Huskies’ Shirley gains new confidence with first goal

Abby Shirley jets up the ice for the Huskies.

    The old saying that good things can happen if you put the puck on goal paid off for Abby Shirley.

    The 18-year-old rookie right-winger with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team netted her first career U Sports regular season goal on a play that looked rather unassuming. Early in the third period of Saturday’s clash against the visiting University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Shirley fired a shot from a bad angle along the left boards in the offensive zone, and the puck found its way past netminder Alicia Anderson.

    The goal gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead and held up as the game winner in a 3-1 victory.

    “I was actually going to go for a line change, but then the puck game right in front of me,” said Shirley. “I was like I might as well get it on net. It slipped in somehow.

    “It was a good way to get my first one I guess.”

    Shirley admitted to being startled when she saw the red light go on behind the Pronghorns goal.

    “I actually didn’t even know it went in,” said Shirley. “I don’t know what was going through my mind, and then I just threw my hands up in the air.

    “It is just a feeling I guess.”

    Shirley, who stands 5-foot-5, has seen a bit of everything in her first campaign with the Huskies. The Delisle, Sask., product has been in and out of the Huskies lineup appearing in 13 of the team’s 18 regular season games to date collecting one goal, two assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. Those types of experiences are often common for rookies at the U Sports level.

    When she has played, Shirley has mainly been a defensive forward, but she has had her opportunity to play all sorts of different roles. One of her assignments that isn’t common for a rookie forward has been playing the point on the power play.

    “I was quite nervous actually,” said Shirley about the power play duty. “Then, I got into the groove a bit with lots of practice, and it felt pretty good.”

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook said Shirley’s confidence has improved as the season has gone on, and that was noticeable in Saturday’s win over the Pronghorns.

Abby Shirley reacts to scoring her first goal with the Huskies.

    “I didn’t see any hesitation in her game, so that is a little bit of maturity on her part,” said Kook. “That is what is helping her game a little bit, and that is what is making me feel a little bit more comfortable to put her in those situations (like playing the power play).

    “As a rookie, you worry about making so many mistakes. It just seems like she is just playing hockey right now and not thinking so much. That is what has allowed her ability to come out.”

    Kook said Shirley has some natural talents she can rely on as her career with the Huskies progresses.

    “First year is pretty good here,” said Kook. “We will see how she handles getting a little bit more playing time in the second and third year.

    “Her natural ability is to be able to shoot the puck even though she is just pint sized. Her natural ability is to see open ice, and that is why we have her on the top end on our power play.”

    Shirley came to the Huskies after a solid career with the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team. She played three seasons for the Stars from 2014 to 2017 collecting 31 goals and 32 assists in 77 career regular season games. The speedy winger played a key part in helping the Stars win Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championships and appear in the Esso Cup national championship tournament in 2015 and 2016.

    Last season with the Stars, she had a breakout campaign netting 14 goals and 18 assists in 25 regular season games. Shirley quickly noticed all the players at the university level were stronger and bigger, so that created an obvious adjustment.

    “It is a lot different,” said Shirley. “You don’t have as much time.

    “It is a lot more just pucks to the net and shots other than just like having time with it and trying to make nice plays. It is just really like quick plays.”

    Shirley said one of her easier adjustments was fitting in with her teammates, when she got over some initial moments of being star struck. She went through times of just being in awe of star fifth-year captain Kaitlin Willoughby.

Abby Shirley (#27) was all smiles after scoring for the Huskies.

    “I love this group of girls,” said Shirley. “There are lots of girls I look up to like Willo (Kaitlin Willoughby) of course.

    “She is such a good offensive player. Her hands are unbelievable, and I look up to her for sure.

“We’re like a family. I’m really close with everyone, and I just love them.”

    While she knows she has been more of a defensive forward so far this season, Shirley would like to have a few other goal celebrations as the campaign progresses.

    “It feels really good actually just knowing that like you are helping out the team,” she said.

    The Huskies (11-6-1) return to action on Friday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the University of Manitoba Bisons (13-4-1).

North Stars captain commits to Huskies men’s team

    On Tuesday, the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team Battlefords North Stars captain Layne Young has committed to play for the green and white starting in the 2018-19 campaign.

    Young, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 200 pounds, has been a standout for the Stars since joining the junior A club on a full-time basis at the start of the 2014-15 campaign. In 145 regular season career games with the Stars, Young has 73 goals and 138 assists.

    The 20-year-old leads the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in scoring this season with 22 goals and 43 assists in 33 appearances. The Frenchman Butte, Sask., product helped the Stars with the SJHL championship last season.

    “We are thrilled to have Layne join our program,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph in a release. “He understands that we place a significant value on elite junior A players from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    “They all are extremely dedicated to getting better, and Layne knows he will have to earn his way here. He is hardworking with a boat load of skill and drive.”

    Young will enter the College of Agriculture to study in Ag-Business.

    “I saw a lot of positives joining the Huskies,” said Young in a release. “The University of Saskatchewan has a great agriculture program as well as a new rink that will help make the Huskies continue to be a top program in Canada.”

    Young refers to the brand new Merlis Belsher Place that is being constructed at the U of S and is scheduled to open for Young’s rookie campaign.

    The Huskies (14-3-1), who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, return to action on Friday, when they host the U of Manitoba Bisons (11-5-2), who are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    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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Blades winning streak falls due to hectic schedule

Saskatoon goes down gutty playing third game in 48 hours

Chase Wouters and the Blades were in tough on Sunday.

    The WHL schedule maker might have gained an assist in bringing the Saskatoon Blades winning streak to an end.

    On Sunday, the Blades played their third game inside of 48 hours over a three day span, when they traveled to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings for a 4 p.m. engagement. Saskatoon had a seven game winning streak intact going into Brandon.

    After downing the Kootenay Ice 4-2 at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on Saturday night, the Blades stepped off the ice at around 9:20 p.m., and proceeded to eat, load up the bus and head out to Brandon. They arrived in Brandon at about 5 a.m. on Sunday and rested up as much as they could for a contest that was less than 11 hours away.

    The Wheat Kings came into the game having Saturday off after defeating the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-2 in overtime on Friday night at Westman Place.

    Going into Brandon to win against the Wheat Kings is difficult at the best of times, but it is almost near impossible under the circumstances the Blades were facing.

    As has been the case all season, the Blades brought all that they could on that night, and the found themselves locked in a 3-3 tie after winger Chase Wouters scored his second of the night at the 11:32 mark of the third. All of a sudden, a Wheat Kings victory was by no means a given.

    Still, the expected Brandon victory in that scenario came to pass. Ty Lewis, who is Brandon’s 19-year-old star winger, scored his second goal of the night with 1:56 to play in the third to give the Wheat Kings a 4-3 lead. Centre Stelio Mattheos scored his 29^th goal of the season into an empty net 47 seconds later to seal a 5-3 victory for the host side before 3,051 spectators at Westman Place.

    The Wheat Kings improved to 27-12-0-1 with the win, while the Blades fell to 21-18-2-1 as their seven game winning streak came to an end. Both teams are currently holding playoff positions.

Ryan Kubic made 25 saves in goal for the Blades.

    Brandon took a 3-1 lead in the first period off of Lewis’s first goal of the contest and singles from the sticks of Connor Gutenberg and Tanner Kaspick. Star overage winger Braylon Shmyr had the lone reply for Saskatoon in the opening 20 minutes.

    While the Blades were down, they didn’t pack it in. Wouters scored his first of the night in the second period to cut the Wheat Kings lead to 3-2. Brandon only held an 18-15 edge in the shots on goal department over the first 40 minutes despite being more rested than Saskatoon.

    Fatigue finally caught up to the Blades in the third period. Wouters managed to tie the contest in the third, but the Wheat Kings carried play in the frame holding a 12-3 edge in shots on goal.

    The Blades needed one more positive bounce somewhere to escape with victory, but it never came. Ryan Kubic turned away 25-of-29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades. Logan Thompson stopped 15 shots to pick up the win in the Wheat Kings net.

    Defensive defenceman Jackson Caller had assists on all three Saskatoon goals.

    All WHL teams face hectic parts in their schedules, but hopefully situations like the Blades faced this past weekend become less of a norm next season, when the regular season schedule shrinks from 72 games to 68 contests for each club.

    While four fewer games might not seem like a big decrease, it will create more situations were teams play on a Saturday night and get to be off until Wednesday. Playing three games in less than 48 hours increases the chances a player could be injured in the third game just due to fatigue. If you can lessen the chances of doing that, it is always a good thing.

Jackson Caller had three assists for the Blades on Sunday.

    In the current day of the WHL, players seem to be more connected with their families thanks to social media. When teams play on Saturday and proceed to be off until Wednesday, a large number of teams make Saturday a non-curfew night. Players in the current day often spend those nights going out for dinner at a nice restaurant with their families and having a quality visit.

    When the 68-game regular season schedule comes into effect, it should provide a few more chances to play on Saturday and be off until Wednesday.

    You won’t be able to loosen up all the hectic parts of the WHL schedule, but the 68 game regular season schedule should ensure there are less moments where teams play three times in less than 48 hours. That small move should do wonders for competitive balance.
    The Blades return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    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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Pretty or gritty - Huskies need to keep finding ways to win

Abby Shirley (#27) celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    It doesn’t matter if it is pretty, gutty or both, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team has to keep finding ways to win.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies won their third straight downing the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-1 playing both pretty and gutty. This season, goals have come at a premium more than ever in U Sports’ Canada West Conference for women’s hockey, and it seems the first team to score will win the game via a shutout.

    The Huskies are going to have to duplicate their effort from Saturday for the rest of the campaign as the 2017-18 season hits the home stretch with the playoffs approaching. The win over the Pronghorns featured a lot of positives.

    The biggest positive was the fact the Huskies came from behind to win the game. At the 8:42 mark of the second, Pronghorns centre Kyra Greig scored a gritty goal in close to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Jessica Vance has been stellar in goal for the Huskies.

    The Pronghorns have played a number of gritty games this season and are battling to get into a playoff position. The Huskies had controlled the majority of the play to that point in time, and you had to wonder if the visitors were going to steal a win.

    In the opening 20 minutes, the Huskies outshot the Pronghorns 14-6, and the host side had a lengthy list of quality scoring chances. Pronghorns netminder Alicia Anderson stood on her head to ensure the hosts weren’t able to get ahead.

    Shortly before Greig’s goal in the second, Huskies defender Madison Colbow unloaded a point blast that hit Anderson and slowly trickled just wide of the Pronghorn’s net.

    With the 3:36 to play in the second, the Huskies tied the contest in a pretty fashion. Huskies feisty forward Brooklyn Haubrich broke into the offensive zone on a two-on-one rush with star captain Kaitlin Willoughby.

    Haubrich fed a nice pass across the front of the goal to Willoughby, who roofed the equalizer past Anderson to force a 1-1 tie.

Brooklyn Haubrich set up a beauty goal for the Huskies.

    At the 3:53 mark of the third, the Huskies went ahead 2-1 in gutty fashion when a bad angle shot by rookie right-winger Abby Shirley from the left boards of the offensive zone found its way past Anderson.

    From that point, the Pronghorns came with a huge push back playing desperate and keeping the Huskies pinned in their own zone.

    Huskies sophomore netminder Jessica Vance slammed the door making 18 saves in total to ensure the slim edge held up. Inside of the final two minutes of the third, Vance had to slide across her crease to deny Pronghorns defender Mattie Apperson, who pinched down to the right post of the Huskies net for a golden scoring chance.

    Following that stop, Willoughby iced the contest with an empty-net goal with 37 seconds to play. With her two goals, Willoughby moved to within a point of catching Danny Stone for second on the Huskies all-time career regular season scoring list.

The Pronghorns react to a goal by Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby.

    Willoughby now has 48 goals and 57 assists for 105 career regular season points. Stone, who played for the Huskies from 2008 to 2013, had 57 goals and 49 assists for 106 career regular season points. Both are grads from the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team.

    On Saturday night, Willoughby played one of her best games of the season and likely should have finished with a monster night in the points department.
    However, the 2017-18 campaign is the season of the goalie in the Canada West Conference and passing Stone will have to wait.

Kaitlin Willoughby, right, scored twice for the Huskies on Saturday night.

    Anderson turned away 26-of-28 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pronghorns, who fell to 5-11-2 to sit last in the eight team Canada West and five points back of the U of Calgary Dinos for the conference’s final playoff berth.

    The Huskies improved to 11-6-1 to sit third overall in Canada West, with seven of those 11 victories coming by shutout. The top four positions in the Canada West standings are separated by just six points, so they can change on a game by game basis.

    The Dogs will get back at it again this coming Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the U of Manitoba Bisons, who top Canada West with a 13-4-1 record.

    The green and white are capable of defeating every team in the conference, so the upcoming contests with the Bisons provide another couple of opportunities to find ways to pull out wins.

Dogs win streak ends in Lethbridge

Logan McVeigh had a goal for the Huskies on Saturday night.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team fell just short of making a comeback to keep their six game winning streak alive.

    On Saturday night in Lethbridge, the host U of Lethbridge Pronghorns built a 3-0 edge and held on to a 4-2 victory in a U Sports regular season match at the Nicholas Sheran Arena. The Pronghorns victory brought an end to the Huskies winning streak.

    Dalton Sward gave the Pronghorns a 1-0 lead in the first period. Ryon Moser and Ryan Chynoweth each netted singles in the second period to extend the Pronghorns advantage to 3-0.

    The Huskies attempted to rally in the third. Michael Sofillas scored just past the midway point of the frame to cut the Pronghorns lead to 3-1. Logan McVeigh scored for the Dogs with 1:15 to play in the third to further trim the Pronghorns advantage to 3-2.

    Connor Sanvido scored into an empty net inside of the final minute of the third to seal U of L’s victory.

    Jordon Cooke turned away 23 of 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. Garret Hughson stopped 34 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pronghorns.

    The Huskies fell to 14-3-1, but they still sit second overall in the Canada West Conference two points behind the 15-2-1 U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Golden Bears were in Winnipeg and dropped a 5-4 overtime decision and a 3-1 setback on Friday and Saturday respectively to the U of Manitoba Bisons.

    The Pronghorns improved to 8-9-1 to sit in a three-way tie for fourth overall in Canada West with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the Mount Royal University Cougars, who are both 8-9-1.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they host the Bisons (11-5-2) at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Hometown heroes power Blades to seventh straight win

Gage Ramsay (#20) and Cameron Hebig, centre, powered the Blades.

    Gage Ramsay and Cameron Hebig gave their families and friends a Saturday night to remember at the SaskTel Centre.

    The two Saskatoon products combined on three goals to help their hometown Blades slip past the Kootenay Ice 4-2 in a WHL regular season clash before 3,241 spectators. The victory was the Blades seventh in a row and 10^th in their last 11 games.

    Ramsay, who is a 19-year-old winger, netted the Blades first two goals at the 3:07 and 12:46 marks of the first period, and Hebig picked up assists on both of those tallies.

    Saskatoon exited the first period with a 3-0 lead, when 18-year-old right-winger Josh Paterson picked up his 20^th goal of the season with 2:47 to play in the frame.

    Hebig, who is the Blades star overage centre, netting his 30^th goal of the season at the 8:33 mark of the third to give Saskatoon a 4-0 lead, and Ramsay drew an assist on that marker.

Keenan Taphorn and Brett Davis netted singles late in the third for the Ice.

    Netminder Nolan Maier, who is a 16-year-old rookie, won his 10^th straight start in goal for the Blades making 27 saves. Bailey Brkin took the setback starting in goal for the Ice turning away 14-of-17 shots and was pulled after the first period. Duncan McGovern turned away 13-of-15 shots playing the rest of the way in relief for Kootenay.

    The Blades improved to 21-17-2-1 to hold the first wildcard playoff position in the WHL’s Eastern Conference two points ahead of the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats (20-19-3). The Prince Albert Raiders (15-17-6-2) are trying to catch the one of either the Blades or the Pats for a wildcard berth. The Raiders trail the Blades and Pats by seven and five points respectively in the standings.

    Prince Albert has two games in hand on Regina and one game in hand on Saskatoon.

    The Ice fell to 18-21-3 to sit second in the WHL’s Central Division.

    The Blades return to action on Sunday, when the travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings.

    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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Swift Current connection powers Huskies to 2-0 win

Kayla Kirwan, right, celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    It was a good night to be connected to Swift Current.

    Out in Buffalo, New York, on Friday night, Swift Current Broncos star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen had a golden moment playing for Canada at the world junior hockey championships. Locked in a 1-1 tie with Sweden in the gold medal game, Steenbergen tipped home a point shot from Conor Timmins with 1:40 to play in the third period to give Canada a 2-1 edge. Canada added an empty-net goal to pull out a 3-1 victory before 17,544 spectators at the KeyBank Centre.

    In Saskatoon on Friday night, a pair of alums from the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats female midget AAA team came through in the clutch for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team before a cozy gathering of 235 spectators at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

Kayla Kirwan controls the puck at the point for the Huskies.

    Defender Kayla Kirwan and centre Chloe Smith each netting singles to power the Huskies to a 2-0 U Sports regular season victory in their “Play For a Cure” game against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

    The Huskies were raising money for breast cancer research in their 10^th annual match, where they fundraise for a cancer fighting charity.

    Wearing special pink jerseys for the contest, Smith said the fact that this was her squad’s cancer fundraising game wasn’t far from the minds of the Huskies players, so the night was a special one.

    “It feels good,” said Smith, who is in her rookie season with the Huskies. “Our coaches were talking about it at the start of the game here.

    “We weren’t playing just to win the game. We were playing for a cure for cancer, so it was pretty cool that we got all dressed up in these jerseys and represented that and raised some money for a great cause.

Chloe Smith, right, drives a shot on goal for the Huskies.

    “Plus on the good side, we won. It was a good night overall.”

    The Huskies came storming out of the game outshooting the Pronghorns 17-2 over the opening 20 minutes of the contest. Pronghorns netminder Alicia Anderson was doing her best to give the visitors a chance. She made a number of big stops including robbing Huskies left-winger Emily Upgang with a glove grab on a perfectly executed backdoor set up.

    Anderson was eventually beat with the Huskies working the power play with nine seconds to play in the first period. A shot from Huskies star captain Kaitlin Willoughby rebounded to an open area in front of the Pronghorns’ net to provide a second-chance opportunity.

Kayla Kirwan charges up ice for the Huskies.

    Kirwan swooped in from the point and popped home her second goal of the season over a fallen Anderson to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge. Brooklyn Haubrich, who is another Wildcats alum, picked up a second assist on Kirwan’s tally.

    “We’ve struggled pretty hard with the power play, but the second half we have a new system, and it seems to be working,” said Kirwan, who team was 3-for-55 on the power play on the season entering Friday’s contest. “We are getting more shots off, and that seems to be our focus.”

    Kirwan said the Huskies coaches have been telling the defenders make some calculated aggressive plays on the power play, so the 19-year-old sophomore from Gull Lake, Sask., decided to pinch down, when she saw a loose puck.

    “They (the Huskies coaches) always tell us to get ready to shoot down,” said Kirwan. “You always want to make it a three-on-two or a four-on-two, whatever it takes.

    “I saw the opportunity, and I buried it.”

    Netminder Jessica Vance, who is having an outstanding season for the Huskies, wasn’t tested often over the first 40 minutes, but she came through with some big stops. Early in the second, the Pronghorns entered the Huskies zone on a three-on-one rush, and Vance walled off Pronghorns left-winger Alli Borrow from potting a feed that came across the face of the Huskies net with the help of a backchecking Willoughby.

Huskies goalie Jessica Vance makes one of her 18 saves in a shutout win.

    At the 7:45 mark of the third, Smith charged down the left wing on a rush and floated a beauty shot over Anderson’s shoulder to the top right corner of the Pronghorns goal to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge. The tally was Smith’s third goal of the campaign.

    “It feels good,” said Smith. “I was kind of waiting for another chance.

    “To shoot the puck a little bit more, that is my goal the second half. I did that today, and it paid off for me so it was exciting. I was just shooting it on net, saw the open corner and that is where it went.”

    Traditionally, the Wildcats players who have come to the Huskies have been able to step in and play well. Kirwan gave credit to a veteran bench boss for that development.

    “I think I’d have to credit (Wildcats head coach) Terry Pavely,” said Kirwan. “He has been an unreal coach. He has helped us get here.”

The Huskies begin celebrating their win over the Pronghorns.

    While Kirwan and Smith were teammates on the Wildcats, Smith said the overall minor hockey system in the Swift Current area has been key in helping the Wildcats grads.

    “We have good coaching, and Swift Current is a pretty big hockey town and all the towns around it,” said Smith. “We kind of grew up together playing against each other, and we just have a good development program.”

    Vance turned away 18 shots to pick up her fourth shutout win in goal for the Huskies (10-6-1). Anderson turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pronghorns (5-10-2).

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Wildcats grads pumped for Steenbergen

Broncos RW Tyler Steenbergen had a golden moment for Canada.

    Kayla Kirwan and Chloe Smith were all focused on helping their U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team blank the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-0 on Friday night at the Rutherford Rink, but they were pumped to hear special news linked to their hometown area.

    Shortly after they stepped off the ice, the two alums of the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats female midget AAA team found out Tyler Steenbergen of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos had scored the gold medal winning goal for Canada at the world junior hockey championships.

    Steenbergen tipped home a point shot from Conor Timmins with 1:40 to play in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and put Canada up 2-1 on Sweden. Canada rounded out a 3-1 win with an empty-net goal in the title game at world juniors played before 17,544 spectators at the KeyBank Centre in Buffalo, New York, on Friday night.

    During his time in Swift Current, Steenbergen has blossomed into a star right-winger for the Broncos, and the 19-year-old is in his fourth season with the team. Before joining Canada for world juniors, Steenbergen had piled up 35 goals and 26 assists in 27 regular season games with Broncos in the current campaign.

    While Steenbergen is from Sylvan Lake, Alta., Kirwan said Steenbergen’s gold medal winning goal at world juniors looks good on Swift Current, because he has played there for his whole WHL career.

    “It is really cool,” said Kirwan. “I think it is pretty awesome that he’s coming from such a small town, and I know we kind of take pride in that too.”

    Smith said athletes in Swift Current are pretty good at supporting each other, so the emotions got immediately pumped up hearing about Steenbergen’s big goal.

    “It is pretty cool,” said Smith. “It always nice to hear that guys from your hometown are doing good in their hockey careers.

    “It is exciting, good for him (and) good for Canada.”

    Steenbergen, who is an NHL Draft selection of the Arizona Coyotes, has 111 goals and 97 assists in 238 career regular season games with the Broncos.

    Dillon Dube scored Canada’s first goal early in the second period, while Tim Soderlund tallied for Sweden to force a 1-1 tie before the second frame ended.

    That set the scene for Steenbergen’s winner. Alex Formenton rounded out the scoring for Canada with an empty-net goal.

    Carter Hart turned away 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for Canada, who went 6-0-1 at the tournament. Filip Gustavsson stopped 24 of 26 shots to take the setback in goal for Sweden, who finished the event with a 6-1 record.

Huskies men’s team takes thriller against Pronghorns

Alex Forsberg scored twice for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team sure likes to engage in thrillers with the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

    The two sides engaged in another standout contest that saw the Huskies prevail 3-2 in a U Sports regular season match before a gather of 273 spectators at the Nicholas Sheran Arena in Lethbridge. The win was a sixth straight victory for the Huskies.

    Winger Alex Forsberg scored twice in the first period to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge. At the 4:14 mark of the second, forward Russell Maxwell scored for the Pronghorns to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

    Forward Jordan Tkatch potted his second of the season shortly after the midway point of the second to give the Huskies a 3-1 edge. Forward Connor Sanvido tallied with 1:46 remaining in the second period for the Pronghorns to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2. The Pronghorns were unable to net the equalizer in the third.

    Jordon Cooke turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies (14-2-1). Garret Hughson turned away 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pronghorns (7-9-1).

    Defenceman Colby Harmsworth and forward Parker Thomas each picked up a pair of assists for the Huskies in the win.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday in Lethbridge.

Kustra caps Blades comeback

Jake Kustra scored the winning goal for the Blades on Friday night.

    Defensive defenceman Jake Kustra picked a great time to go for it offensively for the Saskatoon Blades.

    Locked in a 2-2 draw with the visiting Red Deer Rebels, Kustra pinched low to the left side of the Rebels goal on an offensive rush, and he knocked home a sweet backhand feed from overage left-winger Braylon Shmyr that came across the front of the Red Deer goal to give the Blades a 3-2 lead with 9:25 to play in the third period. Kustra’s second goal of the season held up to be the winner to delight most of the 3,169 spectators at the SaskTel Centre on Friday night.

    Shmyr potted his 20^th of the season late in the first period to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. The Rebels stormed back going ahead 2-1 in the second period on singles from the sticks of Reese Johnson and Alex Morozoff.

    With 3:18 remaining in the second period, Bradly Goethals netted his ninth goal of the season to pull the Blades even at 2-2. That set the stage for Kustra’s winner in the third.

    Nolan Maier, who is a 16-year-old rookie, turned away 22 shots to win his ninth straight start in goal for the Blades. Riley Lamb turned away 24 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

    The Blades, who had won six straight, improved to 20-17-2-1. They hold one of the two wildcard playoff spots in the WHL’s Eastern Conference along with Regina Pats (20-18-3). Both the Blades and Pats have 43 points in the standings and are seven points ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (14-17-6-2), who are in pursuit of one of those two post-season spots.

    The Blades return to action on Saturday when they host the Kootenay Ice (18-20-3) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    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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Prince Albert’s mightiest Bear

Ashe follows in Manson’s strides in “Hockey Town North”

Jordan Ashe is a force on defence for the P.A. Northern Bears.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Jordan Ashe originally wanted to be like number four Bobby Orr.

    When you play for one of Prince Albert’s elite hockey programs, number four takes on a whole different meaning. At the start of the 2014-15 season, Ashe cracked the roster of the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League on a full-time basis and chose to wear number four.

    Ashe knew a little bit of Prince Albert’s hockey history and was aware Dave Manson donned number four and played defence for the WHL’s Raiders in the 1980s helping them win the Memorial Cup in 1985. The Raiders retired Manson’s number on Feb. 12, 2016, so Ashe has skated under his number four banner at the Art Hauser Centre for practices and games for almost two years now.

    She was aware Manson went on to have a lengthy career in the NHL that spanned 16 seasons, and in both the WHL and NHL, Manson became famous for his toughness. He wore number four at various times during his NHL days as well.

Jordan Ashe (#4) often finds herself around physical action.

    In her four complete seasons with the Bears, Ashe developed a reputation as being one of the toughest defenders in the SFMAAAHL. Standing 5-foot-9 and weighing a fit 171 pounds, the 17-year-old rearguard often physically overwhelms her opponents, and she isn’t afraid to throw the odd timely hit to get her team pumped up, even though bodychecking is penalized in the female game.

    Ashe never thought she would become a rugged defender when she joined the Bears, but she has enjoyed trying to emulate one of Prince Albert’s biggest hockey heroes in Manson, who is currently an associate coach with the Raiders.

    “If you think about it, it is like actually pretty cool,” said Ashe, who topped the Bears with 47 penalty minutes in 23 regular season games in 2016-17. “It is like it is kind of meant to happen I guess.

Jordan Ashe has career highs in goals and assists this season.

    “Coming to P.A., it was a good choice for me. I really like it here.”

    Ashe started playing minor hockey in her hometown of Debden, which is about 94 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert, at age 10 after following her younger brother, Dylan, into the sport. Jordan quickly discovered hockey was her true calling.

    “It seemed like way more fun than doing dance, which is what my parents put me in originally,” said Ashe. “I like the adrenaline rushes like going down the ice and making rushes.

    “I used to be a forward. I used to score lots of goals, not so much anymore, but that is OK. I still get to rush the puck.”

Jordan Ashe improved her all-around game since joining the Bears.

    During her minor hockey days in Debden, Ashe switched over to defence due to the fact her ability to skate backwards was better than any of her teammates. She hoped her offensive production would follow to her new position, which led to visions of emulating Orr.

    Ashe played on boys teams up through and including the 2013-14 campaign, when she also joined the female midget A team that was started up in town by her father, Mike.

    She gained her first experience of playing with the Bears in 2013-14, when she was called up for three regular season and seven playoff contests as an associate player.

    Ashe played more of a physical style during her early time with the Bears to compensate for the fact her skill set wasn’t as strong as her teammates.

Jordan Ashe recently played in her 100th career SFMAAAHL game.

    “I’ve always been a bigger player,” said Ashe, who has lived at a billet home in Prince Albert since joining the Bears full time. “You need to use that to your advantage.

    “I used to like not have that great a shot, not have the best hands. That (physical play) was just like an aspect of my game that was just always there for me, because I was always the taller, stronger player.”

    In her last two off-seasons, Ashe, whose family relocated to Warman, Sask., before the start of her first full season with the Bears, trained at Sadoway Conditioning in Saskatoon. Ashe said she felt way stronger physically on the ice last season and this season than she did in her first two full campaigns with the Bears.

    Her skill set on the ice has also advanced. In helping the Bears post a 17-3 regular season record in the current campaign, Ashe has posted career highs with seven goals and six assists.

Jordan Ashe, second from left, celebrates a Bears playoff goal last season.

    Ashe helped the Bears advance the female final at the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary on Monday. The Bears fell in that contest 6-2 to the Alberta based Rocky Mountain Raiders. Individually, Ashe was named to the tournament’s second all-star team on the female side.

    “Jordan (Ashe) has come along really nicely, especially this year,” said Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby. “Her offensive game has really blossomed.

    “She has always been a responsible defensive player, but her offensive game has just come along really nicely for her, so that is nice to see.”

    Willoughby said Ashe’s physical toughness is still one of her biggest assets of her game.

Jordan Ashe is solid at controlling the play with the puck on the back end.

    “You see her say go on a rush or defend our corner in our end (and) not too many players have their way with her,” said Willoughby. “She is not going to get beat out of the corner.
    “She is a definitely plus for our team.”

    By improving her all-around game, Ashe, who is an assistant captain with the Bears this season, actually began mirror Manson even more.

    While Manson was best known for piling up 2,792 penalty minutes in 1,103 NHL regular season games, his toughness reputation overshadowed the fact he was a good all-around player.

    A solid defensive defenceman, Manson was strong at controlling the play by bringing the puck up ice, could make a strong first pass to start an offensive rush, had a good shot, was popular among his teammates and was great in the dressing room.

Jordan Ashe has always been popular with her teammates.

    Ashe is also strong in her own zone and at controlling the play when she brings the puck up ice. She can make a strong first pass to start an offensive rush, has a good shot, is popular with her teammates and is great in the dressing room.

    Actually, Ashe has always gotten along well with teammates on any team she has been on or with other players at any hockey camp she has attended.

    “I think it is like my ability to have a conversation with somebody and be understanding to like whether they are sad or happy to be able to like joke with them and know my limits with that too,” said Ashe. “I think I’m just like good at having a conversation.”

    Ashe’s most memorable moment with the Bears came during their playoff run last season, where they won the SFMAAAHL championship and advanced to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament.

Jordan Ashe, front centre, enjoyed the Bears run to the Esso Cup in 2017.

    In Game 2 of a best-of-three Western regional playdown series played on April 1, 2017 against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats, the Bears were behind 6-3 in the third period before rallying for a 7-6 victory to sweep the series 2-0. Ashe’s point shot with two minutes to play in the third period was tipped home by forward Brooklyn Anderson for the winning goal before a crowd of 1,200 at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Ashe couldn’t believe what it was like to play in the Esso Cup later that same month in Morden, Man.

    “I remember like walking into the dressing room at nationals, and it was all set up,” said Ashe, whose Bears went 2-3 at nationals. “We all had nametags.

    “I was like, ‘Holy cow this is actually happening.’ I think that is when it sunk in when we were going there.”

Jordan Ashe will join the Nipissing University Lakers next season.

    Next season, Ashe has committed to joining the Nipissing University Lakers women’s hockey team located in North Bay, Ont. The Lakers are one of the stronger clubs in U Sports’ Ontario University Athletics conference and are guided former NHL player Darren Turcotte as head coach.

    “I am extremely excited to get going with that,” said Ashe. “I love the school, and I love the girls there.

    “I went out for a couple of weeks visit, and the girls were all so nice, and everybody was so welcoming. I loved Darren (Turcotte) as a coach, because I skated with him a few times as well. I’m just overall really excited to get going.”

    While she is looking ahead to her university days, Ashe isn’t sure what it is going to be like when her career concludes with the Bears.

    “It is going to be really weird,” said Ashe, who has 12 goals and 15 assists in 100 career regular season games with the Bears. “It feels like I am still in my first year to be completely honest.

Jordan Ashe plans to soak in her final months with the Bears.

    “I’m going to cry a lot, and it is going to take me a while to move on I guess and leave the girls, especially like my good friends Alli (Soyko) and Abby (Soyko).

    “It is going to be tough, but time has to come I guess.”

    Until then, she still has eight regular season games and a last playoff run to look forward to with the Bears.
    They resume their regular season schedule on Jan. 13, when they travel to Melville to take on the Prairie Fire.

    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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Blades run winning streak to five games

Nolan Maier won his eighth straight start playing goal for the Blades.

    The Saskatoon Blades rang in the new year with a victory.

    On Monday, the Blades ran their winning streak to five games downing the visiting Swift Current Broncos 4-2. The Blades have won eight of their last night outings and their current winning streak is their longest of the season.

    Saskatoon and Swift Current traded goals to exit the opening frame locked in a 1-1 tie with Dryden Michaud scoring for the Blades and Ethan Regnier replying for the Broncos. The two sides traded goals in the second exiting that frame locked in a 2-2 tie with captain Evan Fiala scoring for the Blades and Kole Gable replying for the Broncos.

    Winger Josh Paterson scored the winner for the Blades at the 5:36 mark of the third. The Edmonton product has been on fire recording points in each of the Blades last five games recording eight goals and three assists over that stretch.

Captain Evan Fiala scored for the Blades in Monday’s game.

    Overage winger Braylon Shmyr sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:44 remaining in the third. Shmyr also had a helper on Fiala’s goal.

    Nolan Maier turned away 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. The 16-year-old rookie has won his last eight straight starts for Saskatoon.

    Overager Logan Flodell stopped 38-of-41 shots taking the setback in goal for the Broncos.

    The Blades improved to 19-17-2-1 to hold one of the two wildcard playoff spots in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Broncos have lost three straight falling to 26-10-2.

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when the host the Red Deer Rebels at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Bears fall in Mac’s final

Camryn Amundson scored for the Bears in the Mac’s final.

    The Prince Albert Northern Bears came away with a silver medal finish at the prestigious Mac’s Midget AAA Hockey Tournament in Calgary.

    The Bears made it to the final of the Female Division and fell 6-2 to the Alberta based Rocky Mountain Raiders at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday. The Raiders won the Mac’s final for a second straight year having downed the Saskatoon Stars 5-4 in overtime in last year’s championship game.

    In Monday’s championship game, the Bears got out to a good start as speedy star forward Camryn Amundson scored 79 seconds into the first period to give Prince Albert a 1-0 lead.

    The Raiders responded with five straight goals to take a 2-1 into the first intermission and 5-1 edge into the second intermission.

    Kassidy Kicia scored early in the third for the Bears to cut the Raiders edge to 5-2 before the Alberta side rounded out the scoring with a goal late in the third.

    Kara Kondrat scored twice for the Raiders, while Isabella Pozzi, Chloe Puddifant, Josie McLeod and Nicole Fry netted singles. Gabriella Durante turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

    Ryan Fontaine took the setback in goal for the Bears.

    The Raiders posted a 6-0 record at the tournament, while the Bears went 3-2-1.

    Prince Albert went into the title game have downed the Regina Rebels 5-4 in a marathon double overtime game on Sunday. Kate Ball netted the winner for the Bears in that encounter.

    The Bears had three players named to the tournament’s two all-star teams. Defender Hannah Koroll was named to the first all-star team, while Amundson and defender Jordan Ashe were named to the second all-star team.
    Koroll was named the top defender in the tourney on the female side, while Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby was named the top coach among the teams in the female field.

    The Bears resume their Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season schedule on Jan. 13, when they travel to Melville to take on the Prairie Fire.

Clouston moves to top of Tigers career wins list

Shaun Clouston, centre, became the Tigers leader in coaching victories.

    Shaun Clouston moved into the top spot on the Medicine Hat Tigers career coaching wins list on Saturday.

    Clouston, who is the Tigers head coach and general manager, picked up his 324^th career regular season win behind the Medicine Hat bench, when the Tigers downed the visiting Red Deer Rebels 4-3 in overtime before 3,361 spectators at the Canalta Centre. Willie Desjardins, who guided the Tigers as head coach from 2002 to 2010, is second on the Tigers career regular seasons wins list with 323 victories. Desjardins was also the Tigers general manager from 2005 to 2010 as well as the club’s head coach.

    In Saturday’s game with the Rebels, Tigers captain Mark Rassell scored twice including the winner in overtime, while Gary Haden and Tyler Preziuso had singles for Medicine Hat. Michael Bullion turned away 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

    River Fahey, Arshdeep Bains and Mason McCarty replied with singles for the Rebels. Ethan Anders started the game in goal for Red Deer and turned away 23 of 26 shots in the game’s first two periods. Riley Lamb played the third period and overtime in a relief appearance turning away 16 of 17 shots sent his way.

    On Monday, the Tigers traveled to Cranbrook, B.C., and downed the Kootenay Ice 5-4 in overtime for Clouston’s 325^th victory as the Tigers head coach. Kristians Rubins netted the overtime winner for Medicine Hat. James Hamblin scored twice for the Tigers, while Ryan Chyzowski and Rassell had singles.

    Alec Baer scored twice for the Ice, while Brett Davis and Cameron Hausinger had singles.

    Jordan Hollett turned away 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers (21-15-2). Bailey Brkin turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Ice (18-17-3) before 2,426 spectators at Western Financial Place.

    The Tigers return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Calgary to take on the Hitmen.

Clark assists Huskies in “Play for a Cure” game

Come on out to our Play For A Cure game Jan 5th vs Lethbridge for your chance to bid on this @HC_Women signed Breast Cancer Awareness stick donated by @emclark13. Thank you Emily. pic.twitter.com/HyO7Z3uU9I

— UofS Women's Hockey (@HuskiesWHKY) December 31, 2017

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey received a sweet assist from Emily Clark in their upcoming “Play for a Cure” game.

    Clark, who is a member of Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team and will play in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February, donated a stick autographed by all the members of the women’s senior national team to be used for the silent auction at the Huskies “Play for a Cure” game. The Huskies will hold their 10^th annual “Play for a Cure” game on Friday at 7 p.m. against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    The Huskies will be wearing special pink jerseys for that contest which will be silent auctioned off as well. The Huskies are raising money for breast cancer research.

    Clark, who is from Saskatoon, never played for the Huskies but is friends with numerous members of the team. The skilled forward used to be teammates with current fifth-year Huskies forwards Kennedy Harris and Kori Herner, when all three were members of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team.

    At the university level, Clark has played three season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s team and is slated to return to the Badgers for her final campaign with the team in 2018-19 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks.

    The Huskies sit fourth in the Canada West Conference of U Sports with a 9-6-1 record, while the Pronghorns are seventh with a 5-9-2 mark.

    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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