Huskies, Thunderbirds rivalry is for real

Should that be played up in U Sports women’s hockey?

The Huskies and Thunderbirds scrum at the end of their 2018 playoff series.

    Should a women’s hockey rivalry be played up in U Sports?
    I have been struggling with that question since a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series was cemented between the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 is slated for 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    The Huskies finished third in Canada West with a 17-7-2-2 record, while the Thunderbirds were sixth with a 10-13-4-1 mark.

    This will mark the fourth time the two sides have faced each other in the post-season since 2014 and the third time since 2017. Due to the recent playoff encounters, a lot of ill will has built up between the two sides causing the squads to become archrivals.

    When these teams last met in the post-season, the lasting image was of then Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby trying to get after Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer after a Thunderbirds player hit Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance at the third period buzzer.

The officials break up the Huskies and Thunderbirds in 2018 playoffs.

    A huge scrum developed in front of the Huskies goal, and tensions were high enough that a brawl could have resulted.

    That was how a 2-1 Huskies victory concluded of Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, which U of S swept 2-0.

    The post-game handshakes from that Game 2 weren’t actual handshakes but a series of “low fives” like you would see at a minor sports event played at the eight-year-old age level.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook received a one game suspension, when it was deemed his players broke an archaic league rule by coming up the bench at the end the game before the referee’s command.

    Both teams return a lot of players from that 2018 series to this year’s tilt including Vance and Fischer. Since that series, it is safe to say there has been bitterness in the encounters between these two teams.

    Even with that back story, I have wondered if it worth playing up the rivalry angle leading up to this series. 

Huskies D Morgan Willoughby and T-birds D Celine Tardif talk dinner plans.

    While the rivalry is a great one, it isn’t the Prince Albert Raiders taking on the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League. On that circuit, the fact the fans get passionately into that rivalry makes in that much better.

    The Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert is usually packed for those games, and it is fair to expect 5,000 to 6,000 spectators to appear at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon when those teams meet.

    Fans will bring signs to the rink to show their dislike for the rival and beaks will go off on various social media lines.

    Comparatively, games in U Sports women’s hockey are mostly family and friends games when it comes to attendance and receive extremely little play in the mainstream media. If attendance exceeds 200 for a U Sports women’s hockey game, it is deemed a success.

    One of the few exceptions to that reality was the last Crowchild Classic in Calgary, Alta., that featured the women’s game between the U of Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royals University Cougars in the primetime spot. 

Huskies D Isabella Pozzi (#8) nails a Thunderbirds player this season.

    That contest on Jan. 30 drew 10,002 spectators to the Scotiabank Saddledome to see the Dinos down the Cougars 4-1. That attendance figure is a U Sports record for women’s hockey.

    The Huskies women’s team has been one of the attendance leaders in Canada West since moving into Merlis for the start of the 2018-19 campaign. In 2018-19, the Huskies averaged 650 spectators through 14 home regular season games to lead all women’s hockey teams in Canada West.

    This season, the Huskies averaged 496 spectators for their 14 home regular season dates to sit second behind the Dinos, whose figure was propped up being pegged as the home team for the Crowchild Classic.

    Also, it seems like to me U Sports women’s hockey is patronized, where you should cheer players like an eight-year-old athlete who has learned a skill.

    U Sports women’s hockey teams are elite squads made up of highly skilled athletes, but they don’t get anywhere near the following to make it worthwhile to play up the rivalry angle.

Huskies D Emma Nutter (#21) and T-birds C Mathea Fischer trade words.

    If you do, you come off as a jerk.

    Plus, I don’t believe the appetite is there for U Sports programs to play up a rivalry angle. If you do and things get over the line out of hand, teams ultimately have to answer to university presidents and university board of directors.

    Both traditionally have had no patience for sports teams going overboard with rivalries as university are deemed institutions of higher learning. The academics thumb their noses at athletes who get too worked up over rivalries.

    Outright suspensions from school have to be the biggest worry in that scenario too.

    I always feel the fan codes of conduct are used as a deterrent with regards to cheering at a U Sports event.

    On the Huskies hockey front, the last time a crowd was extremely engaged in a playoff series was the 2016 men’s Canada West final between the Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies hockey teams were playing out of the ancient Rutherford Rink back then, and that place was rocking like the Art Hauser Centre during Raiders Western Hockey League playoff games.

    I don’t condone going out and getting offensive with heckles. If a fanbase wants to do the Winnipeg, Man., fan thing and chant someone on their team is better than someone on the opposition, go for it.

Hannah Koroll would be great, if she played for the Huskies.

    As for me, I think I will finish off going down the “jerk” road in the women’s hockey rivalry between the Huskies and Thunderbirds, because I believe rivalry sells tickets.

    Being based in Saskatoon, I can’t wait for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s diving – er – I mean women’s hockey team. I wonder if the Thunderbirds prefer to work from the three-foot board or the 10-foot board?

    Thunderbirds sophomore defender and Saskatoon Holy Cross High School grad Hannah Koroll is a good player. She would be a great player, if she played for the Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Actually, you could get your dislike in the jealously department on for Koroll, because she is a 13 out of 10 in the looks department, great in school, and if she want to be, she can be the best player on the ice in any game she skates in. She might end up being like Tom Brady one day.

    Anyways, take a screenshot of this post and send it to the Thunderbirds women’s hockey team to see, if you like. I don’t care.

    This post might get me unfriended on all social media lines by celebrity University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team alumna Claire Hanna. I don’t care.

There won’t be a lot of love between the Huskies and Thunderbirds.

    As Rod Pedersen used to say as the play-by-play voice of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats when they would take on the Moose Jaw Warriors in major junior hockey’s greatest rivalry, “Let’s get it on, because we don’t get along.”

    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’ Vance should be Canada West MVP

Goalie Jessica Vance, left, gives a fist bump with Kennedy Harris.

    In the season of the shutout, Jessica Vance has reigned supreme.

    As a result, the sophomore goalie from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team should be the most valuable player in the Canada West Conference.

    Vance, who stands 5-foot-7, had an impressive first campaign with the Huskies posting a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average, a .964 save percentage and nine shutouts. She topped the conference in most wins, the best save percentage and most shutouts.

    Her shutout total equals former University of Alberta Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in the Canada West Conference in one U Sports 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 U Sports regular season at 10 recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.

Jessica Vance topped Canada West in wins, save percentage and shutouts.

    Thanks to Vance’s efforts, the Huskies posted 12 total shutouts as a team in the campaign to equal a Canada West Conference team record for one season. The Pandas also posted 12 shutouts coming in the 2008-09 campaign.

    The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product played a key part in helping the Huskies finish second overall in Canada West with a 19-7-2 record. The 19 wins marked a new Huskies team record for most victories in one regular season. That finish allows the Huskies to host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series that is slated to start with Game 1 on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    Vance helped the Huskies get to a place in the standings they haven’t been since they last finished second in Canada West back in the 2013-14 campaign with an 18-4-6 record. The Huskies also won the Canada West title in that campaign and a bronze medal at the U Sports national championship tournament.

    Since the 2013-14 season, the Huskies have still been good finishing fifth in 2014-15 and fourth in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. They were in search of that extra edge to push them back into one of the top two spots in the standings, and Vance gave them that edge. That fact should play a major part in naming her the most valuable player in the conference.

Jessica Vance played with a great calm in goal for the Huskies.

    Vance posted a 6-3-1 mark and two shutouts in the combined starts she made against the University of Manitoba Bisons, the defending U Sports champion Pandas and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In the latest U Sports Top 10 rankings, the Bisons are rated first, the Pandas second and the Thunderbirds are fifth.

    The Huskies didn’t crack the U Sports Top 10 even with their second place finish in Canada West and the wins they put up against the Bisons, Pandas and Thunderbirds. If the Huskies aren’t worthy of being rated in the U Sports Top 10 rankings with their Canada West foes, then Vance should be given that much more credit for the record the Huskies had and add to the reasons she should be the Canada West MVP.

    In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, which meant the pressure was on the goalies to not even give up a single goal on most nights. Through the whole season, Vance never got rattled by that type of pressure. She had a calm about her in net that few goalies female or male have.

    On top of all of that, Vance went over two-and-a-half years between competitive starts.

Jessica Vance’s play was key in a second place finish for the Huskies.

    Way back on March 25, 2015, Vance played her final game with the Prince Albert Northern Bears making 20 saves in a 2-0 loss to the Saskatoon Stars in Game 3 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series at the Agriplace Arena. The Stars swept the best-of-five series 3-0.

    With her midget AAA career having reached a conclusion, Vance originally planned to join the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team, but she sat out the 2015-16 season as a medical redshirt after suffering a major leg injury playing competitive softball in the summer of 2015.

    Vance dressed for one game as a backup goalie early last season for the Bisons before electing to play closer to home choosing to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team. Due to dressing for that one game, she wasn’t eligible to play for the Huskies until Nov. 1, 2017.

    Normally, that type of absence would cause a major setback for most high-level athletes.

    Vance never lost her game, and she was the main factor in helping the Huskies reach a higher level in the standings.

    Her story seems unbelievable, and that is what makes it special. The case for her being the Canada West MVP is a clear one, and that honour should come her way.

Willoughby proves she’s P.A. tough

Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby, right, has played through a few battles.

    Kaitlin Willoughby’s biggest accomplishment of the 2017-18 U Sports regular season might be the fact she skated through it in one piece.

    The star captain of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team has always drawn extra attention from the opposition due to her ability to score. It seemed the attention she received on the ice in her fifth and final season of eligibility was greater than in any of her first four campaigns.

    While bodychecking is illegal in women’s hockey, it was apparent players on opposing teams were out to deliver a few physical blows Willoughby’s way. 

    The most obvious case came in the Huskies 2-1 victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Jan. 27 at the Rutherford Rink, when Willoughby was on the receiving end of a hip check from Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer. There was no call on the play.

    Throughout the season, Willoughby’s presence on the ice resulted in opponents cross-checking her, slashing her after the play was blown dead and a few failed attempts to level her with a hit worthy of former star NHL defenceman Scott Stevens. It is almost a certainty a few opponents landed the odd punch on Willoughby in scrums, which do happen in the women’s game.

    Despite all the attempts to target her, beat her down and knock her off her game, Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, still finished fifth in the Canada West scoring race with nine goals and 10 assists in 26 regular season appearances.

Kaitlin Willoughby faces a lot of attention from opposing teams.

    The treatment the 22-year-old Prince Albert product has received on the ice isn’t foreign to what star players receive at any level of hockey.

    In the WHL, Nolan Patrick encounter similar treatment from opponents leading the Brandon Wheat Kings to a league championship in the 2015-16 campaign. In the 2016 WHL playoffs, he played through lots of extra shots and successfully remained at the top of his game.

    Adam Brooks and Sam Steel played through a lot of abuse powering the Regina Pats to an appearance in the WHL championship series last year. Mathew Barzal endured is share of unwanted physical shots helped the Seattle Thunderbirds win the WHL title last season.

    In U Sports men’s hockey, Derek Hulak had to play through lots of unwanted physical attention earning the Canada West most valuable player award in his final campaign with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team in 2013-14.

    At times, it seemed like the abuse all these players received was a borderline attempt to injure.

Willoughby showed her physical toughness this season and her mental toughness. In her first couple of seasons with the Huskies, the odds of her getting knocked off her game and seeing her get involved in trash talking sessions with opposing players was higher, if she received some unwanted hacks.

    She never lost her composure no matter what happened to her this season. In that, Willoughby accomplished a pre-season goal to emulate her former Huskies captain from her rookie season in Cami Wooster.

    In the process of playing though taking unnecessary physical shots, Willoughby upped the level of her teammates. They could see what was happening, and when something underhanded happened on the ice, you could see their focus becoming that much sharper.

Kaitlin Willoughby, centre, is surrounded by teammates who have her back.

    Willoughby’s teammates were right behind her, and they were ready to respond in the physical department. That was another obvious sight in the little battles you could see all over the ice.

    It felt like opponents would be wiser if they tried to avoid doing something that got the collective attention of the Huskies. The Huskies always seemed to win, when that happened.

    The Huskies begin their playoff march hosting Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    One last playoff run now awaits Willoughby, and she has a group of battle-hardened teammates right behind her that have her back. That gives the Huskies a huge chance to reach some very lofty heights.

    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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Thunderbirds withstand Huskies' fight

UBC's Haneet Parhar (#12) battles U of S's Elizabeth Salyn (#3) for the puck.

    In what may have been one of their most intense performances of the season, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team deserved a way better fate.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies showed the grit and character that is currently being displayed by the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Facing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds who top the U Sports women’s hockey top 10 rankings, the Huskies didn’t back down anywhere and took the fight to their foes, which at times meant literally. The squads engaged in a few post-whistle scrums.

    When the dust settled, the Thunderbirds, like any top ranked club, found a way to pull a victory out of what was an extremely hot fire. Playing in a three-on-three double overtime period, the Thunderbirds broke in on a two-on-one break, when the Huskies were still trying to change a couple of players.

Huskies forward Kaitlin Willoughby wins a battle for a loose puck.

    Mathea Fischer, who is from Oslo, Norway, fed a nice pass past a Huskies defender to lineman Nicole Saxvik, and the fifth year forward buried her ninth goal of the season to deliver the Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory. The Thunderbirds improved to 18-3, while the Huskies fell to 11-7-3.

In defeat, the Huskies showed the potential they have.

    The Thunderbirds started the contest with a mini momentum spurt, before things turned in favour of the home side. At the 7:19 mark of the opening frame, speedy forward Kaitlin Willoughby set up Elizabeth Salyn for her third goal of the season on just the Huskies second shot of the contest.

    From that point, the Huskies came at the Thunderbirds in waves. UBC rookie goalie Amelia Boughn stood on her head to ensure the Huskies didn’t get ahead by more, as U of S had a 10-7 edge in shots after 20 minutes.

Huskies forward Danielle Nogier fights for the puck along the boards.

    In the second, the Huskies created more scoring chances, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Willoughby set up fifth-year forward Rachel Johnson in the slot with a nice pass through traffic. Johnson didn’t get all of the puck on her shot, and Boughn came up with the stop.

    With their effort, there were times the Huskies were a little too aggressive, which resulted in the Thunderbirds getting four straight power-plays in the second frame. On the third of those opportunities, Fischer beat Huskies netminder Cassidy Hendricks with a high looping shot to tie things up at 1-1.

    In the third, the Huskies really kept bringing the pressure. Right off the opening faceoff, Willoughby blew in on a breakaway and wired a shot that just missed the top corner of the UBC goal.

    A short time later, fourth-year forward Kori Herner found herself on a breakaway, but she was denied by Boughn. The UBC goalie gave up a rebound on Herner’s shot, which allowed Johnson a scoring chance, but she was also stopped.

The Thunderbirds, left, celebrate their overtime winning goal.

    Following those opportunities, Willoughby, who was playing with as aggressiveness similar to former Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Chris Schlenker, found herself on another breakaway, but Boughn came up big again for the Thunderbirds.

    Near the end of the third, rookie forward Bailee Bourassa, who used to pile up the goals for the Weyburn Gold Wings midget AAA team, had two chances in close but was unable to find the go-ahead tally.

    After the two teams played through a scoreless four-on-four overtime period, that set the stage for the Thunderbirds to get the winner in the second extra frame.

    Boughn made 27 mostly extremely hard stops for the Thunderbirds. Hendricks turned away 23 shots in net for the Huskies.

    The Huskies biggest hurt came from the fact they went 0-for-5 on the power play. So far this season, they have converted on just 10.8 per cent of their chances with the one person advantage.

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

Woytowich honoured in Play for a Cure

Hailey Woytowich, centre, drops the puck for a ceremonial faceoff.

    Tonight’s Huskies game was a big one for my family as my young cousin Hailey Woytowich dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff as part of the Huskie Play for a Cure game.

    Woytowich graduated from Bethlehem Catholic High School last June, while fighting cancer. At one point in time, she had a big lump on her neck, while fighting the disease. She had surgery over the summer and was declared cancer free.

    With that bit of news, she became the first person in my family that I know of to survive a battle with cancer. Cancer has taken the lives of many members of my family.

    Woytowich was brought to centre ice by another one of my young cousins in Danielle Nogier, who is a rookie forward with the Huskies, and fifth-year defender Alyssa Dobler, who is Woytowich’s neighbour and a long time best friend.

    Woytowich, who was nervous about the puck drop, made quick work of the formalities quickly dropping the puck between Huskies captain Lauren Zary and Thunderbirds captain Stephanie Schaupmeyer. Following the game, Woytowich also got Nogier’s game jersey as a keepsake.

    Since I moved back to Saskatoon in the summer of 2014, I still have a hard time keeping track of all my family members. I believe I speak for everyone in thanking the Huskies for the special night.

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