Thursday 5 April 2018

Stars look to halt Selects’ “Cinderella” playoff run

The Stars are looking to advance to the Esso Cup.
    It will be a classic David versus Goliath matchup when the Saskatoon Stars tangle with the Ste. Anne, Man., based Eastman Selects in a best-of-three Western regional female midget AAA hockey playdown series.
    The two clubs open the best-of-three set on Friday at 3 p.m. Manitoba time at the T.G. Smith Centre in Steinbach, Man. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. local time and Game 3, if necessary, will be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. local time. Both of those contests will also be at the T.G. Smith Centre.
    The series winner advances to the Esso Cup national female midget AAA championship tournament, which runs April 22 to 28 in Bridgewater, N.S. Saskatoon earned a berth in the Esso Cup in 2015 and 2016.
    The Stars play the role of Goliath posting a 24-3-1 regular season record to finish first in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League for a fourth straight year. They advanced through the SFMAAAHL playoffs with a 6-0 record and won the SFMAAAHL title sweeping the Prince Albert Northern Bears 3-0 in a best-of-five series. The Bears won the SFMAAAHL title, the Western regional series and advanced to the Esso Cup last year.
    The Selects play the role of David posting a 13-12-5 regular season record to finish fifth in the seven-team Manitoba Female AAA Midget Hockey League. They proceeded to roll off three upset best-of-five series victories to capture the MFMHL title.
    In quarter-final series, the Selects swept the Shoal Lake based Yellowhead Chiefs 3-0, and the Chiefs were 14-10-6 in regular season play. In a semifinal series, the Selects got past the Winnipeg Avros 3-1, and the Avros topped the MFMHL standings with a 25-5 record.
Joelle Fiala piled up 40 points in regular season play for the Stars.
    In the MFMHL finals, the Selects faced the defending league champion Pembina Valley Hawks, who are based out of Morden. The Hawks finished second in the MFMHL with a 20-8-2 record. On the strength of a pair of overtime victories to close out the series, the Selects prevailed 3-1 to capture the Manitoba championship.
    Stars captain Mackenna Parker topped the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She equaled the Stars team record for most points scored in one regular season at 60 first set by Emily Clark, who is a member of Canada’s senior national team, in the 2011-12 campaign.
    Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn finished second in SFMAAAHL scoring with 24 goals and 29 assists appearing in all 28 regular season games. Skilled centre Grace Shirley was fourth in SFMAAAHL scoring recording 30 goals and 18 assists in 23 regular season games with the Stars.
Parker and Shirley were members of Canada’s under-18 women’s hockey team.
    Winger Joelle Fiala piled up 18 goals and 22 assists to finish seventh in league scoring appearing in all 28 regular season games for the Stars.
    Sophomore defender Ashley Messier, who turned 16 in late March, was the Stars power-play quarterback leading all the team’s rearguards in scoring with three goals and 23 assists.
    The Stars have been rotating both of their goalies this season. Jordan Ivanco, who is the team’s 17-year-old veteran, posted a 12-1-1 record, a 1.76 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout in 14 regular season appearances. Arden Kliewer, a sophomore who turned 16 in early February, posted a 12-2 record, a 2.08 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and one shutout in 14 regular season appearances.
Ashley Messier quarterbacks the power play for the Stars.
    Centre Kylie Lesuk topped the selects in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 29 regular season games. Left-winger Chelsea Dinnin was second in team scoring with seven goals and 11 assists in 24 regular season games.
    Defender Breanna McLennan was the power-play quarterback topping all Selects blue-liners in scoring with two goals and 15 assists appearing in all 30 of her team’s regular season games.
    Raygan Kirk is the Selects starter in goal, and she posted a 6-6-2 record, a 1.81 goals against average, a .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 regular season appearances.
    The last time a club from Manitoba claimed the Lanchbery Family Trophy as the Western regional playdown series winner was the Hawks in 2012.

Parker wins big Hockey Canada award


    On Thursday, Hockey Canada named Saskatoon Stars captain Mackenna Parker as this year’s winner of the Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Female-Player-of-the-Year Award.
    The award is given annually to a player that most demonstrates good values, leadership and strong community involvement.
    Of course, Parker topped the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League in regular season scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She was named the winner of the SFMAAAHL’s most valuable player award and a first-team all-star.
    Parker is completing her final season of midget AAA eligibility and will graduate sitting second on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time regular season scoring list with 82 goals and 76 assists in 104 regular season games.
    In January, Parker helped Canada win bronze at the under-18 women’s world championship, which was held in Dmitrov, Russia.

Blades continue coaching makeover, release Thoma

Assistant coach Bryce Thoma addresses the Blades players during a practice.
    The Saskatoon Blades continued to makeover their coaching staff releasing assistant coach Bryce Thoma on Wednesday.
    Thoma, 35, joined the Blades in July of 2016 as a member of the coaching staff led by head coach Dean Brockman. Brockman was released by the Blades on March 18, which came one day after the club concluded the regular season missing the WHL playoffs finishing sixth in the East Division with a 35-33-3-1 record.
    Before joining the Blades, Thoma was a head coach and general manager in the junior A ranks with Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. From 2008 to 2013, he served as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels under Jesse Wallin for most of that stint before working under team owner Brent Sutter, who reassumed the head coach position in November of 2012.
    Thoma, who is a Saskatoon product, is best remembered for playing four seasons with the Rebels as a defenceman from 1999 to 2003 collecting 15 goals and 49 assists in 261 regular season games. He was a member of the Rebels WHL and Memorial Cup championship team in the 2000-01 campaign.
    Following the conclusion of his WHL playing career, Thoma played three seasons for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team from 2003 to 2006 collecting seven goals and 24 assists in 69 regular season games.
    Like Brockman, Thoma had signed a contract extension with the Blades last August that was slated to expire at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
    Besides working with the Blades, Thoma is on the staff of Sadoway Conditioning in Saskatoon.
    On Thursday, a trio of players from the Blades including centre Kirby Dach and Chase Wouters along with netminder Nolan Maier were named to Canada’s men’s team for the under-18 world championships, which are slated to be held April 19 to 29 in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia.
    They will be joined on the Canadian team by winger Cole Fonstad of the Prince Albert Raiders.
    The Canadian team will begin to assemble in Etobicoke, Ont., for practices starting on Sunday before departing to Russia on April 10.

Back in the Express with Rush comic book story

James Zintel shows off the Saskatchewan Rush comic book.
    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a story on a comic book about the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush.
    The Rush had Saskatoon-based comic book creator James Zintel create a comic book about the team. It was sold as part of the Rush home game against the Rochester Knighthawks on March 24 at the SaskTel Centre, which the Rush marketed as their superheroes night.
    Zintel created a product that featured the Rush players, the Original 16 Crush Dance Team, Grandma Rush, Bruiser the Bulldog and the Rush Hulk.
    The Rush return to action on Saturday in a heavyweight clash against the Colorado Mammoth that is set for 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rush sit first overall in the NLL with an 11-3 record, while the Mammoth are second overall with a 10-5 mark.
    The story on the Rush comic book can be round right here.

    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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