Huskies had great season but still get in their own way

Levi Cable, left, and Taran Kozun celebrate a Huskies win.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team had a great season in 2018-19, which will overshadow the hiccups at the end of the campaign.

    Still, it feels like some of the Huskies players in the generation after the era of Derek Hulak and the late Cody Smuk like to get in their own way a little too often. Under head coach Dave Adolph, the Huskies players in the current generation have improved on cutting down the self-inflicted wounds.

    Unfortunately, the self-inflicted errors seem to pop up at the worst times possible, and those times often involve games with their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

    The most recent round of Huskies having “oops” moments came at the David Johnston University Cup, which wrapped up Sunday in Lethbridge, Alta. The majority of the “oops” moments came in a semifinal game of the U Sports national championship tournament on Saturday between the Huskies and the Golden Bears, which was the 512^th overall meeting between the two sides.

Carter Folk (#13) threw a bad hit in a U Sports semifinal game.

   The first error came when Huskies sophomore right-winger Carter Folk nailed Golden Bears super pest Trevor Cox from behind into the boards at the Enmax Centre. Folk received a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct.
    While the Golden Bears didn’t score on the five-minute power play due to the Huskies outstanding penalty killing, Folk’s penalty helped swing the momentum of the game in U of A’s favour.

    The Huskies played strong in a scoreless first period and had a 16-13 advantage in shots on goal. After Folk’s penalty, the Golden Bears held an 18-5 advantage in shots on goal in the second period and a 32-17 advantage in that department over the final 40 minutes of the contest.

    Folk is a physical forward who plays on the edge, and sometimes goes over that edge. The replays of his hit on Cox looked bad.

    With the period about to end, it was a hit that didn’t need to be delivered. With Cox being an agitator, one was left to wonder if Folk couldn’t resist getting in an extra shot on a player that had been a thorn in the side of the Huskies.

    No matter what, it wasn’t a smart play.

Taran Kozun had a costly misadventure with the puck.

    After the teams played through a scoreless second, Golden Bears captain Riley Kieser gave his side a 1-0 lead at the 1:38 mark of the third period. That set the stage for another big Huskies gaff.

    At the 10:32 mark of the third, Huskies netminder Taran Kozun, who was named the U Sports goaltender of the year, was a little too casual when he decided to backwards pass the puck behind his own net.
    Kozun passed the puck right to Golden Bears left-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk, who quickly helped set up U Sports player of the year Luke Filip to put U of A up 2-0.

    Due to the fact the Huskies weren’t able to score in that semifinal game, it could be argued that Kozun’s error didn’t cost U of S the contest. It did create a huge hill to climb as only 9:28 remained in the third period.

    If the Huskies need to score once to force overtime, it tightens up the pressure on the Golden Bears defence and goaltending for the rest of the contest. A two-goal advantage at that juncture gave the Golden Bears comfortable control of the proceedings.

    You can bet Kozun felt awful about what happened. On an obvious error like that, you hope he remembers the importance of being alert at all points of the game in future seasons.

    Of course, there were the fireworks that happened inside of the final 31 seconds of the third period. After Pawlenchuk scored an empty-net goal to cement a 3-0 Golden Bears victory, frustrations boiled over and fists started to fly as a major scrum ensued.

Captain Jesse Forsberg was involved in some rough stuff in a U Sport semi.

    From that melee, Huskies fifth-year captain Jesse Forsberg and his younger brother in Huskies left-winger Alex Forsberg both received instigator minors, fighting majors and game misconducts.

    Huskies left-winger Collin Shirley and Golden Bears defenceman Graeme Craig each received roughing minors and 10-minute misconducts. Golden Bears defenceman Sawyer Lange received a fighting major and a game misconduct.
    Right before the game ended, Huskies fourth-year centre Kohl Bauml was booted for receiving a slashing major and a game misconduct.

    When you see these penalties on a game sheet, one starts to wonder if the Huskies crossed the line and how far reaching would the suspensions be?

    When you see the video, it looks like the common scrum and everything from it would quickly blow over.

    On Twitter, a number of Golden Bears supporters and a handful of members from the Edmonton sports media fired off harsh criticisms at Huskies players and the Huskies men’s hockey program.

Alex Forsberg engaged in some rough stuff too.

    It seems to be forgotten that members of the Golden Bears like to partake in pest work that is a bit underhanded like Cox, Cole Sanford and Brandon Magee, so the U of A side can’t be dismissed as perfect angels either.

    Actually in the cases of Jesse Forsberg and Bauml, they have always been viewed as favourites by the rink staff at the Huskies former home in the ancient Rutherford Rink and their new one in the magnificent Merlis Belsher Place. It is common for them to have almost daily short visits with rink staffers and take genuine interest in how everyone’s day is going.

    Going back to his WHL days with the Prince George Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds and Moose Jaw Warriors, Forsberg developed a reputation that he could get rambunctious, let his emotions get the best of him and ultimately cost his team.
    During his five seasons with the Huskies, Forsberg improved a tonne when it came to playing an under control game. Under Adolph and his coaching staff, Forsberg became a star offensive-defenceman and became the player he should have been in the WHL, where he was type casted to be a tough guy.

    He developed to the point he could play in the NHL, but NHL executives tend to overlook 25-year-old players from U Sports.

    Following the loss to the Golden Bears, the Huskies moved on to play in Sunday’s bronze medal game without the two Forsbergs and Folk, who were all suspended. Bauml did suit up for the Huskies on Sunday.

Kohl Bauml lost his cool in a U Sports semifinal.

    U of S showed a lot more discipline giving up only three power-play chances to the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men. The Huskies dominated play holding a 49-16 edge in shots on goal, but came out on the wrong end of a 5-1 final score.

    Fifth-year hard working right-winger Parker Thomas had the Huskies lone goal in his final U Sports game coming inside of the final minute of the third period, when the X-Men were up 5-0. Thomas, Jesse Forsberg and Huskies left-winger Michael Sofillas all exhausted their U Sports eligibility with Sunday’s setback.

    On a side note, the Golden Bears fell in the national final 4-2 on Sunday to the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds.
    In the overall scheme of things, the Huskies 2018-19 season won’t be defined by what took place in their final two games at U Sports nationals. Ultimately, the only thing that will be remember from the David Johnston University Cup for the Huskies was the fact they finished fourth at that event.

    The 2018-19 campaign will be remembered for the fact the Huskies finished first in the Canada West Conference at 25-3 posting a new team record for regular season wins at 25 and standings points at 50.

Parker Thomas scored his final U Sports goal on Sunday.

    Kozun’s outstanding individual season will be a big highlight. In the regular season, the sophomore posted a 20-3 record, a 1.81 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts. His win total was a new Huskies individual record for most victories in one regular season.
    The Huskies played with the heart and hustle that has been a trademark for the program.

    Going forward, their supporters have to hope they keep finding ways to play a little better to each situation they encounter and keep limiting the times they shoot themselves in the foot, especially when they play the Golden Bears.

    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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Borbandy aims to catch on with U of S Huskies blue-line

Defender Teagan Borbandy hopes to catch on with the Huskies.

    Teagan Borbandy doesn’t want to hang up her skates just because she had to switch schools.

    For the past two seasons, Borbandy was a defensive defender with the Red Deer College Queens of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. Over two seasons, she appeared in 29 regular season games with the Queens posting an assist and 22 penalty minutes, and she helped Red Deer College win an ACAC title in 2016.

    The Langdon, Alta., product is pursuing studies in bio-chemistry and knew she would have to transfer out of Red Deer College to a University to finish her degree. Borbandy wanted to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan for academics, and her thoughts started to drift towards the Huskies women’s hockey team, who play in the U Sports ranks.

    “I love Saskatchewan, and I love this school,” said Borbandy. “It is beautiful.

    “They have a really good program, so I thought I would come. I decided about two months ago that I wanted to continue to playing hockey, so I came out as a walk on.”

    Borbandy found a phone number for Huskies head coach Steve Kook and called about trying out as a walk on. From that conversation, Borbandy joined the Huskies for their training camp.

Huskies AC Brian McGregor, left, talks with Teagan Borbandy.

    She made the trip with the Huskies to Athabasca, Alta., for the Athabasca College Hockey Challenge last weekend and dressed for one of two exhibition games U of S split against the defending U Sports champion U of Alberta Pandas. The Huskies fell 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout last Friday and won 2-1 last Saturday.

    As for Borbandy’s status with the team, things are progressing a day at a time.

    “We don’t have an idea of how many defencemen that we are going to take if it is seven, if it is nine,” said Kook, who returned to the Huskies after a one-year professional leave of absence. “If we think you are going to help us, we’ll carry you.

    “We agreed to take it day by day. At the end of every practice, we have a chat, and we’ll let her know if we like to see her another day. It is how it has been.”

    Borbandy, who stands 5-foot-4, comes to the Huskies with a solid hockey background. Besides playing for the Queens, she suited up for three seasons from 2012 to 2015 with the Rocky Mountain Raiders based in De Winton, Alta.

Teagan Borbandy listens to instructions at practice.

    Traditionally, the Raiders have been one of Alberta’s stronger female midget AAA programs, and Borbandy was an assistant captain with that club before finishing her time with that squad as captain.

    She always loved the comradery she had with her teammates and being active on the ice. Her first interactions with the Huskies players and coaches have built a desire to want to stay.

    “They are great,” said Borbandy. “They are such nice girls. They are very opening and helpful.

    “I’ve never seen so many girls that want help each other. It is not a competition within the team. It is a competition to make everybody better.

    “The coaches are great, very nice, encouraging and very supportive. They are always telling me things to improve on which is great. I love feedback.”

    Borbandy’s love for hockey hasn’t diminished over her career. She said it was great to join the Huskies having come from a good situation of having played with the Queens, who were 14-7-3 last season. The Queens fell in a best-of-three ACAC semifinal series to the MacEwan University Griffins 2-1.

    “It was a good step out of midget,” said Borbandy. “I enjoyed my team.

    “I had a great set of girls. I enjoyed the opportunity to continue playing. The school is a great school.”

Teagan Borbandy starts a rush out of her own zone.

    The Huskies had a strong campaign last season posting a 15-10-3 record. They fell in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Dogs fell 3-1 in a series deciding Game 3, but had they prevailed, they would have earned a berth to the U Sports final eight national championship tournament.

    When Borbandy talked to Kook about joining the Huskies, the bench boss advised the young defender, who will turn 20 on Sept. 20, to not leave anything behind.

    “We had a chat with her early in the summer, and I said if you are going to come to this thing and if you are going to come to tryouts, don’t come halfway be all in,” said Kook. “Whether it lasts one day or three days, you have to just make sure there are no regrets.

    “What I told her today is you are having a good camp so far. Comeback tomorrow, we want to see more. The way it works is pretty soon you are going to be coming back enough days that you are going to find yourself on a bus with us somewhere.”

Teagan Borbandy moves the puck up ice in a transition drill.

    The Huskies are returning five defenders from last year’s team, so ice time will be at a premium for any newcomers. Going forward, Borbandy can gain further motivation from another hockey development in her family.

    Last Friday, her younger sister, Emma, who is current playing defence for the Raiders, signed a letter of intent to play for the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds women’s hockey team for the start of the 2018-19 campaign. If Teagan stays with the Huskies, it is possible the two siblings might face each other on the ice one day.

    With all that in mind, Teagan said she just wants to work on getting better in the present.

    “My hopes are to work on things I know I need to work on, to improve and get to where some of their top defencemen are and maybe play a few games,” said Borbandy. “It would be awesome.”

    The Huskies resume their pre-season schedule this coming Saturday and Sunday, when they travel to Calgary to face the Mount Royal University Cougars on each of those days. The green and white open the regular season on Oct. 6 against their provincial rivals the U of Regina Cougars at 7 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

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