Kendall McFaull was set up alone at the side of the Pronghorns goal, but Hughson stretched over to deny the scoring chance.

    Cooke made 33 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Hughson turned away 30 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Pronghorns, whose record moved to 1-1-1.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Huskies women’s team wins fourth straight

Kaitlin Willoughby zips up ice for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team won their fourth straight game overcoming a hot opposing goaltender.

    On Friday night in Lethbridge, U of Lethbridge Pronghorns netminder Alicia Anderson had a sensational outing making 43 saves, but the Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports top 10 rankings, weren’t kept at bay forever. They skated away with a 4-2 victory.

    Aislinn Kooistra gave the Pronghorns a 1-0 lead at the 5:40 mark of the first.

    The Huskies found the equalizer with 3:11 to play in the first, when sophomore winger Courtney Cormack netted her first of the season.

    U of S surged ahead 3-1 in the second, when fourth year veterans Kaitlin Willoughby and Kori Herner both netted singles. Jodi Gentile scored for the Pronghorns to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2 heading into the second intermission.

    Sophomore forward Shyan Elias scored for the Huskies on the power play in the third to help the visitors seal victory. Former Swift Current Wildcats star netminder Jasey Book turned away 14 shots to pick up her first career regular season victory for the Huskies in her first start. The Huskies improved to 4-1 with the win.

    The Pronghorns fell to 1-3-1 with the loss.

    Anderson, who is in her second season with the Pronghorns, has stopped 160-of-169 shots in three starts in the current campaign to post a .947 save percentage and a 2.98 goals against average. She has faced an average of 56 shots a game.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday in Lethbridge.

CIS re-branded as U Sports

The U Sports logo.

    On Thursday, the governing body for university sports in Canada launched a re-brand of its name and logo.

    From now on, the governing body that was known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) will now be known as U Sports. The U Sports name will be used in both English and French. It oversees the competition involving teams at 56 universities, a total of around 12,000 student athletes, about 500 coaches and 21 national championships in 12 different sports.

    The logo is a simple standing “U” with a maple leaf in the middle. The maple leaf in the new logo evolved from a unique leaf found on an old CIAU (Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union) letterhead from the 1980s. The governing body for university sports in Canada ran under the CIAU name until switching to the CIS name in 2001.

    The change comes under the watch of current U Sports CEO Graham Brown, who was hired in the fall of 2015.

    In recent years, there has been some talk about changing the name for the governing body for university sports in Canada to a moniker that was viewed as less clunky. The U Sports name definitely achieves that objective.

    While it is not normal for a league to change its name in the middle of a season, the change still came during the early stages of the university sports season in Canada. The streamlined name comes just in time before most of the fall semester only sports begin their respective playoff cycles.

    The early reviews for the new name have been good, so here is hoping the re-branded U Sports will be able to attract more national attention and sponsorships it deserves.

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

Shirley shines in OT, Stars repeat as Saskatchewan champs

The Saskatoon Stars celebrate back-to-back SFMAAAHL title wins.

    SWIFT CURRENT – At age 14, Grace Shirley showed she is ready for the big moments.

    On Saturday night, the skilled forward blasted home a goal at the 4:08 mark of overtime to deliver the Saskatoon Stars to a 4-3 victory over the host Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in Game 4 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series. The win at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current allowed the Stars to take the best-of-five series 3-1 and capture the Fedoruk Cup for a second straight year.

    “It was really overwhelming,” said Shirley after scoring her OT winner. “It was crazy. I was just kind of happy to see it squeak in there at the last point there.

    “It couldn’t be better with these girls by my side. I have so much respect for them. We’ve build such good friendships, so it is just amazing.”

    For a while, it looked like the series was going to head back to Saskatoon for a series deciding Game 5 on Sunday. The Wildcats led 3-1 with 4:39 to play in the second period, before the Stars cued the comeback.

Grace Shirley blasts home the OT winner for the Stars.

    Just 58 seconds after the Wildcats went up 3-1, Stars defender Rayah DeCorby fired home an accurate long distance off-speed shot to cut the gap to 3-2.

    Saskatoon tied the contest up at 3-3 at the 9:03 mark of the third, when Anna Leschyshyn potted home the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Julia Rongve.

    “To be able to come back after that game and come out on the right end of it, I am so proud of the girls,” said Stars head coach Greg Slobodzian. “They worked so hard, and then to go down like that in a game when you’re outplaying them, that is tough.

    “They didn’t change anything. They didn’t mope. They didn’t pout. They just as we say believed in the process and came through in the end.”

    The Stars took a 1-0 with 38.81 seconds to play in the first, when 14-year-old rookie forward Joelle Fiala converted a tick-tack-toe passing play from linemates Grace Shirley and Abby Shirley. Saskatoon had Swift Current pinned in its own end during the opening 20 minutes holding a 13-1 edge in shots on goal.

Stars captain Danielle Nogier is stopped by Wildcats goalie Jacey Book.

    The game’s momentum turned in the second, when the Wildcats surged ahead on three straight markers. First, Josee Casavant scored from in close, and just 1:42 later, Merissa Zerr slipped a beauty pass across the face of the Saskatoon goal to allow linemate Janessa Fournier to pop in a tally to give the hosts a 2-1 edge.

    Right-winger Taylor Kirwan tipped home a power-play goal with 4:39 to play in the second to give the Wildcats a 3-1 edge.

    Saskatoon proceeded to rally back. Stars captain Danielle Nogier said taking the series clincher in come-from-behind style was sweet.

    “That felt extra special, because for a minute there, we were starting to question,” said Nogier. “We pulled together. We didn’t have any doubt, and it feels so good.”

    Emma Johnson made 17 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Jasey Book turned away 35 shots to take the loss in net for the Wildcats.

Janessa Fournier, left, celebrates scoring for the Wildcats.

    The Stars topped the SFMAAAHL regular season standings with a 24-4 record, while the Wildcats were second in the eight-team circuit with a 19-6-3 mark. Every game in the SFMAAAHL championship series was decided by one goal.

    Nogier, who will join the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team next season, was proud her team was able to repeat as SFMAAAHL champs.

    “I can’t explain it,” said Nogier, who was an assistant captain last season. “Words can’t describe how amazing this feeling is just winning this with my girls, my family.

    “This was so special just knowing that I helped lead the girls to this victory, and they worked their butts off. I don’t take credit for anything they did.”

    Entering the season, the Stars were not considered a sure thing, when it came to repeating as champions. In the off-season, they lost superstar forwards Sophie Shirley, who is Grace’s older sister, and Nara Elia to the Notre Dame Hounds Junior Women’s Hockey League team. Both Sophie Shirley and Elia were eligible to return to the Stars as 16-year-olds.

Anna Leschyshyn breaks into the offensive zone for the Stars.

    When the Stars claimed their first SFMAAAHL title in 2014-15, they had one of those rare special campaigns. They posted a 45-5 overall record, which included a 25-3 mark in the regular season. Saskatoon also won the prestigious Mac’s tournament in Calgary and a bronze medal at the Esso Cup national championship tournament.

    In 2015-16, the Stars had to prove they were still a good team without their two superstars, but they were viewed a beatable club.

    Slobodzian, who was head coach for both SFMAAAHL title wins, didn’t want to rate one as being more special than the other, but he noted they were enjoyable for their own unique reasons.

    “They’re different,” said Slobodzian. “The first one obviously was special.

    “This one, I don’t think a lot of people in the province thought we would do it this year. We built a new identity, and we believed in the new identity and it just worked. Because of that, it has a real special feeling to it.”

    The Stars advance to a best-of-three regional final against the Manitoba champion Yellowhead Chiefs, who are based out of Shoal Lake. All three of those contests will be played in Shoal Lake from April 1-3.
    The winner of the regional series qualifies for the Esso Cup national championship tournament, which runs April 17 to 23 in Weyburn.

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