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| Jordon Cooke was named the CIS's goalie of the year. |
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team
will have a different experience at the University Cup compared to their past
visits to the national championship tournament.
The Huskies last appeared at the University Cup as the host
team in 2014. That year, the University Cup ran under its long time traditional
six-team format. The competing teams were played in two pools of three and the
first place team in each pool advanced to the title game after round robin
competition within the pool.
That format often at times could be confusing to follow. If
a team lost its first game by a goal, that club still had a chance to make the
final. You had to hope the team that beat you lost its next game, and you
usually had to win your last round-robin game in blowout fashion to make the
title contest.
It often took a university’s best math ace to figure out the
goal spread that was needed in that final contest to advance.
Last year, the University Cup converted over to a
final-eight format that is often used for various other sports in Canadian
Interuniversity Sport and down in the United States in the National Collegiate
Athletic Association. That means the eight-team field plays single elimination
games through a quarter-final, semifinal and championship final rounds.
The Huskies were eliminated in the first round of the Canada
West playoffs last season, so they weren’t part of the University Cup
tournament.
This year they will get their first taste of a hockey style
March Madness at nationals hosted in Halifax, N.S.
U of S is the second seed and will face the seventh seeded
Carleton University Ravens in one quarter-final match on Thursday.
The Huskies, who are making their 17th appearance
at nationals, topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 record and claimed
the Canada West championships with four straight post-season wins. The Ravens
were 20-8 in the regular season, have gone 5-2 in the post-season so far and
won a bronze medal in the Ontario University Athletics conference playoffs.
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| Kohl Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team. |
An elite-eight tournament is easy to follow, because every
team knows you win you move on, or you lose and you have no chance to make the
final. If you fall in the semifinal round, you can still play for a bronze
medal.
Most players on the Huskies have limited experience playing
in this type of tournament. As their roster is made up players main from the
major junior ranks and also members of the junior A ranks, those players are
more used to best-of-seven series. The best-of-three series that are played in
conference playoffs usually feel like the post-season on speed.
Single elimination leads to a possibility of a hot
goaltender or a strange goal creating an upset. In extra time, the joy of
victory becomes that much more heightened, while the agony of defeat is that
much more training. The drama also increases, if a game’s finish comes during
that stage.
For now, the Huskies, or any of the other seven competing
teams, can’t look past their quarter-final games.
If the Huskies prevail on Thursday, they will advance to one
of Saturday’s semifinals to face the winner of the quarter-final match between
the third seeded St. Francis Xavier University X-Men and the sixth seeded
University of Alberta Golden Bears. U of A has won the last two University
Cups.
The University Cup final is set for Sunday (5:30 p.m.
Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).
Before the quarter-final round starts, a couple of Huskies
picked up individual honours on Wednesday. Jordon Cooke was named the CIS
goaltender of the year and a first team all-Canadian all-star. Forward Kohl
Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team.
Flinton collects all-Canadian honour
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| Julia Flinton was named a first team all-Canadian all-star. |
Julia Flinton collected one last accolade to further cap her
five-year career with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.
The Williams Lake, B.C., product was named a first team
all-Canadian all-star at the CIS women’s hockey awards night held on Wednesday
in Calgary, where the CIS women’s tournament will run Thursday to Sunday.
Flinton led all CIS defenders in scoring netting four goals
and 22 assists in 28 games. She also posted a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus
department.
During her career, Flinton was named a Canada West first
team all-star twice, a Canada West second team all-star once, and she made the
tournament all-star team at the 2014 CIS championship tournament, where the
Huskies won a bronze medal. She was also a member of Canada’s FISU games team
in 2015.
Flinton leaves the Huskies as their all-time career leader
in assists with 66 helpers and their fourth all-time leading scorer with 80
points in 131 games. Besides having a spectacular finesse game, Flinton was
also tough and departs the Huskies as their all-time career leader in penalty
minutes with 176 thanks to taking the odd infraction for bodychecking.
Hoop Dogs aim to capture elusive national
crown
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| Laura Dally received all-star honours. |
The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team hopes
this year’s trip to nationals will finally be a golden one.
The Huskies are making their eighth trip in the last nine
years to the CIS championship tournament. In the previous seven visits, they
made the championship final once falling 63-49 to the University of Windsor
Lancers in 2011. That started a run of five straight CIS titles for the
Lancers, who did not qualify for this year’s national championship tournament
that will be held in Fredericton, N.B.
U of S is seeded second in the elite-eight tourney and faces
the seventh seeded U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in a quarter-final match on Thursday.
The Huskies topped the Canada West standings with an 18-2 record and captured
their third conference championship in six years winning four straight
post-season games. They downed the U of Regina Cougars 73-62 in the Canada West
final.
The Gee-Gees topped the OUA standings with a 17-2 record,
but fell in the conference title game to the Ryerson University Rams 66-60.
If the Huskies win their quarter-final, they will advance to
a semifinal contest on Saturday to take on the winner of the match between the
third seeded Saint Mary’s University Huskies and the sixth seeded U of Alberta
Pandas.
The CIS final is set for Sunday (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time,
Sportsnet 360).
On Wednesday, fifth-year Huskies guard Laura Dally was named
a first team all-Canadian all-star.
Stars return to SFMAAAHL final
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| Joelle Fiala had a goal and an assist on Tuesday for the Stars. |
Saskatoon returned to the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA
Hockey League championship series for a second straight year after knocking off
the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 2-0 in Weyburn on Tuesday. The Stars
claimed the best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the two clubs 3-1.
Joelle Fiala and Grace Shirley accounted for all of
Saskatoon’s offence in the series clincher each picking up a goal and an
assist. Emma Johnson made 26 saves to earn her sixth career SFMAAAHL playoff
shutout.
Chantal Burke turned away 21 shots taking the loss in goal
for Weyburn.
The Stars will face the Swift Current Diamond Energy
Wildcats in the best-of-five league championship series. The dates of the games
are still to be announced.
The Wildcats semifinal series with the Prince Albert A &
W Bears went to a deciding fifth game on Wednesday in Swift Current. The hosts
prevailed 2-1 in double overtime against the visiting Bears thanks to a
breakaway winner by Josee Casavant.
The Bears thought they netted the winner in the first
overtime, but the goal was waved off.
Saskatoon claimed last year’s SFMAAAHL title sweeping a
best-of-five series with the Bears 3-0.
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