Honours keep coming to Kozun

Netminder named Huskies male athlete of the year

Taran Kozun was named the Huskies male athlete of the year.

    Taran Kozun might have to expand where his trophies are displayed at his place.
    The star netminder for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team has collected an array of honours over his three full seasons in the U Sports ranks. On Wednesday, the 25-year-old product of Nipawin, Sask., added another accolade to his already lengthy list.

    Kozun was named the winner of the E. Kent Phillips Trophy as the male athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics for the second straight year.

    The Huskies held their Huskie Salute and announced their Major 7 Awards in a series of social media posts on Wednesday. The original Huskie Salute was scheduled for last Friday, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    The puck stopper collected a lengthy number of awards this season. Kozun, who stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds, won the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the U Sports player of the year, and he took honours as the U Sports goaltender of the year.

    He became the first player in U Sports history to claim both awards in the same season. On top of those honours, the graduate of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

Taran Kozun was the U Sports player of the year for men’s hockey.

    Kozun also captured honours this season as the Canada West Conference player of the year, Canada West goaltender of the year and a first team Canada West all-star.

    He had an outstanding campaign for the Huskies appearing in 22 regular season games posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also became the second goalie in the history of the Canada West Conference to score a goal as well during those regular season appearances.

    Kozun was first goal goalie in the Canada West Conference to be awarded a goal after shooting the puck into the net.

    He topped the Canada West Conference in wins and save percentage, while posting the lowest goals against average. His five shutouts equalled a record for regular season play in Canada West which he set last season along with U of Alberta Golden Bears goalie Zach Sawchenko.

    Thanks to Kozun’s efforts, the Huskies finished second in the Canada West Conference with a 22-4-2 record.

Taran Kozun was the Canada West Conference player of the year.

    In the Canada West playoffs, the Huskies swept the University of Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three semifinal series 2-0 and pulled out the brooms again for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds taking the best-of-three Canada West Championship series 2-0.

    Kozun won all four of those starts posting a 1.84 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

    At the David Johnston University Cup held in Halifax, N.S., the second seeded Huskies fell in a 3-2 upset to the seventh seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs in a quarter-final match on March 12. The rest of that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic later that same night.

    Last season, Kozun was named both the Canada West goaltender of the year and the U Sports goaltender of the year as well as a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star and a first team Canada West all-star.

    Kozun beat out a tough field to be named the Huskies male athlete of the year. 

Taran Kozun scored a goal in the 2019-20 campaign.

    The three other nominees included defensive back Nelson Lokombo from the Huskies football team, who was the U Sports defensive player of the year, Hunter Lee from the Huskies men’s wrestling team, who won gold medals at the Canada West Conference tournament and the U Sports nationals, and Huskies men’s track and field team sprinter Karson Lehner, who was named the Canada West Conference and U Sports male track athlete of the year.

    At the Canada West Championships, Lehner ran the 300-metre race in a meet record time of 33.07 seconds breaking a 35-year-old record set former Huskies track athlete Cyprian Enweani, who ran 33.50 seconds in 1985.

    Michelle Harrison of the Huskies women’s track and field team claimed the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics. Harrison was named the U Sports female track athlete of the year.

    She won gold medals in the 60-metre hurdles at the Canada West Championship and U Sports nationals. Harrison set a new U Sports nationals record in the 60-metre hurdles running in a time of 8.15 seconds and was named the female athlete of the meet.

Evan Machibroda was named the all-around male athlete for the Huskies.

    Evan Machibroda, who is a fifth-year defensive tackle with the Huskies football team, was named the winner of the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the all-around male athlete for Huskie Athletics. The award is given to the male Huskie athlete that shows excellence in sport, the classroom and citizenship.

    Machibroda piled up 22 total tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery helping the Huskies football team post a 5-3 regular season record.

    Fifth-year guard Megan Ahlstrom of the Huskies women’s basketball team took home the Valerie Girsberger Trophy as the top all-around female athlete for Huskie Athletics. The award is given to the female Huskie athlete that shows excellence in sport, the classroom and leadership.

    Ahlstrom helped the Huskies women’s basketball team win U Sports national titles in 2016 and this past season.

    Wrestler Carson Lee took the Howard Nixon Trophy as the male athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics. He was named the Canada West and U Sports rookie of the year for men’s wrestling. Lee captured gold in the 82-kilogram weight class at the Canada West Championships and U Sports nationals.

Megan Ahlstrom, left, was the Huskies top all-around female athlete. 

    Halle Krynowsky from the Huskies women’s soccer team won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the female rookie of the year for Huskie Athletics. The defender scored a pair of goals and was named to the Canada West Conference all-rookie team.

    The Colb McEwon Trophy as the coach of the year for Huskie Athletics went to Huskies women’s basketball team head coach Lisa Thomaidis. Thomaidis led the Huskies women’s basketball team to their fourth Canada West title in the past five years and second U Sports national title in team history.

    She led the Huskies women’s hoopsters to their first U Sports national crown in 2016 as well.

    The Dr. Walter Hader Award as student trainer of the year went to Ben Taylor from the Huskies track and field teams and cross country teams.

    The 2019-20 campaign was a great season for the Huskie Athletics program that included four Canada West team championships and one U Sports national title.

Lisa Thomaidis was named the coach of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    The Huskies captured conference titles in men’s wrestling, women’s track and field, men’s hockey and women’s basketball. The women’s basketball team captured the Bronze Baby Trophy as U Sports national champions.

    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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Veterans power Huskies to second Bronze Baby win

U Sports national women’s basketball title returns to U of S

Sabine Dukate hit eight three-pointers for the Huskies.

    The veterans ensured the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team would reach the ultimate U Sports high.

    On Sunday at TD Place in Ottawa, Ont., the Huskies road huge performances from fifth-year guard Sabine Dukate, fourth-year post Summer Masikewich and fourth-year guard Libby Epoch to post a convincing 82-64 victory over the Brock University Badgers in the title game of the U Sports elite-eight women’s basketball national championship tournament.

    The win marked the second time the Huskies captured the Bronze Baby as U Sports national champions with the first title coming in 2016 with an 85-71 victory over the Ryerson University Rams in Fredericton, N.B.

    Way back in 2016, Dukate was a rookie who made her presence known. The Latvian point-guard hit four shots from three-point range recording 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the first U Sports national title victory over the Rams.

    On Sunday as a fifth-year veteran, Dukate had one of those amazing outings that you start to wonder how much the Huskies will miss her.

    She nailed 8-of-12 shots from three-point range and led the Huskies in scoring with 24 points. 

Summer Masikewich scored 20 points for the Huskies.

    Dukate also collected three rebounds, three assists and one steal to be named the tournament MVP and a tournament all-star.
    Dukate, guard Megan Ahlstrom and forward Vera Crooks all graduate from the Huskies program as U Sports national champions.

    Masikewich, who was a first-team all-Canadian all-star, posted 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal.

    Epoch was on the court for almost the entire game. She collected nine points, nine rebounds that were all defensive, seven assists and two steals in her contribution to the winning effort.

    Third-year guard Katriana Philipenko came off the bench to chip in 11 points to the Huskies cause.

    Forward Samantha Keltos topped the Badgers with 21 points.

    The Huskies once again got to this point under the guidance of head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who you could make a strong argument is the best coach in any sport in Canada. She is also the head coach of Canada’s senior national women’s basketball team.

Libby Epoch was dynamic for the Huskies.

    Under Thomaidis, the Huskies have always hit the court with a driven, hard working, fun and likeable group. The personalities of the Huskies players that have played for Thomaidis are so warm and welcoming that you can’t help but cheer for them.
    When the Huskies host the Canada West championship game, the team’s alums flock back to the Physical Activity Complex in big numbers like on Feb. 28, when the Huskies downed the University of Alberta Pandas 62-51 in the conference title game.

    This season, the Huskies posted a 30-2 overall record that includes an 18-2 mark in the regular season and a 6-0 record in the post-season.

    At the U Sports championship tournament, the Huskies downed the Carleton University Ravens 73-59 in a quarter-final contest on Thursday and thumped the Universite Laval Rouge et Or 76-57 in a semifinal on Saturday.

    The Huskies women’s basketball team under Thomaidis leadership has always been great ambassadors representing the U of S and Saskatoon as a city on the national stage. They are a treasure to be taken to heart.

    Once again, you have to love it when good people become national champions, and the Huskies deserve to stand on the U Sports mountaintop.

The Bronze Baby is coming back to the Bridge City.

The Huskies are @USPORTSca National Champions for the second time in school history!@HuskieAthletics 82, Brock 64#HuskiePride pic.twitter.com/j7tFX4rnr6

— Huskie Athletics (@HuskieAthletics) March 8, 2020

Bears, Stars to collide in first round of SFMAAAHL playoffs

Jessie Herner, left, and Brooklyn Anderson will mean business in playoffs.

    It seems like the Prince Albert Northern Bears and the Saskatoon Stars are destined to meet in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs.

    After the results came down from the final day of SFMAAAHL regular season play on Sunday, a Bears versus Stars match up in the post-season was cemented for the fourth time in six years.

    The clubs closed the regular season playing each other at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on Sunday. The Stars were cemented into fifth place in the SFMAAAHL standings regardless of the outcome of that clash.

    The Bears had an opportunity to vault into third place with a regulation win, which would negate a match up with the Stars.

    In the SFMAAAHL, teams receive three points in the standings for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks.

    The Bears got an early first period goal from 16-year-old forward Paris Oleksyn to go ahead 1-0. For the longest time, it appeared Oleksyn’s tally would be the only goal of the contest.

    With 53.7 seconds remaining in the third period, 16-year-old defender Bridget Rezansoff netted the equalizer for the Stars to force a 1-1 tie.

    Knowing they needed a regulation win to finish higher in the standings, the Bears pulled their goalie for an extra attacker looking for the go-ahead marker. The 1-1 tie held up as the third period expired causing the game to go to overtime.

    With their goalie back between the piles for the extra session, the Bears scored in overtime to claim a 2-1 victory off a wraparound goal by captain Brooklyn Anderson.

The Bears have won four straight games.

    Dani Day made 22 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Bears, who will host the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament from April 19 to 25. Kaitlyn Cadrain turned away 34 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Stars.

    Prince Albert won all five head-to-head regular season meetings with Saskatoon.

    The win was the fourth straight for the Bears, who finished the regular season with a 15-13-2 record. They had an identical record with the Notre Dame Hounds, but the Hounds took third place having won all five head-to-head regular season meetings with the Bears.

    The Stars finished with a 12-14-4 regular season record. Saskatoon has won the last two straight SFMAAAHL title, but Stars roster and coaching staff underwent a massive turnover at the end of last season.

    Unlike past years when SFMAAAHL playoff series were contested in best-of-five formats, all SFMAAAHL post-season series will be contested in best-of-three formats starting this season.

    The Bears will have home ice advantage for a best-of-three SFMAAAHL quarter-final series against the Stars. The dates and times of those games are still to be announced.

CBC Sports vows commitment to gender balanced coverage

    CBC Sports likely raised an eyebrow or two over the weekend.

    In an online story released on the CBC Sports website on Friday, the network said it was committing to gender balanced coverage across all its platforms. The hope of the network is to give more exposure to women’s sports, which are extremely under-covered in Canada.

    In 2016, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity released a study regarding the connection between women and sport in Canada. A couple of facts revolved around media coverage.

    An analysis was done on Canada’s primary national sports networks in English and French in 2014. The study said only four per cent of the coverage on those networks was dedicated to women’s sports and over half of that number was dedicated to coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

    A study was done on the Saturday sports section front page in two of Canada’s highest circulated national newspapers from June 2008 to May 2010 and June 2013 to May 2015. Over those time frames, 5.1 per cent of the coverage was dedicated to women’s sports.

    Of course, that study only considered a small sampling size of the print industry.

    It can be argued since that time the coverage of women’s sports in Canada has decreased thanks to massive cuts in the mainstream media, which has often targeted sports departments. Sports coverage seems to get more and more focused on just the NHL, which causes everything else in the sports scene to be out of luck.

    What CBC is trying to do isn’t unheard of. Way back when I covered sports for the University of Regina student newspaper, the Carillon, in the late 1990s and a short time into 2000, that outlet followed a policy of dedicating the same amount articles and space to men’s and women’s sports.

    If I remember correctly, that was tried in a number of university student media outlets.

    In Regina, the University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team rose to new heights of popularity due the massive amounts of coverage they received from all media outlets in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Cougars won the U Sports national title in 2000-01.

    CBC’s venture is a noble one, and it is highly unlikely the rest of Canada’s mainstream media outlets will follow that venture. Some in those outlets will likely note CBC didn’t talk specifics of how it will reach this idealistic hope.

    With Sunday having been International Women’s Day, here is hoping CBC’s initiative finds traction and creates change for the better. The announcement story from CBC Sports 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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