Oh how sweet it is – Huskies capture Canada West title

Dogs claim first conference championship since 2020

Justin Ball goes for a spin with the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

It was the spark that helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team surge to a Canada West championship.

On Sunday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies found themselves in a scoreless deadlock in the third period with the Mount Royal University Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship series. The Cougars had gotten the record crowd of 3,013 spectators at the Huskies state of the art rink to fall into a hush.

At the 10:09 mark of the frame, the Huskies got a rush that turned the game around. 

Vince Loschiavo scored the winning goal for the Huskies.

Second-year offensive defenceman Landon Kosior got the puck to fourth-year left-winger Chantz Petruic at the left side of his own blue-line. Petruic made seeing-eye pass up the centre of the ice to fifth-year right-winger Vince Loschiavo to spring him into the Mount Royal zone on a one-on-one rush.

Loschiavo jetted up the left wing, took a shot that deflected off the stick of Cougars defenceman Michael Ladyman into the Mount Royal net to put the Huskies up 1-0 and almost blow the roof off Merlis. That started a three-goal surge that allowed the Huskies to take the game 3-0. With the win, the Huskies claimed the best-of-three set 2-1 to capture their first conference crown since 2020.

Vince Loschiavo reacts to score at the 10:09 mark of the third period.

Both Huskies and the Cougars will play in the U Sports Championship Tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. It is slated to be held at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, from March 20 to 23, and it will be played in elite-eight format.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote, who was named the Canada West Conference coach of the year this season. “They put in so much work.

“They bought in, and that is what good teams do. They are so close and so tight. We’re going to enjoy this, but we also got nationals to be ready for as well, so we’re not done yet.”

The Huskies celebrate a third period goal from Vince Loschiavo (#18).

The Huskies captured the Canada West title for the 19^th time in team history with 12 of those wins coming in the conference’s modern era that started in 1972.

For the first 40 minutes in Sunday’s game, it seemed like the Huskies were stuck in a mud bog. While they had their spurts of offence, the Cougars pinned the hosts in their own zone for extended stretches.

Mount Royal had a 12-4 edge in shots on goal after the first period and 24-11 advantage in the same department heading into the second intermission. While the Cougars had their chances, they couldn’t solve Huskies fourth-year netminder Roddy Ross, who claimed honours as the Canada West goaltender of the year for the current campaign.

Part of the crowd of 3,013 spectators cheer the Huskies first goal.

Kosior said Ross’s performance helped give the Huskies traction.

“Roddy (Ross) was making saves,” said Kosior. “I think that just gave us so much belief.

“We knew that he is not letting anything in. We just knew that we had to get one. Once we got it, it was all gas.”

Huskies second-year right-winger Keaton Sorensen thought his team’s effort was there for the first 40 minutes and the intensity of the contest was high. He said all his squad had to do was get a touch more composure.

Roddy Ross made 30 saves to pick up the shutout win on Sunday.

“We just took it period by period every five minutes,” said Sorensen. “Sometimes, we got revved up.

“We just got calm and collected. We just got it done today.”

The game’s momentum shifted drastically in the third when Loschiavo got the Huskies on the scoreboard. Kosior was pumped to see the rush that he started get finished off by Loschiavo.

“That was unbelievable,” said Kosior. “That was a feeling I won’t forget.

“We celebrated, and then knew there was nine minutes left or whatever it was. We had to refocus and finish the game out.”

Shane Farkas stopped 24-of-26 shots in goal for the Cougars.

Following Loschiavo’s goal, the Huskies got the puck deep in the Mount Royal often and were hard on the forecheck. That pressure resulted in a key insurance goal with 5:55 remaining in the third.

Cougars third-year defenceman Remy Aquilon had the puck deep in his zone, and he was forced to cough it up after he was floored by a big hit from Huskies fourth-year right winger Jarrett Penner. After the hit, the puck squirted to Huskies third-year centre Ethan Regnier, who was all alone in front of the Mount Royal net.

Regnier tucked a shot between the legs of Cougars netminder Shane Farkas to push the Huskies lead out to 2-0.

“Penn (Jarrett Penner) is my linemate there,” said Regnier. “He is always hard on the puck, so you always have to be ready.

Ethan Regnier scored the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

“You never know what is going to happen. It just came out to me. I tried to make a quick move, and luckily, it went in.”

Regnier was pumped his Huskies prevailed in Game 3 to capture the conference title.

“I’m pretty speechless,” said Regnier. “To do it in front of the crowd and the support we have here, it is awesome.”

With 1:16 remaining in the third, fourth-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine sealed the victory with an empty-net tally that rounded out the 3-0 final score.

Ross stopped all 30 shots sent his way to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Farkas turned away 24-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars.

During the regular season, the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 23-5 record, and they were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings. 

The Huskies pour off their bench after winning the Canada West title.

The Cougars were second overall in Canada West at 22-6, and they were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings.

Kosior was elated his squad claimed the conference title.

“It feels unreal,” said Kosior. “At the start of the year, this was our goal.

“To accomplish it, it is the best feeling in the world.”

Sorensen contributed some gritty minutes to help the Huskies cause. With 3:34 remaining in the third, he drew a tripping penalty from Cougars rookie right-winger Justin Lies that help keep the momentum on the Huskies side.

Ty Prefontaine (#9) reacts to getting his Canada West gold medal.

When the third period clock expired, Sorensen was over the moon excited about the fact his team won the conference title.

“It is awesome,” said Sorensen. “There is no better feeling than winning.

“It is just awesome. We have a great group of guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.”

The 3,013 spectators the Huskies drew for Game 3 matched the record total they attracted for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at Merlis, which the Cougars claimed 2-1 in overtime. In the Huskies 6-3 victory in Game 1 of the series on Friday, 2,980 spectators packed into Merlis, which was the attendance record for the building until Games 2 and 3 of the series were played.

Landon Kosior raises the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

Kosior played before some lively crowds during his WHL career as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in “Hockey Town North.” He loved how the Huskies faithful brought the noise and the energy in the Canada West final.

“The crowd has been amazing,” said Kosior. “It is unbelievable.

“I can’t even put it into words. We’re just so thankful with how good our crowd was.”

Now the Huskies turn their attention to trying to win their second U Sports championship in team history. Their lone U Sports title came from their legendary 1982-83 squad that was coached by Dave King and captained by Willie Desjardins.

Kosior said his squad is looking forward to what awaits then at the David Johnston University Cup.

The Huskies celebrate their Canada West title win on Sunday.

“We’re excited,” said Kosior. “We will celebrate this, and then, we will come back and be ready to go and be looking forward to nationals.”

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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De La Gorgendiere eyes up long playoff run with Golden Bears

U of A pulls out 5-4 OT win over Huskies in Game 3

Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#6) shields the puck from a checker.

Welcome to the world of U Sports men’s hockey Aidan De La Gorgendiere.

The Abbotsford, B.C., product, who is best known for being a career member of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, is making an immediate impact with the storied University of Alberta Golden Bears. On Sunday playing a series deciding Game 3 of a Canada West Conference quarter-final set against the Golden Bears “forever rivals” in the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place, De La Gorgendiere scored his team’s first goal and picked up an assist on the overtime winner in a 5-4 victory.

The win allowed the Golden Bears to take the best-of-three set 2-1. The Huskies took Game 1 of the series 4-2 on Friday at Merlis, and the Golden Bears claimed Game 2 by a 3-2 final on Saturday at the same venue.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere had the Golden Bears first goal on Sunday.

With the series win, the Golden Bears advance to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the dates and times to be determined for this coming weekend.

“It obviously feels awesome,” said De La Gorgendiere. “We didn’t play near to our best on Friday there.

“I feel like the last two games we kind of figured it out and got back to what makes us successful. We were skating good. We were moving our feet out there.

“It feels awesome to get the win.”

Aidan De La Gorgendiere drives a shot on goal for the Golden Bears.

When Sunday’s clash between the Golden Bears and Huskies went to overtime locked in a 4-4 tie, it seemed like the visitors found another gear holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. At the 4:53 mark of the extra session, De La Gorgendiere, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 188 pounds, got the puck over to rookie right-winger Connor McClennon on the right wing.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere assisted on the OT winner on Sunday.

McClennon fired a shot on goal that was redirected by Golden Bears fourth-year left-winger Daneel Lategan past Huskies netminder Roddy Ross to give the visitors their dramatic 5-4 victory to the disappointment of most of the 1,236 spectators in attendance.

In May of last year, De La Gorgendiere and McClennon were on opposite sides of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. De La Gorgendiere was skating for the Blades and McClennon was playing for the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice swept the best-of-seven series 4-0 to bring an end to De La Gorgendiere’s WHL playing days.

Just a little over nine months later, De La Gorgendiere and McClennon were teaming to set up an overtime series winning goal for the Golden Bears.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere, left, gets in a net front battle.

“It is pretty crazy to think about,” said De La Gorgendiere, who will turn 22-years-old this coming Thursday. “Me and Connor have played against each other it seems like our whole lives.

“Being on the same team with him is pretty nice. Obviously, he is a pretty talented player and a skilled player. It is awesome to have him out there.

“We’re looking forward to the next round.”

De La Gorgendiere came to the Golden Bears after trying to find the right opportunity in the professional ranks. After he exhausted his WHL eligibility with the Blades, he went to camp with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche before the start of the current campaign.

When things didn’t work out with the Avalanche, De La Gorgendiere went to camp with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The Admirals are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

Cade Hayes scored the Huskies first goal on Sunday.

De Le Gorgendiere was then sent down to the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. He played 10 games for the Gladiators posting one goal, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

During that time, it crossed De La Gorgendiere’s mind that maybe he should put his professional hockey aspirations on the back burner and make sure he has something to fall back on in going the university hockey route to get a degree.

“Probably mid November, I kind of decided I should reconsider my schooling package I got with the Western Hockey League,” said De La Gorgendiere, who is in the arts faculty at the U of A. “I am here now.

“I’m focused on winning a championship. Obviously, I still want to play pro.”

Dawson Holt (#16) had the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

De La Gorgendiere began playing with the Golden Bears after they returned from their Christmas break. In 10 regular season games with the Golden Bears, De La Gorgendiere recorded one goal, 10 assists and a minus-two rating. In the three-game series victory over the Huskies, De La Gorgendiere posted one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating.

He added he got swayed to joining the Golden Bears due to the fact they had a number of his former Blades teammates on their roster including Blake Gustafson, Wyatt McLeod, Noah Boyko, Eric Florchuk and Josh Paterson.

Alex Thacker had a pair of goals for the Golden Bears on Sunday.

“It did for sure,” said De La Gorgendiere about joining the Golden Bears due to the presence of numerous Blades alums. “Obviously, the program speaks for itself the history of guys signing pro deals and NHL deals, American League deals and whatever it may be out of this program.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me.”

As for Sunday’s game between the Golden Bears and Huskies, momentum seemed to jump constantly between the two sides. The Huskies got out to a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by rookie centre Cade Hayes, and the hosts pushed their edge out to 2-0 early in the second on a tally from third-year right-winger Dawson Holt.

Ty Prefontaine had a short-handed goal for the Huskies.

At the 4:20 mark of the second, De La Gorgendiere scored for the Golden Bears to get them some traction and cut the Huskies lead to 2-1. Golden Bears rookie left-winger Alex Thacker followed with a pair of goals to put the visitors up 3-2.

With 5:09 remaining in the second, Huskies third-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine scored a short-handed goal to even the score at 3-3.

De La Gorgendiere said the intensity of the clashes between the Golden Bears and Huskies was similar to what he experienced in the rivalry games in the WHL played between his Blades and their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. He said the momentum changes in Sunday’s contest between the Golden Bears and Huskies were noticeable.

Vince Loschiavo gave the Huskies a 4-3 lead in the third.

“I think on our end we probably could have been a little more tight in our neutral zone and defensive zone there,” said De La Gorgendiere. “We had a couple of breakdowns there.

“It is the ebbs and flows of hockey. It seems like it happens in every game. This one seemed to be a little more I guess.

“All in all, I thought we competed hard and played well.”

The Huskies went back out in front 4-3 at the 6:44 mark of the third after third-year star right-winger Vince Loschiavo scored on the power play. The host side finished the contest 1-for-4 on the power play.

Tyler Preziuso scored for the Golden Bears to force OT.

The Golden Bears would even the score at 4-4 with a power-play goal of their own coming at the 10:49 mark of the third off the stick of third-year right-winger Tyler Preziuso. The visitors were 1-for-7 on the power play.

That set the stage for the Golden Bears to get the game and series winner in overtime from Lategan.

Second-year netminder Ethan Kruger made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Golden Bears. Ross turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Huskies.

Going into this Canada West quarter-final series, the two sides weren’t separated by a whole lot. The Huskies, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, finished fourth in the Canada West regular season standings with a 20-6-1-1 record. The Golden Bears placed fifth with an 18-8-2 mark.

Daneel Lategan scored the OT winner for the Golden Bears.

U of A will be an underdog in a semifinal series against the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-1-1 mark. They also won three out of the four head-to-head meeting with the Golden Bears in the regular season.

With that noted, De La Gorgendiere believes the chemistry of his Golden Bears side is coming around, and he has faith his squad will give the Thunderbirds a good battle.

“They are a skilled team,” said De La Gorgendiere. “Obviously, they have some high end talent up front and some good D-men as well.

The Golden Bears celebrate their OT win and series victory on Sunday.

“We just have to bring our A-game. We have to come ready to skate and come ready to play, and I think we should find success.”

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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Five Huskies get all-Canadian nods in lead up to Vanier

Dogs play in U Sports title game on Saturday

David Solie was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

While team success is always the most remembered thing in football, it always good to take time to celebrate individual honours.

Ultimately, it is the players and individual stories in the game that help followers draw a closer connection to the sport.

On Thursday night at the annual U Sports football awards show held in Quebec City, Quebec, five members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies were named all-Canadian all-stars.

At the ballroom in the Hotel le Concorde Quebec, running back Adam Machart, left tackle Noah Zerr, defensive end Nathan Cherry and kicker David Solie were named first team all-Canadian all-stars, while Connor Berglof, who plays both centre and right guard, was named a second team all-Canadian all-star.

Solie earned his first team all-Canadian all-star nod at punter. Berglof claimed his second team all-Canadian all-star position at centre.

The awards were handed out as the Huskies close in on playing in the U Sports championship game – the Vanier Cup – for the first time since 2006.

The Huskies (8-1 overall) face the University of Western Ontario Mustangs (9-1 overall) in the Vanier Cup on Saturday at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CBC). The Mustangs head into that clash as favourites, but the weather might favour the Huskies as it is expected to be -10 C with a 60 per cent chance of snow according to Environment Canada.

The Dogs are looking for their first Vanier Cup win since 1998, while the Mustangs last won the U Sports title in 2017. The Huskies have won the Vanier Cup three times, and Mustangs claimed the top prize in U Sports football seven times.

On the individual front, Machart picked up a first team all-Canadian nod after a solid campaign. He led the Huskies in rushing yards during the regular season piling up 415 yards on 60 carries and scoring two touchdowns appearing in five of U of S’s six regular season games.

During those five regular season contests, Machart hauled in 14 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. This was the second consecutive season Machart was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

Noah Zerr, right, makes a blog in a double team.

U Sports didn’t hold any national championships and most of that circuit’s teams didn’t play in the 2020-21 campaign due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Zerr was named an all-Canadian for the first time with his first team all-Canadian all-star nod. On September 1, Zerr was rated 20^th among the top 20 prospects for the 2022 CFL Draft as ranked by the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau.

Cherry also picked up his first all-Canadian honour with his first team all-Canadian all-star selection. He had a monster year at defensive end recording 5.5 sacks and 13.5 total tackles playing all six of the Huskies regular season games.

Solie took all-Canadian status for the first time with his first team all-Canadian all-star award thanks to his outstanding year punting the ball. Appearing in all six of the Huskies regular season games, Solie punted the ball 36 times for 1,563 yards for an average of 43.4 yards per kick.

Berglof claimed all-Canadian status for a second straight season. In 2019, he was named a first team all-Canadian all-star at centre.

This season, Berglof was named a second team all-Canadian all-star at centre. The CFL Draft selection of the Toronto Argonauts played most of the regular season at centre for the Huskies.

He was moved to right guard near the end of the regular season and remained at that spot through the post-season.

The work Zerr, Berglof and the rest of the Huskies offensive line put in saw quarterback Mason Nyhus only get sacked four times and the Huskies lead U Sports in rushing yards per carry.

As for the major award winners in U Sports football, University of Waterloo Warriors quarterback Tre Ford won the Hec Crighton Award as the most outstanding player of the year.

Mustangs defensive end Deionte Knight claimed J.P. Metras Award as the most outstanding lineman.

University of Alberta Golden Bears linebacker Josiah Schakel took the Presidents’ Trophy as the most outstanding defensive player.

Connor Berglof (#68) throws a block for the Huskies.

Concordia University Stingers receiver Jaylan Greaves claimed the Peter Gorman Trophy as the rookie of the year.

Late University of Ottawa Gee-Gees defensive lineman Francis Perron was posthumously awarded the Russ Jackson Award for outstanding community service. Perron passed away after the Gee-Gees first regular season game, when they fell 11-10 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in Toronto on September 18.

Queen’s University Golden Gaels head coach Steve Snyder captured the Frank Tindall Trophy as the coach of the year.

University of Guelph Gryphons offensive line coach Michael MacDonald took the Gino Fracas Award as the Volunteer coach of the year for U Sports.

Alums send pump up messages to current Huskies team

Tyler Siwak (#19) in action for the Huskies in 2002.

The alumni of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football put together video of pump up messages for the current team going into this year’s Vanier Cup.

The Huskies play the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the U Sports football championship game on Saturday at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The video was shared over the social media channels for the Huskie Football Alumni and the University of Saskatchewan. The messages were great and a number of them were colourful.

The video showed how many beauties played on the team and were characters that have character like Murray Sadownick, Cal Hobbs, Brent Schneider, Kelly Bates, Tyler Siwak, Lyndon Rush, Ben Coakwell, Ivan Brown, Laurence Nixon, Parker Siemens, Rylund Hunter, Ben Heenan and Tanner Secord.

Secord, who played his fifth and final year in 2019 on the offensive line, told former teammate and current fourth-year centre and right guard on the offensive line Conner Berglof that he was allowed to smile after the current team wins on Saturday.

Feel free to check out the video below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Huskies FB Alumni (@huskiealumni)

Hockey men’s Huskies romp past MRU 7-2

Jaxan Kaluski had two goals and an assist for the Huskies.

It was all Dogs all night at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday night.

In a U Sports men’s hockey regular season contest, the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies thumped the Mount Royal University Cougars 7-2 holding a 37-17 advantage in shots on goal before 1,673 spectators. The Huskies, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, led 2-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second frame.

Jaxan Kaluski had two goals and an assist for the Huskies. Jared Dmytriw and Vince Loschiavo each picked up a goal and two assists in the win.

Captain Gord Ballhorn, Donovan Neuls and Owen Hardy had singles for the Huskies.

Riley Sawchuk and Tyson Helgesen replied with singles for the Cougars.

Roddy Ross made 15 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies (8-3). Riley Morris turned away 30 shots going the distance in goal for the Cougars (6-5-1).

Those two squads go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

MRU blanks Huskies women’s team 1-0

Bailee Bourassa had eight shots on goal for the Huskies.

Zoe De Beauville was a brick wall the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team wasn’t able to overcome.

The netminder for the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s hockey team made 28 saves to backstop her squad to a 1-0 U Sports regular season win over the Huskies at the Flames Community Arena in Calgary on Friday. The shutout was the third of the season for De Beauville.

Cougars captain Amy Tatum scored on the power play at the 11:12 mark of the first period to account for the game’s only goal. Emma Bergesen and Breanne Trotter picked up assists.

The Cougars, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, improved to 8-1-2 with the win.

Camryn Drever made 24 stops to take the setback in goal for the Huskies 6-3-2. Huskies captain Bailee Bourassa had eight shots on goal.

The Cougars were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies were unable to score on five power-play chances.

The two sides go at it again on Saturday in Calgary.

Expect Bombers to pull out win on Irving’s last call, other notes

Andrew Harris and the Bombers to give their all for Bob Irving.

On the CFL front, the Saskatchewan Roughriders might be heading into a buzz saw, when they head into Winnipeg to face the host Blue Bombers in the West Final on Sunday.

On sports talk shows based out of Saskatchewan, locals have been phoning in their support for the Roughriders saying they will win as the Bombers battle rust. The Bombers topped the entire CFL standings with an 11-3 record and closed the regular season losing two straight games that wouldn’t effect where they were in the standings.

The Roughriders, who were second in the West Division with a 9-5 mark, have won five of their last six games including a thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West semifinal at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The Bombers head into the West Final at IG Field in Winnipeg with extra motivation.

The West Final will be the last game Bob “Knuckles” Irving calls as the iconic play-by-play voice of the Bombers. The 71-year-old has filled that roll with CJOB in Winnipeg since 1974.

Irving is a total professional when it comes to calling the game. He has piled up many accolades including induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and having the press box at IG Field named in his honour as the Bob Irving Media Centre.

He has called Bombers games through many ups and downs and seen the team win Grey Cup championships in 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2019.

Irving means a lot to the team. While the Bombers were favourites in this game anyways, you have to believe they will dig down to find another gear to get this one for Irving.

You can expect veterans like star running back and hometown hero Andrew Harris, who is returning from injury, will try his best to allow Irving to depart on a high.

Irving will be inducted to the Bombers ring of honour before Sunday’s game.

He is a true media professional, and he gets uncomfortable when the story becomes about him or a fuss is made over him.

Hopefully, he lets himself enjoy the ride this time.

If the Bombers do win as expected, it would be cool if the management and broadcasters at TSN work things out to allow Irving to call the Grey Cup game in Hamilton on Dec. 12 as an extra treat for a national audience. That won’t likely happen, but it would be the right thing to do, if the Bombers are in that game.

• On Monday, the Winter Universiade, which was set to run Dec. 11 to 21 in Lucerne, Switzerland, was cancelled due to concern over the omicron variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world since March of 2020. Switzerland had imposed border restrictions on travelers from several countries where the new omicron variant has been discovered causing the cancellation of the games. Several countries including Canada have introduced new travel restrictions due to the omicron variant. The Winter Universiade was originally supposed to be held back in January but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as vaccines were just starting to be distributed at that time.
• As the Universite Laval Rouge et Or won’t be playing in the Vanier Cup, it is unknown who the neutral crowd at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, will cheer for in the U Sports football championship game on Saturday. The University of Saskatchewan Huskies take on the University of Western Ontario Mustangs for the title. Since London, Ont., is way closer to Quebec City than Saskatoon, Mustangs fans might travel to give their side more of a home field advantage. Fans in Quebec City may cheer on the Huskies due to the fact they had to travel further to get to the game and the Mustangs developed a slight rivalry with the Rouge et Or after meeting the Vanier Cup in 2017 and 2018. The Mustangs took the 2017 Vanier Cup and the Rouge et Or claimed the 2018 title game.
• The Bodog sports betting site has the University of Western Ontario Mustangs favoured in an opening spread by 9.5 points over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saturday’s U Sports football championship game – the Vanier Cup. The game will be played at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec. You can check those odds out by clicking right here.
• On Friday, Nov. 26, former WHLer and University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team alum Matt Swaby passed away in a farming accident. His celebration of life was held today in Prince Albert. Swaby played defence for the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team from 2002 to 2004, the WHL’s Tri-City Americans from 2004 to 2007, the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings from 2007 to 2008 and the U Sports’ Huskies from 2008 to 2011. He leaves behind his wife Carla and their three boys Thomas, 6, Blake, 4 and Cody, 2. Swaby was a friend to all and a GoFundMe campaign has raised over $221,000 for the family. Anyone looking to donate to the GoFundMe campaign for the family can do so 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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.