New University of Saskatchewan rink finally becomes a reality

Ground-breaking ceremony held for Merlis Belsher Place

Dignitaries break ground at the site of Merlis Belsher Place.

    It was actually happening, and you were surprised it didn’t fall through.

    On Friday afternoon just south of the fieldhouse on the University of Saskatchewan campus, the ground breaking ceremony was held for Merlis Belsher Place, which will be the new twin-pad hockey rink facility that will replace the ancient Rutherford Rink. It is estimated the multi-sport complex will be open for the start of hockey season in October of 2018.

    One of the ice pads will be used by the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams for games and practices. The second rink will mainly be used by the Saskatoon Minor Hockey association, which will gain 1,500 additional hours of ice time per year.

    Two NBA-length practice gymnasiums, which are also part of the project, will be ready for the Huskies basketball teams in 2019.

Merlis Belsher hangs with a couple of young hockey players.

    While the benefits of the new facility are many, there was still doubt in the back of the mind that it was going to be a reality. Even on the drive to the campus for the ground-breaking ceremony, you almost thought something was going to happen to call everything off.

    Back in 1997, then Huskies athletic director Ross Wilson said he was actively pursuing a new rink for the U of S campus, and the Rutherford Rink needed to be replaced at that time. Since that time, the process to replace Rutherford has had many stops and starts. Those stops and starts provide ample justification for doubt.

    Upon arriving at the ground-breaking site, it was clear the new rink was really going to happen this time. Members of the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams were play street hockey with youngsters on a paved stretch of road beside the ground-breaking site.

    Many dignitaries were there including Fred Sasakamoose, who was the first First Nations player to play in the NHL, Saskatoon mayor Charlie Clark, U of S president Peter Stoicheff, Ken Cheveldayoff, who is the MLA for Saskatoon Silver Springs and Kelly Boes, who is the executive director of the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association.

Members of the Huskies women’s hockey team took in the ground breaking.

    Merlis Belsher was also there and his leading gift and largest donation from an alumnus or individual in the university’s history of $12.25-million kick started the fundraising efforts for the facility. Thanks to Belsher’s donation and leadership, it was determined the new facility would be named after him.

    The list of dignitaries included Ron and Jane Graham, who have been long time supporters of the university and donated $4-million for the gymnasiums to be added to the facility last December.

    Beauty speeches were also given by Kohl Bauml, who is a star forward with the Huskies men’s hockey team, and Libby Epoch, who is the standout point-guard for the Huskies women’s basketball team.

Kohl Bauml, right, speaks to the dignitaries at the ground breaking.

    When you saw the gathering of many individuals from all walks of life, you realized that this was actually going to happen. The choreographed photo opportunity for the sod turning seemed surreal. For the gathering of just over 100 alums and stakeholders, there was pure joy in the moment.

    At this moment in time, everything finally fell into place to allow the new rink on campus to be built. The Huskies hockey teams will only have to play through one more season of “rust breaks” at the Rutherford Rink, which is approaching its 88^th birthday, before finally skating in a state of the art new home.

    Some current and even former players at the gathering joked that Huskies men’s hockey head coach Dave Adolph often promised a new rink was coming when he recruited new players, and now that recruiting ploy would finally have some real staying power.

Mascot Howler meets the people at the ground-breaking ceremony.

    In total, the new facility will cost $42.9-million. Originally, the cost was pegged at $41-million, but the architectural plans for the main rink at Merlis Belsher Place have been enhanced to increase seating. The original plans called for 2,357 seats, while the new one allows for 3,437 seats creating the increased cost.

    The Home Ice Campaign to raise funds for the new facility was looking to hit a goal of $29-million. Currently, $28.4-million has been raised in the last year to meet the fundraising goal. That included a donation of $2.51-million from the Huskie hockey alumni in early April and the City of Saskatoon’s additional $3-million commitment in February.

Courtney Cormack (#16) plays street hockey with some youngsters.

    Home Ice Campaign chairs Dave King, who is a former legendary coach of the Huskies men’s hockey team, and Tim Hodgson, who is a men’s hockey alumnus, have to be given credit for bringing individuals of various backgrounds together to help make the new rink a reality. All the individuals that contributed to the effort to build this new facility should be applauded for their leadership and for seeing a vision of the future.

    Besides having a rink to benefit the Huskies, Saskatoon will now be able to hold national events like the Telus Cup midget AAA hockey championship, the Esso Cup female midget AAA hockey championship and the U Sports women’s hockey national championship tournament. The city had been without a mid-sized facility that could accommodate these events.

    A lot of wheels had to work together to make Merlis Belsher Place a reality. When its construction comes to a completion, it will leave a legacy to be enjoyed by generations for decades to come.

Bears make impact with Esso Cup trip

So like this girl came up to me and told me... "You are Jordan Ashe, and you are my favourite bear" #4thekids pic.twitter.com/TSs2CDkDKA

— Jordan Ashe (@jordanashe04) April 21, 2017

    The Prince Albert Northern Bears were already winners before they went to Esso Cup, and all one had to do was look at the Twitter account of defender Jordan Ashe to confirm that observation.

Jordan Ashe follows through on a shot for the Bears.

    During a fundraising and send off barbecue that was held for the team in Prince Albert before leaving for Morden, Man., Ashe, who turned 17 in March, posted a Tweet that a little girl came up to her and recognized her. The little girl said Ashe was her favourite Bear. Ashe posted a picture of the pair.

    That moment showed the power that the Bears playoff run had. In capturing their second Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship and winning their first Western regional playdown series, little girls in Prince Albert and area saw what they could possibly do one day.

    In this particular case, this little girl saw a hero she could watch play in her own home city in Ashe, who is a tough stay-at-home defender that can chip in key points offensively.

The Bears had many memorable moments this season.

    During the post-season run, the Bears players will always remember the huge crowds they played in front of at the Art Hauser Centre when they swept the best-of-three Western regional playdown series against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats. An estimated crowd of 1,000 showed up for the Bears 6-4 win in Game 1 on March 31, and an estimated crowd of 1,200 watched the Bears 7-6 victory in Game 2 on April 1.

    On Thursday, the Bears closed play at Esso Cup downing the Sherbrooke, Que., based Harfangs du Triolet 3-2.
    Captain Brooke Hobson, Jadyn Kushniruk and Alli Soyko each had singles for the Bears. Brooklyn Elek turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in goal.

The Western regional win was a first for the Bears.

    Megan Bureau-Gagnon and Sandrine Veillette replied with singles for the Harfangs, while Melyann Daigneault turned away 36 shots to take the loss in goal.

    The Bears closed the round robin portion of the tournament with a 2-3 mark to finish fifth in the round robin standings and just miss qualifying for the playoff round.
    The Pickering, Ont., based Durham West Lightning finished fourth with a 2-3 mark, but they claimed the standings tiebreaker with the Bears posting a 5-1 win in a head-to-head match on Monday.

    The Harfangs won their semifinal game on Friday 2-1 over the host Pembina Valley Hawks and will face the Alberta based St. Albert Slash in Saturday’s championship game.

Camryn Amundson and the Lanchbery Family Trophy.

    The Bears had their most memorable campaign in team history which included posting a team record 22-6 mark in the regular season, and an 11-0 run through the SFMAAAHL playoffs and their regional series win.
    In the SFMAAAHL title series, they swept the Saskatoon Stars, who were the two-time defending league champions and had defeated the Bears in the 2015 league championship series.

    They graduate Hobson, Elek and forwards Ireland South and Sierra Parenteau, who all left big impacts on the team.

    On top of everything else, the Bears allowed little girls from Prince Albert and area to dream big dreams.

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

Please don’t let new U of S rink die on political rhetoric

Huskies trainers clear up during a “rust break” at the Rutherford Rink.

    So close, yet so far.

    Those that are linked with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey programs have to be feeling some level of anxiety, if you have followed the latest news regarding the fundraising efforts to build a new twin-pad rink complex on campus.

    In early January, the City of Saskatoon was asked for an additional $3-million to support the new arena complex on campus, which will cost $41-million to build. The facility will be called Merlis Belsher Place, which is named after the U of S alumnus who donated $12.25-million towards the project. The City of Saskatoon has already agreed to put $1-million in towards the facility.

    When the latest request for an additional $3-million was made, it was also stated the fundraising campaign for the new rink was $6-million short of its goal.

    On Monday, Tim Hodgson, who is the chair of the Home Ice Campaign committee that is raising funds for the new rink, appeared before the City of Saskatoon’s planning, development and community services committee to address the latest funding request. The city committee voted unanimously to bump the debate on spending an additional $3-million to the next meeting of city council on Feb. 27.

    If you have ever been to the ancient Rutherford Rink on the U of S campus, you will realize it needs to be replaced in the worse way possible. The 87-year-old facility is best known for its “rust breaks” or “rust delays,” when a puck hits the roof causing rust from the steel beams in the ceiling to rain down on the ice. The training staffs of the Huskies hockey teams proceed to race on to the ice to clean up the mess.

    Actually, it is surprising Rutherford hasn’t been condemned. Back in 1997, then Huskies athletic director Ross Wilson said he was actively pursuing a new rink, and Rutherford needed to be replaced at that time. Since that time, the process to replace Rutherford has had way too many stops and starts.
    After the request was made to the City of Saskatoon for an additional $3-million, those that are connected to the Huskies hockey programs must have a little fear that things might fall through again.
    There hasn’t been any ground breaking to start construction of the new facility despite being $6-million away from raising the total funds that are needed for the project.

    The new facility would allocate one rink to be used by the Huskies men’s and women’s teams for games and practices. The second rink will be mainly used by the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association, which will gain an additional 1,500 additional hours of ice time per year.

Wyatt Johnson fires a shot on goal at the Rutherford Rink.

    The last new sheet of indoor ice was built in Saskatoon in 1998 with the second pad at the private Rod Hamm Memorial/Harold Latrace Arena. The last public rink was built in 1981, when a hockey ice pad was added to the ACT Arena.

    In my opinion, most of the minor hockey rinks in Saskatoon are dumps. They aren’t dumpy at the level of the Rutherford Rink, but they are still dumps.

    When you step into the six-sheet minor hockey ice palace that is the Co-operators Centre in Regina, you are pretty much embarrassed to say you play out of any of the facilities in Saskatoon.

    The Home Ice Campaign is so close to realizing its fundraising goal you could almost see yourself skating on the campus rink.

    It would likely cost the City of Saskatoon $6-million or more to add an ice pad to any of their existing rinks, so the investment in the new U of S facility would be a wise one.

    Unfortunately, the request for more funding will raise all sorts of political rhetoric. Those that want the new rink will point to the cost overruns of the Remai Modern Art Gallery noting the city would likely write a cheque if that project needed another $3-million or more.

    Others will say the money should be put into roads or other infrastructure.

    What all of that talk does is distract people away from the fact a new rink is needed on campus and for the city. A number of community leaders like Belsher have stepped up to really push the envelope to make a first rate facility a reality.

The Huskies women’s team celebrates a goal at the Rutherford Rink.

    If you think ice time for minor hockey in Saskatoon is tight now, imagine if Rutherford did get condemned forcing two elite level U Sports hockey teams to find times for their games and practices amongst the existing facilities in the city. That theoretical development would likely toast the campus recreation hockey program at the U of S for a time too.

    The reality of getting a new rink on campus has never been closer than it has been at this moment. It would be extremely sad if this opportunity slipped away.

    The twin-pad rink is needed. Whether the funds come from the city or possibly other donor, please find some way to get this done.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. It should be noted that I made a donation to the Home Ice Campaign. If you want to donate to the Home Ice Campaign, you can do so by clicking here.

Wheels more in motion for new U of Saskatchewan rink

Replacement for Rutherford still can’t come fast enough

Officials clean up fallen rust at the Rutherford Rink.

    The “rust break” will become a thing of the past.

    Anyone connected with the University of Saskatchewan has to be breathing a big sigh of relief that the ancient Rutherford Rink will be replaced in a more sooner than later time span.

    Last Thursday, Rutherford was the site for the public launch of the Home Ice Campaign, where U of S commerce and law graduate Merlis Belsher contributed $12.25-million to fund a new ice facility to replace the current home of the Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams. The donation was the largest donation from an alumnus and individual in the university’s history.

    One day later, Lawrence and Patricia Rychjohn and Ian and Alice Van Norman donated $1-million to the campaign after a ground breaking ceremony for a new hotel development on campus.

    Thanks to those incredible gifts, $34-million has been raised for the new twin-ice facility, which will cost $41-million and be called Merlis Belsher Place. It will eventually be built south of the Field House. A picture of what the rink will look like drew good reviews at the launch and through circulation on social media.

    The only thing that would have made the launch announcement better would have been a ground-breaking ceremony for the new arena. That detail still helps a minor anxiety linger about the whole project.

The Huskies men's hockey team celebrate a goal at the Rutherford Rink.

    Even with that in mind, the campaign is only looking for the public to raise the remaining $7-million to complete everything. With $34-million already raised and legendary former Huskies men’s hockey head coach Dave King leading the charge, the new rink will be built. The question is only when?

    Since 1997 when then Huskies athletic director Ross Wilson said he was actively pursuing a new rink, it felt like the process to replace Rutherford had way too many stops and starts. One had to wonder if a new facility would ever be built, or it felt like the current facility that was built in 1929 would have to be condemned to get any more action under way.

    Those with long memories know the Physical Activity Complex on campus was built due to the fact the U of S’s Physical Education Centre was found to be no longer structurally sound in December of 1997. Within months of that discovery, the Physical Education Centre was demolished.

    When the Physical Activity Complex opened in 2003, it replaced Education Gym as the home of the Huskies basketball and volleyball teams.

    As far as the new rink front goes, there appears to be no stopping its inevitable construction now. When King became involved, you knew the will was there to get the project done.

    Belsher along with the Lawrence and Rychjohn families showed outstanding community minded leadership with their donations.

    The twin ice surfaces will provide ice time for the Huskies hockey teams, 900 students who play campus recreation hockey annually, 400 students and 140 faculty and staff for other recreational and academic purposes and Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association teams.

A sign for the Home Ice Campaign.

    The facility will have a 90-foot wide main surface, seating for 1,830 with the ability to expand to 2,310 spectators and flex space for events like convocations.

    In Rutherford, hockey games often have to be stopped, when a puck hits the ceiling causing rust from the beams to fall on to the ice. The rust has to be cleared off before play can resume, which caused the term “rust break” to become a norm.

    A new rink will put a thankful end to rust stoppages.

    Until the last $6-million is raised, there will be a bit of an anxious wait, but this time there is more certainty than ever of a positive end result.

    For those that want to donate to the Home Ice Campaign, they can do so by clicking here.

Hockey enforcers documentary to premiere in Saskatoon

    A documentary that explores the world of the hockey enforcer is set to open in Saskatoon, and it looks to be a good one.

    “Ice Guardians” is slated to be shown at the Remai Arts Centre at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The film features some of the game’s most famous pugilists including Dave Schultz, Dave Semenko, Joey Kocur, Kelly Chase, Rob Ray and the late Derek Boogaard.

    In exploring the role of the enforcer, the premise of the movie is to show the human side of the men that took the ice to protect superstars like Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull. One of the observations was the fact enforcers wanted to make the NHL, but they didn’t think growing up they would live the dream by throwing fists.

    One of the players featured was former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Riley Cote. Cote was the 19-year-old captain of the Prince Albert Raiders, when I covered that WHL team during the 2001-02 campaign.

    At that time, Cote was known for this toughness, which is a traditional trait you see coming from members of the Raiders. He won his share of fights in the major junior ranks.

    The Winnipeg product was also making a reputation for his offensive skill. During the 2001-02 campaign, Cote collected 28 goals and 23 assists in 67 regular season games along with 134 penalty minutes. He was in tremendous physical shape and had quite an impressive build.

    Cote was known for being a teddy bear. He wasn’t even tagged as the enforcer of the Raiders. One thought he would make the NHL as a power-forward type player like Keith Tkachuk.

    During the off-season months in 2002, Cote signed his first professional contract ensuring he wouldn’t be back for his overage season in Prince Albert. Soon, I was hearing stories that Cote was slugging it out in hockey’s minor professional ranks as an enforcer. He eventually made his NHL debut with the Flyers on March 24, 2007.

    He played in 156 career regular season games with the Flyers collecting one goal, six assists and 411 minutes in penalties. In 70 games in the 2007-08 campaign, Cote spent 202 minutes in the sinbin.

    During his NHL career, he was viewed as one of the Flyers best representatives out in the community, and he was always a fan favourite. Cote is one example that there is more to an enforcer type player than just getting into fights.

    For those that get to deal with the game on a regular basis, they find enforcers are usually the most personable guys on a hockey team. When it comes down to it, you end up thinking of them as just “boys.”

    You also find out a number of them are fairly intelligent and are well-versed in all sorts of subjects. The “Ice Guardians” documentary aims to show all these other characteristic of enforcers.

    Those that purchase a $100 VIP ticket will get to attend a reception before the movie at Milestones with Chase and Kocur, a question and answer session with NHLers after the film and an after party.

    General admission tickets are $45, which also gets you into the question and answer session and the after party.

    Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

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