Roughed up at Rutherford

Kaitlin Willoughby gets in a scrum with two UBC players.

    It was an odd sight to see Kaitlin Willoughby exchanging punches with opponents, but it was something you could see coming.
    On Saturday night at the Rutherford Rink, the Huskies were trailing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 5-1 late in the third period of a Canada West women's hockey game. The clash featured constant exchanges of chirps and pushes and shoves between whistles. The 5-1 score would be the final outcome, but before the game concluded, the frustration of last season's Canadian Interuniversity Sport rookie of the year took over.
    As she drove to the Thunderbirds net late in the third, you could see in her eyes she was driving to the goal motivated by rage, which isn't uncommon at that point in a chippy contest. You either suspected Willoughby would score on that rush, drive goaltender Danielle Dube into the net or get involved in an altercation.
    Willoughby's shot was stopped as she went to the net hard, and then she got involved with a UBC forward Rebecca Unrau and defender Madison Patrick. Both sides got off two to three serious punches each in the scrum, before the officials broke things up without handing out penalties.
    With that setback, the Huskies dropped their fourth game in a row. They also dropped a 1-0 decision at the Rutherford Rink on Friday. Having sat first overall in Canada West at the semester break, the Huskies have dropped to fifth in the conference and face the biggest stretch of adversity they have encountered all season.
    In the losses to the Thunderbirds (12-4-4), the Huskies (11-7-2) visibly got dragged down over time by all the extra-curricular activities that occurred between the whistles. Out of all the teams the Huskies faced in the tight Canada West conference this season, the Thunderbirds arguably are the best skating team they have encountered. UBC also has a lot of talented players like Rafter and Unrau.
    The Thunderbirds also came into the games playing with a high tension edge, which is similar to that of the NHL's Boston Bruins or Philadelphia Flyers. That was a characteristic you hadn't seen to that extent in any other team in the Canada West women's league.
    During Saturday's game, a lot of words were exchanged between whistles. As players went off for line changes, they would usually bump into or shoulder each other as a way to pester each other. A few times, the odd slashes would get traded.
    The Thunderbirds also ran over Huskies netminder Cassidy Hendricks a couple of times early in the contest, which resulted in goaltender interference calls. That also added to the frustration for the home side.
    In some form or other, the exchanges between whistles, be it verbal or physical, will always be part of hockey. The Huskies have to do their best to skate away from that type of activity, because it takes the focus of what they should be doing in the game.

Kandace Cook takes a draw for the Huskies.

    By the sounds of things, that type of activity was even more prevalent in Friday's setback than it was in Saturday's loss.
    Besides the on ice distraction factor, the Huskies need to contend with the fact their offence has dried up, as they have scored only four goals in their four-game skid. Defence has also been the name of the game in the Canada West ranks as only five players are averaging a point or more per game.
    In Saturday's contest Unrau and Tatiana Rafter each scored twice for the Thunderbirds, while Nicole Saxvik had a single. Dube made 27 stops to earn the win in goal for UBC.
    Kandace Cook had the lone goal for the Huskies, while Hendricks made 25 saves suffering the loss in goal for the defending conference champs.
    On Friday night, Thunderbirds forward Stephanie Schaupmeyer had the lone goal of the contest, while Samantha Langford made 25 stops to earn the shutout win in the UBC goal. Hendricks made 25 stops in goal for the Huskies.
    Going forward into their final eight games, the Huskies need to focus on having a good outing in their next outing against the University of Manitoba Bisons (14-5-1). Those two teams meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink. There is still lots of time for them to get their game back to the level it was in the first semester before playoffs roll around.

Fourth time a charm for Adolph

Head coach Dave Adolph works the Huskies bench. 

    Dave Adolph finally got the record.
    The head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team became the Canadian Interuniversity Sport leader in career conference wins on Friday night, when his Huskies down the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 4-3 in double overtime in Vancouver. Friday's victory gave Adolph his 378^th career conference victory, which passed the old mark of 377 held by legendary University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Clare Drake. Adolph also holds the record for career games coached in the CIS, which stood at 722 after Friday's action.
    "There's only one Clare Drake," said Adolph to UBC sports information assistant Tim Huebsch. "In my mind, he's responsible for the success of CIS men and women's hockey. I've been fortunate to have coached for a long time, and although records are meant to be broken, Clare Drake remains in a league of his own."
The veteran bench boss had to wait for the record breaker. The Huskies lost their previous three games before pulling out the double overtime victory over the Thunderbirds.
    For a while, it appeared Friday's game would be a fourth straight setback. The Thunderbirds led 3-0 on goals from Nick Buonassisi, Luke Lockhart and David Robinson. Robinson's tally came at the 6:51 mark of the third, and it appeared the game was over.
    The Huskies, who have had trouble scoring goals in bunches this season, stormed back to force a 3-3 tie to send the contest to overtime. Craig McCallum scored for the Huskies on a power play, and Jesse Ross added another goal for the visitors just 33 seconds later to cut the lead to 3-2. Defenceman Connor Cox picked up the equalizer with 5:27 to play in the frame.
    After playing a scoreless four-on-four first overtime period, McCallum scored in the three-on-three second overtime frame to give the Huskies a 4-3 win.
    Ryan Holfeld made 30 saves to earn the win in goal. Eric Williams turned away 22 shots in net for the Thunderbirds.
    The Huskies weren't able to duplicate the comeback heroics one night later falling 5-0 to the host Thunderbirds. Buonassisi, Greg Fraser, Brad Hoban, Joe Antilla and Anthony Bandaro netted singles for the Thunderbirds (11-9-4). Matt Hewitt made 22 saves for the shutout win in the UBC goal.
    Jordon Cooke made 32 saves suffering the loss in goal for the Huskies (10-13-1).
    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the University of Manitoba Bisons (12-12). U of S needs to earn four more points in the standings to lock up a playoff berth.

Mistaken identity

Tigers forward Trevor Cox celebrates a goal. 

    So it appears Connor Cox was in two places at the same time on Friday night.
    Out in Vancouver, Cox had the equalizer for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team to tie the UBC Thunderbirds 3-3 in the third period. The Huskies would win that contest 4-3 in double overtime.
    Back in Saskatoon, a Blades online game story from their 5-4 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in a WHL clash at the Sasktel Centre gave the Tigers fourth goal to Connor Cox.
    The line in the game story said, "Connor Cox would add to his league-leading points total, scoring just seconds after a Tiger power play ended."
    The story meant to say Trevor Cox, who leads the WHL in scoring, picked up the Tigers fourth goal.

The real Connor Cox manning the Huskies blue-line

    To be fair, I understand how easily the mistake could happen. During his career in the WHL, Connor Cox played 121 regular season games with the Blades from 2010 to 2012. Over that time, Connor became extremely popular in the Blades' dressing room, with the team's staff and the local media that covered the hockey club. He also became a fan favourite as he developed his strong reputation as being a team-first guy.
    You can be sure the staffers with the Blades have a bunch of good memories of Connor, and his name was likely ingrained in the head of the person writing the game story for the web.
    I know for myself I have made my share of errors during my years writing stories. You don't want them to happen, but they do.
    As for the one from the online story, it allows those that know and are friends with Connor to engage in some humour with him.

Blades looking good

The Saskatoon Blades celebrate Friday's win.

    Speaking of the Saskatoon Blades, they played their first home games since the WHL trade deadline and Jan. 10, and the team's young roster impressed.
    Stuck near the bottom of the league standings, the Blades made a bunch of moves leading up to the deadline to build a more youthful roster. Currently the Blades only have two overage players and four players in their 19-year-old seasons.
    On Friday night, they pulled off a major 5-4 upset of the Medicine Hat Tigers, who are once again a powerhouse club in the league. The contest was a back-and-fourth affair, where the Blades ultimately overcame a 4-3 deficit to pull out a one-goal victory.
    Rookie defenceman Nolan Reid scored the winner near the midway point of the third.
    Best part about that win for Saskatoon was the fact the Blades played aggressive the whole game and weren't afraid to make plays offensively. They also received some much needed breaks getting a pair of goals to go in off the skates of Tigers defencemen and capitalized on a giveaway on a short-handed situation.
    On Saturday night, the Blades slipped past the Kootenay Ice 3-2 at the Sasktel Centre. Wyatt Sloboshan played the role of hero scoring the winner for Saskatoon with 10.8 second to play in the third to break a 2-2 tie.
    With three wins in a row, the Blades improve to 12-29-2-1. While the win column has been dry for long stretches of the season, the work ethic has been there for the Blades. The wins should supply some confidence and help the team to continue to set building blocks for the future.

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

“The bag skate” belongs in the dinosaur age

Winning the Tigers’ way should be the way of the present and the future 

Trevor Cox celebrates a goal with his Tigers teammates

            Every hockey player dreads “the bag skate.”
            For the non-hockey people out there, “the bag skate” is basically a punishment style practice a coach puts a team through, when the players aren’t performing well. In a lot of hockey circles, it is viewed as a necessary evil to make a team win and is said to be used as a last resort.
            A bag skate practice involves the players on a team skating hard for a lengthy period of time as hard as they can, and the overall sessions can last for two hours. During these types of practices, a puck never touches the ice.
            In the 1987 “The Boys on the Bus” documentary on the Wayne Gretzky-era Edmonton Oilers, cameras filmed the Oilers participating in a bag skate during a slump in the 1986-87 season. Some players were vomiting including “The Great One” himself. This often happens in a bag skate.
            After that two hour punishment practice, the ice was resurfaced and the Oilers went on to hold a real practice.
            When I explain “the bag skate” concept to someone who has never been involved with the sport, I often receive a disgusted reaction.
            For the longest time, I thought it was a fair game thing to do in hockey. As I travel around various hockey circles, it seems that line of thinking is still there.            

Netminder Marek Langhamer protects the Tigers goal.

           My views on “the bag skate” changed in the 2004-05 campaign, which was my first of 10 straight seasons covering the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. During a losing streak in mid-season, I asked head coach Willie Desjardins, who is now the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, if he would utilize “the bag skate.”
            He replied, “So Darren, tell me how is this going to help my players play better?”
            Desjardins explained all that type of practice would do is make the players hate the coach and want to rebel. He said the coaches have keep focusing on teaching to help the players correct their mistakes or overcome any mental obstacles they may be facing, so that they will perform better.
            As fate would have it, the Tigers would proceed to roll off a big winning streak right after that interview.
            The problem with “the bag skate” revolves around the respect card. The theory of “the bag skate” is if you subject the players to one of those types of practices they will in turn play well enough to avoid future punishment.
            Unfortunately, coaches that use that technique often accompany it with an “I am going to fix those bums” kind of attitude. Often this is expressed to the assistant coaches.
             In turn, “the bag skate” is damaging on two fronts. First, if the coach isn’t showing respect for the players, the players won’t show respect for the coach.
             Second, if the tactic is used as a way to force the players to play better so they won’t go through that again, that is a negative motivator. That is another thing that can help kill morale for a team, because you are not playing the game for positive reasons.
             Desjardins always believed one of the best ways to help a player is to show a player respect. During one-on-one meetings, he will get to know the player, and proceed to show genuine concern for all aspects of that player’s life.           

Tyler Lewington moves the puck up ice for the Tigers.

           Once the player understands the coach is legitimately going to be there for you, the player will play their butt off for the coach. I saw that for years with the Tigers when Desjardins was coaching them, and it continues to this day under the team’s current coaching staff under head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston.
            Other things the Tigers always try to push are the ideas that hockey is a great game and the rink is the best place to be. Various ways the Tigers would up the atmosphere would be utilizing sometimes goofy after practice games that still seemed to develop skills, watching events like world junior games in the dressing room or lounge area at The Arena or barbecues that are put on by owners Darrell and Brent Maser. The barbecues are a usual fixture that occurs before the team embarks on each playoff round.
            The tactics work. Even after a loss, the Tigers players may arrive at practice the next day feeling down, but they were never disappointed to be at the rink.
            When the Tigers hold practice, they ensure that all the drills are done for a reason. A lot of the drills the Tigers do are aimed at perfecting their transition game. When they are working on aspects like the power play, no small detail is ever overlooked, which includes pointing out how the slightest change of position around the net will create a better scoring chance.
            There are moments when the competitive part of practice is still cranked up. One of the best drills the Tigers coaches use for that is playing two-on-two games with the nets situated opposite each other on an offensive zone faceoff circle.
            During this drill, the players are often battling each other on the boards for the puck and the competitive juices do flow. Those who are not in the drill cheer those that are participating in the drill on. This drill helps the Tigers players in situations where they have to battle for the puck in tight areas in games.

Cole Sanford celebrates a goal for the Tigers.

Last season, Clouston used an idea from football and utilized a walk-through practice. When the team was in a busy stretch in playoffs, a walk through practice was held to implement new strategies and make adjustments that would be used for the upcoming game on the power play.
            Another thing the Tigers do to improve play is watch video and lots of it. Desjardins was big in watching video, and Clouston takes that aspect to a captain video extreme at times. When the team wasn’t on the ice, a laptop was usually glued in Clouston’s hands.
            It could be in one-on-one sessions or in team meetings, the Tigers coaches use video as a big tool to allow a player to see where they can correct aspects in their play. Video is also used to reinforce good habits.
           The Tigers bench bosses always ensure they show players video of things they are doing well. This is usually a big hit in team video sessions where all the players get an opportunity to applaud good play.
           Through those sessions, players do realize the coaches do know what they are talking about.
           Another big trait the Tigers coaches have had since Desjardins’ days with the team is patience. Desjardins said one big difference between the junior ranks and the professional ranks is the fact errors have a tendency to reoccur again after being corrected more quickly in junior than professionally. That characteristic has a lot more to do with the fact the players in junior are younger than those in the pros.        

Anthony Ast takes a draw for the Tigers.

             As you go down the levels in minor hockey, the patience level has to increase that much more.
            The Tigers coaches were never afraid to go over things again to correct mistakes, if they start occurring again. Other coaches should feel free to follow that lead.
            During the 10 seasons I covered the Tigers, they made the playoff every year, advanced to the second round nine times, the conference finals four times and won the 2007 WHL title. After seeing how the Tigers did things, I know why “the bag skate” is still around in hockey. 
             It is time for a lot more hockey coaches to step into the future.

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

Outmatched: Dinos too much for Huskies

Parker Thomas (#24) tries to set up offence for the Huskies.

            Could the unthinkable happen? Could the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team actually finish a regular season with a losing record?

            Unless the Dogs can roll off a big win streak over their last six games, it appears likely a losing record will happen. On the weekend, it became really apparent the Huskies are a bit of a distance away from being one of the top teams in the Canada West conference.

            The Huskies battled the University of Calgary Dinos at the ancient Rutherford Rink and fell 6-3 on Friday night and 5-2 on Saturday night. With the wins, the Dinos improved to 15-7 to sit alone in second place in the conference.

U of S fell to 9-12-1 and dropped to sixth overall in the conference. The Huskies sit five points up on the seventh place U of Regina Cougars (6-14-2) for the final playoff berth in the conference.

The last time the Huskies finished with a losing record in regular season play was way back in the 1995-96 campaign, when they posted an 11-14-3 record. Over the past six seasons, the Huskies have been an impressive 105-52-11, which includes winning a Canada West title in 2012 and a second place finish at last year’s University Cup.

Roster turnover has definitely caught up with the Dogs. They have 12 players in their first year of eligibility, with the bulk of those newcomers coming on the forward lines. The Dinos in contrast have five first year players.

Calgary also has more higher end former Western Hockey League players on its roster than Saskatchewan does.

With all that said, the Dinos only pulled out respective 2-0 and 2-1 victories early on in the season in Calgary. The notion that the Huskies could pull out two win in their home rink wasn’t unthinkable.

Friday’s tilt was back-and-forth. Craig McCallum scored 55 second into the third period to cut the Dinos two-goal lead to 4-3.

Shortly after that tally, Calgary put the contest away going up by the final of 6-3 scoring goals 28 seconds apart from each other. David Vandane had the first marker, while Colton Grant had the second marker.

Philip Tot, Alex Dzielski, Chris Collins and Brooks Myers had the other singles for the Dinos, while Kris Lazaruk made 35 saves to earn the win in goal.

Zak Stebner and Jesse Ross also netted singles for the Huskies, while Ryan Holfeld made 23 stops taking the loss in goal.

Dinos goalie Jacob DeSerres holds down the fort.

On Saturday, the Huskies played the Dinos close and trailed 3-2 heading into the final two minutes of the third. Dinos forward Ryan Harrison then potted an empty netter and added another tally in the final seconds to seal a 5-2 victory.

During that contest, the Dinos had the Huskies pinned in their own zone for extended periods of time.

Danny Gayle, Elgin Pearce and Kevin King also had singles for the Dinos, while Jacob DeSerres made 14 stops to earn the win in goal.

Tayler Thompson and McCallum netted singles for the Huskies, while Jordon Cooke turned away 25-of-29 shots suffering the loss in goal.

Huskies head coach Dave Adolph is holding at 377 career conference wins, which ties him with University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Clare Drake for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record for conference victories. Adolph will have to hope the fourth attempt at getting the record will be a charm.

U of S heads on the road to Vancouver for two key games against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds hold down fourth overall in the conference with a 10-9-3 record, which means they would host a first round playoff series if the regular season ended right now.

If the Huskies still hope to host a home playoff series, they needed to win at least one of those games to keep those hopes alive. With that said, one win might not be enough. A sweep is likely needed.

With the Huskies in a rebuild, a home playoff series and a winning regular season record might not be in the cards for the current campaign.

Paparazzi picture a good sign

Huskies ace picture taker Kandace Cook.

            The volume of the laughs and the mischievous giggles gave away that something was up.

            During the Huskies men’s hockey game on Jan. 3 at the Rutherford Rink against the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, I went over behind the Pronghorns net to shoot pictures in the second period. The Pronghorns were in the end that contained the box seats at the Rutherford and most of the members of the Huskies women’s hockey team were up there.

            As I was getting ready to shoot, I could hear the laughter, and I knew something was going on. When I returned home that night, I saw fifth-year forward Kandace Cook took a picture of me doing my thing and put it on Twitter.

            I am all cool with that. If that helps the Huskies have fun at the rink and win, it is all good. The Rutherford is their home rink, and it should always be a fun place for them to be at.

Actually, to me that is a good sign. If they have the comfort level to do something like that, it is just another signal that shows me how together the Huskies women’s team is and that they have another intangible to help them be successful.

            I don’t mind getting made fun of or being the victim of a prank. Pretty much all the women’s sports teams I have dealt with that have won have done something along those lines.

            It is just too bad the Cook’s Huskies took one on the chin in their first weekend back. They traveled to Calgary and were swept by the Dinos by respective scores of 4-1 and 5-2 on Friday and Saturday.

            The Dinos roster contains Canadian National team icon Hayley Wickenheiser and Russian national team standouts Iya Gavrilova and Alexandra Vafina. All three were not with the Dinos last season because it was Olympic year.

            Back in October, the Huskies swept the Dinos, who had all those stars on the ice, 4-3 in overtime and 3-1 at the Rutherford Rink. After those results, you can bet the Dinos, who are guided by head coach and former Canadian national team star Danielle Goyette, played the revenge card in an old school style way like how head coach Bill Belichick prefers to see his New England Patriots bury opponents in the NFL.

            In Friday’s encounter in Calgary, Heather Berzins, Wickenheiser, Janelle Parent and Kate Lumley netted singles for the Dinos, while Carissa Fischer made 23 stops to earn the win in goal.

            Cook had the Huskies lone goal, while Cassidy Hendricks made 44 stops taking the loss in the Huskies net.

            A day later, Erica Mitschke scored twice for the Dinos, while Megan Grenon, Gavrilova and Vafina netted singles. Fischer made 13 stops to earn the win in goal.

            Captain Paige Anakaer and Hailey Tyndall picked up singles for the Huskies. Hendricks turned away 15-of-20 shots starting in goal for the Huskies. Jerrica Waltz stopped all 14 shots she faced in a relief appearance.

            The Dinos vaulted into first in Canada West improving to 11-3-4. The Huskies dropped from first to fifth in the tight contested conference with an 11-5-2 mark.

            The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday when they host the Thunderbirds (10-4-4) at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Rutherford Rink.

            The losses to the Dinos were likely a big learning experience for the Huskies in dealing with a revenge minded team.

            Knowing the character of the players on the Dogs, expect them to bounce back and move on.

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

Ex-Rattlers a couple of gems for Huskies

Zak Rempel charges out during Huskies starting lineup intros.

            Zak Rempel and Emmalyn Copping are living a dream with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, and their story still shows that good things still come to good people.

            Both grew up playing volleyball having successes at various levels with hopes of playing with a team in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. Before they ended up playing for the Huskies, both ended up playing in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers to develop their respective games.

            Rempel left his hometown of Saskatoon to end up in the Gas City, while Copping left her home in Calgary to play for the Rattlers.

            The Rattlers have had a number of outstanding individuals pass through their programs. In recent years, Rempel and Copping likely headed the list of two of the most outstanding individuals to come out of that program.

Emma Copping serves for the Huskies.

            I remember having various coffee talks with Rattlers men’s volleyball head coach Steve Russell and Rempel and Copping were frequent topics of discussion.

            Russell said those two are going to be your future type community leaders and it has to make you feel upbeat about the future. Russell coached Rempel for two seasons, and Copping often ended up babysitting and playing with the bench boss’s two young sons, when the Rattlers men’s team was in action.

            Both left the Rattlers for the Huskies following the 2012-13 season and the positive qualities they displayed at Medicine Hat College have continued at the University of Saskatchewan.

            In two seasons with the Rattlers, Rempel was a driven recent high school graduate, who quickly assumed the role of starting setter of the Rattlers men’s volleyball team. In his second year, he chose to take on more of a leadership role with the team.

            He carried himself well on and off the court in a very mature manner for his young age. In an early interview during his second season when I was writing with the Medicine Hat News, Rempel said to give him a shout if I needed any help with stories on the Rattlers men’s volleyball team. He was also ready to be front and centre for any interviews after games be it good or bad.

            When it came time to join the Huskies, Rempel was really committed to the gym. He was one of the persons I always saw when I worked out at the gym at the University of Saskatchewan, when I came to Saskatoon for visits before moving to the Bridge City. Outside of times when he battled injury, he has been the starting setter for the Huskies.

            On Friday night, Rempel, who is in his fourth year of post-secondary eligibility, quarterbacked the Huskies to an impressive 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-17 and 25-21) upset win over the Brandon University Bobcats at the Physical Activity Complex. The Huskies improved to 9-6 at the time with the win, while the Bobcats fell to 11-4.

Zak Rempel sets the ball for the Huskies.

            Rempel mixed up the Huskies offensive attack well, but he will also be the first to admit his teammates made his job that much easier. The Huskies passed the ball well and also blocked well to create a lot of favourable situations.

            During a couple of spots were the other Huskies players and head coach Brian Gavlas got upset over an official’s call, Rempel had his hands motioned giving a calming settle down motion still showing the maturity seen in the Hat days. Basically, he was telling his teammates that was volleyball. There will be calls that don’t go your way, so let’s settle down and move on to the next point.

            Even after the win, the 21-year-old was happy, but he quickly added he and his team have to play even better on Saturday, because the Bobcats will come with higher intensity.

             Copping was with the Rattlers for just the 2012-13 season. As a rookie just out of high school, she found a starting spot as an outside hitter on a Rattlers women’s volleyball team, which still had a strong talent base from going to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship tournament final four in the 2011-12 campaign.

            She improved a lot that season, and quickly developed a lot of supporters on the Medicine Hat College campus due to her outgoing and very sweet personality. Russell’s two young sons, who I think were under the age of five at the time, also almost couldn’t wait for the Rattlers women’s game to end, so they could constantly be at Copping’s side for the men’s game.

Emma Copping gets set to receive a serve for the Huskies.

            When the Huskies issued a press release for their recruits for their women’s volleyball team for the 2012-13 campaign, Copping was listed near the bottom in a paragraph in a round-up of other players joining the program. She didn’t carry the label of the star recruit, but I was pretty confident the Huskies coaches were going to be very surprised by her in a good way in a short amount of time.

            She quickly became a fixture on the end of game articles the team would post, because she would constantly be listed amongst the leaders in kills. In Friday’s 3-1 to the Brandon Bobcats at the PAC, Copping, who turned age 21 on Saturday, played mainly in the back row. The Bobcats didn’t hit many balls in her direction, and she made passes when she had to and served hard.

            With the Rattlers, she was developing a good all-around game. With the Huskies, she can be used in any role the team throws at her, because all her skills are good and are still getting better.

            Even after the loss, Copping, who is in her third year of post-secondary eligibility, is still great to visit with and was still an upbeat bundle of positive energy.

            It is always very cool to see sound individuals like Rempel and Copping grow. Wherever life takes them after university, they will likely have a great impact on the communities they settle in.

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

Canada golden again

            Canada rules! 

            What more needs to be said?

            You didn’t have to be glued to a social media feed to know that most people in Canada were watching the final of the world juniors on Monday night on television, and if you were real lucky, you were one of the lucky spectators at the game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

            In an all-time just plain great game, Canada downed Russia 5-4, but it was a different sort of classic.

            When someone thinks of Canada winning a critical world junior game or the championship game itself, there are usually visions of heroic past performances by Jordan Eberle and Jonathan Toews.

            In this one, Canada built what seemed to be a safe 5-1 lead in the second period, but the Russians stormed back with three straight goals before the second intermission rolled around to cut the lead to 5-4.

            What made this performance great was how Canada regrouped in the second intermission.

            Russia started the third on the power play and had capitalized on 2-of-3 power-play chances. The first order of business was to kill off the fourth Russian power play, which Canada did admirably.

            After the kill, the Canadian players closed out the third defensively to preserve the 5-4 win. Zachary Fucale made 11 saves in the third and 26 overall in the contest to backstop the victory.

            In the third, the Canadians were outshot 11-4, but it didn’t totally feel like the host side was in trouble. Canada calmly did its job shift after shift and preserved the win and a 7-0 tournament record.

            Max Domi, who is the son of long time former NHLer Tie Domi and basically grew up in Toronto, came through as a hometown hero. He set up Canada’s opening goal 23 seconds into the contest by Anthony Duclair, scored Canada’s fourth goal and assisted on Sam Reinhart’s deflection tally, which ultimately won the game.

            Nick Paul and 17-year-old phenom Connor McDavid tallied Canada’s other two goals. Defenceman Darnell Nurse was a beast on Canada’s back end, and he deserved being named the team’s player of the game for the contest.

            Captain Curtis Lazar didn’t register a point in the final, but the ultra-positive forward was instrumental all tournament long in helping Canada win its first gold medal since 2009 to end a six-year drought. Lazar also helped the Edmonton Oil Kings win the Memorial Cup last May, which also ended a six-year drought for the WHL as a league when it came to winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

            Right now for Canada, it is celebration time. There is always so much pride that goes along with a golden finish.

Huskies go up, go down

Defenceman Chad Suer of the Huskies.

            Being a little risky with the puck likely cost the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team a series sweep in their first regular season weekend back from the Christmas break.

            On Saturday at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies erased a 3-2 deficit after two periods to roll off a 5-3 victory over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. In trying to break out of their zone at time over the first 40 minutes, the Huskies were a bit too loose with the puck, which helped the visitors get some turnovers and get ahead.

            Early in the third, sophomore forward Josh Roach slipped home the equalizer for the Huskies to lock the score up at 3-3. With 3:57 to play in the third, the line of Roach, Michael Sofillas and Craig McCallum forced a turnover that resulted in McCallum’s winner.

            Matthew Spafford scored twice, while Zak Stebner had a single for the Huskies. Ryan Holfeld made 24 saves to earn the win in goal.

            Ryon Moser, David McMullen and Cason Machacek had singles for the Pronghorns, while Damien Ketlo turned away 35 of 39 shots suffering the loss in goal.

            The Huskies did a great job playing under control in the third period rally, but turnovers proved to be their undoing on Sunday at Rutherford, when the Pronghorns rebounded with a 5-2 victory.

            Lethbridge jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, before forward Jesse Ross stopped the bleeding for the Huskies. Before the second ended, the Dogs had a glorious chance to cut the Pronghorns lead to one.

            Working on a two-man advantage, Huskies rookie forward Parker Thomas had a chance to tap in a pass from across the face the Pronghorns goal, but he misfired. That proved to be a key turning point.

            The visitors scored twice early in the third to go up 5-1, before McCallum netted the Huskies final goal. Jordon Cooke made 25 stops in goal.

            Warren Shymko made 39 stops to earn the win for the Pronghorns in net. Brandon Clowes had a hat trick, while Artsiom Kalashnikov and Cass Mappen had singles for the road side.

            The Huskies sit fourth in Canada West with a 9-10-1 record, while the Pronghorns are last in the eight-team loop at 4-16.

            While the split was disappointing, it was good to see defenceman Chad Suer return to the Huskies lineup after missing the first half of the season due to injury. The fourth-year veteran, who played five WHL seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Everett Silvertips, is a solid blue-liner on the ice and one steady team guys you need in the dressing room.

            It was way better seeing him on the ice than in the stands, even though he a fun person to sit with in the stands.

            The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. both nights at Rutherford against the University of Calgary Dinos (13-7).

            The Huskies women’s hockey team hits the road this coming Friday and Saturday for their first action since the Christmas break traveling to Calgary to face the Dinos.

Stars shine at Mac’s

Sophia Shirley, right, of the Saskatoon Stars.

            The Saskatoon Stars midget AAA girls’ hockey team might be the coolest story on the Bridge City’s sports scene over the last 10 days.

            On New Year’s Day, the Stars won the female final of the prestigious Mac’s Midget Tournament downing the Calgary Fire 4-2 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. Sophia Shirley, who is a 15-year-old forward, had a hat trick for the Stars, while Kianna Dietz had a single. Karlee Fetch made 13 saves to earn the win in goal. Saskatoon was a perfect 6-0 at the Mac’s.

            After one day off, the Stars returned to Saskatoon and posted 3-1 and 3-0 victories respectively on Saturday and Sunday over the Battlefords Sharks at the Agriplace Arena. Saskatoon sits first overall in the Saskatchewan Female Midget Hockey league with a 16-1 record.

            The Stars also won the Mac’s title back in 2011, when they doubled up the Edmonton Thunder 4-2. In that contest, current University of Saskatchewan Huskies forward Lauren Zary had two goals and two assists for the Stars.

           

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

Sprint to the finish

Huskies will attempt to surge up Canada West standings

Jordon Cooke tends goal for the Huskies.

            It might be now or never time for clubs looking to make noise in the regular season of Canada West men’s hockey.

            Every one of the conferences eight teams will play their final 10 regular season games during what will be a busy month of January. The hectic schedule is due in part because players from the Canada West conference will make up the entire Canadian roster for the men’s team that will compete at the 2015 Winter Universiade, which will run Feb. 3-14 in Granada, Spain.

            As a result, there are no Canada West games scheduled, when the Universiade is on. The three conferences that make up the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey league represent Canada at the Universiade on a rotating basis.

            The University of Saskatchewan Huskies enter the final stretch sitting fourth overall in the conference with an 8-9-1 record. They are nine points behind the second place Calgary Dinos, but only four points ahead of the Regina Cougars, who sit seventh overall.

            The top six teams in the conference make the post-season, while the first and second place clubs earn byes into the second round of the playoffs.

            The story for the Huskies this season is they have been able to keep the puck out of the net, but they haven’t been able to put the puck into the net.

            The Huskies roster contains 12 players in their first year of eligibility, with the bulk of those newcomers playing on the forward lines.

            After finishing second at last year’s University Cup, the Huskies graduated their top four scorers in Derek Hulak, Kenton Dulle, Andrew Bailey and Brennan Bosch. Hulak was the most valuable player of the Canada West conference last season and the MVP of the University Cup tournament. He has since moved on to play with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

            At the moment, the Huskies haven’t replaced the offence from those key departures.

            Hulak topped the Huskies in scoring with 13 goals and 35 assists in 28 games. Fifth-year forward Craig McCallum leads the team in scoring with season with five goals and 10 assists in 18 games. No player on the Huskies is averaging a point a game this season, while three players averaged over a point a game last season including Hulak, Dulle and McCallum.

Josh Roach (#7) speeds through a check for the Huskies.

            While the goals haven’t come in bunches, goaltending has allowed the Huskies to always challenge for victory.

            Fifth-year veteran Ryan Holfeld has posted a 3-5-1 record, a 2.18 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and one shutout. Rookie Jordon Cooke has been equally as strong recording a 5-4 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and one shutout.

            A veteran crew on defence has also helped the netminders. With that said, the Huskies can’t ask for anything more in the goals against department.

            The Huskies have forwards that have piled up the points at various other levels of the game. If two or three forwards can have a hot last stretch, that might be the difference in ensuring the Huskies will once again host a home playoff series.

             U of S starts its stretch run hosting the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. on both nights at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The Pronghorns sit last in the conference with a 3-15 record and have lost their last seven straight regular season games.

            If the Huskies can pull out a couple of wins, that might help spark a strong final stretch.

Adolph nears record

            Huskies head coach Dave Adolph is one win away from equaling the Canadian Interuniversity Sport for most conference wins.

            Adolph has 376 wins, which is one shy of the record of 377 held by legendary Alberta Golden Bears head coach Clare Drake.

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