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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Huskies women’s hoopsters are set for a bright future

The Huskies pose for a team photo with their U Sports national silver medals.

    You almost forget how young the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team actually is, because they play so well.

    On Sunday, the Huskies appeared in the championship game at the U Sports national championship tournament in Regina falling 69-48 to the top seeded Carleton University Ravens. The Ravens had a 29-0 record between the regular season and playoffs and a 38-2 overall record for the 2017-18 campaign when exhibition matches were added in.

    It was obvious the Huskies fell to a formidable foe.

    The Huskies had a successful season posting a 25-7 overall record. They finished second overall in the Canada West regular season registering a 17-3 mark.

Summer Masikewich (#11) has become a star post for the Huskies.

    In the Canada West playoffs, they won two elimination contests and made it to the conference championship game falling to the host University of Regina Cougars 75-55 on March 2.

    At the U Sports championship tournament, the Huskies turned the tables on the Cougars prevailing in a semifinal encounter 74-71 on Saturday.

    There shouldn’t be any disappointments for the Huskies this season. It is obvious to point out that if you reverse the results of just two games - the Canada West Conference title game and the U Sports national championship game - the Huskies would be feeling over the moon about the 2017-18 campaign.

    When you step back and look at the big picture, it is amazing to see what the Huskies accomplished this season.

    Back in 2016, the Huskies won the title game at the U Sports national championship tournament held in Fredericton, N.B., over the Ryerson University Rams by a score of 85-71. Following that game, the Huskies graduated fourth players in their fifth-years of eligibility in Laura Dally, Dalyce Emmerson, Kelsey Trulsrud and Taya Keujer.

Guard Sabine Dukate has piled up the points for the Huskies.

    Dally and Emmerson go down as two of the greatest to ever play for the Huskies.

    Fourth-year guard Desarae Hogberg also left the team to focus on life after basketball following that U Sports title win. All five of those players provided the heart of the Huskies team that also claimed the Canada West title in 2015-16.

    It was expected the Huskies would go through a reloading stage and have a drop off.

    In the two seasons since that national title win, the Huskies won a Canada West title in 2017, appeared in the conference final this past season, and made two trips to nationals winning a silver medal on Sunday.

    The Huskies have made 10 trips to nationals over the last 11 years. Their status as a powerhouse is cemented.

Point guard Libby Epoch, right, has become the Huskies floor general.

    They graduated fifth-year veterans in guard Madeline Humbert and forward Megan Lindquist but are loaded with stars who were in their first and second years of eligibility.

    Two of those stars played with significant injuries at nationals in Regina. Third-year shooting guard Sabine Dukate, who is the only remaining starter from the 2016 U Sports national championship winning team, will need shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, but she was still a threat to score at all times.

    In the semifinal win over the Cougars, she hit 5-of-11 shots from three-point range to lead the Huskies with 20 points.

    Sophomore point guard Libby Epoch, who stands 5-foot-7, was hampered by a bad ankle, but she still played 114 out of the 120 minutes of total court time the Huskies saw at nationals. She had eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the loss to the Ravens.

Guard Megan Ahlstrom has been key at both ends of the floor.

    When you talk to Epoch, you wouldn’t have guessed she is just 19-years-old, because she speaks and acts with a maturity well beyond her years. The Moose Jaw, Sask., product, who has been a member of Canada’s national team system, has already become one of the key public faces in representing the entire Huskie Athletics program. She is the person you want representing your entire athletics program.

    Sophomore post Summer Masikewich, who has also been part of Canada’s national team program, has done a remarkable job is being a star successor to Emmerson.
    Third-year guard Megan Ahlstrom has been a sound contributor at both ends of the floor.

    Sophomore guard Kelsey Lalor has a bunch of untapped potential and rookie forward Kyla Shand improved drastically as the campaign progressed joining the Huskies from Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School.

Guard Kelsey Lalor will play a bigger role for the Huskies in the future.

    The Huskies played well beyond their years thank to the work of their coaching staff led by head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who is one of the best you will find in any sport in Canada.

    The only time youth caught up to the Huskies was against the Ravens. Leading 25-24 at halftime, the Huskies struggled in the second half rushing shots when the composed Ravens were pulling away.

    The Ravens started three fifth-year and two fourth-year players and substituted in another fifth-year player from the bench. Those six veterans accounted for 50 of the Ravens 69 points, and they stayed steady when the waves were rough in the early going for their team.

    With that said, the Huskies are still playing in conference and national championship games as a young team.

The Huskies are poised to be a U Sports powerhouse for some time to come.

    You know their players are going to put in the work to be that much better in the off-season, and Thomaidis and her staff have to be excited to see what everyone will look like when they all return to school in late August.

    That alone has to get you excited for the upcoming season.

    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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Huskies women’s hoopsters aim for more post-season glory

Head coach Lisa Thomaidis, left, and her Huskies continue to impress.

    It has become a special late February to the middle of March tradition in the sports scene of Saskatoon.

    Guided by head coach Lisa Thomaidis, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team is winning games in the post-season, and they will make a serious push for a Canada West Conference title and a U Sports national title. It seems like every generation that plays for the Huskies is hard working, talented and extremely likable.

    Fans can take the current generation of players to heart like group that won the program’s first U Sports national title in the 2015-16 campaign headed by fifth-years Laura Dally, Dalyce Emmerson, Kelsey Trulsrud and Taja Keujer. The same goes for the generations of players that came before the national title win under Thomaidis’s watch.

    Last year, the Huskies were supposed to take a step back due to having a younger squad with the turnover of the fifth-years that powered the team’s first national championship win. After posting a 15-5 record in the regular season in 2016-17, the Huskies won a second straight Canada West title, which wasn’t expected by most observers outside of the program.

    This season, the Huskies 17-3 regular season record was good enough to ensure the team was the seeded second in the Canada West playoffs. The Huskies are also rated seventh in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

    In a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen held at U of S’s Physical Activity Complex, the Huskies took Game 1 last Thursday 76-58 but were given a slight scare after the Wesmen took Game 2 a day later 93-85.

Guard Sabine Dukate (#5) can do it all for the Huskies.

    In a series deciding Game 3 last Saturday, the Huskies showed the scare was minimal. They jumped out to a 28-14 lead after the first quarter and stormed to a 52-29 edge by halftime. The Huskies cruised to a 97-64 victory.

    Third-year guard Sabine Dukate, who is the only remaining starter from the national championship team, hit 6-of-11 shots from three-point range to lead the Huskies with 21 points. Star sophomore post Summer Masikewich added 17 points to aid the host side.

    Third-year guard Megan Ahlstrom and fifth-year forward Megan Lindquist chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Standout sophomore point guard Libby Epoch dished out eight assists to round out a strong night from the starting five.

    Third-year guard Maya Olynyk came off the bench to pitch in 12 points for the Huskies. Rookie post Kyla Shand and sophomore guard Kelsey Lalor added eight and seven points respectively play reserve roles as well for the host side.

    Teams that go far in the post-season usually get key contributions from everyone at different times, and the Huskies seemed to get contributions from everyone they dressed to prevail by a convincing margin in an elimination game.

    It is believed the win was the 400^th overall victory for Thomaidis as head coach of the Huskies in matches against U Sports opponents. The Huskies have won five Canada West titles with Thomaidis as head coach.

    In players like Dukate, Epoch, Masikewich, Lalor, Ahlstrom and Shand, the Huskies have a core that is going to be good for two to three more seasons.

Kelsey Lalor (#12) is one of the many stellar young players on the Huskies.

    While the Huskies core is young, the future is now for this team as well.

    Their next task is to get past the Trinity Western University Spartans in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Spartans will provide a big test finishing the regular season with a 16-4 record, and they are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

    Game 1 of that series is set for this coming Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Physical Activity Complex on the U of S campus. The Huskies and Spartans split their two regular season meetings.

    If the Huskies win that series, they will advance to the Canada West title game for a fifth straight year and earn a berth at U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year.

    Odds are high that the Huskies will add to what is becoming a storied playoff legacy.

Playoff opponents set for Huskies hockey teams

The Dinos and Huskies men’s hockey teams will meet in the playoffs.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey teams found out who their respective playoff foes will be over the weekend.

    Both Huskies squads earned byes to host best-of-three Canada West semifinal series thanks to respective second place finishes in the conference standings.

    On the men’s side, the Huskies, who were 20-7-1 in the regular season, will take on the U of Calgary Dinos, who had a 12-13-3 regular season record to finish fifth in Canada West. The Dinos forfeited their first six games in October due to using an ineligible player, which they self-disclosed as an error on their part.

    The Huskies took three out of the four head-to-head meetings with the Dinos, and none of those results came via forfeit.

    Game 1 of the series between the Huskies and Dinos is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Game 2 will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Rutherford, and if necessary, Game 3 is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Rutherford.

The T-birds and Huskies women’s hockey team will meet in the playoffs.

    The Huskies women’s hockey team will battle the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series in what should be a heated rivalry type encounter. This will mark the third time in the last five years the Huskies and Thunderbirds have met in the post-season.

    The Huskies posted a 19-7-2 record for 58 points in the standings to sit second in Canada West, while the Thunderbirds recorded a 19-5-4 record for 56 points in the standings to sit third in Canada West.

    In the Canada West women’s hockey standings, teams earn three points for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time losses. The Huskies earned their 58 points on 18 regulation wins, one extra time win and two extra time losses. The Thunderbirds earned their 56 points on 14 regulation wins, five extra time wins and four extra time setbacks.

    Game 1 between the Huskies and Thunderbirds is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink. Game 2 is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Rutherford, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Rutherford.

    The winners of the Canada West semifinals will advance to their respective best-of-three Canada West Conference championship series and earn berths in their respective U Sports national champion tournaments.

Kustra delivers OT win in Edmonton to Blades

Jake Kustra had the overtime winner for the Blades on Monday night.

    Jake Kustra ensured his Saskatoon Blades concluded their four-game road trip on a winning note and with a winning record.

    On Monday night in Edmonton, the 18-year-old defenceman scored at the 1:37 mark of overtime on a beauty setup pass by overage winger Braylon Shmyr to lift the Blades to a 3-2 victory over the host Oil Kings in a WHL regular season match before 9,913 spectators at Rogers Place. The tally was Kustra’s fourth goal and second game-winner of the season.

    Shmyr scored late in the third period and centre Chase Wouters tallied at the 7:20 mark of the third to give the Blades a 2-0 lead.

    The Oil Kings received singles from Kobe Mohr at the 11:58 mark of the third and Trey Fix-Wolansky at the 16:44 mark of the third to force a 2-2 tie and send the contest to overtime. That set the stage for Kustra to come through with his heroics.

    Nolan Maier turned away 13 shots to pick up his 22^nd win of the season in goal for the Blades.

    Todd Scott turned away 18-of-20 shots starting in goal for the Oil Kings. He was forced to leave the game after being injured trying to stop Wouters’ goal. Josh Dechaine turned away two-of-three shots in relief for the Oil Kings, who saw their record move to 18-33-6-2.

    The Blades won three out of the four games on their road trip. They improved to 31-27-2-1 to hold the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with an eight-point edge over the Prince Albert Raiders (23-25-9-2). The Raiders have two games in hand on the Blades.

    Saskatoon is two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings (31-23-3-2) for the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wheat Kings have two games in hand on the Blades.

    The Blades have 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, and they will play seven of those games at home. They return to action taking on the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre on Friday.

    A fundraising effort is underway to have Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk sing the national anthem before that encounter with the Pats. Funds being raised will be donated to the Saskatchewan Red Cross to support Pink Day, which is set for February 28, and the anti-bullying initiatives backed by that program. Anyone looking to support that cause can do so by clicking 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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Flory gives football Huskies sense of continuity

The Huskies football team will now be led by Scott Flory as head coach.

    The University of Saskatchewan stuck to the familiar when it came to naming a new head coach for its Huskies football program.

    During a news conference on Monday, the Huskies announced that alumnus Scott Flory would be the new head coach of the football team. Flory, who had been the team’s offensive coordinator for three seasons, had been serving as a co-head coach since Jan. 12 along with Brian Guebert.

    U of S had been in search of a new full-time football head coach after long time bench boss Brian Towriss stepped down back on Dec. 19, 2016 after a career lasting 33 years.

    Since retiring after playing a star role on the offensive line for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes from 1999 to 2013, Flory joined the Huskies coaching staff a short time later and was often viewed as the man that would ultimately be Towriss’s successor. That vision played out on Monday, when Flory was named head coach.

    Flory was picked by a selection committee that was chaired by Chad London, who is the dean of the U of S College of Kinesiology, former Huskie and current CFL player Patrick Neufeld, Football Canada president Kim Wudrick and U of S women’s basketball head coach Lisa Thomaidis.

    Before having a storied career winning three Grey Cup championships and being named a CFL all-star nine times with the Alouettes, Flory was a star on the Huskies offensive line from 1994 to 1998 and helped the team win Vanier Cup championships in 1996 and 1998. The 40-year-old Regina product was really a nice safe selection on a lot of fronts.

    First, he maintains a link to the program’s past successes, and it feels natural that he should be handed the chance to bring the team into the future. Flory has a whole host of experiences from his CFL days to bring into his new role. He said there would be a shift in the approach to how football is handled at the U of S and said all aspects will be under the microscope to see what improvements can be made.

Quarterback Kyle Siemens (#19) calls signals for the Huskies last season.

    For the alums of the overall Huskies program, Flory is someone they can identify with. That will be important considering the uproar that when down, when Towriss resigned.

    There was a large feeling a force out took place, when Towriss stepped down. The uproar resulted in a joint statement being made by U of S president Peter Stoicheff and Towriss on Dec. 27, 2016, where Stoicheff apologized for how the news of Towriss’s resignation was handled.

    The statement seemed to calm a lot of the uproar around Towriss’s situation. Flory’s appointment will likely help other disillusioned alums rally back around the Huskies logo. The memories athletes make being part of a program like the one the Huskies run creates long lasting bonds and loyalties for those involved with the program’s various teams.

    Flory’s presence creates a solid line of succession that extends from Val Schneider, to Towriss and now to Flory at the head coach position.

    Also, Flory knows all of the returning players, which helps ease uncertainty in that area. The Huskies finished with a 5-3 regular season record in 2016, but were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs in recording an eighth consecutive post-season loss.

    Even with that in mind, the Huskies really aren’t that far from becoming a team that can win the Vanier Cup again. In the current era where the rules allow for pass-happy football, the Huskies just need to make a few more key plays offensively and force one or two more turnovers defensively to become a club that goes all the way.

    Flory doesn’t have to take on an extensive rebuild. He just needs to find the right tweaks and success could possibly come sooner than anyone thinks.

Huskies draw Lions at University Cup

Josh Roach motors up ice for the Huskies.

    The U of S Huskies men’s hockey team will need to get past the Ontario University Athletics champions to make it out of the quarter-final round of the University Cup.

    On Sunday, the Huskies found out they will be the sixth seed at the University Cup and will face the third seeded York University Lions in one of two quarter-final matches on Friday. The University Cup begins on Thursday at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton with the event’s first two quarter-final games. For the third straight year, the University Cup will be played under an elite-eight single elimination format.

    The Lions advanced to nationals after winning the OUA championship last Saturday with a 4-3 victory at home over the Queen’s University Gaels. The Lions posted an 18-6-4 record during the regular season and a 7-1 mark in their OUA playoff run.

    Third-year defenceman Derek Sheppard led the Lions in regular season scoring with 12 goals and 20 assists. York’s highest scoring forward was Trevor Petersen, who was in his second year of eligibility. The Thornhill, Ont., product piled up 11 goals and 20 assists during the regular season.

    Saskatoon product Mack Shields, who played in the WHL from 2012 to 2016 with the Calgary Hitmen, Prince George Cougars and Medicine Hat Tigers, was the Lions main man in goal. Shields, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 195 pounds, started 18 regular season contests recording a 13-4-3 record, a 1.78 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and one shutout.

    The Huskies qualified for nationals after making the best-of-three Canada West championship final, which they lost to the U of Alberta Golden Bears 2-1. The Dogs topped the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 record and were 3-2 in the Canada West playoffs.

    U of S will be looking for a post-season breakout from its top forward line of Logan McVeigh, Michael Sofillas and Josh Roach at the University Cup. The trio combined for one goal and three assists in five games in the Canada West playoffs.

Jordon Cooke holds the fort in goal for the Huskies.

    During regular season, McVeigh led the Huskies in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists. Sofillas picked up 13 goals and 14 assists, while Roach had eight goals and 16 assists.

    Jesse Forsberg, who was named the top defenceman in Canada West, led all Huskies blue-liners with 11 goals and 16 assists in the regular season. Jordon Cooke, who was named the top goaltender in Canada West for a second straight year, was impressive in the regular season posting a 19-4-2 record, a 1.94 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and four shutouts.

    While the Huskies were rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings for most of the season, the fact they were given the sixth seed at the University Cup shouldn’t be that big of a worry. The seed likely came from the fact the Golden Bears were given the top seed, and seeding the Huskies sixth means the only time those two team could meet is in the tournament final this coming Sunday.

    The second seed was given to the Atlantic University Sport champion St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.

    At the University Cup, every team is good, and anything can happen in a single-elimination format. The Huskies have as good of a chance to win as any squad in the eight-team field.

Huskies women’s hoops team can have no regrets

Sabine Dukate, left, drives to the hoop for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team can exit with the 2016-17 campaign without any regrets.

    Hitting the court with a roster that contained six rookies and four second-year players, the Huskies, who won the U Sports title a year ago, really overachieved posting a 15-5 record in the regular season earning a second straight Canada West title. The Huskies grew by leads and bounds as the season moved on, but their run of success came to an end at the U Sports championship tournament in Victoria, B.C.

    Last Thursday, the Huskies fell to the Universite Laval Rouge et Or 69-59. Rookie forward Summer Masikewich led the Huskies with 17 points.

    In a consolation semifinal last Friday, the Huskies downed the University of Cape Breton Capers 65-51. Second-year guard Sabine Dukate topped the Huskies with 19 points.

    In the consolation final last Saturday, the Huskies dropped a 79-76 decision to the U of Regina Cougars. Fourth-year forward Megan Lindquist topped the Huskies with 18 points.

    Despite not having a better showing at nationals, the 2016-17 campaign will go down as a special one for head coach Lisa Thomaidis and her crew. The best for this generation of the Huskies women’s basketball team is still to come.

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

Expect Huskies to regroup for University Cup tournament

The Huskies digest losing Game 3 of the Canada West championship series.

    The funeral atmosphere was on for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team on Sunday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, but you can bet that feeling was limited to that night.

    In a winner take all Game 3 of the Canada West championship series, the Huskies fell to their forever rivals the University of Alberta Golden Bears 6-3. The two teams entered the third period locked in a 2-2 draw. The visiting Golden Bears scored three times in a span of two minutes and 16 seconds to extremely change the complexion of the contest on their way to their 14^th conference title in the last 17 years.

    The Rutherford Rink, which was shoehorned packed to the rafters with a crowd of 845 spectators, emptied after the final whistle in what seemed like record time.

Kendall McFaull is the Huskies steady captain.

    The look in the eyes of the Huskies players appeared like they were digesting a season ending defeat. The Dogs were aiming to win a second straight Canada West title, and with an improved roster from a season ago, a repeat conference championship win was expected in the U of S dressing room. 

    The Huskies players are competitive and expect success, so in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s loss, the disappointment of not getting the result they wanted was tough to take.

    With all that in mind, those emotions get compartmentalized quickly, because there is a tomorrow. By making the Canada West championship series, both the Huskies and Golden Bears earned berths at the eight-team University Cup national championship tournament for U Sports men’s hockey.

    The University Cup runs March 16 to 19 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

    In 2015, the University Cup moved from a six-team format to an eight-team single elimination style one. With that move, the event truly mirrored most university championship formats used in Canada and the United States.

    Before that change was made, a team’s season could end, if a conference championship wasn’t won. Now with the eight-team format, you need to earn a berth to the dance and proceed to go from there. Of course, the single elimination format plays towards the upset, but that is also why that format is exciting.

Jordan Fransoo has been a big part of the Huskies leadership group.

    Most of the Huskies players come from the WHL and the remainder from the junior A ranks. At both levels especially in the WHL, you have to shelf disappointments quickly and regroup for a game that is often played the next day.

    The Huskies can replay in their minds and will see on video various aspects that could have changed the outcome of their Game 3 loss to the Golden Bears or the 4-3 setback the Huskies suffered in Game 1 to U of A. U of S took Game 2 of the Canada West championship series 2-0.

    The Dogs have strong leadership coming from captain Kendall McFaull and assistant captains Josh Roach, Jordan Fransoo and Jesse Forsberg. They had to play a big hand in bringing this year’s Huskies team together due to the fact the squad had nine first-year additions from various WHL clubs.

Jesse Forsberg has developed into a player that has led by example.

    All the additions came from being key cogs on the teams that they were on, and only talented forward Alex Forsberg wasn’t able to play all season due to injury.

    The Huskies took big steps in coming together as a team, and the players took professional approaches to filling the roles they were placed in.
    Veteran head coach Dave Adolph and his staff have to be given big credit too for helping everything flow forward.

    The fact the mix came together was one of the reason Adolph was named the Canada West coach of the year for a third time in his career and the Huskies topped the regular season conference standings with a 21-5-2 mark.

    When you move into a single elimination format, the Huskies still have star goaltender Jordon Cooke in net to steal games, and he was named Canada West’s goaltender of the year for a second straight season.

Josh Roach has always given maximum effort for the Huskies.

    He heads to nationals looking to take that honour at the U Sports level for a second straight season.

    Odds are pretty high he will likely have a big performance in the Huskies quarter-final game of the University Cup coming off the Canada West final loss.

    The Huskies finished fourth in last year’s University Cup. They can still finish things off this season winning the University Cup for the second time in team history. Their only national title win came in 1983.

    The Dogs have accomplished a lot this season. The result of the Canada West final can be remembered as a bump in the road.

Can the Huskies women’s hoops squad do it again?

Sabine Dukate has had a spectacular season for the Huskies.

    So how far can the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team take their run?

Coming into the 2016-17 campaign, the Huskies were supposed to be in a reloading year. They lost four fifth-year players to graduation and returned only one starter in guard Sabine Dukate from a season ago.

    In total, the Huskies carried a roster that contained six rookies and four second-year players. The team grew by leaps and bounds finishing 15-5 during the regular season and winning what seemed like an improbable second straight Canada West championship.

    The Huskies won the Canada West championship game over the visiting U of Regina Cougars 64-53 last Saturday at the Physical Activity Complex. Dukate led the way for the Huskies scoring 25 points, while standout rookie post Summer Masikewich chipped in 14 points.
    Masikewich came into the campaign having to do her part to help fill the shoes of Dalyce Emmerson, who graduated after last season as the greatest post player in the history of the Huskies women’s program.

    Besides getting big seasons from Dukate and Masikewich, sophomore guard Megan Ahlstrom and fourth-year forward Megan Lindquist contributed with nice campaigns averaging 11.5 and 10.0 points per game respectively.

    Rookie point guard Libby Epoch has also shown a flair for distributing the ball.

Everything rolled for the Huskies due to the incredible job done by head coach Lisa Thomaidis and her staff.

    The Huskies begin play at the U Sports national championship tournament in Victoria as the event’s second seed. They face the seventh seeded Universite Laval Rouge et Or in a quarter-final match on Thursday.

    U of S is playing with house money at this point. If the Huskies found their way to play in Sunday’s championship game and won it, that development would be an accomplishment that would be beyond impressive and memorable.

Shirley comes through in OT for Stars again in Speedy Creek

Grace Shirley netted another OT winner for the Stars.

    Grace Shirley seems to love to score big overtime winners in Swift Current.

    Last year, the standout forward with the Saskatoon Stars scored in double overtime in Swift Current over the host Diamond Energy Wildcats to deliver her team to a 4-3 Game 4 victory to clinch a second straight Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series.

    On Wednesday night in Swift Current, Shirley was up to her heroics again for the Stars in Game 2 of a SFMAAAHL semifinal series against the Wildcats. With 9:45 to play in a second overtime period, Shirley scored to deliver the Stars to a 2-1 victory.

    Thanks to the win, Saskatoon takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series with Swift Current. The Stars will try to sweep the series at home on Saturday, when they host Game 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

    Kianna Dietz scored in regulation for the Stars on Wednesday, while Arden Kliewer made 15 stops to earn the win in goal for Saskatoon.

    Taylor Kirwan scored for the Wildcats. Netminder Harper Davey was sensational making 42 saves taking the loss in goal for Swift Current.

    The Stars topped the regular season standings with a 25-2-1 record, while the Wildcats finished fifth with an 11-10-7 mark.

    In the other SFMAAAHL semifinal series, the Prince Albert Northern Bears lead the Melville Prairie Fire 2-0. The Bears will try to sweep the series hosting Game 3 on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Back in the Express with Parker

Mackenna Parker had a big season for the Stars.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Saskatoon Stars forward Mackenna Parker.

    Parker had a spectacular third season with the Stars piling up 24 goals and 44 points in 28 regular season games. The 16-year-old’s point total was the highest for a Stars player since current Canadian national team member Emily Clark piled up 60 points in her final season in midget in 2011-12. Parker’s goal total was also the most for a Stars player since Clark and Kennedy Harris each had 26 goals in Clark’s final season with the team.

    Back in 2014-15, Parker played her rookie season with the Stars as an underage 14-year-old. In 81 career SFMAAAHL regular season games, Parker has piled up 49 goals and 49 assists.

    So far in the post-season, she has four goals and four assists in five games. The story on Parker can be found right here.

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

Stars a hidden gem in Saskatoon’s sports scene

The Stars are all smiles after scoring a goal at the Agriplace Arena.

    They often get overshadowed, but one of Saskatoon’s most successful teams resides in a little rink call the Agriplace Arena in the north end of town.

    Playing mainly in front of family and friends for the majority of their games, the Saskatoon Stars have piled up the wins and made their name known on the national stage. From 2010-12, they made three straight appearances in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series and won the prestigious Mac’s Midget AAA tournament title in the 2010-11 campaign.

    That era of the Stars featured current Canadian senior national team member Emily Clark, Katie Sigurdson, Lauren Zary, Marley Ervine, Sara Greschner, Kennedy Harris, Brooke Mutch and Alyssa Dobler. The latter five of that group moved on to help the University of Saskatchewan Huskies win their first Canada West conference title coming in the 2013-14 campaign.

Willow Slobodzian is a gifted offensive defender.

    Before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Greg Slobodzian took over as the Stars head coach and the team reached new heights. In Slobodzian’s first campaign, the Stars posted a 45-5 overall record, claimed a second Mac’s title, their first SFMAAAHL championship and first Western regional banner. The season finished with a bronze medal game win at the Esso Cup national championship tournament in Red Deer.

    The Stars were powered by the dynamic duo of Sophie Shirley and Nara Elia that season. Both currently play on the Okanagan Hockey Academy’s female prep team, and Shirley has also found a home in Canada’s national team system playing with the under-18 squad last year.

    Shirley and Elia departed after the 2014-15 season and the Stars proceeded to follow up with an amazing 2015-16 campaign. They posted a 45-13 overall record, won a second SFMAAAHL title and second Western regional banner and finished fourth at the Esso Cup in Weyburn.

    This season, the Stars have stormed out of the gates again posting a 10-1-1 record to sit first in the SFMAAAHL.

Skilled forward Mackenna Parker has gifted smarts on the ice.

    On Sunday at the Agriplace Arena, they bombed the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 11-1, while dominating with a 63-10 edge in shots.

    Their two biggest names led the way in 16-year-olds Mackenna Parker and captain Willow Slobodzian, who both attended Hockey Canada’s selection camp for its under-18 women’s national team in August. Parker, who has gifted smarts, had a goal and three assists, while Slobodzian, a smooth skating offensive defender, rocketed home two goals and added a helper.

    What has to be scary for opponents is that fact the Stars are bunch of talented and hard-working players. In that romp over Weyburn, Anna Leschyshyn had a pair of goals and an assist. Singles came off the sticks of Jayda Sachs, Jordyn Gerlitz, Abby DeCorby, Kianna Dietz, Abby Shirley and Jordyn Holmes. Rookie goalie Arden Kliewer made nine stops to pick up the win in net.

    The list of goal scorers didn’t include standouts Grace Shirley and Joelle Fiala. Both turned heads last season as underage 14-year-old rookies and are just that much better one year later.

Anna Leschyshyn gets open for a pass on the wing.

    Taya McKersie had the Gold Wings (0-14) lone reply, while Loghan Hennes turned away 52 shots going the distance in the Weyburn goal.

    On Monday, the Stars traveled to Melville for a first place showdown with the Prairie Fire and skated away with 5-1 victory. Parker had a hat trick, while Gerlitz and Julia Rongve had singles. Sophomore Jordan Ivanco made 27 stops to earn the win in goal.

    Megan Leblanc replied for the Prairie Fire, who fell to 10-3. Ashlyn Taillon made 23 stops to take the loss in the Melville net.

    With Greg Slobodzian and assistant coaches Curtis Leschyshyn and Jason Schneider, the Stars have a staff that could run the bench of a Western Hockey League team.

    They also have to be excited about the group of players they have to work with. The bench bosses know they had a driven group that wasn’t going to skip any steps in off-season training. The coaches had to be eagerly anticipating how much faster and stronger their girls were going to be when they came to training camp.

    When the Stars returning players hit the ice, the improvement in their physical power was noticeable. Their wide open style became that much more difficult to stop and impressive to watch.

    They do it all without much media attention, but that is something these girls don’t notice. They are humble enough they blush at the attention they do get.

    For now, the Stars get to enjoy the journey of going through another season, where the rink is the greatest place to be. Next up is a two-game series against the Prairie Fire at the Agriplace Arena. The two clubs meet this coming Saturday at 7:45 p.m. and this coming Sunday at 2:15 p.m.

    From Dec. 26, 2016 to Jan. 1, 2017, the Stars will again be playing at Mac’s.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them in the final of that event and playing hockey throughout March and April on another long playoff run.

Back in the Express with Dukate

Sabine Dukate sizes up an offensive situation for the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express last week with a feature story on Sabine Dukate, who is the starting point guard for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team.

    The 23-year-old, who is in her sophomore season, came to the Huskies from Ventspiils, Latvia. She played a big role in helping the Huskies captured their first ever U Sports national championship.

    In the U Sports title game last March, Dukate nailed four of seven shots from three-point range, recorded 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals to power the Huskies past the Ryerson University Rams 85-71.

    The story on Dukate can be found 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.

Huskies start running with next generation

Summer Masikewich is one of the Huskies bright young players.

    Lisa Thomaidis can already see the light at the end of the tunnel for her young team.

    The veteran head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team knows her squad this season is much different than the one that claimed a U Sports national title in March. Last season, the Huskies hit the court with a veteran roster that included four key players in their fifth and final years of eligibility in Dalyce Emmerson, Laura Dally, Kelsey Trulsrud and Taya Keujer.

    This season, the Huskies take the court with a roster that contains six players in their first years of eligibility. On Friday at the Physical Activity Complex, they dropped their regular season home opener 66-63 to the University of Winnipeg Wesmen, who have three players in their fifth year of eligibility, two players in their fourth year of eligibility and no rookies.

    The Huskies were scrappy, and you got a glimpse of their potential, but the Wesmen’s experience showed through.

    In defeat, Thomaidis found a number positives to build on against a foe that likes to press on defence and pointed out her side isn’t too far off from being really good again.

Libby Epoch is turning heads as a rookie.

    “I didn’t think we did a terrible job handling their pressure,” said Thomaidis. “I thought we did a good job with that.

    “It was just a matter finishing. We had a number of open looks that we couldn’t knock down. We missed a number of free throws.

    “We had our opportunities. The game was right there in hand.”

    If the Huskies had shot just a little better of a percentage from the free-throw line, they would won Friday’s encounter with the Wesmen. U of S went 20-of-32 from the charity stripe, and that small detail played a big factor in the end result.

    During the setback, the Huskies, who fell to 1-2, still received strong outings from a number of players. Third-year guard Sascha Lichtenwald led the Dogs with 17 points and came up with three steals.

    Rookies Summer Masikewich and Libby Epoch, who both played for Canada’s under-18 women’s basketball team, showed they are ready for the university level chipping in 14 and 12 points respectively. They looked like they were just scratching the surface of their potential.

    Second-year point guard Sabine Dukate was playing her first game after returning from injury, and she did show some rust. Dukate, who is from Latvia, was a standout last season, and you can expect it won’t take her long to return to top form.

    Fourth-year guard Antoinette Miller led the way for the Wesmen, who improved to 3-0, with 26 points and seven rebounds.

Sascha Lichtenwald topped the Huskies with 17 points on Friday.

    “She (Miller) was great tonight,” said Thomaidis. “She made a lot happen for them.

    “She scored a lot at the rim. She got high percentage shots. We need to do a better job of taking care of her.”

    Overall, Thomaidis knew her team would experience some bumps.

    “It was kind of what I expected,” she said. “Having said that, the game was right there for the taking. We weren’t able to finish it off.

    “Hopefully, we have a better effort tomorrow and better efficiency in terms of finishing around the hoop.”

    The Huskies and Wesmen go at it again at 6:15 p.m. at the Physical Activity Complex.

Forbes back in the fold

Matt Forbes nails a three for the Huskies.

    Welcome back Matt Forbes.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s basketball team missed you.

    In Friday’s 76-68 regular season win over the U of Winnipeg Wesmen at the PAC, Forbes showed how important an experienced big man can be. He didn’t led the way statistically but had sound numbers scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. With Forbes on the court, the Huskies seemed to be a little more settled in their overall team game improving to 2-1.

    Originally, Forbes was supposed to play out his fifth year of eligibility last season, but he was sidelined for the whole campaign after suffering a foot injury in the Huskies first pre-season game. Without Forbes, the Huskies posted an 8-12 regular season record and missed the playoffs.

    In 2014-15 with Forbes in the lineup, the Huskies finished with a 15-5 regular season record, made it to the Canada West championship game falling to U of Victoria Vikes 70-67 and made an appearance at nationals.

    While Forbes often faces forwards who are bigger than his 6-foot-6 and 235-pound frame, he wins the physical battle inside on a regular basis. Unlike most big men, Forbes can also stretch the defence due to his ability to hit the three-point shot. He nailed two baskets from beyond the arch on Friday.

    Forbes’s presence on the floor helps take pressure off the rest of his teammates and allows them to take advantage of more favourable one-on-one match ups.

Matt Forbes (#13) organizes a post-game huddle for the Huskies.

    Against the Wesmen, sophomore guard Chan De Ciman led the way with 21 points. Fourth-year forward Shane Osayande netted 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, while point guard Alex Unruh chipped in 14 points.

    Rookie guard Narcisse Ambanza led the Wesmen with 23 points as they dropped to 2-1.

The Huskies and Wesmen face each other again at 8 p.m. at the PAC.

    With Forbes back in the fold, the Huskies chances of winning on any single night got a whole lot better.

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