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| The Stars aim to build off their latest SFMAAAHL title win. |
On Friday, the Stars will begin a best-of-three Western
regional playdown series against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats at
7:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the series is slated for 3:45 p.m.
at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at
Merlis.
The winner of the series advanced to the Esso Cup female
midget AAA national hockey championship tournament, which runs April 21 to 27
in Sudbury, Ont.
The Stars posted a 27-1 regular season record in the
Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and went on to capture their
fourth league title in the last five years. They advanced to the gold medal
game of last year’s Esso Cup falling 2-1 to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash,
who claimed the national crown for a second straight year.
The Wildcats topped the regular season standings of the
Manitoba Female Midget AAA Hockey League with a 21-5-2 record before advancing
on to win the league crown. They also won the inaugural Esso Cup title back in
2009.
The Stars will enter the series as favourites due to
carrying a roster that contains players that have loads of post-season
experience blended in with some talented rookies and second-year players.
 |
| Ashley Messier has had an outstanding season on the Stars blue-line. |
Shirley was on the Stars roster in their three previous
visits to the Esso Cup in 2015, 2016 and last season. She played in the 2015
tournament as an associate player call up.
Kaitlin Jockims, who is another standout 17-year-old
forward, finished second in Stars team scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists for
45 points. All of those totals were career highs for Jockims.
Anna Leschyshyn was third in team scoring with 18 goals and
21 assists for 39 points and is also looking to graduate from the midget AAA
ranks after this season on a high note.
Joelle Fiala, who is also playing her final midget AAA
season, was fourth in team scoring with 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points.
The Stars have a strong defensive unit that can get things
done offensively as well. Ashley Messier, who just turned 17-years-old in late
March, led all Stars defenders in regular season scoring with career highs in
goals (five), assists (27) and points (32).
Chace Sperling, who turned 17-years-old in January, had a
breakout year on the back end posting career highs in regular season play in
goals (eight), assists (12) and points (20).
In goal, the Stars will likely turn to steady third-year
veteran Arden Kliewer. Kliewer, who turned 17-years-old in February, was
outstanding in the regular season posting a 16-0 record, a 1.21 goals against average,
a .941 save percentage and seven shutouts.
 |
| Arden Kliewer has been stellar in goal for the Stars. |
Hubbard, who is also in her final midget AAA campaign, was second in Wildcats team scoring with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points.
Defender Jori Hansen-Young quarterbacks the power play
leading all Wildcats blue-liners in scoring with four goals and 13 assists.
In goal, 15-year-old Natalie Williamson carried the bulk of
the workload in the playoffs for the Wildcats. In 12 regular season
appearances, Williamson posted a 9-2-1 record, a 1.73 goals against average, a
.936 save percentage and two shutouts.
Way back in 2009, the Wildcats swept the first ever Western
regional playdown series against the Prince Albert Northern Bears 2-0. A
Manitoba champion hasn’t won that series since 2012, when the Morden-based
Pembina Valley Hawks swept the Notre Dame Hounds 2-0 and moved on to capture
the Esso Cup.
Last year, the Stars swept away the Eastman Selects in
Steinbach, Man., 2-0.
Blazers had a great run
 |
| Nolan Allan had an outstanding season for the Blazers. |
Last Friday, the Blazers saw their season come to an end,
when they fell 4-1 in Game 4 of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League
Championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds at the Duncan McNeill Arena in
Wilcox, Sask. Notre Dame took the best-of-five series 3-1.
The Hounds won the SMAAAHL title for the second straight
year and are hoping to win the Telus Cup midget AAA national title for a second
straight year too.
Notre Dame heads to the four team Telus Cup Western Regionals tournament that starts Thursday and runs to Sunday in Tisdale, Sask. The winner advances to the Telus Cup, which runs April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Notre Dame heads to the four team Telus Cup Western Regionals tournament that starts Thursday and runs to Sunday in Tisdale, Sask. The winner advances to the Telus Cup, which runs April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Last Friday, the Blazers and Hounds were locked in a 1-1 after two periods before
the Hounds closed the contest out with three goals in the third.
Trey Funk scored for Notre Dame in the first period and
Keenan Allan replied for the Blazers in the second frame.
In the third, Maxwell Joy and Coalson Wolford put the Hounds
up 3-1, and Cam Recchi sealed the win with an empty-net goal inside of the
final 30 seconds of the third.
Thomas Wardle made 18 saves in goal for the Hounds. Matthew
Pesenti turned away 20-of-23 shots in goal for the Blazers.
The Blazers finished third in the SMAAAHL regular season
with a 31-10-3 record, while the Hounds were fourth with a 28-12-2-2 mark.
The campaign was an outstanding one for the Blazers, who finished five points behind the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the regular season.
The campaign was an outstanding one for the Blazers, who finished five points behind the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the regular season.
 |
| Rhett Gibson sets to fire a shot on goal for the Blazers. |
He had 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 39 regular season
games with the Blazers. Allan appeared in seven regular season games with the
Raiders collecting one assist.
Cole Nagy, who is 17-year-old forward with the Blazers, was
named a first team SMAAAHL all-star, while 15-year-old rookie netminder Brett
Mirwald was a second team SMAAAHL all-star.
Due to the fact most SMAAAHL rosters experience almost a 70
per cent turnover from year to year with players moving to the major junior and
junior A ranks, the Blazers are far from guaranteed from having a follow up
stellar campaign next season.
With that said, those that were part of the Blazers team
this season made memories they will never forget.
Labach is “the queen” of the Huskies
 |
| Julie Labach won two major Huskies awards. |
Last Friday at the Huskie Salute held at TCU Place, Labach,
who stands 5-foot-7, completed a fifth and final season with the Huskies being
named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the program’s female
athlete of the year for a second straight year. The 22-year-old also claimed
the Valerie Gisberger Award as the top female all-around athlete combining
excellence in the classroom and in athletics.
To say Labach had a sensational year might actually be an
understatement. She had a season that was beyond a dream.
Labach was named U Sports female track athlete of the year.
At U Sports nationals, Labach won gold in women’s 1,000-metre race and added
silver in the women’s 600-metre race. She was also a member of the Huskies 4 X
400 women’s relay team that capture gold.
At the Canada West Conference championships, Labach won gold
in the women’s 600 and 1,000 metre races and helped the Huskies women’s team capture
the team conference championship.
In the classroom, Labach was named an academic all-Canadian
in her first four seasons with the Huskies. She is currently completing her
first year of studies in law school.
Actually, Labach is so gifted and outstanding that we would
all be fortune to work for her or be her “yes person” in the future. She is
pretty personable and modest, so you have to like her when you meet her.
 |
| Julie Labach had a dream final U Sports season. |
These days, Olver is the head coach of both Huskies
wrestling teams, and he was named the winner of the Colb McEwon Trophy as the
coach of the year for the Huskies program. Olver guided the Huskies women’s
wrestling team to a Canada West title and a second place finish at U Sports
nationals.
He also took home honours as the Canada West and U Sports
coach of the year in women’s wrestling.
Midfielder Payton Izsak of the Huskies women’s soccer team
won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the Huskies female rookie of the year.
Sophomore netminder Taran Kozun of the Huskies men’s hockey
team claimed the E. Kent Phillps Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the
year.
Kyle Siemens, who was the fifth-year quarterback of the Huskies
football team, took home the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the top male all-around athlete
combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.
Logan Sloan of the Huskies men’s wrestling team captured the
Howard Nixon Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.
Brianna Antonichuk and Melinda Ardagh were both winners of
the Dr. Walter Hader Student Trainer of the Year Award.
CWHL’s demise leaves a big hole
This morning we were informed the #CWHL is folding. As players, we will do our best to find a solution so this isn’t our last season of hockey but it’s hard to remain optimistic. #NoLeague— Kaitlin Willoughby (@willowtree92) March 31, 2019
One of the surprising news stories of the week occurred on
Sunday, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced it will be folding on
May 1 after 12 seasons of existence.
The circuit first hit the ice in 2007 creating a new
professional league for women’s hockey.
The announcement to fold seemed to shock everyone involved
with women’s hockey.
On Tuesday, the National Women’s Hockey League, which is
based in the United States, announced plans to expand to Toronto and Montreal
for the start of next season. The possibility that the NWHL could add more
expansion teams wasn’t ruled out.
The CWHL had four teams in Canada, one in Worcester,
Massachusetts and one in Shenzhen, China. It is uncertain if any of these
franchises will resurface in another league.
Here is hoping that the void can be filled that the demise
of the CWHL will leave.
In its final season existence, the CWHL provided a great
opportunity to Kaitlin Willoughby, who is a forward from Prince Albert, Sask.,
originally hailing from Canwood, Sask.
Willoughby, who turned 24-years-old in late March, starred
for five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey
team becoming the program’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and
61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.
From 2008 to 2013, she appeared in 96 regular season games
with the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA
Hockey League piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.
When her midget AAA career finished, Willoughby was viewed
as a good player, but she wasn’t declared a phenom that was on Hockey Canada’s
radar.
During her university career, Willoughby continued to
improve and blew past a larger number of players that put up more points than
she did or were viewed as better than her in midget AAA.
Hockey Canada took notice, and Willoughby earned a spot on
Canada’s women’s team that won silver at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty,
Kazakhstan in 2017.
She was invited out to Hockey Canada summer development
camps for three straight years from 2016 to 2018. Last September, Willoughby was
one of 59 players invited to Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team’s Fall
Festival in Dawson Creek, B.C.
That camp is used to evaluate and develop Canada’s top
female players and players can earn a chance to play on Canada’s Senior
National Women’s team from that camp.
During each of those points, Willoughby earned an invite
from her accomplishments with the Huskies. At the Fall Festival, it could be
argued that Willoughby was just there to be a camp body, but she managed to
create a bigger blip on the radar for herself.
If the CWHL didn’t exist at that point, it was possible
Willoughby’s career as a competitive hockey player could have been done there.
She suited up for the Calgary Inferno and played with and
against the top women’s players in the world including senior national team
members from Canada, the United States and a few countries in Europe.
Willoughby had a goal and five assists in 27 regular season
games with the Inferno and played in their 5-2 victory in the Clarkson Cup
final on March 24 over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in Toronto, Ont. While her
point total was modest, she showed off her athletic ability including her great
speed that allowed her to pull away from players even at that level.
Willoughby learned the ins and outs of playing with top
level players, where you have to get to spots on the ice and the puck will be
on the tape of your stick. She performed well enough that there was talk of
having her play further up the Inferno’s lineup.
A player like Willoughby is still improving, and you still
wonder how good she could actually be. She has played well enough that if you
cut her the person that makes that cut likely goes home and feels sick all
night over that decision.
Willoughby might play for Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey
team and might play in a Winter Olympics one day. If she doesn’t have a league
like the CWHL to play and improve in, all of a sudden she doesn’t have the
vehicle that will give her the opportunity to reach her full potential.
She also skated again for Canada in the last FISU Winter
Universiade that recently wrapped up as the captain of the women’s hockey team
in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. On March 11, Willoughby led Canada to the gold medal game,
where they lost a 2-0 heartbreaker to the host Russian side.
If there isn’t that professional option, it lessens the
chance for female players that have their biggest improvement curves after high
school to get on the radar of Hockey Canada. You have to hope you go to camp
for or make Canada’s under-18 women’s team to get on that radar.
While there is uncertainty in the women’s professional game,
hopefully something works out to keep the players that were on the six CWHL
clubs playing. It would be unfortunate to tell someone like Willoughby the time
has come to pack it in after all the strides forward she has made.
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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