Heart of the Huskies

Huskies point guard Kabree Howard.

            Kabree Howard might be one of the greatest assets the University of Saskatchewan Huskies athletic program has ever had.

            The fifth-year starting point guard for the Huskies women’s basketball team does not hold an abundance of school records, a big list of 30 or even 20-point games, but no has ever made wearing that green, white and black jersey look so good.

            She goes beyond having all the intangibles. The Regina product is seemingly at every community event the Huskies have. If she misses an event, you first think she is at home battling an illness.

            On her team, Howard is always the upbeat and positive influence. When the Huskies women’s basketball team isn’t in action but still in Saskatoon, the 22-year-old is often found cheering on every other Huskies athletics team. It seems she makes a point to get out and see as many of the squads that are part of the athletic program as possible, and two to three of her hoops teammates are usually in tow.

            Be it basketball court, classroom or any other location, the atmosphere automatically goes up and becomes more positive when Howard is there.

            When the Planet S Magazine had its best of Saskatoon poll, Howard, not surprisingly, was voted best Huskie.

            You can’t put a dollar figure on everything she brings to the program. Those involved with Huskies Athletics have to be feeling sad that her eligibility is nearing an end. The longest she can be with the Huskies is March 15 in the New Year, which assumes the team can qualify to play on the final day of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s basketball championship tournament at Laval University.

Huskies point guard Kabree Howard drives past a defender.

            I first met Howard on visits back to Saskatoon in the summer of 2012, when I still lived in Medicine Hat. I would go for a workout at the gym at the University of Saskatchewan, and she usually worked the front desk.

            Early on, I was struck by how friendly Howard was. It also seemed she knew everybody that came for a workout, especially the members of the Huskies teams.

Judging by her physical conditioning, I assumed she was a member of one of the Huskies teams. My first guess was she competed in track and field, because she only stood 5-foot-5. As I wasn’t a resident of Saskatoon, I really didn’t know who she was.

            We got talking basketball one day, and to my surprise, I learned she was on the women’s basketball team.

            My first reaction, which looking back was a bad one, was, “You’re on the women’s basketball team! Really?”

            I happened to then walk in the main gym and a big action shot poster of her adorned one of the walls and is still there.

            My next reaction was, “Oh my God! She is their star!”

            I also discovered she grew up in Regina, and knew all about the 2000-01 University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team that won CIS national championship that season. I worked closely with that team, and that championship wrapped up my time as a resident of the Saskatchewan capital.

            I know all of those players very well, and a few of them coached Howard at various stages of her basketball life. As time went on, it seemed to me Howard contained a combination off all the positive characteristics those Cougars players shared.

Huskies point guard Kabree Howard assists on a scoring play.

            On various other visits to Saskatoon and since I moved there in summer, I have run into various coaches and trainers that dealt with Howard. They all say she is a superstar and agree she was the athlete they all most enjoyed dealing with.

            I never asked her why she decided to join the Huskies. I know how good Huskies women’s basketball head coach Lisa Thomaidis is at her job, and I always assumed that was a big reason for the move. The fact the Huskies have Alison Fairbrother and Jacqueline Lavallee as two long time and outstanding assistant coaches with the program also helps with attracting players.

            The big thing for the Huskies is Howard did come to the Bridge City, and the University of Saskatchewan athletic program has benefited from it. Everyone with the Huskies should cherish the last moments she will be with the program as a player.

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

“Corner Gas: The Movie” makes all the right hits

           “No booze!” The economic crisis just got real in Dog River.

            That was one of the many small town Saskatchewan jokes rising from Corner Gas: The Movie. It was spoken when residents realized the Dog River Hotel and the bar had closed up leaving people with nowhere to go drink and hang out. It also marked the height of the town going broke.

            Corner Gas: The Movie will definitely please all those that watched Corner Gas sitcom, which made a six-season run from January 22, 2004 to April 13, 2009 based on life around a fictitious small Saskatchewan town. All the familiar cast of characters are back reprising all their familiar roles, but the audience has to purposely wait until the end of the film to hear old grouch and retired owner of Corner Gas Oscar Leroy say, “Jackass.”

Don’t worry, Eric Peterson gets to be in the middle of lots of crazy trouble and plays the Oscar Leroy character to the point all the fans of the show have come to know and love.

            The movie opened in theatres on Wednesday and makes a short run that ends on Sunday. It will air on television on The Movie Network Dec. 8, on CTV and CTV Two on Dec. 17 and The Comedy Network on Dec. 22. The DVD is set to be released on Dec. 16.

            With that said, hard core and casual fans will more than get their money’s worth, if they see the film on the big screen. You wouldn’t want to miss the 20 minutes of extras before the movie that includes trivia games, a theme song sing along and bloopers.

            The plot line of the 90-minute movie revolves around the town of Dog River going broke due to the mayor making a bad investment in real estate.

            In order to save the town, the citizens will attempt to rally to win a quaintest town in Canada contest, which is being run by a national newspaper and has a more than helpful cash prize.

            As the movie goes on, Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller), who runs The Ruby, becomes the person that spearheads the efforts to win the quaintest town contest. Brent Leroy (Brent Butt), who runs Corner Gas, makes efforts to help financially prop up things by buying, reopening and running the Dog River Hotel and bar.

            From there, all sorts of side storylines spring to life.

            One comes from a scheme by Richard Henry “Hank” Yarbo (Fred Ewanuick), who accidentally brings in an unscrupulous out of town investor from a corporate chain. The investor helps hatch a plot, which might give the town its final knock-out blow.

            Another comes from the fact sergeant David Quinton (Lorne Cardinal) is forced into retirement early in the film. He goes from being a cartoonish RCMP officer to a cartoonish private investigator. You also find out he has quite the impressive man cave in the garage of his house, which Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson) turns into jumping night club and later a hot casino.

            Constable Karen Pelly (Tara Spencer-Nairn), who is pregnant in the film, goes mad issuing tickets to the town’s citizens for every type of violation imaginable, which results in her earning a colourful nickname. She also ends up having a hilarious war with Oscar Leroy over a horse.

            Lacey Burrows also breaks into a SaskPower yard to get the town’s power turned back on.

            The movie runs nice and tight and has a really smooth feel. It easily lives up to the classic style of the television series.

            So will the citizens of Dog River be able to save their town?

            Don’t let the town riot at the beginning of the movie fool you, as people don’t really know everyone else’s business like you would think. Looks can be deceiving in a town that doesn’t have a whole lot going on.

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

“Willo” and “Mighty Mouse” power Huskies

Kaitlin Willoughby (#28) hits top gear for the Huskies.

            When Kaitlin Willoughby and Kandace Cook get rolling, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team keeps on winning.

            There is no doubt the Huskies have vaulted into first overall in the Canada West Conference with an 11-3-2 record and 32 points in the standings thanks to an outstanding team effort. Everyone on the roster of the defending Canada West champs can look at their individual play and realize how important they were doing their part to get the Huskies where they are.

            Willoughby and Cook add an X-factor dimension that gives the Huskies that much an extra edge in a conference where seven points in the standings is all that separates the teams that sit between first and sixth. Those two forwards are extremely hard for opponents to make game plans for.

            Coming into the season, Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, might be the most well-known player on the Huskies roster. Last season, the young Prince Albert product was the CIS rookie of the year for women’s hockey picking up 10 goals and 15 assists in 28 regular season games. Of course, she netted the double overtime winner to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the best-of-three Canada West title series back in March over the Regina Cougars.

            In her sophomore campaign, she looks like a faster and more powerful skater than she did as a rookie. The former star of the Prince Albert Bears midget AAA team came into the season with a different challenge.

            Thanks to the accolades she captured last season, Willoughby automatically becomes the centre of attention of every opponent the Huskies face. She will see every team’s best defensive pairing and a host of good defensive forwards.

            Early on, she went through an unthinkable five straight games without recording a point. That changed on Oct. 24, when she netted a goal and two assists in a 4-3 home victory over the Calgary Dinos.

            Willoughby also has points in the Huskies last four games netting three goals and four assists over that stretch. On the season, she has eight goals and seven assists in 16 games.

            Blessed with an abundance of skills, Willoughby was a key figure for the Huskies this past weekend at the Rutherford Rink. On Friday, the Huskies trailed the visiting Mount Royal University Cougars 2-0, and Willoughby went to work.

            She scored twice to even things up at 2-2 and then picked up an assist on the game winner from Kennedy Harris. Hard working defenceman Brooke Mutch picked up the last tally in a 4-2 victory, while Cassidy Hendricks made 15 saves for the win in goal.

            On Saturday after Carlee Hrenkiw put the Huskies up 1-0, Willoughby collected an assist on a deflection goal by Cook to cement a 2-0 victory. Hendricks made 18 saves to earn the shutout in net.

            At the moment, it is possible Willoughby is only scratching the surface of how good she might be. If she keeps focused on working hard on her game, she might get the chance to achieve great things in the future.

Kandace Cook takes a draw for the Huskies.

            Cook is a fearless fifth-year veteran that stands only 5-foot-2, but plays like she is 6-feet tall. She provides both a calming influence to the team and sets the tone for games with her unmatched compete level.

            Pound for pound, she might arguably be the strongest player in the Canada West conference. She is the “Mighty Mouse” of her team. In her team’s sweep of the Dinos in late October, Cook turned heads with the way she was able to physically take Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser out of the faceoff circle.         

            Cook also stepped up to be a difference maker during an early season turning point. After a 2-3 start, the Huskies faced the always powerful Alberta Pandas to finish off a weekend series at the Rutherford Rink on Oct. 18. The Lloydminster Steelers graduate scored twice including the winner on the power play to give the Huskies a key 3-2 victory and start a five game winning streak.

            She has already tied her career high with six goals this season and also has four assists. An assistant captain, Cook provides leadership by setting an example with her strong play on the ice.

            In the Huskies final game before the Christmas break, head coach Steve Kook had Cook and Willoughby on a line together with Edmonton product Rachel Johnson. That line might have some interesting potential, if it stays together.

            Even if that unit it split up, Willoughby and Cook will definitely be two players to watch after the Christmas break. Their hard work might result in some more cool championship memories in March. 

Heartbreakers in Calgary

Craig McCallum looks for a chance to score for the Huskies.

            The Huskies men’s hockey team ended up stumbling into the Christmas break with a pair of heartbreaking losses to the Mount Royal University Cougars in Calgary.

            On Friday, it turned out the three goals wasn’t enough to power the Huskies to a win. They led 3-1, but the Cougars roared back to tie things up at 3-3 and eventually take the contest 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout.

            Matthew Spafford, Craig McCallum and Sean Aschim all picked up singles for the Huskies, while goaltender Ryan Holfeld made 35 stops over 70 minutes and stopped two of three shooters in the shootout.

            David Stephens, Billy Marshall and Matthew Brown all picked up singles for the Cougars. Brown had the only goal in the tiebreaking shootout. Goaltender Cam Lanigan made 22 stops over 70 minutes and turned away all three shooters he faced in the shootout.

            On Saturday, the Huskies dropped a tough 2-1 decision to the Cougars. McCallum had the lone goal for the Dogs, while Jordon Cooke made 24 stops taking the loss in goal.

            Sebastien Pare and Tyler Fiddler had singles for the Cougars, while Lanigan turned away 25 shots to earn the win in goal.

            The Huskies still sit fourth overall in the Canada West Conference with an 8-9-1 record. 

Not easy being blue

Nelson Nogier in action for the Blades.

            Life in a rebuilding year is definitely not easy for the Saskatoon Blades.

            Even when it seems they are going to get a big victory, one bad shift washes those hopes away. That was the story Friday, when the Blades dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who are a WHL powerhouse club this season, at the Sasktel Centre.

            Saskatoon led 3-2 with less than 30 seconds to play, and fresh players were on the ice to fend off a final Brandon rush to preserve victory. The Wheat Kings entered the Blades zone fairly easily and Brandon forward Tim McGauley had the puck below the icing line to left side of the Saskatoon goal.

            Blades defenceman Adam Henry had a chance to collapse down on McGauley, but the blue-liner froze. McGauley fed a pass to rearguard Ryan Pilon, who pinched down to the slot. Pilon wired home the equalizer with 5.6 seconds to play in the third.

            Brandon scored just 37 seconds into overtime as McGauley banged home the rebound from a Jayce Hawryluk shot.

            After dropping a 4-2 decision to the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday, the Blades are 7-18-2 and are sitting 11 points out of a playoff position. The loss in Moose Jaw was made even more difficult, when the Blades had to stop using centre Alex Forsberg at about the 11-minute mark of the second period.

            Due to a clerical error by a Moose Jaw staffer, Forsberg was not on the gamesheet. He left the game, when the Blades and Warriors were tied 1-1.

            While the Blades are taking their lumps, the team’s fans have to be credited for being understanding. Friday’s loss was witnessed by 4,548 spectators on a night the weather wasn’t very good and the roads in the city were in rough shape.

            The Blades will be out-manned in a number of games, but all they can do is ensure their work ethic is good on a nightly basis. They play their next five games on the road against opponents from the B.C. Division. They open the swing Tuesday against the Blazers in Kamloops.

Grey Cup summed up CFL season

            The 102^nd Grey Cup didn’t turn out to save what was a forgettable CFL season.

            In 2014, CFL games were dominated by defensive battles, an excessive amount of penalty calls and very few exciting finishes. Traditionally, the league is well known for wide open exciting battles with lots of passing and kick return yards.

             Sunday’s championship game at B.C. Place in Vancouver saw the Calgary Stampeders prevail over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20-16 in a game that has to rate between average and good.

            The game did have a compelling ending, but not for the reasons the league would like.

            Up by what would be the final outcome of 20-16, the Stampeders punted the ball away to the Tiger-Cats dangerous returner Brandon Banks. Banks started left, reversed his field to run right and returned the kick about 90 yards for an apparent go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.

            On the play, Tiger-Cats linebacker Taylor Reed was called for an illegal block on Stampeders linebacker Karl McCartney, which cancelled out the major score.

            Looking at the video, the call was close. There was an angle that made it look like the block was from the side and another angle where it looked like the block was a bit in the back area. The block also came in the fringe area, where it can be argued that McCartney might not have been able to make a tackle.

            It was one of those calls where objectively you can say there shouldn’t be a problem if it was made or wasn’t made. There was enough on video to show it was a penalty. If it wasn’t called, it could still stand up as well.

            It was at the official’s discretion.

            Unfortunately with the way this season has gone, the end result would likely be hard for most non-Stampeders fans to take, because of how penalties have been called for most of this season.

            You can be sure league officials will be looking at rules and how penalties have been called in hopes of opening up the game again. With that said, strong defensive play should have its place to be appreciated as well.

Attendance at the Grey Cup was also 52,056, which was 1,423 short of a sellout. That figure will be another thing that concerns league officials, because you shouldn’t have to bank on the Saskatchewan Roughriders making the Grey Cup to guarantee a sellout due to their fan base.

            The off-season in the CFL will be interesting. Time will tell if what happened in the 2014 campaign was a blip on the radar.

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

Canada West and CIS women’s hockey has come a long way

Captain Brandy West-McMaster and the Regina Cougars in 2000.

            At one time the notion that everyone would be competitive and good in the Canada West women’s hockey conference was a dream.

            That dream is definitely a reality, and that reality goes for the entire Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s league.

            I am one of the few people that witnessed in person the night the two Saskatchewan based CIS squads won, for the moment, their lone respective Canada West titles. Captain Brandy West-McMaster and the University of Regina Cougars claimed the Canada West title in 2001 and won silver at nationals. Captain Cami Wooster and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies won the Canada West title last March and captured a bronze medal at nationals.

            Between those respective conference title victories, I barely got to see any CIS women’s games. I have witnessed a steady diet of games this season featuring the Huskies, and I saw a large number of games in the 2000-01 campaign featuring the Cougars.

            The overall quality of the league now is light years of what it was then. When the Cougars won their conference title, that season marked only the fourth time a CIS title was contested in women’s hockey.

            Over a period of 13 years, a huge minor system has sprung up for girls’ hockey in Canada. The minor system feeds a large number of midget AAA girls’ teams that compete in highly competitive leagues, which have a strong history of regular season play dating back for about a good decade.

            That system has produced a steady stream of skilled players for Canada West and the CIS. Those players have all received top rate coaching growing up, and it shows on the ice.

Captain Cami Wooster and the Saskatchewan Huskies in March.

            The Huskies won their Canada West title in a conference that was vastly superior to what Canada West was when the Cougars claimed their title.

            In the current Canada West season, six teams are in a tight race for first overall. Lethbridge and Mount Royal are sitting on the outside of the playoff picture, but both those teams are good enough to manufacture upsets over the other six teams in the conference. Lethbridge and Mount Royal don’t really look out of place, when they face the teams currently holding playoff spots.

            Everyone’s understanding and execution of systems play is tremendous. The mental toughness the players display and their ability to bounce back when things go bad is also outstanding.

            Back when the Cougars won their conference title, the majority of their players grew up playing hockey in boys’ leagues. The star players almost always had a strong background in boys’ hockey.

            Girls’ only leagues in minor hockey weren’t that established, and it showed at the Canada West and CIS levels.

            There were a number of players on CIS teams that switched over from playing ringette. Others didn’t have that many years playing the sport of hockey and flat out had trouble skating.

             During those days, the Cougars and University of Alberta Pandas attracted the best players, and it showed on the scoreboard.

            In their second last regular season game of the 2000-01 campaign, the Cougars set a then team record for goals in a game blasting the Calgary Dinos 16-1. The Dinos, who had 10 first-year players, were typical of a number of the Canada West teams back then.

Laura Paradis in goal for the Regina Cougars in 2001.

They just didn’t have the players to compete with the Cougars and Pandas, which resulted in a two-tiered conference. As a result, there were a number of lopsided games, where the players on the losing side were crushed on a number of levels.

The Cougars swept the Pandas in a best-of-three Canada West final series in 2001 posting a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 1 and a 3-1 triumph in Game 2 at dungy Exhibition Stadium. Game 2 marked the last time the Pandas would lose a game in four years.

They proceeded to run off a 110-game undefeated streak that included 109 victories, one draw and three CIS championships. The Pandas roster featured former Canadian Olympic team player Judy Diduck for most of that run. For a short time, the Pandas created a third tier being above everyone else.

In the 2013-14 campaign, the Huskies had to be on top of their game almost every night to put together and 18-4-6 regular season record. They met the Regina Cougars in a best-of-three Canada West final that seemed destined to never end.

The series went the distance with every game going to overtime. A total of 17 periods and 296 minute of hockey were played. It finally ended when Kaitlin Willoughby netted the series winner to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory in double overtime in Game 3 at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

It is fair to say the Canada West champion Cougars of 2001 would have had a really difficult time beating the Huskies Canada West championship team of 2014 or the Cougars team the eventually fell to the Dogs in that marathon conference title series.

If you were able to send Huskies standouts like Wooster, who was as extremely special and dynamic player, Willoughby, Sara Greschner, Kandace Cook, Julia Flinton and goaltender Cassidy Hendricks back in time to play in Canada West in 2001, they would have put up insane numbers. Their athletic level is just way better than the players of that time.

Cassidy Hendricks in goal for the Saskatchewan Huskies.

With that said, the 2000-01 campaign was a different time. West-McMaster put up Wayne Gretzky type offensive numbers in that era of the CIS. The Cougars other standouts like Erin Tady, Erin Balfour, Julie Foster, Joell Fiddler, Tanya Hutcheon and goaltender Laura Paradis worked extremely hard at their games and were the class of that time.

The Cougars players also showed a lot of heart coming up through minor hockey. West-McMaster and Paradis both had really good experiences growing up and playing in boys’ leagues.

A number of other players had experiences of being run through the boards. Hitting at all levels then in the boys’ ranks was more liberal that it is today. Any ponytails that were seen sticking out of the back of helmets saw the girls get viewed as targets.

In various instances, the boys would try to hit the girls hard enough to make them quit. A few girls shed tears in the arms of their parents and even admitted they wanted to walk away from the game. The fact those players didn’t walk away was amazing.

As a unit, the Cougars 2001 Canada West championship team showed the potential of what the conference and the CIS league could become.

As a group, the Huskies 2014 Canada West championship team and their modern day conference and CIS rivals have far exceeded what that potential would look like. When you connect everything together, it is an inspiring story to see.

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