Friday 5 January 2018

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 10th 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 20th 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.
-------
    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.