Hilltops aim to lock up first in PFC, Abrook nears 1,000 yards

Ben Abrook is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing.

    Ben Abrook has an outside shot to hit a big personal milestone, if the Saskatoon Hilltops lock up first place in the Prairie Football Conference on Sunday.

    The Hilltops (5-0) will travel to Edmonton on Sunday to take on the Wildcats (2-3) in a CJFL regular season game. Saskatoon would clinch first place in the PFC for a seventh straight year with a win in that contest.

    On a personal front, Abrook, who is the Hilltops third year power running back, is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing for the campaign. Over the Hilltops first five games, Abrook has carried the ball 140 times for 794 yards and scored four touchdowns.

    He needs 206 yards rushing to hit the 1,000-yard milestone.

    “It would be awesome,” said Abrook. “It would be something that you obviously want to do and something that would be great to achieve.”

    If Abrook hits the 1,000-yard milestone in rushing, it would mark the second straight year a Hilltops running back has hit that feat. Last year, Josh Ewanchyna carried the ball 134 times for 1,007 yards and 14 touchdowns for the ’Toppers.

Ben Abrook, right, has initiated contact as a power back.

    Ewanchyna hit that milestone mainly running behind an offensive line consisting of right tackle Kirk Simonsen, right guard Taylon Elderkin, centre Patrick Arno, left guard Ryder Klisowsky and left tackle Mason Ochs. Simonsen was the only member of that starting offensive line group to exhaust their CJFL eligibility at the end of the 2018 campaign.
    Jonathan Chisholm took over the right tackle starting spot to play beside the four returning starters. Looking at the veteran presence on the Hilltops offensive line, Abrook hoped that breaking the 1,000-yard barrier would be possible.

    “Whenever you come in with a veteran O-line like that, you definitely want to do well,” said Abrook, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 210 pounds. “Yeah, that would certainly be a goal of mine I guess to do that.”

    Before the Hilltops, who have won the last five straight CJFL title, can turn their attention towards personal milestones, they are focused on earning one more win to lock up first in the PFC. Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant expects the Wildcats present a challenge for his squad.

    The Wildcats have been getting strong performances from running back Ramone English and quarterback Dante Tabacu.

Ben Abrook has been a key reason to the Hilltops 5-0 start.

    “I’ll tell you at the end of the day right now we feel there is a good chance we’re going to see them in the playoffs,” said Sargeant. “They are a physical team.

    “They have the third ranked defence in our league. They are really starting to run the ball. They are pounding it.

    “They are aggressive, and they play physical Edmonton Wildcats football is what we’ve seen in the past. They’ve had a quarterback change which has really helped them, and he certainly gives them a lot of run clout.”
    Sargeant said his side is aware the Wildcats can make plays and won’t be pushed over.

    “At the end of the day, they are just playing better football, and we have to come out and play our best game,” said Sargeant. “There is a lot of meaning for us.

    “If we perform well, we’ll wrap up first place this weekend, and we’re very motivated to do that.”

    With all that said, Sargeant would like to see Abrook break the 1,000-yard barrier in rushing.

    “That would be huge,” said Sargeant. “Any time you have a 1,000 yard rusher, it doesn’t happen very often, so we’d be very blessed, if we were able to do that.

Ben Abrooks loves running behind the Hilltops offensive line.

    “Ben (Abrook) certainly has had a great year. Not a lot of people were talking about him at the beginning of the season, but he has certainly come in and been one of our high end football players. Full credit goes to the offensive line and (offensive line) coach (Donnie) Davidsen and the work that they do.
    “It has been a great plan. Ultimately, that is one of our rallying cries. If he (Abrook) stays healthy and we keep playing the way we are playing, we are going to get there and it’ll be exciting when it happens.”

    It is possible Abrook could have one of those dream nights where he rushes for 206 yards on Sunday. In reality, Abrook expects to break the 1,000-yard barrier in one of the Hilltops final two regular season games that will be held after Sunday’s encounter with the Wildcats.

    “You never know,” said Abrook. “We’re going to run the ball hard like we do every week.

“If it happens, it happens. If not, then hopefully next game.”

Kleiter tabbed with PFC player of the week honours

Rylan Kleiter (#7) boots one of his three field goals last Sunday.

    Rylan Kleiter, who is a reliable receiver/kicker for the Saskatoon Hilltops, was recognized for his solid work on special teams.

    On Wednesday, Kleiter was named the CJFL’s special teams player of the week for the Prairie Football Conference. In the Hilltops 53-6 romp over the Calgary Colts last Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football field, Kleiter hit all three of his field goal attempts and connected on all six of his converts.

    He piled up 347 yards on seven kickoffs.

    Kleiter is in his fourth season with the Hilltops, and when he is not dressed for the blue and gold, he can be found on the curling sheet as he is a standout skip on his own curling team.

    Running back Ramone English of the Edmonton Wildcats was the PFC’s offensive player of the week. Defensive backs Justin Hodinsky of the Edmonton Huskies and Brandyn Martin of the Regina Thunder shared the honour of being the PFC’s defensive player of the week.

Are Hilltops win streaks CJFL records?

Doug Fleming runs into the end zone for a Hilltops touchdown.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops have three impressive active streaks going for consecutive victories, but it doesn’t appear they will be in the CJFL record book for any of them.

    Currently, the Hilltops have won their last 24 games in a row including action in the regular season and playoffs. They have won their last 26 straight games on the road including three victories in the CJFL championship game – the Canadian Bowl.

    Saskatoon has won its last 16 straight games in the post-season resulting in five straight CJFL titles.

    With all that noted, the CJFL in its online record book doesn’t keep records for consecutive victories. It does keep track of the record for consecutive losses.

    That record is held by the now defunct St. James Rods, who lost 51 straight games from 1979 to 1985. The Rods were based in Winnipeg, Man, and folded following the 1989 season.

    The CJFL has all of its post-season results listed online. From those figures, the Hilltops active streak of winning 16 straight games in the playoffs is a league record.

    The overall winning streak and streak for consecutive road victories could possibility be records, but there is a chance they are not records.

    The defunct Rods might have one of those streaks. While the Rods weren’t very successful at the end of their existence, they were a dominant force in the CJFL in the 1950s and early 1960s being known first as the Winnipeg Rods before changing their name to St. James Rods in 1959.

    When the Regina Rams were still in the CJFL, they could have posted longer streaks under the guidance of head coach Gord Currie in the 1960s and 1970s and under head coach Frank McCrystal in the 1980s and 1990s.

    The Hilltops have posted four perfect seasons in team history, and they could have possibly posted longer winning streaks somewhere in their history.

    Still, the overall, road and post-season winning streaks are still impressive marks.

Nyhus watch comes to an end for Huskies?

Mason Nyhus is expected to return to action for the Huskies.

    The short-lived Mason Nyhus watch looks to be coming to an end for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    Back on Sept. 13, Nyhus was injured in a 44-9 romp over the University of Regina Rams at Mosaic Stadium. Nyhus, who is in his third year of eligibility, was nailed on a delayed blitz by the Rams late in the third quarter and hit his head hard on the stadium’s turf.

    Nyhus had been under concussion protocol since that hit. He didn’t play in the Huskies heartbreaking 19-17 setback to the University of Alberta Golden Bears last Saturday in Edmonton, Alta.

    On Wednesday, Huskies head coach Scott Flory told the assembled media before a team practice that Nyhus has been cleared to play and will start this Friday, when the Huskies (2-2) host the University of Calgary Dinos (4-0) in a U Sports regular season contest at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.
    The Huskies are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, and the Dinos are rated fourth in those very same rankings.

    The Huskies thumped the Dinos 43-18 in last year’s Canada West final in Calgary, Alta., to claim the Hardy Cup.

    It should be noted the watch on when Nyhus would return wasn’t as intense as it would have been in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the Saskatoon StarPhoenix had a sports staff of about seven, CTV had a full sports department and Global had a half-hour sports highlight show.

    If a similar injury situation happened to the Huskies starting quarterback in those days, then legendary Huskies head coach Brian Towriss would have faced stretches of consecutive days with questions about the health of the starting signal caller.

    Worry about Nyhus was heightened a little bit. In last Saturday’s loss to the Golden Bears, one Edmonton media member said Huskies second string quarterback Ethan Watson was playing with an injured foot. That brought to mind the likelihood the Huskies could face the Dinos with a third-string quarterback.

    Nyhus’s presence on the field will make the Huskies encounter with the Dinos an intriguing one.

Huskies offer free tickets to KFL members in honour of Bowers

Adam Machart and the Huskies are back in action on Friday.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is honouring the life and legacy of Kelly Bowers by offering free admission for members of the Kinsmen Football League for one night.

    On Friday when the Huskies host the U of Calgary Dinos at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium in a U Sports regular season contest, all members of the Kinsmen Football League will receive complimentary admission, when they wear their KFL jersey to the game. Bowers was the sitting president of the KFL at the time of his passing.

    Bowers passed away from a heart attack at his home on Sept. 17 at age 70. He is a member of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame and spent over five decades coaching, officiating and volunteering in the sports scene in “The Bridge City.”

    Bowers was best known for his involvement in football with the Bedford Road Invitational Tournament, which is one of the best high school tournaments in Western Canada.

    He had involvement with the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, the Huskies and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries.

Blades deal Hughes to Blazers

The Blades traded Ryan Hughes to the Blazers.

    The Saskatoon Blades got down to the WHL’s limit of three overage players thanks to a trade.

    On Wednesday, the Blades dealt overage right-winger Ryan Hughes to the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for 18-year-old forward Jerzy Orchard, a second round selection in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft and a third round pick in the 2021 Bantam Draft.

    The Blades originally acquired Hughes in a deal with the Portland Winterhawks last Jan. 10 before the passing of that day’s WHL trade deadline. Last season, Hughes played in 61 regular season games between the Winterhawks and Blades recording 30 goals, 39 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Hughes, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 157 pounds, had a goal and two assists playing in both of the Blades games so far this season.

    Orchard, who stands 6-feet and weighs 161 pounds, appeared in 41 regular season games last season with the Blazers collecting a goal and two assists. The Delisle, Sask., product hadn’t seen action with the Blazers this season.

    With Hughes being dealt to Kamloops, the Blades three remaining overagers are left-winger and ace agitator Riley McKay and defencemen Nolan Kneen and Scott Walford.

    On Thursday, the Blades released 15-year-old forward Brandon Lisowsky from their active roster. The Blades selected Lisowsky in the first round and ninth overall in the Bantam Draft left last May.

    He had one game-winning goal and four assists in five pre-season games. Lisowsky is expected to join the Burnaby Winter Club Midget Prep team of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

    Jayden Wiens, who is a rookie 16-year-old centre, was moved from the Blades affiliate player list to the club’s regular roster. Wiens was selected in the eighth round and 155^th overall in the 2018 Bantam Draft.

    He played in both Blades regular season games so far in the current campaign. Last season, Wiens netted seven goals and 27 assists in 44 regular season games with the Tisdale Trojans of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.

    The Blades (1-1) return to action on Friday, when they host the Winnipeg Ice (1-1) 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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Graham grabs on to last run of highlights with Hilltops

Connor Graham hauls in an 18-yard touchdown catch for the Hilltops.

    Connor Graham wants to clutch every highlight catch he can during his remaining time with the Saskatoon Hilltops.

    That was why the 22-year-old receiver was determined to hang on to a touchdown reception early in the second quarter of a CJFL regular season clash against the Calgary Colts.

    On Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Graham ran a corner route into the Calgary end zone, and saw a pass rainbow towards him from Hilltops quarterback Tyler Hermann over the outstretched hands of Colts defensive back Joseph Okunlola.

    Graham juggled the ball and finally secured it going to the ground for an 18-yard touchdown reception to give the five-time defending CJFL champion Hilltops a 31-0 lead.

    Saskatoon rolled to a 53-6 victory before 1,236 spectators and improved their Prairie Football Conference leading record to 5-0.

Connor Graham holds up the ball from his touchdown catch.

    “I would have liked to have attacked the ball probably a little bit better than I did,” said Graham. “His hands kind of came up late.

    “I got my hands on it, and then it was kind of just juggling all the way down to the ground and just trying to get a squeeze on it.”

    Graham finished the game making three catches for 73 yards to go with his touchdown. 
    With the Hilltops holding a 41-0 advantage at halftime, Graham sat for most of the second half as Saskatoon’s reserves hit the field for mop up work.

    Now that the Hilltops are past the halfway point of their regular season schedule, Graham said it is strange to think that he is playing through his final games with the team as he is in his fifth-year and final season of CJFL eligibility.

    “It is surreal,” said Graham, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 180 pounds. “I try to stop and kind of take it in.

    “It just goes by so fast. I’m just trying to enjoy it the best I can and make my plays.”

Connor Graham (#8) gets congrats for his TD catch.

    Graham said it seems like yesterday that he joined the Hilltops as a rookie. 
    He is happy a lot of his teammates from his rookie class have remained with the club through the years.

    The Hilltops roster contains 14 players who are in their fifth and final seasons of eligibility for the CJFL.

    “We have a lot of fifth-year guys this year,” said Graham. “There are a lot of guys that I’ve seen around and kind of seen grow up too through this program.

    “I’m really thankful to be a part of it. I’m glad I stayed all five years.”

    Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant is happy Graham played out his eligibility too. Sargeant said Graham and Hermann, who is also a fifth-year player, have a good rapport on the field.

    “Connor (Graham) and Tyler (Hermann), they just have a great synergy,” said Sargeant. “They seem to find each other.

    “When the plays are called, they have a tendency to look for each other. They’ve been very successful.”

    The Hilltops were very successful on offence on Sunday piling up 301 yards rushing and 304 yards passing as a team.

Tyler Hermann threw three TD passes for the Hilltops.

    Hermann completed 17-of-25 passes for 222 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. 
    While Hermann is in his fifth year of CJFL eligibility, he is in his first year holding the starter’s role, and Graham said his long time teammate is getting comfortable in the new role.

    “It has been good, and Hermann is getting confident too,” said Graham. “That is the biggest thing.

    “We work on it every day in practice. He trusts us, and we trust him so just going out there and executing is the big thing.”

    The Hilltops hit top gear early storming out to 24-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. 
    Backup quarterback Doug Fleming ran in a major from five yards out and receiver/kicker Rylan Kleiter booted a 19-yard field goal to account for Saskatoon’s first 10 points.

    Hermann hit star defensive tackle Jesse McNabb for a four-yard touchdown toss with 47.7 seconds to play in the first quarter to push the Hilltops lead out to 17-0. 
    McNabb plays as an extra lineman in the Hilltops short yardage offensive package.

Jesse McNabb makes a four-yard TD catch for the Hilltops.

    On the final play of the opening quarter, Hilltops defensive back Evan Mantyka intercepted Colts quarterback Cole Belway and ran the ball back 58 yards for a touchdown.

    After Graham’s touchdown catch, Hermann hit backup running back Carter McLean on a 21-yard pass reception for another major score to give the Hilltops a 38-0 advantage. 
    Kleiter hit an 18-yard field goal to round out the scoring in the first half.

    The Colts had the only score in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by running back Ike Okafor to cut the Hilltops lead to 41-6. The hold on the point after attempt by Calgary was botched.

    In the fourth quarter, Kleiter hit a field goal from 10 yards out, the Colts conceded a safety and Hilltops reserve running back Zach Grodecki ran in a final major from 14-yards out to finish off the 53-6 final.

    “We were physical,” said Sargeant. “The line got off the ball, and there was just some good energy early.

Ben Abrook, left, powers his way to 152 yards rushing for the Hilltops.

    “The last couple of games, we’ve been slow out of the gates. Today, I was much happier with the polish and how we looked and kept going. When the young guys got in to play, they played real well too.

    “I’m very excited with their performance. We have lots to build on and still lost to coach, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

    Power running back Ben Abrook led the Hilltops in rushing with 152 yards on 17 carries. On the season, Abrook has run the ball 140 times for 794 yards and scored four touchdowns.

    Second-year receiver Dillan Heintz topped the Hilltops with 89 receiving yards coming off four catches.

    K.J. Stembridge starting the game at quarterback for the Colts competing 1-of-3 passes for 10 yards and running the ball once for 12 yards.

Evan Mantyka (#15) returns an interception for a TD.

    Belway played most of the game in relief completing 10-of-20 passes for 106 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

    Tristan Hering and Jordan Seipp each had a sack for the Hilltops. Brant Morrow and Wade Keating had interceptions for the host side.

    The Hilltops defence limited the Colts, who fell to 1-4, to 89 yards rushing and 116 yards passing.

    Devon Southwell had a sack for the Colts. Okunlola, Tyrese Bristol and Mackenzie Bannatyne had interceptions for Calgary.

    The win allowed the Hilltops to improve their overall winning streak to 24 games, and they officially locked up a playoff berth.

    Saskatoon needs one more win to clinch first place in the PFC as the Regina Thunder and Edmonton Huskies sit tied for the second and third place spots in the conference standings with 3-2 records.
    The Thunder beat the Huskies 24-21 in Regina, Sask., on Sunday.
    The Hilltops hold the standings tiebreaker over both the Thunder and the Huskies.

The Hilltops celebrated a season high 53 points on Sunday.

    The Hilltops return to action this coming Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Wildcats (2-3).
    Having played for the Hilltops’ last four CJFL title winners, Graham admits he would like to depart like last year’s eight Hilltops fifth-years, who won a national championship ring for every year they were a member of the team.

    “That is always the end goal,” said Graham. “We don’t want to look too far ahead.

    “In the back of our minds, we always know what our end goal is. We are not satisfied with anything else.”

Hilltops honour Bowers family before Sunday’s game

The family of the late Kelly Bowers was honoured on Sunday.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops honoured the family of the late Kelly “Biff” Bowers before they thumped the Calgary Colts 53-6 on Sunday at SMF Field.

    Bowers passed away of a heart attack at his home on Tuesday. A moment of silence was held for Bowers before the Hilltops contest with the Colts kicked off on Sunday.

    Bowers is a member of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame and spent over five decades coaching, officiating and volunteering in the sports scene in “The Bridge City.”

    He is a former Hilltops assistant coach working on the staff when Dave Hardy was the team’s head coach.

Tom Sargeant, centre, meets the family of the late Kelly Bowers.

    Bowers was best known for his involvement in football and with the Bedford Road Invitational Tournament, which is one of the best high school tournaments in Western Canada.

    At the time of his passing, Bowers was the president of the Kinsmen Football League.

    He had involvement with the Hilltops, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in U Sports and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries.

    A celebration of life was held for Bowers at a packed Hall C at Prairieland Park on Saturday.

    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 aim to follow up breakout campaign in right way

Captain Chase Wouters leads the Blades into a new campaign.

    It was a campaign the players and all staff member of the Saskatoon Blades didn’t want to let go of.

    After going five straight seasons without making the WHL playoffs undergoing a massive rebuild after hosting the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – in 2013, the Blades returned to the post-season in the 2018-19 campaign by blowing the door in. They finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record and earned honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    “The Bridge City Bunch” proceeded to win their first playoff series since 2011 sweeping away the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0 in a best-of-seven set. The Warriors were no pushovers finishing seventh overall in the WHL at 40-20-6-2.

    Due to the fact the WHL playoff format makes teams mostly play through their division, the Blades faced their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders in a best-of-seven second round series. The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 mark.

    The Blades battled hard but ultimately fell in six games. Saskatoon’s season came to an end on April 14 with a 6-3 loss to the Raiders in Game 6 of their series before a season high 10,521 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

The Blades are backed by star netminder Nolan Maier.

    The Raiders moved on to capture the WHL championship.

    After that season ending loss to the Raiders, it wasn’t just the Blades players and coaches who were crying as they digested the end of the campaign. The Blades office staffers, support staff and management had tears in their eyes too.

    The tears showed how emotionally invested everyone was into the team. After finally seeing tangible rewards for the hard work that was invested in the five previous non-playoff campaigns, it was hard to digest that the breakout campaign had come to an end.

    Everyone in the Blades organization wanted the good times to continue.

    Going into the 2019-20 campaign, the Blades face the task of showing what happened last season is not just going to be a once in a while thing. The work begins in ensuring playoff berths become a habit along with improving on what happened last season.

    Colin Priestner has grown a lot taking over as the team’s general manager before the start of the 2016-17 campaign. 

Kyle Crnkovic became a fan favourite last season as a rookie.

    He has made many astute player moves and was tasked with handling the turnover on the team’s defence during the off-season.
    Dawson Davidson and Brandon Schuldhaus were lost to graduation. Emil Malysjev elected to play in the professional ranks in his home country of Sweden.

    Malysjev made his final decision after the NHL Entry Draft was held in June. Originally thinking Malysjev was going to be back, the Blades dealt overage defenceman Reece Harsch to the Winnipeg Ice in early May in an effort to reduce the number of 20-year-olds on the Saskatoon roster.

    Looking to reload the back end, the Blades picked up Czech products Libor Zabransky and Radek Kucerik at the CHL Import Draft held in late June. Zabransky is a 19-year-old who has WHL experience with the Kelowna Rockets before being released by that club.

    Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December, is entering his rookie campaign in the WHL.

The NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks might send Kirby Dach back to the Blades.

    In August, Priestner picked up offensive defenceman Scott Walford in a major trade with the Victoria Royals. The Blades will be looking to Walford, who is in his overage season, to alleviate the backend offensive product that was lost due to Davidson’s graduation.
    The trio of Zabransky, Kucerik and Walford helps fill out what should be a sound starting defensive six that includes returnees in overager Nolan Kneen, Aidan De La Gorgendiere and Majid Kaddoura.

    The Blades will be strong on the coaching front as 35-year-old Mitch Love returns for his second season as head coach. Before joining the Blades, Love was an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager for the Everett Silvertips.

    Love spent a total of seven seasons on the Silvertips coaching staff earning high praise from clubs in the WHL’s Western Conference.

    With the Blades, Love has shown why he had such high praise from the clubs in the Western Conference, and he is one of the circuit’s bright young coaching minds. His teams come to the rink prepared and motivated.

The Blades faithful grew during last season’s playoffs.

    The Blades are returning a solid group at forward including captain Chase Wouters, Kyle Crnkovic, Eric Florchuk and Tristen Robins. All four of those players should take steps forward in their respective offensive game.

    Speedy Ryan Hughes and feisty Riley McKay will be battling Kneen and Walford for the team’s three overage spots. WHL teams have until Oct. 10 to cut down to three overage players, but the three the Blades do hold on to will bring quality to the team.
    Last season, Hughes and McKay often played on the same line at right and left wing respectively.

    Winger Colton Dach has the potential to make noise as a 16-year-old rookie.

    Of course, everyone is watching to see of the Blades will get Colton’s older brother, Kirby, assigned back to them from the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

    The Blackhawks picked Kirby Dach in the first round and third overall in the NHL Entry Draft held last June. Chicago promptly signed Dach to an NHL entry-level contract.

Head coach Mitch Love, centre, guided the Blades back to the playoffs.

    The 18-year-old centre is still with the Blackhawks undergoing concussion protocol after being on the receiving end of a dirty hit at a rookie tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

    In goal, the Blades are backed by dependable 18-year-old star netminder Nolan Maier, who was snubbed in the last NHL Entry Draft. That was an unfortunate development for the Yorkton, Sask., product. Maier more than deserves a shot at the professional level.
    As far as the early going is concerned, the Blades won’t be able to sneak up on anybody. They were rated third in the CHL pre-season Top 10 rankings that were released on Wednesday, and they were the highest ranked WHL club.

    Love is already throwing caution to the wind as far as those rankings go noting the factors outside of the control of the coaches that have to go right.

    Those initial ranking could get knocked for a spin when the Blades open their regular season on Friday by traveling to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The Raiders faithful will do their best to act as another player on the ice for the home side.

    Those two clubs meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre for the Blades home opener. 

The Blades aim to salute their fans after lots of wins this season.

    The Blades are doing their best to make that contest an event with a tailgate party starting at 4 p.m. and a 50/50 jackpot that starts at $50,000.
    There will be an appearance by Paul “Biz Nasty” Bissonette, who came to fame as a colourful character winger of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.

    Wendel Clark, who is a legend of both the Blades and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, will be in attendance as well.

    The Blades were able to create buzz with their post-season run last season. Time will tell if the high rating in the CHL’s pre-season Top 10 rankings was warranted.

    With all that said, Saskatoon hockey fans will see a Blades hockey club that is solid and will give a high effort on most nights.

Huskies’ Lokombo, Solie take player-of-the-week honours

Nelson Lokombo comes down with an interception for the Huskies.

    Nelson Lokombo and David Solie of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team took Canada West player-of-the-week honours.

    Lokombo and Solie were feted with player-of-the-week honours on Tuesday for their efforts helping the Huskies thump the University of Regina Rams 44-9 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina last Friday.

    Lokombo, who is a third-year defensive back, was named the Canada West defensive player of the week. 
    In the win over the Rams, Lokombo had two interceptions, a sack and a pass knockdown for the Huskies.

David Solie sets to launch a punt for the Huskies.

    He had the game’s biggest highlight returning his second interception 98 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
    Solie, who is the Huskies place kicker and punter in his second year of eligibility, was name the special teams player of the week for Canada West.
    He made both of his field goals and punted the ball seven times for an average of 39 yards.

    On his seven punts, Solie, who helped the Saskatoon Hilltops win a CJFL title last season, nailed two kicks over 50 yards and downed two punts inside the Rams 20 yard line.

    Quarterback Brad Launhardt of the University of Alberta Golden Bears was the offensive player of the week for Canada West.

    The Huskies and Golden Bears will face each other in regular season action on Saturday in Edmonton in a battle of 2-1 teams.

Topper headlines mascots halftime game

Hilltops mascot Topper will headline a mascots game.

    Saskatoon Hilltops mascot, Topper the lion, will headline a halftime mascots game.

    On Sunday, the Hilltops (4-0) host the Calgary Colts (1-3) in a CJFL regular season game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. The contest is the Hilltops family day.

    As part of the team’s family day festivities, Topper and a team of mascots from Saskatoon will take on a team of players from the Kinsmen Football League in a halftime game. Toppers team is dubbed as Topper’s All-Star Mascots.

    Sunday’s game will mark the second time the Hilltops, who are the five time defending CJFL champions, play at home this season. The Hilltops enter that contest riding a 23-game overall winning streak.

Bowers passing hard for Saskatchewan football community

Saskatoon has lost a member of our beloved football family. 💔

Kelly Bowers was such an important part of our community and he will be dearly missed. Our condolences to his friends and family. His is a voice we'll never forget and we'll always miss.#RIPBiff pic.twitter.com/ZypwnXpypT

— Saskatoon Hilltops (@SaskHilltops) September 17, 2019

    The football community in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan was sent reeling by the sudden passing of Kelly “Biff” Bowers.

    Bowers passed away of a heart attack at his home on Tuesday at the age of 70. He is a member of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame and spent over five decades coaching, officiating and volunteering in the sports scene in “The Bridge City.”

    He is best known for his involvement in football and with the Bedford Road Invitational Tournament, which is one of the best high school tournaments in Western Canada.

    At the time of his passing, Bowers was the president of the Kinsmen Football League.

    He had involvement with the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in U Sports and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries.

    Bower’s celebration of life has been set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Prairieland Park in Hall C.

    It is hard to quantify the impact Bowers had on Saskatoon’s sports scene. I thought veteran Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports scribe Kevin Mitchell did the best at tackling that task, and Mitchell’s piece on Bowers can be found by clicking right here.

    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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