Canada West champion Huskies have the right mix

Will this group win an elusive second U Sports nationals?

Jeff Faith, left, and Evan Fiala ham it up.

    Could the intangible characteristic of chemistry be the thing that pushes the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to a U Sports national title?
    As of right now, the Huskies have that characteristic in spades. They have the right mix.

    Due to the fact it is almost impossible to measure intangibles by statistics, someone might say it is totally bonkers to outright say a team has the right mix or chemistry to win a national title.

    Still on a gut feeling, things just feel right with this Huskies team. It seems every player, coach and staffer is where they are supposed to be in the here and now.

    When the Huskies travel to Halifax, N.S., for the David Johnston University Cup that runs March 12 to 15, they will encounter a number of powerhouse U Sports squads from Eastern Canada that can prove having the right mix might not be enough to win a U Sports national title.

Evan Fiala is popular in Saskatoon’s hockey community.

    The David Johnston University Cup is played in an elite-eight format to determine the U Sports national champion. In a one-and-done event, any number of factors on any given day can do in a team like a hot goaltender, a hot scorer or a positive bounce for the opposition.

    With all that in mind, you have to feel excited about this Huskies team.

    Their perseverance showed early after starting the regular season 0-3-1 due to a number of injuries on defence. At that point, thoughts about the Huskies finishing first or second in Canada West to earn a first round series bye seemed distant.

    It seemed reasonable to think they could rally to earn the right to host a first round playoff series.

    Despite other injuries that came up during the campaign, the Huskies rolled off a 22-1-1 run over 24 games to finish the regular season with a 22-4-2 record to place second in Canada West. 

Collin Shirley is a big favourite in Saskatoon’s hockey community.

    Had they earned just one more point in the standings, they would have finished on top of the conference.
    They are currently rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

    The Huskies got healthy as the post-season drew near. Currently, the only player still out due to a long term injury is fourth-year forward and assistant captain Wyatt Johnson, who has a past history of battling concussion injuries. He still tries to be a source of support for the team

    The Dogs rolled off 11 straight wins to close the regular season and have extended that streak to 15 games after sweeping their Canada West semifinal and championship series.

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies completed a 2-0 sweep of the best-of-three Canada West final with a 3-1 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Game 2. Merlis was rocking as 2,667 spectators jammed into the main rink, which was a record crowd for the facility.

Levi Cable has played 175 consecutive games for the Huskies.

    The win marked the first time the Huskies captured the Canada West title since 2016.

    The Huskies are heading back to U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year. The overall depth in talent on the Huskies might have been a touch greater the three previous campaigns.

    They still have good talent this season, but it also seems to be the right amount of talent. They have balanced scoring from all four of their forward lines.

    They have a strong shutdown defensive unit playing in front of a star netminder in Taran Kozun, who was named both the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of the year.

    It seems like everyone on this Huskies team fits into their roles. They know who will be scorers, the defensive forwards, the power play quarterbacks on defence, the shutdown rearguards and Kozun holds the last line of defence.

Merlis Belsher, second from left, greets Huskies goalie Taran Kozun.

    Actually, the Huskies have another great goaltender as their backup in Travis Child, but in this case, he is performing the role of supportive goaltending partner exceptionally well.

    These Huskies don’t get derailed by those who play the role of agitator on opposing squads.

    This Huskies team just has some good old guys you have to like.

    Canada West second team all-star forward Collin Shirley and sophomore defensive defenceman Evan Fiala are arguably two of the team’s most popular players in minor hockey rinks across Saskatoon.

    Both are local products as Shirley grew up in Saskatoon and Fiala comes from the bedroom community of Clavet, which is located just outside the southeast corner of the city limits.

The noisemakers came out at Merlis on Saturday.

    Other that seem to subjectively be favourites around local area rinks are Johnson, Kohl Bauml and Carson Stadnyk.

    The Huskies have a strong fifth-year group who have been key contributors to the team and strong in the classroom in Bauml, Levi Cable, Andrew Johnson and Logan McVeigh. Cable has played in 175 consecutive games with the Huskies in the U Sports regular season and post-season showing unmatched durability.

    Fourth-year left-winger Jordan Tkatch can played skilled or grease it up, and that style of play has allowed him to still have a strong backing in Prince Albert, where he played for the WHL’s Raiders.

Carson Stadnyk has been clutch for the Huskies.

    Sophomore left-winger Layne Young seems just happy to be on the team, and he has become a key offensive contributor. Rookie centre Jared Dmytriw transitioned from being the captain of the Vancouver Giants, who appeared in last season’s WHL final, to playing like a natural with U Sports veteran experience on the Huskies.

    Captain Tanner Lishchynsky and fellow fourth year veteran Colby Harmsworth might be one of the best shutdown defensive pairings in amateur hockey in Canada.

    Sophomore rearguard and second team Canada West all-star Gordie Ballhorn and third-year blue-liner Sam Ruopp bring strong offensive skill to the back end.

    Rookie Jeff Faith plays a utility role and has a fun goofy side to his personality as well.

    You can keep going down the roster, but the Huskies are a team that is made up of guys that are just good guys. They have guys that have a bit of character too.

Tanner Lishchynsky leads a group that has a good vibe.

    The right tone around that team is just there.

    It would be sweet if they were able to bring home the Huskies second U Sports national title. The Huskies have a storied history winning the Canada West championship 18 times, and 12 of those title wins have come since the first U Sports national title was awarded in 1963.

    When they get to nationals, it seems like the unfairness of sports takes frequent bites out of the Huskies. They have had a number of teams stocked with talented good guys, and all but one have been unable to win the big prize.

    Since winning a national title in 1983, the Huskies have fallen in the U Sports championship game on four occasions in 1987, 2005, 2014 and 2017.

Layne Young, right, shares a special moment with his parents.

    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, who is the U Sports leader in all-time career victories, had guided his team to the University Cup 15 times and still hasn’t seen his squad win the championship game. The man who has one of the best senses of humour in U Sports and is a stellar coach deserves to have experienced victory in at least one U Sports championship game as a coach.

    He was a player on the 1982-83 Huskies team that won both the Canada West title and the U Sports national championship.

    The 1982-83 Huskies lived the saying, “Win today and walk together forever.”

The Huskies hope to repeat this scene at U Sports nationals.

    When that team has a reunion, only one or two players are usually not able to attend. The members of that Huskies squad are well-known for their tight bonds.

    You can bet the current Huskies team will do everything that they can control to have that bond too.

    If the hand of fate decides to give them a break or two that most past Huskies teams haven’t had at this stage of things, that would be a good thing too.

    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 squeak out ninth win in a row, nail down playoff bye

Jared Dmytriw had the winning goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Riley Lamb nearly robbed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    The first year netminder for the University of Manitoba Bisons came up with an incredible 42 save performance on Saturday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man. The 21-year-old gave his Bisons a prime opportunity to steal a victory, but his effort wasn’t enough to keep the Huskies at bay.

    The Huskies overcame an early 2-0 first period deficit and ultimately rallied for a 4-3 victory in the U Sports regular season clash to pull out a ninth straight victory. The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve to 20-4-2 to ensure they will have a bye through the first round of the Canada West playoffs and will host a best-of-three semifinal series.

    The Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears (21-5) are guaranteed to finish in the top two positions of the Canada West Conference standings. Both squads have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

    Both teams have 42 points to hold down the first and second spots in the Canada West standings. The Golden Bears hold the standings tiebreaker having won three out of the four head-to-head meetings between the two sides.

Kohl Bauml scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Against the Bisons on Saturday, the Huskies fell behind 2-0, when Bisons defenceman Ryan Carlson scored 48 seconds into the first period and again at the 3:15 mark of the opening frame.
    The Huskies battled back to even the score at 2-2 heading into the first intermission with goals coming from the sticks of rookie winger Justin Ball and fifth-year winger Kohl Bauml.

    U of S held a 16-5 advantage in shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes.

    In the second, fifth-year centre Logan McVeigh scored 65 seconds into the frame to give the Huskies a 3-2 lead. The Huskies were unable to add to their advantage despite holding a 19-3 edge in shots on goal.

    At the 7:01 mark of the third, Bisons fifth-year offensive defenceman Adam Henry netted his 10th goal of the season to even the score at 3-3.

    Rookie centre Jared Dmytriw potted his 10^th of the season and the game winner with 2:58 remaining in the third to put the Huskies ahead for good at 4-3.

    Sophomore netminder Travis Child turned away 16 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

    The Bisons fell to 9-13-2-2 to sit fifth in the Canada West standings.

    After starting 0-3-1, the Huskies have rolled off a 20-1-1 record over their past 22 outings. 

Logan McVeigh scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    They have battled the injury bug throughout the campaign including a rash of injuries at the start of the season on defence.
    The Huskies can still finish first in Canada West, if the Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, suffer a loss in one of their final two games.

    The Huskies close their regular season schedule with a home-and-home series with the University of Regina Cougars, who sit seventh in Canada West with an 8-15-2-1 record. The Cougars need to win both games against the Huskies to give themselves the best shot to move into the top six of the Canada West standings and earn a playoff berth.

    The two sides meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place and again this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    The Golden Bears close out their regular season schedule hosting the Bisons this coming Friday and Saturday in Edmonton.

Major third period collapse costly for Huskies women’s team

Elizabeth Salyn had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team saw a golden opportunity to move into second in the Canada West Conference standings slip through their fingers.

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies built a 3-0 victory over the U of Manitoba Bisons after 40 minutes of play. With star fourth-year netminder Jessica Vance playing goal and the Huskies carrying the reputation of being one of the best defensive teams in the conference, it seemed like that lead would be insurmountable.

    Unexpectedly, the Bisons rallied for four straight goals in the third period to skate away with a 4-3 victory in the U Sports regular season contest.

    The Bisons improved to 9-16-1 with the win but still remained last in the eight-team Canada West Conference. Due to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds slipping past the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-1 in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday, the Bisons were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

    The Huskies entered Saturday’s clash with the Bisons riding a seven-game winning streak. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 16-7-2-1 to sit third in the Canada West standings with 49 points coming off 14 regulation wins, two extra time wins and three extra time setbacks.

    U of S trails the U of Calgary Dinos (16-7-1-2) by one point for second place. The Dinos have 50 points in the standings coming off 15 regulation wins, one extra time win and three extra time setbacks.
    In Canada West women’s hockey, teams are awarded three points in the standings for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks.
    The top two teams in Canada West earn byes past the first round of the playoffs and the opportunity to host best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

Shyan Elias had an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Both the Huskies and Dinos have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. The Huskies hold the standings tiebreaker over the Dinos having won all four head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

    The Huskies can’t finish any lower than third or any higher than second in Canada West.

    The U of Alberta Pandas (19-7) top the Canada West standings with 56 points coming off 18 regulation wins and one extra time win. The Pandas, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, need to earn one more point in the standings to lock up first in Canada West.

    The Dinos hold the standings tiebreaker against the Pandas having one three out of four head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

    In Saturday’s clash between the Huskies and the Dinos, fifth-year centre Elizabeth Salyn scored to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the first period with fifth-year veteran left-winger Shyan Elias and third-year right winger Abby Shirley picking up assists. 
    Fifth-year left-winger Rachel Lundberg and sophomore forward Kara Kondrat each netted their first goals of the campaign in the second period to put the Huskies up 3-0.
    Salyn had an assist on Lundberg’s goal to finish with a two-point night.

    At that point, things fell apart for the host side. Just 1:42 into the third, third-year left-winger Mekaela Fisher scored for the Bisons to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1.

    At the 10:44 mark of the third, fourth-year right-winger Sheridan Oswald tallied for the Bisons to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2.

    With 1:26 remaining in the third, Bisons fifth-year captain Jordyn Zacharias scored the equalizer to force a 3-3 tie. Just seven seconds after that tally, Bisons rookie right-winger Kate Gregoire scored the winner for the visitors to cement the final score a 4-3.

    Zacharias had two assists to go with her goal.

    Vance turned away 16 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. Fifth-year veteran Amanda Schubert turned away 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bisons.

    The Huskies also failed to score on three third period power-play chances as the Bisons roared back on the scoreboard to add to the collapse for the host side.

Kara Kondrat had a goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The Huskies close their regular season with a home-and-home series against the U of Regina Cougars, who sit fourth in Canada West with a 13-13 record. The two sides meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    They then go at it on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    The Dinos close their season with a home-and-home series with the Pronghorns (9-14-1-2). They go at it this coming Friday in Lethbridge and again this coming Saturday in Calgary.

    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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Dmytriw sees Huskies through to 2-0 victory

Jared Dmytriw (#15) wins a draw for the Huskies.

    It’s true, it’s true, Jared Dmytriw potted two.

    The 21-year-old centre scored twice on Saturday to lift his University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to a 2-0 victory over the University of Regina Cougars in a U Sports regular season clash. The Craven, Sask., product is having a strong rookie campaign leading the Huskies in scoring with six goals and eight assists for 14 points to go with a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus department.

    His two goals put daggers into the Cougars hopes for an upset victory before 1,370 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place. 

Jared Dmytriw drives towards the net for the Huskies.

    They both came in the third period and disrupted a goaltending duel between Huskies goalie Travis Child and Cougars netminder Brandon Holtby.
    At the 4:46 mark of the third, Dmytriw broke on the right wing roofed a shot top left corner of the Cougars goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

    He netted his second of the night at the eight-minute mark of the third when he picked up a loose puck beside the U of R net and roofed the puck over top of Holtby.

    Dmytriw’s tallies allowed the Huskies to win their sixth straight game as they improved to 9-3-2. The Cougars fell to 2-11-1.

    The Huskies downed the Cougars one night earlier 3-1 in Regina.

The Huskies celebrate Jared Dmytriw’s first goal.

    “They are our close rival, so it is going to be tight game no matter what,” said Dmytriw. “Inevitably, the bounces kind of went our way, and we found a way to get a couple in the third.”

    Dmytriw is picking up with the Huskies from where he left off when he graduated from the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

    Last season as the Giants captain in his overage campaign, Dmytriw netted 15 goals, 23 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department. He helped the Giants finish second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-3-2 record.

    Dmytriw proceeded to hit another gear in the post-season. He played in all of the Giants 22 playoff games recording nine goals, 12 assists and a plus-11 rating.

Jared Dmytriw leads the Huskies in scoring with 14 points.

    The Giants advanced to last May’s best-of-seven WHL championship series against the Prince Albert Raiders. The series went the distance, and the Raiders claimed a 3-2 overtime victory at home in Game 7 to win the league title.

    Upon joining the Huskies, Dmytriw kept rolling in high gear.

    “It is exciting,” said Dmytriw, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 195 pounds. “It is a lot of fun.

    “It is nice to be close to home. It has been almost a seamless transition. We have such a great group of guys here.

    “We’re just kind of finding our legs and getting on a roll here, and we’re going to carry it into next weekend and then into the finals break.”

    While he has played his first 14 regular season games with the Huskies, Dmytriw admitted he has moments where his mind reflects on what happened with the Giants in the WHL final.

The Huskies celebrate Jared Dmytriw’s second goal.

    “You still think about it,” said Dmytriw. “You think about how close we were.

    “You can’t get much closer than one shot away in overtime in Game 7. Those are memories I’m going to look back on for the rest of my life. That group of guys that we had and the battle that we went through in that series, it was awesome.

    “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

    Dmytriw can still see some of the chances his Giants missed in overtime before Dante Hannoun scored the winner for the Raiders.

    “It was back-and-forth there,” said Dmytriw. “We went down 3-1 in the series and won Game 5 and 6.

    “Going into Game 7, both teams are confident. Anything can go either way. It went their way.

    “They had a really good team and had really good season, so hats off to them. I’m just really proud of our group and how far we came that year.”
    Upon joining the Huskies, Dmytriw had to get used to going to school again. 

Jared Dmytriw sets to make a drop pass.

    He is a business major at the U of S and credited the Huskies for being a big help as far as academics are concerned.

    “It is a transition coming out of the Western League where I haven’t been going to school for the last couple of years, but it has been really good,” said Dmytriw. “The classes are all good.

    “Profs are good, and there is a lot of support here with our group and our organization from the school.”

    Being able to contribute out of the gate offensively at the U Sports level has been a big plus too.

    “It is really good hockey,” said Dmytriw. “There are a lot of ex-WHL players in there.

    “They are just all older now, and they are all men. It comes down to confidence. Once you get the confidence and get rolling there, you kind of find you legs and stuff starts going your way.”
    Dmytriw centres a line that contains Collin Shirley at left wing and Justin Ball at right wing.

    The Huskies are without veteran forwards Kohl Bauml, Wyatt Johnson and Jordan Tkatch due to injury, and all three can put up numbers offensively.

Travis Child made 28 saves to pick up a shutout victory.

    Dmytriw is pleased how his team has responded with a next man up mentality. He has enjoyed playing on a line with Shirley and Ball.

    Shirley picked up assists on both of Dmytriw’s goals.

    “It was a good breakout there (on the first goal),” said Dmytriw. “We focused on our transition game kind of coming into the game, so we got the puck going quick and got the transition going up the ice.
    “I was able to get a shot and luckily it went in.”

    Due to the fact his hometown is only a two hour drive south of Saskatoon, Dmytriw has had a big contingent out to support him at his home games with the Huskies. During his five seasons in the WHL from 2014 to 2019, Dmytriw played with the Victoria Royals, Red Deer Rebels and Giants.
    He only spent 26 regular season games with the Rebels, which meant he mainly played in the Western Conference resulting in limited opportunities to play road games in Saskatchewan.

The Huskies celebrate a sixth straight victory.

    Dmytriw is pleased he is no longer living such a great distance away from home, and it will be easier for his family to see him play over the next number of seasons.

    “It is awesome having family in the stands,” said Dmytriw. “They’ve been here for every game.

    “They were in the stands again tonight, so it is awesome to have that support. It is pretty cool after being away for so long.”

    Child stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, which was also his third career regular season shutout in U Sports play. Holtby turned away 32 shots in goal for the Cougars.

    The Huskies return to action Friday, when they travel to Calgary, Alta., to face the Mount Royal University Cougars (10-3-0-1).

Huskies burst for four goals, outlast Cougars

Bailee Bourassa scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team needed all of their offensive burst of four goals to down the U of Regina Cougars.

    On Saturday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Sask., the Huskies slipped past the Cougars 4-3 in a feisty back-and-forth battle. The sides were tied up 1-1 after the first period and 2-2 after the second.

    The Huskies jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third before the Cougars scored to cut the visitors edge to 4-3. The host side wasn’t able to find the equalizer after that.

    Fifth-year checking forward Elizabeth Salyn scored the winner and her first tally of the campaign for the Huskies at the 13:20 mark of the third period.

    Chelsea Debusschere, Rachel Lundberg and Bailee Bourassa had singles for the Huskies.

Jaycee Magwood, Paige Hubbard and Jadyn Kushniruk replied with singles for the Cougars.

    Kushniruk’s tally was her first career U Sports regular season goal. She is in her rookie season with the Cougars having graduated from the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team.

    Saturday’s clash contained some rough stuff as Huskies fourth-year defender Kayla Kirwan and Magwood were both given double minors for checking to the head at the 6:16 mark of the third.

    Jessica Vance made 10 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies (7-4-2-1). Morgan Baker turned away 20 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars (6-8).

    Vance now has a 31-12-5 regular season record in her U Sports career with a 1.14 goals against average, a .950 save percentage and 17 shutouts. She equaled Vanessa Frederick for the second most career regular season victories in the history of the Huskies women’s hockey program.

    Frederick played for the Huskies for the Huskies from 2007 to 2010 and in 2011-12 posting a 31-21 record, a 2.30 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and five shutouts in regular season play.

    The Huskies return to action on Friday, when they host the Mount Royal University Cougars (8-6) at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Kliewer stones Wildcats in 2-1 Stars win

Arden Kliewer makes one of her 33 saves for the Stars.

    Arden Kliewer showed her pedigree in being the one of the best goaltenders to ever play in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, Kliewer made 33 stops to back the Saskatoon Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats. The loss was the first for the Wildcats in the SFMAAAHL regular season as they fell to 8-1.

    The win was a big confidence booster for the rebuilding Stars, who improved to 5-6-2.

    Kliewer came up huge keeping the Stars in the first period making 13 saves as the host side was outshot 14-3. Centre Crystal Wale netted the Wildcats goal in the opening frame, which would be their only tally in the contest.

    The Stars got traction in the second period as captain Makena Kushniruk scored twice to put the host side up 2-1. Kushniruk’s second tally came with less than 20 seconds to play in the second.  

    With Kliewer holding the fort, the Stars closed things out defensively in the third period. Cheynne Jamieson turned away 17 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats.

    The win was Kliewer’s 41^st career regular season victory which ranks second all-time in the history of the SFMAAAHL.

    The Wildcats and Stars go at it again on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Hilltops’ grads take final bows at team awards

Jadyn Pingue took home the Hilltops team award for top linebacker.

    The Saskatoon Hilltops graduating players took centre stage at the team’s awards banquet.

    On Friday at the Delta Marriott Hotel, the 2019 Hilltops gathered for one last time to celebrate winning a sixth straight CJFL championship. Six days earlier in Langley, B.C., the Hilltops downed the host Rams 11-6 to remain CJFL champs and retain possession of the Canadian Bowl.

    The Hilltops wrapped a second straight perfect campaign posting a 12-0 record this season. They were 11-0 in 2018.

    At the awards banquet on Friday, graduating players claimed all six of the possible major seven team awards that could be claimed.

    Offensive right guard Taylon Elderkin claimed the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award.

    Defensive tackle Jesse McNabb was named the winner of the Drs. Landa-Doig Award as the team’s most outstanding graduate.

    The Blue and Gold award for dedication and commitment went to receiver Connor Graham.

    The Courtice Inspiration Award went to defensive back Colton Holmes, who missed a number of games before returning to play for the Hilltops in their victory in the Canadian Bowl. Holmes dressed for only four of the Hilltops regular season games and the CJFL title contest.

    Jadyn Pingue claimed the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the Hilltops top linebacker. Pingue was named the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player for the 2019 campaign.

    Offensive left guard Ryder Klisowsky took the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the Hilltops top lineman.

    Defensive lineman Jacob Yuzak took the Past President’s Trophy as the rookie of the year.

    At the awards banquet, Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant gave one his best speeches he ever gave at that event. Of course, he thanked his wife, Kris, and daughters, Macy and Abby, for their support.

The late Justin Filteau in action for the Hilltops in 2014.

    He also talked about the importance of late Hilltops linebacker Justin Filteau, who passed away in early June in a plane crash at age 26. Filteau played for the Hilltops from 2010 to 2014 winning four CJFL titles.

    He was a CJFL all-Canadian all-star at linebacker in his final campaign with the Hilltops before moving on to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team at the U Sports level.

    Sargeant said that before the season Pingue came to him suggestion Filteau’s #45 should be retired. Pingue joined the Hilltops in the 2015 campaign and took up wearing #45.

    Sargeant said it would be important for Pingue to keep wearing #45 as a way to keep Filteau’s memory alive. The Hilltops dedicated their season to Filteau and wore #45 decals on their helmets.

    Pingue started at middle linebacker for the Hilltops in 2019, which would be the only campaign he would be a starter with the club. In a fitting way for things to work out, he had a campaign where he was a Prairie Football Conference all-star, a CJFL all-Canadian all-star and was named the most outstanding defensive player for both the PFC and CJFL.

    It was safe to say that Pingue held up Filteau’s number really well.

    Since none of the current Hilltops were ever teammates with Filteau, the team’s coaches did an outstanding job of passing on Filteau’s importance to the Hilltops and Saskatchewan’s football community.

    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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Thunderbirds steal overtime win from Huskies

Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22) scores the OT winner for the Thunderbirds.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team was game, but they still had their hearts broken in overtime by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    In a U Sports regular season contest on Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, it appeared the Huskies were going to send the 434 spectators in attendance home with a thrilling victory.
    Trailing 2-1 with 72 seconds remaining in the third period, Huskies right-winger Bailee Bourassa one-timed home a shot off a backdoor pass from defender Isabella Pozzi to force a 2-2 tie and overtime.

Mathea Fischer set up the Thunderbirds OT winner.

    The Thunderbirds proceeded to end things quickly early in the four-on-four extra session. Huskies captain Brooklyn Haubrich and Thunderbirds captain Mathea Fischer were battling for the puck in the right corner boards in the Huskies zone.

    Haubrich lost her stick allowing Fischer to skate away with the puck. The product of Oslo, Norway, fed a pass to the front of the Huskies goal, and the puck was knocked home by linemate Hannah Clayton-Carroll to give the Thunderbirds a 3-2 victory 23 seconds into extra time.

    Friday’s setback was a tough one to take for the Huskies, who have had an intense rivalry for some time with the Thunderbirds.  

    U of S controlled lengthy portions of the contest outshooting the visitors 24-17. The Huskies went a solid 2-for-6 on the power play.

    The Thunderbirds played like a classic 1980s European hockey team or like former NHL pest Claude Lemieux trying to fall and dive their way to victory by attempting to draw penalties.

Shyan Elias scored a buzzer beater for the Huskies in the first period.

    In numerous one-on-one battles on the ice, it often seemed the Thunderbirds players were light on their skates and went down easy.

    Even Thunderbirds sophomore defender Hannah Koroll, who was once the captain of the ultra-tough Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team, had a couple of moments where she fell off her skates quite easily during battles along the boards.

    The visitors did their best to get under the skin of the Huskies players, which including tapping U of S star netminder Jessica Vance a couple of times when play had stopped. The most noticeable ones came from Thunderbirds left-winger Jaedon Cooke early in the first period and from left-winger Ireland Perrott early in the third frame.

    At one point in the second, Huskies fifth-year defender Emma Nutter seemed to be wrapped up in a chat with Perrott after a stoppage in play. It didn’t appear the conversation revolved around favourite drinks from Starbucks.

Huskies D Emma Nutter and UBC captain Mathea Fischer mix it up.

    The antics from the UBC side seemed unfortunate, because when the Thunderbirds had the puck, they displayed moments that showed they can play with great skill.

    It didn’t seem like the extra-curricular activities phased the Huskies.

    With that noted, The Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard first at the 15:23 mark of the opening frame.
    Clayton-Carroll broke in on the Huskies goal on a breakaway and put shot off the right post of the U of S net.

    UBC left-winger Emma Hall was trailing on the play and put the rebound home quickly to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

    The Huskies evened thing up at 1-1 with a power-goal that beat the first period buzzer.

Bailee Bourassa celebrates scoring her equalizer for the Huskies.

    Bourassa fired a shot from midway up the left boards and linemate Shyan Elias deflected home the drive to put the Huskies on equal terms with the visitors.
    Thunderbirds head coach Graham Thomas protested the Huskies goal call by the officials for about three minutes to no avail.

    The Huskies carried that momentum into the second period gaining a couple of key scoring chances.
    Captain Brooklyn Haubrich was stopped trying to slide a puck underneath Thunderbirds netminder Tory Micklash, but Micklash just hung on for the save.

The Thunderbirds celebrate their OT victory on Friday night.

    Bourassa was stopped on a drive from the front of the net.

    In the third period, Micklash made the save of game flashing her glove hand to rob Huskies fourth-year left-winger Emily Upgang, who had a shot pegged for the top right corner of the UBC goal.
    The Thunderbirds jumped ahead 2-1 with 5:31 remaining in the third period, when rookie defender Kennesha Miswaggon fired home a beauty power-play goal from the right slot through a screen to the top left corner of the Huskies goal.

    That set the stage for the dramatics late in the third period and in overtime.

    Vance made 14 saves to take the extra time setback in goal for the Huskies (5-2-2).
    Micklash turned away 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds (5-2-1-1).

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Huskies hold Thunderbirds scoreless in Vancouver

Travis Child posted a shutout win for the Huskies on Friday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team is starting to hit their stride.

    On Friday in Vancouver, B.C., the Huskies, who are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, received a 27-save performance from backup netminder Travis Child to blank the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 4-0 in a U Sports regular season clash.

    The victory was the fourth for the Huskies in their last five games helping them improve to 4-3-2.

Levi Cable scored in the opening frame for the Huskies. Carson Stadnyk tallied for the Huskies in the second period.

    Rookie Jared Dmytriw scored his first career U Sports regular season goal in the third. Last season, Dmytriw was the captain of the Vancouver Giants and helped them reach the WHL final, where they fell 3-2 in overtime in a series-deciding Game 7 to the Raiders in Prince Albert.

    Carter Folk rounded out the scoring for the Huskies scoring into an empty net with less than 20 seconds to play.

    Rylan Toth turned away 23-of-26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Thunderbirds (2-5-2).

    The Huskies stumbled out of the gate with an 0-3-1 record due to a number of injuries they sustained on defence. U of S is still without regular rearguards Sam Ruopp and Colby Harmsworth due to the injury bug.

    The Huskies and Thunderbirds go at it again on Saturday in Vancouver.

Machart leads Huskies Canada West all-stars with record year

Adam Machart was a unanimous Canada West all-star selection.

    Adam Machart set new records for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in rushing yards and all-purpose yards for one season, and as a result, he was a unanimous selection as a Canada West all-star.

    Machart was one of seven Huskies who were named to the conference all-star squad on Thursday.      The skilled and tough running back carried the ball 156 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season to break the Huskies record for most rushing yards in one regular season.

    In the passing game, Machart caught 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. He piled up 1,538 all-purpose yards to set a new Huskies team record.

    Two of the men who allowed Machart to pile up his yardage made it to the all-star squad from the Huskies offensive line in left guard Mattland Riley and centre Connor Berglof.

Colton Klassen was named to the Canada West all-star team.

    Utility player Colton Klassen was named to the Canada West all-star squad as a receiver hauling in 37 passes for 456 yards and two touchdowns. Klassen’s reception and yardage totals were team highs for the Huskies.

    In the running game, Klassen carried the ball 10 times for 86 yards.
    The fourth-year member of the Huskies is out for the U Sports playoffs with a severely injured right leg.

    One the defensive side of the ball, fifth-year defensive tackle Evan Machibroda, defensive end Nicholas Dheilly and defensive back Nelson Lokombo all earned spots on the all-star squad as well.

    Machibroda had 22 total tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Dheilly recorded 17.5 total tackles and five sacks.

    Lokombo posted 23.5 total tackles, 2.5 sacks and four interceptions. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.

    The Huskies (5-3) host a Canada West semifinal playoff game against the U of Alberta Golden Bears (4-4) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium.

    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 fall face first out of the gate to start 0-2

Mount Royal romps to 7-2 victory at Merlis on Saturday

Ryley Lindgren, left, celebrates his hat trick goal for the Cougars.

    Well that was ugly.
    The U Sports regular season is only two games old, but the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team might be facing more adversity than they might encounter as the rest of the 2019-20 campaign progresses.

    After losing their home opener 5-4 to the visiting Mount Royal University Cougars on Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies didn’t do any better in the rematch at the same venue on Saturday dropping a 7-2 decision to the Cougars before 1,231 spectators.

    Going into Saturday’s game, the Huskies were dealt a bad hand by forces outside of their control. They hit the ice dressing five healthy defencemen as Sam Ruopp, Colby Harmsworth, Kendall Fransoo and Shane Collins were all out due to various injuries.

Taran Kozun was pulled in the third period of Saturday’s game.

    They were forced to dress two defencemen who are in the first year of U Sports eligibility in Cody Spagrud and Jeff Faith. Faith had been a forward for a large chunk of his hockey career.

    Playing with a beat up back end helped spell doom for the Huskies.

    Still, they were able to show some jump at the start of Saturday’s contest.

    The Huskies drew first blood scoring on the power play 3:57 into the first period. On a two-on-one rush, left-winger Collin Shirley came down the right wing and centred a pass to linemate Logan McVeigh, who gave the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    After that goal, it was all Cougars for the rest of the opening frame.

    Just nine seconds after McVeigh’s goal, Chris Gerrie potted the equalizer for the Cougars to even things at 1-1.

    Shortly past the midway point of the frame, Cougars right-winger Keegan Iverson send linemate Ryley Lindgren into the Huskies zone on a breakaway, and Lindgren snapped a shot past Huskies star goalie Taran Kozun to put the visitors up 2-1.

Cougars LW Connor Rankin knocks down Huskies LW Carson Stadnyk.

    The Cougars didn’t stop there.

    While working on the power play, Lindgren tipped home a point shot from defenceman Jamal Watson for his second goal of the contest to give the Cougars a 3-1 edge with 21.2 seconds to play in the opening frame.

    Things looked like they were going to get worse for the Huskies when second-year defenceman Gordie Ballhorn received a high sticking major and a game misconduct just 3:44 into the second period. Ballhorn got his stick up on Watson, who went down hurt but quickly returned for the ensuing power play.

    Due to the fact Watson recovered so fast, the chances of Ballhorn receiving a suspension over an automatic league review for his infraction should take a big drop.

Keegan Iverson piled up five assists for the Cougars on Saturday.

    Ballhorn’s departure further depleted the Huskies numbers and strength on the back end. Carter Folk, who is a third-year left-winger, often took shifts on defence after Ballhorn was ejected from the contest.

    As crazy as it sounds, the Huskies scored the only goal on the Cougars five-minute power play. 
    Right-winger Levi Cable broke down the right wing with the puck and sniped a shot top corner of the Mount Royal goal to cut the Cougars lead to 3-2.

    When it seemed the Huskies had weathered the storm and gained momentum, they were sent reeling by an unexpected bad bounce.

Levi Cable had a second period goal for the Huskies.

    Just 26 seconds into the third period, Iverson dumped the puck into the Huskies zone, and Kozun went behind his goal in an attempt to play it. The puck took a strange bounce off the boards ending up in the right slot on Gerrie’s stick.

    Kozun tripped trying to adjust to the sudden change in direction, but couldn’t prevent Gerrie from putting the puck into an open cage for a 4-2 Cougars lead.

    Connor Chartier scored at the 3:41 mark and Bradley Kennedy followed with a single at the 7:53 mark of the third to give the Cougars a 6-2 advantage.

    The Huskies elected to pull Kozun after Kennedy’s tally. Kozun stopped 18-of-24 shots sent his way.

    Travis Child played the rest of the third in relief stopping 5-of-6 shots sent in his direction.

    Lindgren completed his hat trick scoring with 90 seconds remaining in the third to round out the game’s final outcome. Iverson collected five assists on the night.

Chris Gerrie had two goals for the Cougars on Saturday.

    Riley Morris turned away 27 shots in goal for the Cougars.

    Saturday’s game was a delete the video type outing for the Huskies. They have to hope they will get some defencemen back off the injured list.

    At 0-2, their road doesn’t get any easier.

    The Huskies next two games are on the road in Edmonton, Alta., against their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears (2-0). The Golden Bears have won the last three straight Canada West titles beating the Huskies in the conference final to win each of those championships.

    The two sides go at it on Oct. 11 and 12.

    The Huskies could potentially be 0-4, when they return to Merlis for their next home game on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

    That is crazy to think about considering the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 25-3 regular season record in 2018-19. The 25 wins they collected is a team record for most wins in one regular season.

The Cougars celebrate their victory and improving to 2-0 on Saturday.

    While it is early, the Huskies could find themselves in a constant battle trying to dig out of a big early hole for the rest of the 2019-20 campaign.

    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.