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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right-winger Josh Roach led the Huskies in scoring.

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

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

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

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

Captain Kendall McFaull won the U Sports community service award.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taran Kozun performed admirably in the playoffs for the Huskies.

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

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

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

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

Carson Stadnyk had the playoff series winner versus the Dinos.

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

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

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

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

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

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Huskies will be underdogs at this year’s University Cup

Levi Cable, left, Taran Kozun and the Huskies are playing with house money.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team has nothing to lose and everything to gain at this year’s University Cup.

    The Huskies are usually viewed as one of the contenders at the U Sports national men’s hockey championship tournament when they get there. Last year, the Huskies advanced to the tournament’s championship game, where they fell 5-3 to the host University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.

    This year is a little bit of a different story as the University Cup tournament returns to Fredericton, N.B., for a second consecutive time. The Dogs limp into the University Cup as a beat up team on the injury front.

    They will be without star netminder Jordon Cooke, who suffered a knee injury in a 6-4 playoff win over the University of Calgary Dinos on Feb. 22. Cooke went down after being crashed into in the Huskies goal.

    Cooke had been named the goalie-of-the-year for Canada West this season for a third straight year. He was the U Sports goaltender-of-the-year and a first team U Sports all-Canadian in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns.

Jesse Forsberg has been key in controlling the back end for the Huskies.

    The absence of the Leduc, Alta., product is a huge one without even adding in the fact he is the Huskies second all-time career leader in regular season wins (59) and saves (2,358).

    Sophomore forward Wyatt Johnson is battling a concussion. First line forwards Michael Sofillas and Josh Roach have also been battling injuries, but there is a chance they could be in the lineup for the Huskies. Roach has a higher likelihood of returning than Sofillas.

    Centre Logan McVeigh returned to the Huskies for the Canada West championships series after missing three games with a broken jaw, which is an injury he is playing with.

    Besides the injuries, the Huskies head to nationals after being swept in the best-of-three Canada West title series by the University of Alberta Golden Bears 2-0 in Edmonton.

    The Huskies had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in Game 1 of that series played on March 2, before the Golden Bears rolled to a 5-2 victory. One night later in Game 2, the Golden Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead before coasting to a 5-1 victory.

    Both of those emotionally charged contests attracted respective crowds of 2,896 and 2,963 to the Clare Drake Arena who likely wanted to see the Huskies lose as much as see the Golden Bears win on both of those nights.

Taran Kozun (#31) carries the load in goal for the Huskies.

    However, the “Madness of March” brings opportunity. In elite-eight single elimination tournaments like the University Cup, odds increase for underdog squads like the Huskies to produce upsets. The tournament kicks off with two quarter-final games on Thursday.

    The Huskies, who are seeded sixth, play in Friday’s second quarter-final game against the third seeded McGill University Redmen, who are the champions of the Ontario University Athletics conference.

    The Redmen posted a 22-4-2 record in the regular season and a 7-2 mark in the OUA playoffs. Centre Jerome Verrier topped the Redmen in regular season scoring with 12 goals and 29 assists. Second-year forward Christophe Lalonde topped the Redmen with 13 goals in the regular season, while also posting eight assists in 25 appearances.

    Defenceman Dominic Talbot-Tassi quarterbacked the Redmen’s offence on the back end topping all of the team’s rearguards in scoring with eight goals and 17 assists in the regular season.

Josh Roach has a good chance of returning from injury at nationals.

    Netminder Louis-Philip Guindon carries the load in goal as the start for the Redmen posting an 18-4-2 record, a 2.22 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and three shutouts.

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

    Roach led the Huskies in regular season scoring with 13 goals and 24 assists in 27 appearances. McVeigh was second in team scoring with seven goals and 22 assists in 27 appearances.

    Rookie Alex Forsberg had a strong season recording 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 regular season games. Older brother Jesse Forsberg was stellar on the back end leads all Huskies defencemen in scoring with five goals and 15 assists in 24 appearances.

    Alex Forsberg plays left wing on the Huskies grittiest line - which should likely be the team’s most noticeable line - with fifth-year veteran John Lawrence at centre and fourth-year veteran Parker Thomas at right wing.

    Taran Kozun will carry the load in goal for the Huskies in the absence of Cooke. In five regular season starts, Kozun posted a 4-0-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .924 save percentage and one shutout. He was the WHL goaltender of the year in the 2014-15 campaign while playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    The team is guided a stellar coaching staff led by longtime veteran head coach Dave Adolph who have pretty much seen everything.

The Huskies hope to celebrate a few magical goal moments at nationals.

    While the Huskies are beat up, they have enough depth to be a problem for any team they face. They still have the potential to be in one of the two semifinal games on Saturday playing the winner of quarter-final contest between the Golden Bears and the Acadia University Axemen and in Sunday’s gold medal game.

    The Huskies are playing with house money in this trip to nationals. It provides an opportunity to write a unique chapter in their storied history.

    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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Blades rise past Raiders

Late season clash lives up to rivalry’s reputation

Brad Goethals, right, celebrates his winning goal with Nolan Maier.

    It was a game that had a little bit of everything.

    On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders renewed their traditional rivalry in one of the most important late WHL regular season clashes held between the two clubs in years.
    The encounter drew one of the biggest crowds of the season to see a Blades game at the SaskTel Centre as 4,444 spectators turned out including a healthy contingent of Raiders followers from Prince Albert.

    For the first 40 minutes, the Raiders lived up to their traditional rough and tumble image that included a mixture of some skill. The visitors seemed intent on hitting everything in sight, and they built a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

    The Raiders broke a 2-2 draw late in the second period on a picturesque power-play goal as forwards Cole Fonstad and Kody McDonald combined to set up Jordy Stallard on a tick-tack-toe backdoor scoring play to go ahead 3-2.

The Blades and Raiders engaged in some rough stuff on Saturday night.

    The tally was Stallard’s second goal of the contest as he scored his first goal earlier on in the second frame.

    In the third, the Blades hit another gear and rolled off four straight goals to post a 6-3 victory. The Raiders stopped hitting and were on their heels for the entire frame.

    At the 9:15 mark of the third, the Blades tied things up at 3-3, when centre Logan Christensen scored on what seemed like a harmless shot from a bad angle. Just 73 seconds later, 19-year-old centre Brad Goethals potted his first of two goals on the night to put the hosts up 4-3.

    Momentum continued to be entrenched on the Blades side from that point. With 4:23 to play in the third, right-winger Max Gerlach centred a pass from behind the Prince Albert net to overage left-winger Braylon Shmyr, who was position in front of the Raiders goal. Shmyr wired home a shot to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net to put the Blades up 5-3.

Logan Christensen started the Blades surge in the third.

    Goethals finished the surge scoring into an empty net with 2.7 seconds to play to post a two-goal night.

    With the win, the Blades moved into sole possession of the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 27-26-2-1 record to sit two points up on the 22-22-9-2 Raiders. The Raiders have a game in hand on the Blades.

    The sixth clash of the 2017-18 campaign between the Blades and Raiders had many different talking points. The biggest was the finish in the third period, which saw the Blades prevail for the fourth time in the six head-to-head meetings.

    After the Raiders had been in control over the first 40 minutes, it had to be surprising for those in attendance to see the Blades storm to victory like they did in the third period. The finish was the lasting impression most would have taken away from the contest.

    The action in the third contrasted with what took place in the first 40 minutes. In the first two periods, the Raiders did a good job of getting the puck deep in the Blades zone.

Jordy Stallard celebrates scoring for the Raiders.

    The visitors established a physical forecheck and often had the hosts pinned in their own zone.

    The Blades threw some hits too, but the Raiders were the more aggressive team physically.

    Saskatoon still managed to take a 2-1 into the first intermission on singles from Michael Farren and Josh Paterson. Star right-winger Parker Kelly had the reply for Prince Albert.

    With 1:33 to play in the first, Kelly played a role in one of the moments from the contest that would be remembered for all the wrong reasons. He drove Blades rookie centre Kirby Dach from behind into the boards in the right corner of the Prince Albert zone.

    Kelly was given a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct. The infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL league office for a possible suspension.

Braylon Shmyr scored for the Blades on Saturday.

    Dach left the game and didn’t return for either the second or third periods.

    Kelly’s hit started a scrum that featured a one-on-one fight between McDonald and Blades import defenceman Mark Rubinchik. That fight ended with McDonald tossing Rubinchik to the ground.

    The game featured some strong goaltending as well. Nolan Maier turned away 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ian Scott turned away 24 of 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

    The Raiders now return home to face the Swift Current Broncos (39-13-3-1) on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    The Blades take on the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats (29-23-5) on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    With how intriguing the Blades clash with the Raiders was on Saturday, fans on both sides have to be hoping that a lot will still be on the line when the two teams close their respective regular season schedules playing each other on back-to-back nights on March 16 in Prince Albert and March 17 in Saskatoon.

Stadnyk, Lawrence spark Huskies’ romp

John Lawrence, left, scored twice for the Huskies.

    Carson Stadnyk and John Lawrence ensured the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team had little drama in closing their U Sports regular season schedule with a win.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Stadnyk and Lawrence each scored twice to power the Huskies to a 7-2 victory over the Mount Royal University Cougars. Stadnyk scored the game’s first two goals in the first period and Lawrence tallied late in the first frame and early in the second period to stake the Huskies out to a 4-0 lead.

    The host’s edge grew to 6-0 in the second on singles coming from Collin Shirley and Kohl Bauml.

Before the second ended, Austin Adamson and David Stephens netted singles for the Cougars to cut the Huskies lead to 6-2.

    Alex Forsberg rounded out the game’s scoring with a single for the Huskies in the third.

Carson Stadnyk, right, had a two-goal night for the Huskies.

    Taran Kozun turned away 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Wyatt Hoflin turned away 26 shots to take the setback in the Cougars net.

    The Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, improved to 20-7-1 to sit second in the Canada West Conference. The Dogs have won 20-or-more regular season games for the third straight year.

    The Cougars fell to 12-14-2 with the loss to finish sixth in Canada West. The Cougars will travel to Winnipeg, Man., to face the University of Manitoba Bisons in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series, which starts with Game 1 this coming Friday.

    The Huskies have a bye to host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, which will be held Feb. 22 to 24 at Rutherford at times to be announced.

Huskies gets second on Vance’s ninth shutout

Jessica Vance picked up her ninth shutout.

    Playing in their biggest regular season game since 2014, the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team seized the moment.

    On Saturday night at the Flames Community Arena in Calgary, the Huskies went into their final game of their U Sports regular season schedule knowing they would lock up second place in the Canada West Conference with a win and earn a bye to host a best-of-three conference semifinal series. They proceeded the blank the host Mount Royal University Cougars 3-0.

    The win allowed the Huskies to improve to 19-7-2 to lock up second place in Canada West. Their win total was also regular season team record.

    U of S last finished second in Canada West in the 2013-14 campaign posting an 18-4-6 mark. They went on to win the Canada West title and a bronze medal at the U Sports national championship tournament.

    This season, they earned their second place finish compiling 58 points in the Canada West standings. In the Canada West women’s hockey standings, teams earn three points for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time losses. The Huskies earned their 58 points on 18 regulation wins, one extra time win and two extra time losses.

    The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (19-5-4), who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished third in Canada West with 56 points in the standings built off 14 regulation wins, five extra time wins and four extra time setbacks.

    The defending U Sports national champion U of Alberta Pandas (19-5-4), who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished fourth in Canada West with 55 points in the standings coming off 13 regulation wins, six extra time wins and four extra time setbacks.

    In Saturday’s clash with the Cougars, fifth-year winger Kori Herner set up fifth-year centre Kennedy Harris for a goal in the first period to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge.

Kori Herner had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Herner potted an unassisted tally at the 13:25 mark of the third to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge. Feisty centre Brooklyn Haubrich scored an empty-net goal for the Huskies inside of the final minute of the third with star captain Kaitlin Willoughby picking up an assist.

    Sophomore netminder Jessica Vance turned away 20 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Vance had nine shutouts during the regular season which ties former Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in one Canada West regular season. McCullough posted nine shutouts in the 2000-01 campaign.

    Lindsey Post, who is another former Pandas netminder, holds the Canada West record for most shutouts in one regular season at 10 recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.

    In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, and the Huskies posted 12 total shutouts as a team in the campaign.
    The Huskies equaled the Canada West team record for most shutouts in one regular season at 12 matching the mark set by the Pandas in 2008-09.

    The Cougars fell to 10-17-1 with the loss to finish sixth in Canada West. They will travel to Vancouver, B.C., to face the Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series with Game 1 beginning this coming Friday.

    The Huskies will host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series from Feb. 23 to 25 at the Rutherford Rink at times to be announced.

Stars’ Shirley vaults to 10^th in SFMAAAHL career scoring

Grace Shirley scored four goals for the Stars on Saturday.

    Grace Shirley delivered a performance for the ages for the Saskatoon Stars and vaulted into 10^th place on the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s career regular season scoring list as a result.

    On Saturday at the Agriplace Arena, the 16-year-old centre posted four goals and an assist to lead the Stars to an 11-2 victory over the Regina Rebels. The four goals were the most tallies Shirley has scored in any game this season.

    Thanks to that effort, Shirley now has 68 goals and 46 assists for 114 points in 79 career SFMAAAHL regular season games. She passed Delaney Frey, who played for the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings and the Rebels from 2010 to 2015, for 10^th on the SFMAAAHL’s career regular season scoring list. Frey now sits 11^th in SFMAAAHL career regular season scoring with 59 goals and 54 assists for 113 points coming in 119 career regular season games.

    In the 2017-18 campaign, Shirley has 28 goals and 16 assists in 20 regular season games. Her 28 goals equals the Stars team record for most goals in a season set by Sara Greschner in the 2010-11 campaign. Greschner, who later played for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, had 28 goals and 12 assists in 28 regular season games in the 2010-11 season for the Stars.

    The Stars received a hat trick from Joelle Fiala on Saturday in their win over the Rebels, while Jordyn Gerlitz, Anna Leschyshyn, Mackenna Parker and Kaitlin Jockims all had singles.

    Leschyshyn had three assists to go along with her goal. She sits 13^th on the career SFMAAAHL regular season scoring list with 52 goals and 56 assists for 108 points in 84 career regular season games.

Joelle Fiala had a hat trick for the Stars on Saturday.

    Parker had two assists to go along with her goal. The Stars captain became the second player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to surpass 150 points in career regular season scoring. She has 76 goals and 76 assists in 101 career regular season games.

    In the current campaign, Parker leads the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 27 goals and 27 assists appearing in 20 regular season games.

    Shirley and Parker helped Canada win a bronze medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Under-18 Women’s World Championship that wrapped up Jan. 13 in Dmitrov, Russia.

Jenna Merk and Ally Kostenuik netted singles for the Rebels.

    Jordan Ivanco stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Chantel Weller turned away 14-of-20 shots playing the first two periods taking the setback in goal for the Rebels. Sadie Hastings turned away 3-of-8 shots playing the third period in relief for Regina.

    With the win, the Stars improve to 21-3-1 to remain first overall in the SFMAAAHL with a one-point standings edge over the defending league champion Prince Albert Northern Bears (20-4-1). In the SFMAAAHL, three points are awarded in the standings for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks.

    The Stars have 61 points in the standings coming off 18 regulation wins, three extra time wins and one extra time setback. The Bears have 60 points in the standings coming off 19 regulation wins, one extra time win and one extra time setback. Both teams have three games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

    The Rebels sit third in the SFMAAAHL at 16-7-3, but they won’t be able to catch either the Stars or the Bears in the standings.

    The Stars, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, and Rebels will go at it again on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

    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 win, everyone pitches in

Carson Stadnyk, right, looks to try a wraparound for the Huskies.

    It seemed like everyone was getting in on the action for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, six different player scored for the Huskies as they dumped the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons 6-2 in a U Sports regular season contest before 393 frigid spectators.
    The contest provided an interesting clash as the Huskies came in rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and had dropped a 4-2 decision last Saturday in Lethbridge to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Logan McVeigh had three assists for the Huskies.

    The Bisons were rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and were coming in high on confidence having won their last two outings by sweeping the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a two-game series on Jan. 5 and 6 in Winnipeg and having won four straight overall. The Golden Bears are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.
    U of S didn’t take the Bisons lightly jumping out of the gates with a fast start. Just 51 seconds into Friday’s clash, fourth-year right-winger Parker Thomas knocked home his fifth goal of the season at the left side of the Bisons net to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge.

    The hosts went ahead 2-0 with 1:29 to play in the first when sophomore left-winger Carson Stadnyk netted his fourth of the campaign. The Huskies outshot the Bisons 16-7 over the opening 20 minutes.

Josh Roach leads Canada West in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists.

    The Bisons found their legs in the second period coming with a big push back. Sophomore centre Remi Laurencelle scored 63 seconds into the second on the power play for the Bisons to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

    At the 8:11 mark of the second, the Bisons cashed in on a three-on-one opportunity down close near the Huskies goal. Bisons third-year defenceman Adam Henry pinched down to the left side of the Huskies goal and converted a tick-tack-toe passing play from forwards Zach Franko and Michael St. Croix to tie things up at 2-2.

    Just as the Bisons seemed to have all the momentum, the Huskies recaptured it when gritty fifth-year centre John Lawrence wired home his sixth of the season from the left slot to give the hosts a 3-2 edge with 9:05 to play in the second.

Michael Sofillas had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

    Centre Jordan Tkatch and right-winger Josh Roach netted singles at the 2:58 and 10:21 marks respectively of the third period to put the Huskies up 5-2.

    With 66 seconds to play in the third, the Huskies rounded out the scoring when right-winger Levi Cable and centre Logan McVeigh teamed up to spring left-winger Michael Sofillas on a breakaway towards an empty net, and he potted the puck easily into the vacated cage.

    Taran Kozun turned away 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who sit second in the Canada West Conference with a 15-3-1 record. Byron Spriggs turned away 34-of-39 shots taking the setback in goal for the Bisons, who sit third in Canada West with an 11-6-2 mark.

Netminder Taran Kozun begins to celebrate a win with two teammates.

    Roach, Sofillas and Stadnyk all had an assist each to go along with their respective goals. Roach continues to lead Canada West in scoring piling up 10 goals and 18 assists in 19 regular season games.

    McVeigh finished with three assists on the night to give him 18 helpers on the campaign to match his career high.
    The Kenaston, Sask., product was a plus-three in the plus-minus department.

Offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg had a stellar night collecting three assists and posting a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

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

Vance returns to haunt Bisons

Jessica Vance picked up a special win in Winnipeg.

    Jessica Vance posted arguably one of her sweetest victories in her U Sports career on Friday night in Winnipeg, Man.

    The sophomore netminder with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team turned away 22 shots to back her squad to a 3-1 regular season victory over the host U of Manitoba Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. The Bisons were the Prince Albert, Sask., product’s first team, but she found herself buried on U of M’s goaltending depth chart.

    After dressing for one game as a backup early last season for the Bisons, Vance elected to leave the U of M side and joined the Huskies to play closer to home.

    Her teammates provided good offensive support in Friday’s clash before 400 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Just 2:38 into the opening frame, sophomore defender Kayla Kirwan netted her third goal of the season with checking winger Danielle Nogier drawing an assist.

    After a scoreless second period, the Huskies went ahead 2-0 at the 12:02 mark of the third, when third-year winger Rachel Lundberg netted her first goal of the campaign with rookie center Chloe Smith drawing an assist.

    Bisons fourth-year forward Lauryn Keen scored just over two-and-a-half minutes later to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

Kayla Kirwan scored for the Huskies on Friday night.

    Huskies sophomore left-winger Emily Upgang sealed the victory for the visitors scoring into an empty net with 72 seconds remaining in the third.

    Fifth-year netminder Rachel Dyck turned away 16-of-18 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bisons (13-5-1).

    To show how much the goalies are ruling the Canada West Conference in women’s hockey, Keen topped the conference in scoring last season with nine goals and 25 assists appearing in all 28 of her squad’s regular season games. Keen has five goals and four assists in 17 regular season games so far in the current campaign.

    Vance continued her stellar season winning her fifth straight start. She now has a 7-2 record, a 1.00 goals against average, a .958 save percentage and four shutouts on the campaign.

    With Vance in net, the Huskies have won their last four straight games to improve to 12-6-1.

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

    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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Forsberg brothers help Huskies dismantle Cougars 6-0

Jesse Forsberg picked up three points for the Huskies.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Huskies celebrate their win on Saturday night.

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

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

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

Upgang, Willoughby power Huskies to road win

The Huskies received great leadership from Kaitlin Willoughby on Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huskies nail it down in Game 1

Dogs dump Golden Bears 4-0 in Canada West final opener

Captain Kendall McFaull celebrates his goal with Logan McVeigh.

    You can bet fans likely forgot about their wait to get into the ancient Rutherford Rink on Friday night.

    Before the puck dropped for Game 1 of the Canada West men’s hockey championship series between the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of Alberta Golden Bears, fans were lined up over a lengthy stretch outside the Huskies home rink looking to get a ticket to see the action. When they finally found a place to view the contest, the host side did not disappoint.

    The Huskies played one of their best games of the season and blanked their “Forever Rivals” 4-0 before a crammed gathering of 1,066 spectators. U of S will try to lock up the best-of-three series in Game 2 Saturday at 7 p.m. before what should be another raucous crowd at the Ruthy.

    During the regular season, the Golden Bears, who have won the last two University Cups, claimed three of four head-to-head meetings with the Huskies. In those four outings, the Golden Bears played their best hockey of the 2015-16 campaign, and the lone U of S victory came by a 3-2 score back on Oct. 30, 2015 thanks to a 44-save performance from netminder Jordon Cooke.

    On Friday night, the Dogs, who topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 mark, showed they can take their game up to another level.

Parker Thomas scored a key insurance goal for the Huskies.

    In the opening 20 minutes, the Huskies, who are rated third in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top ten rankings, went toe-to-toe with the Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the CIS top ten, trading scoring chances, hits and end-to-end rushes. The best collision came near the end of the frame, when Golden Bears forward Brett Ferguson and Huskies defenceman Zak Stebner smashed into each other. It was hard to tell who initiated the hit.

    The strong play of Cooke and Golden Bears netminder Luke Siemens ensured the two clubs entered the first intermission locked in a 0-0 draw. Fans were treated to intense playoff hockey at its best.

    The Dogs started assert control in the second. Working on a power play, they broke through on the scoreboard at the 5:57 mark, when “Captain Clutch” Kendall McFaull wired home a shot from the slot to the top corner of the U of A goal to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    U of S came at U of A in waves, and after the second period ended, the Huskies held a 24-18 edge in shots on goal.

    The Golden Bears, who finished second in Canada West with a 19-7-2 mark, didn’t go away. They mounted a big push back at the start of the third displaying the effort that allowed them to win the past two Canadian Interuniversity Sport titles.

Goalie Jordon Cooke and the Huskies defence fend of the Golden Bears.

    Cooke answered the bell for the Huskies showing why he was named the most outstanding player and goaltender of the year for Canada West on Wednesday. The Leduc product wowed fans with his glove saves.

    He set the tone early in the third robbing Ferguson at point blank range right in front of the U of S goal. It was a sign that this wasn’t going to be the visitors’ night.

    Backed by Cooke throwing up a wall in goal, the Huskies started to turn the game’s momentum back in their favour.

    With 6:30 to play in the third, Huskies forward Jaimen Yakubowski picked off a bad Golden Bears pass, slipped a nifty pass of his own to linemate Parker Thomas and watched Thomas tuck home his first of the post-season to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge.

    Just 44 seconds after that goal, Huskies forward Levi Cable was hacked down on a breakaway by Golden Bears defenceman Dylan Bredo. Cable actually slipped the puck into the net, but the officials said the goal became dislodged before the puck went in.

    That temporary disappointment was erased, when Cable was awarded a penalty shot on the play. The standout rookie and graduate of the Western Hockey League’s Kootenay Ice totally undressed Siemens on a deke and popped home a tally that put the hosts up 3-0.

The Huskies celebrate Levi Cable's penalty shot goal.

    The Golden Bears pulled Siemens in the final minutes to get something going offensively, but third-year Huskies forward John Lawrence rounded out the contest’s scoring with an empty netter.

Cooke made 28 saves to earn his first career post-season CIS shutout. Siemens turned away 30 of 33 shots sent his way.

    While Friday’s game pleased the hometown crowd, this series could still go to a deciding Game 3, which is set for 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Rutherford Rink.

    Both teams are loaded with WHL grads, who know how to bounce back and make adjustments.

    With that said, Friday’s win was by far the best game the Huskies have had against the Golden Bears this season. If the Huskies can duplicate their effort in Game 2 on Saturday, they will give themselves a good chance to celebrate their 17^th conference championship and first since 2012.

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

Luck falls Huskies way

The Huskies celebrate an overtime winning goal.

    Lady Luck was on the side of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    For a short time, it appeared the Huskies would fall victim to a comeback by the visiting University of Calgary Dinos on Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The Dogs led 3-1 after two periods of play only to see the Dinos rally back to force overtime after tying things up 3-3.

    After a scoreless five minute four-on-four overtime period, the Huskies received a huge break during the five-minute three-on-three session that followed. Sophomore Huskies forward Michael Sofillas fed the puck to linemate John Lawrence who proceeded to break towards the Dinos net for a scoring chance.

    Lawrence’s initial shot was stopped, but Dinos forward Elgin Pearce accidentally knocked the puck into his own goal while attempting to sweep it out of harm’s way.

    The Huskies themselves looked stunned for a moment before realizing they had pulled out a 4-3 victory at the 1:53 mark of the second overtime frame. The home side’s bench proceeded to empty out for a victory celebration in the offensive zone, while the crowd at Rutherford gave one of their loudest ovations of the season.

    For a while, it appeared the Huskies wouldn’t need any overtime goals to extend their current winning streak to four games. After playing through a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Huskies drew first blood, when sophomore forward Cameron Blair sniped a shot past Dinos goaltender Steven Stanford to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

John Lawrence picked up the Huskies OT winning goal.

    The Dinos tied things up at 1-1 just three minutes later, when Spencer Edwards potted a goal from in close off a scramble type situation.

    The Huskies jumped back out front 2-1 working on a power play, when Michael Sofillas slipped home his fourth goal of the season.

    Before the second period ended, Huskies centre Sean Aschim stole the puck from a Dinos defenceman in the University of Calgary zone and immediately fed a pass to his linemate Matthew Spafford, who was alone in front of the goal. The fifth-year forward wasted little time in tucking home his second tally of the campaign to put the Huskies up 3-1.

    While play though the first 40 minutes was fairly even, the Dinos came with a huge push back in the third period outshooting the Huskies 12-5. At the 5:55 mark, Dinos rookie forward Mitch Cook picked up his first goal of his Canadian Interuniversity sport regular season career to cut the gap to 3-2.

    With 29 seconds remaining in the third, Dinos fourth-year forward Dylan Walchuk deflected home a point shot from defenceman Drydn Dow to force a 3-3 tie. The Huskies protested that Walchuk’s goal was knocked home with a high stick, but the officials ruled the goal was good.

    The Dinos carried play in the first overtime period recording the only five shots on goal in the frame.

    The Huskies lone shot on goal in the second overtime period eventually led to Pearce’s accidental own goal.

    Jordon Cooke made 35 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies (16-3), who are ranked third in the CIS top ten rankings. Stanford, who is a graduate of the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, turned away 19 shots in goal for the Dinos (7-8-4).

    The Huskies and Dinos will go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Russians power Dinos past Huskies

Iya Gavrilova had a goal and two assists for the Dinos on Friday night.

    Iya Gavrilova and Sasha Vafina came through when the University of Calgary Dinos women’s hockey team needed them the most.

    The two members of Russian’s 2014 Olympic team combined for three goals and two assists to push the Dinos past the visiting University of Saskatchewan Huskies 4-2 at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.

    Gavrilova, who has two assists, netted the winner at the 12:59 mark of the third period, which broke a 2-2 tie. Vafina scored twice, while Stephanie Zvonkovic had the Dinos other tally.

    Feisty forward Marley Ervine and Lauren Zary replied with singles for the Huskies.

    Hayley Dowling made 24 saves to earn the win in goal for the Dinos. Jerrica Waltz turned away 21 shots to take the loss in goal for the Huskies.

    The Huskies, who are rated sixth in the CIS top ten rankings, fell to 11-6-2. The Dinos improved to 5-10-4, but they still sit last in the eight team Canada West Conference.

    Both squads go at it 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.