Huskies dominate on the ground

The Huskies defence stuffs Rams tailback Atlee Simon.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies weren’t going to get beaten on the ground this time.

    In opening the Canada West football season with two straight losses, the Huskies gave up an average of just over 260 yards rushing in each of those contests. On Friday night at Griffiths Stadium, the Dogs game up only 53 yards rushing to the visiting University of Regina Rams in earning a 33-18 victory before 6,476 spectators.

    Rams star tailback Atlee Simon, who ran for 396 yards in his club’s first two games, only managed 33 yards running on 11 carries against the Huskies. The U of S starting defensive line of Evan Machibroda, Liam Graham, Tristian Koronkiewicz and Donovan Dale needed to answer the bell, and they did.

    On offence, the Huskies hit top gear with their running attack piling up a season high 230 yards rushing as a team. Feature back Tyler Chow collected 124 yards on 15 carries, while change of pace back Shane Buchanan ran the ball 14 times for 87 tough yards between the tackles scoring one touchdown.

    The effectiveness of the Huskies rushing attack allowed fourth-year quarterback Drew Burko to have his most effective game of the season completing 19-of-30 passes for 243 yards, three touchdown strikes and no interceptions. Receiver Mitch Hillis was the main target catching nine passes for 135 yards and two scores.

    The Huskies (1-2) weren’t perfect and did make mistakes, but Friday’s effort was a total team victory, which caused the Rams to remain winless at 0-3.

    Early on, it appeared the Huskies struggles were going to continue. The Rams opened the scoring in the first quarter on a nine play, 95-yard drive culminating in a two-yard TD run by Simon. The score was set up when Rams quarterback Noah Picton hit Riley Wilson on a 31-yard post pattern that set the visitors up on the Huskies two.

Shane Buchanan rumbles downfield for the Huskies.

    The Dogs cut the gap to 7-5 on a field goal and safety before the game’s momentum really swung in their favour. On the ensuing kickoff after the Rams gave up a safety to make the contest a two-point game in the second quarter, Yol Piok had a monster return for the Huskies to set the hosts up at the Rams 15. Two plays later, Burko hit Hillis for a 15-yard scoring strike to put the Huskies up 12-7.

    A short time later, Huskies defensive back Chris Friesen intercepted Picton and returned the pick 42 yards to the Rams 15. Two plays later, Burko hit Piok for a 13-yard scoring toss to put the Huskies up 19-7.

    The Rams kicked a field goal just before halftime to cut the Huskies edge to 19-10. That set the stage for the Huskies to overcome another bad trend.

    In their first two contests, the Dogs scored a total of 14 combine points in the second halves of both those outings. They matched that total in the second half against the Rams.

    After U of S linebacker Dane Bishop recovered a Rams fumble in the third quarter, the Huskies manufactured a seven play, 65-yard scoring drive that was capped by a two-yard Buchanan TD run.

The Huskies kick cover unit takes down Ryan Schienbein of the Rams.

    Early in the fourth quarter, the Huskies recovered a Rams fumble on a punt return and turned that gift into another seven points, when Burko hit Hillis for a nine-yard scoring strike to put the hosts up 33-10.

    The Rams closed the game’s scoring when Noah Picton hit Mitchell Picton on a 37-yard scoring strike, and the two proceeded to connect on a two-point convert attempt.    

    Noah Picton had success through the air completing 28 of 43 passes for 422 yards, which included hitting Wilson six times for 141 yards. The Rams couldn’t survive the turnovers they committed and the fact they couldn’t run the ball.

    The Huskies looked better than they had all season and took a big step forward. They will try to keep taking steps forward in the current Canadian Interuniversity Sport season this coming Friday, when they travel to Vancouver to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    Following that clash, the Huskies face the powerhouse U of Calgary Dinos (3-0) in a home and home series. The Huskies and Dinos meet on Oct. 3 in Calgary and again on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

    If you want to pass along any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out Twitter for more game photos @StanksSports.

Fog Bowl revisited at Griffiths

Huskies OL Ryan Breadner in the halftime fog.

            Well, it is pretty obvious what drew the most attention at Saturday’s University of Saskatchewan Huskies football game at Griffiths Stadium.

            As part of the Blackout promotion that went along with the Canada West conference regular season football game against the UBC Thunderbirds, the hosts fired off a spectacular fireworks display at halftime. The show more than delighted the 5,347 onlookers in attendance.

            The festivities also created a smoke haze that created a thick fog that hovered over the field. The teams came out to the field only to be sent back to their dressing rooms to allow the smoke fog to clear.

            The contest eventually resumed after what ended up being a 55-minute halftime break. The visiting Thunderbirds, who fell 31-25, filed a complaint to conference officials.

            So what does one make about the man-made fog spectacle?

            For one thing, it created an opportunity to get some great pictures. There was also ample time to visit with friends in the stands.

            With that said, Huskies football games have been the go-to event for decades in the City of Saskatoon. That is still the case this season more than ever. The promotions the marketing department creates to go along with the game nicely compliment the spectacle.

            The spectators that were in the stadium on Saturday night were quite pleased with what went on up until the end of the fireworks show. When it became clear halftime was going to be extended, it seemed everyone used the extra time to make a washroom break or buy something from the concession. There was also intrigue to see how long the fog would last.

            Over the years, I have run into more than a few former players from Canada West teams that suited up for squads that opposed the Huskies. A common comment was that Griffiths Stadium was their favourite place to play in the conference because of the atmosphere at games. What happened Saturday shouldn’t be more than something just happened, because the smoke fog was obviously not intentional.

The UBC Thunderbirds emerge in the halftime fog.

            Really, more concern should be paid towards some of the strange things that occurred in the final two minutes of the contest, which showed the officials might not have had their best finish.

            The Thunderbirds managed to call three time outs in the final two minutes. Of course, teams are only allowed two time outs per half in Canadian amateur football.

            There was also confusion around Shane Buchanan’s fumble on his own 34 yard line with 31 seconds to play. The officials originally ruled the Thunderbirds had the ball, which meant they would have had a chance to march a short distance for a potential winning score.

            The UBC players were celebrating, while the Huskies offence walked off the field looking dejected and the defence took the field.

            Several seconds later, the call was reversed. The hosts punted the ball away, and the Thunderbirds were unable to score on one last desperate play. The Huskies improved to 4-1, while the Thunderbirds fell to 1-4.

            When the final whistle blew, you can be sure everyone at the contest will not forget the night man-made fog rolled into Griffiths Stadium.

           

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.

Huskies gut one out

Jared Janotta (#21) loses a last second winning catch.

            It was a game where neither side was really happy with the end result.
            On Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies downed the University of Regina Rams 21-16 in a Canada West regular season game. The victorious Huskies improved to 3-1, but it was pretty obvious on the field their intensity level was lacking.
           While they won, they looked a lot more intense and a lot more polished offensively in their previous game falling 38-24 at home to the University of Calgary Dinos on Sept. 19. The Dinos have won the last six straight Canada West titles, and Dogs entered that contest as major underdogs.
            The Huskies came away from that tilt with the Dinos feeling good about the potential they could have. All of a sudden the match with the Rams, who fell to 1-3 on Saturday, was a trap game.
            The Rams led 13-11 at halftime and were on the better end of the scoreboard for most of the second half. It was their game for the taking.

            The Huskies went up 21-16 with 1:53 to play in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Drew Burko hit running back Shane Buchanan on a five-yard pass.

            After that score, the Rams had two possessions offensively. On the second possession, it looked like Rams first-year quarterback Noah Picton was going to have his first Joe Montana-like moment with the team.

            He drove his squad 80 yards downfield to the Huskies 17. Picton then threw what appeared was going to be a game-winning touchdown strike to Jared Janotta in the end zone. The ball bounced off Janotta’s hands and into the mitts of Huskies defensive back Keegan Arnyek for a game-saving interception.

            The Rams, who fell to 1-3, came away unhappy a victory which they should have had eluded their grasp. The Huskies weren’t satisfied, because the level of their play dropped from the loss to the Dinos.

            In order to have a good season, teams will have to pull out the odd victory in a game where the effort was lacklustre. The Huskies still found a way to win, so that has to ultimately be seen as a good sign for them.

            This coming Saturday, the Dogs return home to Griffiths Stadium to host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds for a 7 p.m. start. The Vanier Cup will be on display at the pre-game from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., and fans can have their picture taken with the CIS championship trophy.

            In an interesting development on Monday, the Huskies found out they were tied for first in the Canada West Conference. The Dinos fell to 3-1, when their regular season opening win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears was ruled a 1-0 win by the Golden Bears due to the fact the Dinos used two academically ineligible players.

            U of C holds the tiebreaker in the standings due to their win over the Huskies. The Dinos originally won the overturned contest against the Golden Bears 71-3 on Sept. 5.

 

Goaltending, defence paved the way for Dogs

            Goaltending and defence are expected to be the strengths of the Huskies men’s hockey team, and that proved to be true in the first weekend of the Canada West regular season play.

            The Huskies blanked the University of Regina Cougars 2-0 at the ancient Rutherford Rink in Saskatoon on Friday and then downed the Cougars 4-2 on Saturday in Regina.

            In Friday’s win, fifth year netminder Ryan Holfeld stopped 34 shots for the shutout, and the law student made every save look easy even the difficult ones. Former Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the year Jordon Cooke turned away 31 shots in Saturday’s win.

            U of S graduated their top four leading scorers from a season ago in Derek Hulak, Kenton Dulle, Andrew Bailey and Brennan Bosch along with Ryan McDonald, who was part of a three-way tie for seventh in team scoring. All of them are outstanding individuals, who also all had strong WHL backgrounds. Their departure does leave a big hole.

            Some of the newcomers showed some interesting potential. In the 2-0 win, Rhyse Dieno, who piled up points with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, had a nice breakaway goal.

            Michael Sofillas, a former member of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, scored a goal in each win and was flying around the rink.

            The Huskies were also 4-for-9 on the power play on the weekend. If success continues in that area, it will further boost the Huskies’ offence.

            The Dogs return to action this coming Friday and Saturday hosting the Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. each night at the Rutherford Rink.

            The women’s hockey team opens their regular season schedule this weekend traveling to Vancouver to take on the Thunderbirds this Friday and Saturday.

 

NHL game kind of a dud

The Oilers and Blackhawks face off at the Credit Union Centre.

             NHL exhibition game. Meh.

            On Sunday, the building known until Wednesday as the Credit Union Centre played host to a pre-season NHL contest between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago skated away with a 5-0 victory and 10,760 spectators saw both side ice rosters were only about half their players spent time in the show last season.

            On Monday, the Oilers actually sent five players that appeared in Sunday’s loss to their American Hockey League affiliate the Oklahoma City Barons. With so many non-NHL players on the ice, it seemed like those in the building weren’t all that enthusiastic about what transpired. There was cheering, but there wasn’t as much cheering as you would expect.

            After checking the video, the quality of the Blackhawks’ goals looked better than they first seemed, as they scored on a number of tipped chances. Kris Versteeg’s tally was the best one as he scored after being sent in alone on goal on a pass from Bryan Bickell to put the Hawks up 5-0 late in the third.

            With that said, spectators paid between $59.50 to $112 per ticket including fees to attend Sunday’s match. In all honestly, those in attendance didn’t get their monies worth. In case you were wondering, attendance was announced in the building at 10,303 before being adjusted on the scoresheet at the end of the contest.
  

Hilltops roll off third straight win

             For those that made it to the Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Sunday, they saw an entertaining performance from the Saskatoon Hilltops.

            The Hilltops rolled off their third straight victory downing the Winnipeg Rifles 48-23. The hosts piled up 242 yards through the air and 150 yards on the ground.

            Unfortunately, only 808 spectators turned out for this contest. Attendance took a double hit, as the NHL exhibition game between the Oilers and Blackhawks was to start almost immediately after the Hilltops game ended. It was also overcast outside and the temperature was around 10 C, so that likely help keep people away as well.

            All of that was too bad, because the Hilltops are a fun team to watch.

            With the win, Saskatoon improved to 4-2 and tied the defending CJFL champion Regina Thunder for first in the Prairie Football Conference. The Thunder fell 20-13 at home to the Calgary Colts on Sunday.

            Regina holds the tiebreaker in the standings having swept the two head-to-head matches with Saskatoon.           

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.