Honours keep coming to Kozun

Netminder named Huskies male athlete of the year

Taran Kozun was named the Huskies male athlete of the year.

    Taran Kozun might have to expand where his trophies are displayed at his place.
    The star netminder for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team has collected an array of honours over his three full seasons in the U Sports ranks. On Wednesday, the 25-year-old product of Nipawin, Sask., added another accolade to his already lengthy list.

    Kozun was named the winner of the E. Kent Phillips Trophy as the male athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics for the second straight year.

    The Huskies held their Huskie Salute and announced their Major 7 Awards in a series of social media posts on Wednesday. The original Huskie Salute was scheduled for last Friday, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    The puck stopper collected a lengthy number of awards this season. Kozun, who stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds, won the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan Trophy as the U Sports player of the year, and he took honours as the U Sports goaltender of the year.

    He became the first player in U Sports history to claim both awards in the same season. On top of those honours, the graduate of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

Taran Kozun was the U Sports player of the year for men’s hockey.

    Kozun also captured honours this season as the Canada West Conference player of the year, Canada West goaltender of the year and a first team Canada West all-star.

    He had an outstanding campaign for the Huskies appearing in 22 regular season games posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also became the second goalie in the history of the Canada West Conference to score a goal as well during those regular season appearances.

    Kozun was first goal goalie in the Canada West Conference to be awarded a goal after shooting the puck into the net.

    He topped the Canada West Conference in wins and save percentage, while posting the lowest goals against average. His five shutouts equalled a record for regular season play in Canada West which he set last season along with U of Alberta Golden Bears goalie Zach Sawchenko.

    Thanks to Kozun’s efforts, the Huskies finished second in the Canada West Conference with a 22-4-2 record.

Taran Kozun was the Canada West Conference player of the year.

    In the Canada West playoffs, the Huskies swept the University of Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three semifinal series 2-0 and pulled out the brooms again for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds taking the best-of-three Canada West Championship series 2-0.

    Kozun won all four of those starts posting a 1.84 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

    At the David Johnston University Cup held in Halifax, N.S., the second seeded Huskies fell in a 3-2 upset to the seventh seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs in a quarter-final match on March 12. The rest of that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic later that same night.

    Last season, Kozun was named both the Canada West goaltender of the year and the U Sports goaltender of the year as well as a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star and a first team Canada West all-star.

    Kozun beat out a tough field to be named the Huskies male athlete of the year. 

Taran Kozun scored a goal in the 2019-20 campaign.

    The three other nominees included defensive back Nelson Lokombo from the Huskies football team, who was the U Sports defensive player of the year, Hunter Lee from the Huskies men’s wrestling team, who won gold medals at the Canada West Conference tournament and the U Sports nationals, and Huskies men’s track and field team sprinter Karson Lehner, who was named the Canada West Conference and U Sports male track athlete of the year.

    At the Canada West Championships, Lehner ran the 300-metre race in a meet record time of 33.07 seconds breaking a 35-year-old record set former Huskies track athlete Cyprian Enweani, who ran 33.50 seconds in 1985.

    Michelle Harrison of the Huskies women’s track and field team claimed the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics. Harrison was named the U Sports female track athlete of the year.

    She won gold medals in the 60-metre hurdles at the Canada West Championship and U Sports nationals. Harrison set a new U Sports nationals record in the 60-metre hurdles running in a time of 8.15 seconds and was named the female athlete of the meet.

Evan Machibroda was named the all-around male athlete for the Huskies.

    Evan Machibroda, who is a fifth-year defensive tackle with the Huskies football team, was named the winner of the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the all-around male athlete for Huskie Athletics. The award is given to the male Huskie athlete that shows excellence in sport, the classroom and citizenship.

    Machibroda piled up 22 total tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery helping the Huskies football team post a 5-3 regular season record.

    Fifth-year guard Megan Ahlstrom of the Huskies women’s basketball team took home the Valerie Girsberger Trophy as the top all-around female athlete for Huskie Athletics. The award is given to the female Huskie athlete that shows excellence in sport, the classroom and leadership.

    Ahlstrom helped the Huskies women’s basketball team win U Sports national titles in 2016 and this past season.

    Wrestler Carson Lee took the Howard Nixon Trophy as the male athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics. He was named the Canada West and U Sports rookie of the year for men’s wrestling. Lee captured gold in the 82-kilogram weight class at the Canada West Championships and U Sports nationals.

Megan Ahlstrom, left, was the Huskies top all-around female athlete. 

    Halle Krynowsky from the Huskies women’s soccer team won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the female rookie of the year for Huskie Athletics. The defender scored a pair of goals and was named to the Canada West Conference all-rookie team.

    The Colb McEwon Trophy as the coach of the year for Huskie Athletics went to Huskies women’s basketball team head coach Lisa Thomaidis. Thomaidis led the Huskies women’s basketball team to their fourth Canada West title in the past five years and second U Sports national title in team history.

    She led the Huskies women’s hoopsters to their first U Sports national crown in 2016 as well.

    The Dr. Walter Hader Award as student trainer of the year went to Ben Taylor from the Huskies track and field teams and cross country teams.

    The 2019-20 campaign was a great season for the Huskie Athletics program that included four Canada West team championships and one U Sports national title.

Lisa Thomaidis was named the coach of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    The Huskies captured conference titles in men’s wrestling, women’s track and field, men’s hockey and women’s basketball. The women’s basketball team captured the Bronze Baby Trophy as U Sports national champions.

    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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