Heartbreak for Huskies again in Vanier Cup

Rouge et Or prevail 30-24 in showcase U Sports title game

Mason Nyhus played his final game with the Huskies on Saturday.

If you told the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team in training camp that they’d be in position to make a two-minute drill drive at the end of the fourth quarter to win the Vanier Cup, they would take it.

If you told the Huskies they would have to make that drive against the forever powerful Universite Laval Rouge et Or, the Dogs would still take it.

That was the position the Huskies were in on Saturday playing before 8,420 spectators at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. They were actually in that position twice.

Trailing the Rouge et Or 30-24, the Huskies had the ball at their own 18 yard line with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter with two timeouts. They needed to drive 92 yards to win the game, but it was something that could be realistically done and had been done in the past.

The Huskies got 21 yards downfield on four plays before turning the ball over on downs. The drive ended when Huskies star fifth-year quarterback Mason Nyhus hit sophomore star second-year running back Ryker Frank with a pass on a third-and-six situation.

Frank initially caught the ball six yards downfield, but took a step backwards looking to make a cut for additional yards. Because of that step backwards, Frank was stopped short of the first down marker and the Rouge et Or took over at the Huskies 39 yard line.

Connor Delahey had 8.5 total tackles for the Huskies.

After the Rouge et Or offence went two and out, they punted the ball to the Huskies, who had the ball at their own 20 yard line with 34 seconds remaining with no timeouts. Needing chunk plays, the Huskies went three and out to turn the ball over on downs.

The Rouge et Or took two kneel downs to end the contest and begin the celebration of their 30-24 victory, and the fact they won the Vanier Cup to become U Sports champions for the 11^th time in team history. Before Saturday’s game, the last time the Rouge et Or won the Vanier Cup was in 2018.

Overall, U Sports football was the biggest winner on Saturday. The 57^th Vanier Cup played between the Huskies and Rouge et Or was an outstanding showcase of the sport of football at the Canadian university level. The fact it was shown live on CBC’s national network made it even better, because people who wouldn’t have normally watched the game would have been pulled in by a compelling encounter.

When the dust settled, the two teams combined for 975 yards of total offence. The Huskies had 469 total yards, and the Rouge et Or had 506 total yards.

Nyhus, who was playing in his final U Sports game, completed 34-of-43 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing one interception due to a tipped pass. Rouge et Or star second year quarterback Arnaud Desjardins connected on 27-of-36 passes for 397 yards. Nyhus was the U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star quarterback, and Desjardins was the first team all-Canadian all-star quarterback.

Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards on Saturday.

Ultimately, Saturday’s contest was one of those games that could have gone the Huskies way had the result of two or three plays changed.

The teams were trying to gage what they could do in the first quarter and traded field goals. David Solie hit a 20 yard field goal for the Huskies, and Vincent Blanchard replied with a 15 yard field goal for the Rouge et Or to create a 3-3 tie after 15 minutes.

Early in the second quarter gambling on a third-and-goal situation, Nyhus rolled right and hit third-year receiver Everett Iverson with a three-yard touchdown toss to put the Huskies in front 10-3.

The Rouge et Or answered back on their ensuing offensive series with first-year running back Kalenga Muganda running in a touchdown from three yards out taking a direct snap in the wildcat formation to force a 10-10 tie. The Rouge et Or proceeded to take their first lead when Blanchard booted the ensuing kickoff through the end zone for a rouge and an 11-10 edge.

The Huskies retook the lead on their ensuing offensive series, when Nyhus hit star second-year receiver Rhett Vavra with a three-yard touchdown pass for a 17-11 advantage.

Before the second quarter came to an end, Blanchard hit a field goal from 28 yards out to cut the Huskies lead to 17-14 and knocked home a field goal from 49 yards out with 0.2 seconds to play in the frame to force a 17-17 tie at halftime.

Everett Iverson had the Huskies first TD catch on Saturday.

With 9:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Rouge et Or caught a positive break to avoid falling behind again on the scoreboard. Solie launched a long punt, which Rouge et Or returner Alex Duff allowed to bounce into his own end zone playing the situation like the punt return rules in the United States were in play.

Duff circled back into his end zone to get the ball. As soon as his fingers grabbed the ball, he was hit by Huskies long snapper Jayden Engel. The ball popped out of Duff’s hands and Huskies backup running back Kody Gutek recovered the ball in the end zone for an apparent touchdown.

 The officials correctly called a no yards penalty on Engel, which negated the major score and even the opportunity to pick up a single point.

After surviving that mishap, the Rouge et Or accounted for the only points in the third quarter with a 10-yard field goal from Blanchard to take a 20-17 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Rouge et Or went into the bag of tricks to pull out a major score. Facing a first and goal situation from the Huskies one yard line, star receiver Kevin Mital lined up behind centre in the wildcat formation. Mital faked like he was going to run the ball and looped a one-yard touchdown toss to second-year fullback David Dallaire to increase the Rouge et Or’s lead to 27-17.

Ryker Frank had 65 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving on Saturday.

The Huskies looked like they were going to trim the Rouge et Or’s advantage on their ensuing offensive possession. U of S got the ball down to the Rouge et Or six yard line for a first-and-goal situation.

Nyhus threw a pass in the end zone to third year receiver Caleb Morin. Morin wasn’t able to hold on to the high pass and the ball slipped through his hands into the arms or Rouge et Or defensive back Felix Petit for an interception with 9:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The result of the play was an unfortunate one for Morin, who had a strong game leading the Huskies with seven catches for 97 yards.

After the interception, the Huskies defence forced the Rouge et Or offence to go two-and-out. Following a 35-yard punt return by Vavra, U of S started a drive on the Rouge et Or’s 51 yard line.

The Huskies quickly drove the short field and Nyhus hit sure handed second-year receiver Daniel Wiebe with a three-yard touchdown pass to cut the Rouge et Or lead to 27-24 with 4:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Nick Wiebe had six total tackles for the Huskies on Saturday.

The Rouge et Or pushed their lead out to 30-24 on their ensuing offensive series with Blanchard hitting a 25 yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. That field goal was set up mainly by Desjardins hitting Rouge et Or fourth-year receiver Antoine Dansereau-Leclerc with a 55-yard pass. Blanchard made all five of his field goals on the afternoon.

That set the stage for the Huskies final two failed drives as the Rouge et Or made the 30-24 score hold up as the game’s final outcome.

Mital, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year in U Sports football on Thursday, was awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the Vanier Cup game MVP. Mital hauled in eight passes for a game high 142 yards to go with his touchdown toss.

The Bruce Coulter Award for the defensive player of the game went to second-year linebacker Charles-Alexandre Jacques. Jacques made 5.5 total tackles for the Rouge et Or in the win.

The Huskies piled up 125 yards rushing as a team in the first half and only nine yards rushing as a team in the second half. Frank carried the ball 12 times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards.

Teb Kubongo had two carries for 65 yards for the Huskies.

Third-year running back Ted Kubongo ran the ball twice for 65 yards and caught two passes for five yards.

Huskies star fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry had five catches for 85 yards, and Vavra had six catches for 66 yards.

Muganda topped the Rouge et Or in rushing with 19 carries for 76 yards to go with his major score. Dansereau-Leclerc finished the contest with eight catches for 119 yards.

Defensive end Connor Delahey led the Huskies with 8.5 total tackles, while linebacker Nick Wiebe had six total tackles.

Defensive back Maxym Lavallee topped the Rouge et Or with 7.5 total tackles, while defensive lineman Jean-William Rouleau had a quarterback sack.

Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin picked up his 10 Vanier Cup win as the team’s head coach and increased his U Sports record for career head coaching wins to 202 with Saturday’s result.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory saw his team’s overall record conclude at 10-2, while the Rouge et Or close out at 11-1 overall. The Huskies went into the game rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 rankings, while the Rouge et Or were rated second.

HC Scott Flory saw his Huskies fall after a strong effort.

When Saturday’s game reached its conclusion, it was another lesson in heartbreak in the Vanier Cup for the Huskies. The Dogs were in last year’s Vanier Cup, and they fell 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The Huskies last won the Vanier Cup in 1998 downing the Concordia University Stingers 24-17 at the venue then known as the Skydome and now Rogers Place in Toronto. 

The Huskies have returned to the U Sports title game six times since dropping five of those contests by six or fewer points.

One of these years, you have to think the Huskies persistence will result in a U Sports championship. Still with how most of amateur sport in Canada isn’t followed that closely anymore by mainstream media outlets, it was big the Huskies could play well and make the Vanier Cup a showcase game before a national television audience.

The Huskies finish the 2022 campaign with a 10-2 overall record.

If Saturday’s Vanier Cup gets more people talking about U Sports football, that is a big victory for the sport as a whole.

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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Huskies versus Rouge et Or might deliver epic Vanier Cup

Teams go at it for first time since 2006 U Sports title game

Mason Nyhus threw for 2,759 yards in the regular season.

The 2022 Vanier Cup is a contest that is perfect for national television, and as a bonus, it will be on national TV.

On Saturday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will face the Universite Laval Rouge et Or in the championship game for U Sports football – the Vanier Cup. The two squads will battle at a sold out Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CBC).

The Huskies and Rouge et Or have a storied past playing four times in key games from 1999 to 2006 where Laval won three of those contests. The last encounter came in the Vanier Cup played at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus on November 25, 2006.

On a frigid day with a high of -19 C, a record crowd of 12,567 spectators turned out at Griffiths Stadium to see the Rouge et Or pull out a 13-8 victory over the host Huskies.

The weather conditions for Saturday’s Vanier Cup encounter will be a lot more pleasant than the clash back in 2006. Environment Canada is predicting a high of 9 C and sunny conditions for London, Ont., on game day. You couldn’t ask for better conditions on a November 26 day anywhere in Canada.

HC Scott Flory has guided the Huskies back to the Vanier Cup.

Thanks to those balmy conditions, both teams will be able to use their entire playbooks.

Both the Huskies and Rouge et Or enter the Vanier Cup with identical 10-1 overall records. 

The Huskies, who were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings, have won their last four straight, while the Rouge et Or, who were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings, are riding an eight-game winning streak.

This contest will feature the quarterbacks that finished first and second in passing yards in all of U Sports in Huskies signal caller Mason Nyhus and Rouge et Or pivot Arnaud Desjardins.

During the Huskies eight regular season games, Nyhus completed 197-of-298 passes for 2,759 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing three interceptions. His passing yardage total was tops in all of U Sports and set a new Huskies team record for most passing yards in one season.

Daniel Perry was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

The old Huskies record had been held by Nyhus’s former teammate in Kyle Siemens, who threw for 2,570 yards in the 2017 campaign. Nyhus is finishing his fifth and final year of U Sports eligibility and was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star on Thursday.

Nyhus also took home honours this season as a Canada West Conference all-star and Canada West player of the year.

In the eight regular season games the Rouge et Or played, Desjardins completed 195-of-267 passes for 2,555 yards and 20 touchdowns, while throwing four interceptions. His passing yardage total was second in all of U Sports.

In his second year of U Sports eligibility, Desjardins was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star.

One of Nyhus’s big targets was fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry, who was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. Perry made 41 catches for 602 yards and two touchdowns during the regular season.

Charlie Ringland, left, makes a pass knockdown for the Huskies.

Desjardins top target was second-year receiver Kevin Mital. During the regular season, Mital led all of U Sports in receptions (58), receiving yards (751) and receiving touchdowns (12).

He was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star and captured the Hec Crighton Trophy as the player of the year in U Sports.

On the ground, the Huskies are paced by second year running back Ryker Frank, who carried the ball 88 times for 562 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season. The Rouge et Or’s rushing yards were spread out through their running back stable, with third-year ball carrier Joanik Masse leading the team with 48 carries for 282 yards.

On defence, linebacker Lane Novak led the Huskies with 47.5 total tackles during the regular season to go with a quarterback sack and three pass breakups. Linebacker Nick Wiebe finished second on the Huskies with 40.5 total tackles to go along with a quarterback sack.

Ryker Frank led the Huskies in regular season rushing yards.

Huskies fourth-year defensive back Charlie Ringland was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star after collecting 24 total tackles and four pass breakups during the regular season.

The Rouge et Or defence is anchored by defensive lineman Jean-William Rouleau, who was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. Rouleau recorded 3.5 quarterback sacks and 9.5 total tackles during the regular season.

Second-year defensive back Cristophe Beaulieu was also named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star after recording 28.5 total tackles and six pass breakups in seven regular season appearances.

Fourth-year linebacker Alec Poirier was given a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star nod after posting 22 total tackles and two interceptions during the regular season.

On special teams, Huskies fourth-year place kicker David Solie was named a U Sports second team all-Canadian all-star. During the regular season, Solie connected on 17-of-21 field goal attempts with a long from 44 yards out, while making 23-of-24 converts.

David Solie (#15) got a U Sports all-Canadian all-star nod.

If the Rouge et Or need a key kick, they will look to third-year place kicker Vincent Blanchard. Blanchard hit 15-of-19 field goal attempts with a long from 36 yards out, while making all 28 of his converts.

Both Solie and Blanchard handle the punting duties for their respective teams too.

In the match up of head coaches, you have the legendary old veteran going against a relative young buck. The Rouge et Or are guided by 57-year-old Glen Constantin, who has been Laval’s head coach since December of 2000.

As the Rouge et Or head coach, Constantin has a career record of 201-38 including action in the regular season and post-season, and he became the all-time leader in career wins in U Sports this season. He surpassed the previous record of 196 wins, which was compiled by legendary Huskies head coach Brian Towriss.

Constantin’s record included a 156-25 mark in regular season play and a 55-13 mark in post-season action. He guided Laval to nine of its 10 Vanier Cup championships as head coach. When the Rouge et Or won their first Vanier Cup in 1999, Constantin was the defensive coordinator for the squad that season.

Nick Wiebe had 40.5 total tackles in the regular season.

The Huskies are guided at head coach by alum and former star offensive lineman of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 46-year-old Scott Flory. After retiring from the Alouettes in 2013, Flory returned to the Huskies squad he played for from 1994 to 1998. He served as the Huskies offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2016 and took over the role of head coach in 2017.

As Huskies head coach, Flory has put together a 33-17 career record including action in the regular season and post-season. Flory’s record includes a 24-14 mark in regular season play and a 9-3 mark in post-season action.

Before Flory became head coach, the last time the Huskies had won the Canada West Conference title and appeared in the Vanier Cup was 2006. Since Flory became head coach, the Huskies have won three Canada West titles and will play in their second Vanier Cup with Flory at the helm on Saturday.

The Huskies were in last year’s Vanier Cup, and they fell 27-21 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The Huskies hope to celebrate a lot of big plays on Saturday.

On paper, the Huskies and Rouge et Or have the potential to show U Sports football at its best. It is highly likely that their Vanier Cup encounter on Saturday will go down as an epic clash.

Now, they will confront each other for a prize only one can win.

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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Is the CFL a place you should or shouldn’t be?

Great Grey Cup game doesn’t erase uncertain feelings

Mosaic Stadium at pre-game of the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

Is the CFL good and feeling alright?

It feels like those who are overseeing the operations of Canada’s professional football circuit want you to believe the answer to that question is yes. The CFL has a solid backing of ultra-passionate fans who believe the answer to that question is yes, and the league doesn’t have any problems at all. Those fans believe the only problem the league has are negative people that want to talk bad about the CFL, and those negative people aren’t real fans.

One step removed from the ultra-passionate fans are passionate fans who have loved the league for a long time, but aren’t sure what their current relationship is with the circuit. Some of those fans that have been season ticket holders for decades are planning to not be ticket buyers in any form in 2023.

As the 2022 CFL season concluded with the playing of the Grey Cup game on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina with the Toronto Argonauts ousting the two-time defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23, it didn’t feel like the campaign finished off as the normal love in that it usually does.

 No matter what challenges the CFL deals with, it always seems the bad stuff is forgotten during Grey Cup week, and everyone bonds over the circuit’s great attributes. The Grey Cup is often a compelling contest, and when it is completed, fans come away thinking the CFL game is great no matter who won.

The CFL is this league that seems to survive through sheer stubbornness. While I myself have loved the league, the realist in me was surprised the circuit was able to survive financially after the 2020 campaign was completely cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

When the CFL returned in 2021, some of the festivities surrounding the Grey Cup played in Hamilton, Ont., were limited as there were still various restrictions in place across Canada to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bombers downed the host Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime before 26,324 spectators at Tim Hortons Field in that contest.

This year marked the first time the CFL could host a full out Grey Cup week since the shutdowns that occurred in 2020. The circuit also ran its first full regular season where each club played 18 games for the first time since 2019.

By all accounts, the Grey Cup Festival events that started last Tuesday and ran through to Sunday were a success. CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s state of the league address on Friday mainly received a warm reception. It looked the 2022 CFL campaign was going to conclude with the classic love in the Grey Cup week brings.

The Grey Cup game delivered with lots of thrills. At the start of the fourth quarter, Bombers returner Janarion Grant returned a punt 102 yards for a touchdown. The run back was the longest punt return in Grey Cup history.

The previous record was held by Terry Williams of the Calgary Stampeders, who returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown in his team’s 27-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2018 Grey Cup played in Edmonton.

The Bombers missed the extra point after Grant’s return score to make their lead at the time stand at 23-14. The Argonauts rallied for 10 straight points to win the game 24-23.

When Toronto closed the gap to 23-17, they had to finish the rest of the comeback behind backup quarterback Chad Kelly as starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson dislocated his thumb on his throwing hand.

Cody Fajardo (#7) slings a pass in the 2019 Labour Day Classic.

After the Argonauts got ahead 24-23, the Grey Cup ended with a wrinkle I had never seen happen in the countless number of football games I’ve watched live in person or on television. The contest ended with blocked field goals on back-to-back series in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

First Argos kicker Boris Bede attempted a 37-yard field goal attempting the increase his team’s 24-23 advantage, but his kick was blocked by Bombers defensive back Nick Hallett. The Bombers had the ball at their own 29 yard line with two minutes remaining in the frame after the block.

Bombers star quarterback Zach Collaros drove his team into position to attempt a 47-yard field goal to go back ahead on the scoreboard. Winnipeg kicker Marc Liegghio’s kick was blocked by Argonauts defensive lineman Robbie Smith.

The Argonauts got the ball on their own 19 yard line with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. They were able to bring the contest to an end with three kneel downs before going off to celebrate their one-point championship victory.

Even with the exciting finish, there was a visible sign that all was not good. Looking at the game on TV, it was easy to see Mosaic Stadium was about 40 per cent empty. A sellout attendance of 33,350 was announced by the CFL.

Way back on September 28, the CFL and the Roughriders jointly announced the Grey Cup game was a sellout. On Grey Cup game day on Sunday, you could have easily gone on to Ticketmaster’s website and bought tickets for the contest.

During the week leading up to events like the Grey Cup, it is common that tickets that are reserved for dignitaries that won’t be used for that purpose are released for sale to the public. Still, there seemed to be about 1,000 tickets on the Ticketmaster site that were coloured in blue meaning they had yet to be bought by someone in the public.

You could purchase upper deck tickets for $296.85 each or tickets five rows behind a team bench for $546.60 each.

There were a sizable number of tickets available in the resale red, which means people who originally purchased the tickets were trying to unload them.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the NFL had a practice of announcing an actual attendance figure of people who actually entered the stadium and a no show figure. The no show figure was for people who purchased tickets but didn’t go to the game.

It is unlikely a no show figure will ever be released for Sunday’s Grey Cup game.

In the 2000s, it was common for tickets anywhere in CFL stadiums to cost between $40 and $60. The focus was to get the average working person into the stadium.

At least for Saskatchewan Roughriders games this past season, about 70 per cent of the seats at Mosaic Stadium cost at least $100 per seat. In 2019 which was the CFL’s last year operating before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the ticket prices in the lower sections between the 20 yard lines was anywhere between $55 to $155 before fees and taxes in eight of the nine CFL stadiums.

Patrick Neufeld (#53) sets to make a block for the Bombers.

Price point is a big problem in the CFL. It is an even bigger problem in 2022, when inflation in Canada has seen seemingly every product in Canada increase in price. Travel costs are higher, and it seems taking a flight to travel anywhere in Canada via airlines becomes a bigger gamble by the day.

The CFL’s solid backing of ultra-passionate fans don’t seem to mind the increased costs. They see rising ticket costs as a tax increase you pay to show your loyalty to your team. If it means you go into debt to support your team, you do it.

Judging by how many people didn’t show up for the Grey Cup, it appears all the inflationary costs do actually matters to a sizable amount of people these days.

During the regular season, 3DownNation reported the Bombers led the CFL in attendance for the first time in league history averaging 28,652 fans per game. The Roughriders were second averaging 27,431 spectators per game according to 3DownNation, which the first time attendance dropped below 28,000 per contest since 2006.

The Bombers record for average regular season attendance was 30,637 spectators per contest in 2013. The Roughriders record for average regular season attendance was 37,503 spectators per contest in 2013.

The Argonauts had the worst average attendance during the 2022 regular season averaging 11,874 spectators per game. Believe it or not, the Argonauts record for average attendance per contest is 47,355 spectators per game set back in 1976.

It is a fact that attendance in the CFL isn’t what it used to be.

For myself, I often struggle with the notion that the CFL is a place for me when it comes to any form of a role. The last game I attended in person was the Labour Day Classic contest on September 1, 2019, when the host Roughriders downed the Bombers 19-17 at Mosaic Stadium.

I didn’t go to any CFL games in 2021 due to the fact I was covering the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades on a regular basis. The teams in the CJFL and WHL were doing frequent COVID-19 testing and it was still common for teams and leagues to be shut down due to positive tests. No matter what, those three teams elected to interact with the media in person.

I personally didn’t want to be the one that accidentally brought in a COVID-19 case to get the Hilltops, Raiders or Blades shutdown, which meant no CFL games for me. Since March of 2020, I’ve only been out to four big fun social gatherings that included a family wedding in September 2021 and a WWE house show this past October.

I was planning to go to a CFL game this season, but work related projects prevented that from happening.

In Saskatchewan, I felt the negativity when things go bad for the Roughriders has been way worse since they returned to play in 2021 than it had before the shutdowns in 2020. That had been a factor in killing the motivation to go to games even with having a couple of friends on the Roughriders roster. Cost also became a factor too this season as I’ve elected to spend money elsewhere to adjust to various price inflations that are currently seen in Canada.

I also feel the CFL isn’t as connected to the fans as it once was. It seems like the decision makers on that circuit are comfortable with getting by on the support of the ultra-passionate fans who will spend huge amounts of money on the league no questions asked.

Dan Clark calls signals for the Roughriders in 2019.

The rules and the CFL game itself are as awesome as always. This past week I caught the re-airing ESPN broadcast of the 1981 Grey Cup.

Famed NFL analyst Paul Maguire did the analyst work on the 1981 Grey Cup, and he went into great lengths about how great the various unique rules are for the Canadian game. It felt like the ESPN broadcast was an advertisement for the Canadian game.

No matter what happens in Canada or the world, it feels like the CFL will somehow always be around. The Grey Cup game has been awarded in Canada since 1909. Again by sheer stubbornness, the Canadian version of pro-football never goes away.

Will it have another golden age when it comes to fan interest? Being a realist, the jury is out on the answer to that question, but it doesn’t seem possible in the short term or midterm.

Johnson gets final salute at Hilltops team awards banquet

Konner Johnson was named the Hilltops most outstanding grad.

Konner Johnson received one last hurrah with the Saskatoon Hilltops during the team’s annual award banquet, which was held Saturday night at the Delta Marriott Hotel.

The weak side linebacker, who established himself as one of the storied CJFL club’s all-time greats, took home the Drs. Landa-Doig Award as the club’s most outstanding graduating player. During the Hilltops eight regular season contests, Johnson piled up 31 solo defensive tackles, 13 defensive tackle assists, four special teams solo tackles, two special teams tackle assists, two quarterback sacks, five pass knockdowns and four interceptions.

Individually, Johnson picked up a lot of accolades this season. The 22-year-old was named a PFC all-star, the PFC’s most outstanding linebacker, the PFC’s most outstanding defensive player, a CJFL first team all-Canadian all-star and the CJFL’s most outstanding defensive player. This past May and June, Johnson attended the training camp of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year went right tackle Davin Johnson. Davin was a true first year player having graduated from Saskatoon’s Walter Murray Collegiate this past June.

He became the Hilltops starting right tackle about halfway through this past season and started the Hilltops two post-season games. It is rare for any rookie straight out of high school to earn a starting spot as a rookie with the Hilltops, so Davin accomplished big things with the Hilltops in 2022.

Jaxon Funk was named the Hilltops top lineman.

Graduating centre Luciano Jolly took home the Blue and Gold Award for outstanding leadership and commitment to the team. Graduating receiver Dillan Heintz captured the Courtice Inspiration Award.

Defensive back Evan Mantyka, who also exhausted his CJFL eligibility, was given the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award. Middle linebacker Matt Wist, who has one year of CJFL eligibility remaining, claimed the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the team’s top linebacker.

Graduating defensive tackle Jaxon Funk captured the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman.

The Hilltops posted a 5-3 record in regular season play to finish second in the Prairie Football Conference. They advanced to the PFC final, where they dropped a 39-21 decision to the host Thunder in Regina at Mosaic Stadium back on October 30.

The Hilltops graduate 20 players from their 2022 roster including Connor Green, Matt Turple, Mantyka, Damon Dutton, Carter McLean, Steve Gilewicz, Tanner Szakacs, Konner Johnson, Jayson Kehler, Dylan McNutt, Mitchell Clarke, Jordan Bisson, Jolly, Aidan Connoly, Ethan Paslowski, Daylen Hartz, Funk, Presley Peterson, Heintz and Lachlan Horsley.

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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Huskies navigate X-Men buzz saw, capture Uteck Bowl 36-19

U of S advances to Vanier Cup for second straight year

Ryker Frank had 134 yards rushing for the Huskies on Saturday.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team played to the adage that winning is the only thing that matters in playoff time.

On Saturday at StFX Stadium in Antigonish, N.S., the Huskies ran into a buzz saw in the host St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in the Uteck Bowl. The two sides were deadlocked at 6-6 at halftime and 13-13 after three quarters in the U Sports semifinal clash.

The Huskies hit their stride in the fourth quarter and ultimately pulled out a solid 36-19 victory before 2,173 spectators. With the win, the Huskies (10-1) advance to the U Sport championship game – the Vanier Cup.

In that contest, the Huskies will face the Universite Laval Rouge et Or. On Saturday, the Rouge et Or downed the host University of Western Ontario Mustangs 27-20 at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont., to claim the other U Sports semifinal – the Mitchell Bowl. The Rouge et Or improved to 10-1 overall with the win, while the Mustangs finished the 2022 campaign with a 10-1 mark.

For Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin, the Mitchell Bowl victory was his 201^st career head coaching win including both regular season and post-season. Constantin, who has guided the Rouge et Or to nine Vanier Cup titles, is the only head coach in U Sports history to post 200 or more career wins in the sport of football.

The Vanier Cup will be played this coming Saturday at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ont. The game will start at 12 p.m. Saskatchewan time on that day and will be shown on CBC.

The X-Men finish the 2022 campaign with a 9-1 overall record. They also gained a measure of respect for the Atlantic University Sport’s football conference.

The last football champion from the AUS to make the Vanier Cup was the Saint Mary’s University Huskies in 2007. Playing without the services of injured star starting quarterback Erik Glavic, Saint Mary’s dropped a 28-14 decision in that year’s U Sports title game to the University of Manitoba Bisons at Rogers Stadium in Toronto.

Last year, the X-Men were smashed 61-6 by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl played at Western Alumni Stadium. The result matched what had happened in recent years to AUS champions in U Sports semifinal bowl games.

Daniel Perry had a 26-yard TD catch for the Huskies.

In 2019, the Acadia University Axemen were blanked 38-0 at home by the Universite de Montreal Carabins in the Uteck Bowl. In 2018, the X-Men were shutout 63-0 on the road by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Rouge et Or in the Uteck Bowl.

In 2017, the Axemen were stampeded 81-3 in their home park by the eventual Vanier Cup champion Mustangs in the Uteck Bowl. The AUS champion avoided getting blown out in 2020 because the U Sports semifinal bowls and Vanier Cup were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

While U of S Huskies head coach Scott Flory and the rest of his coaching staff were preaching to their players to not take anyone lightly, there are times that becomes humanly hard to do. You can be sure the Huskies players were aware of how badly AUS champions had fared in recent U Sports semifinal bowl games.

As the first three quarters of Saturday’s game progressed, you could see the belief in the eyes of the X-Men players grow. The Huskies played OK through the first three quarters, but they did make some uncharacteristic mistakes that those watching the contest had to think an upset was possible or was going to happen.

Huskies kicker David Solie gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the first quarter hitting a field goal from 32 yards out. X-Men kicker Ben Hadley responded with two field goals from 32 and 17 yards out respectively to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage. On the final play of the second quarter, Solie nailed a field goal from 36 yards out to even the score at 6-6.

The Huskies opened the third quarter with an impressive opening touchdown drive that covered 89 yards on 11 plays and ate the first six minutes and 10 seconds on the club to go ahead 13-6. The drive was capped by a two-yard touchdown run from star running back Ryker Frank.

With 2:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, X-Men quarterback Silas Fagnan ran in a major score from 19 yards out to force a 13-13 tie score.

The wheels began to fall off for the X-Men with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter as they elected to concede a safety due to bad field position to put the Huskies in front 15-13. The Huskies hit high gear at that point.

On their ensuing offensive series, star fifth-year quarterback Mason Nyhus hit second-year receiver Daniel Wiebe with a 41-yard pass and run touchdown that increased the Huskies advantage to 22-13. Wiebe’s touchdown catch completed a four-play, 75-yard drive that took only a minute and 45 seconds.

Mason Nyhus passed for 327 yards for the Huskies on Saturday.

Things got worse for the X-Men on their ensuing series, Fagnan was intercepted by Huskies second-year defensive back John Stoll, who returned the ball 26 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors a sound 29-13 edge.

The hosts did try to fight back. With 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Fagnan connected with receiver Ben Harrington on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The X-Men tried to go for a two-point conversion, but Fagnan’s pass fell incomplete causing the score to sit at 29-19 in favour of the Huskies.

The X-Men then kicked off to the Huskies in regular fashion. The visitors rounded out the game’s scoring, when Nyhus hit fourth-year receiver Daniel Perry with a 26-yard touchdown pass to cement the 36-19 final in favour of the Huskies.

Nyhus had a stellar day statistically completing 30-of-38 passes for 327 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was named the offensive player of the game.

Frank ran the ball 20 times for 134 yards to go with his major score to be the contest’s top ground gainer. He also caught three passes for 16 yards.

Wiebe led all receivers with six catches for 117 yards to go with his major through the air.

Fagnan completed 17-of-36 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown, while throwing two interceptions. He ran the ball six times for 50 yards.

X-Men receiver Zachary Houde led his team with five catches for 98 yards.

Defensive back Finn Marcotte-Cribb had an interception for the Huskies. Jonathan Leggett, William (Charlie) Parks and Charlie Ringland all had sacks for the visitors. Katley Joseph and Nick Wiebe tied for the Huskies team lead in tackles at four.

Stoll was named the defensive player of the game posting two total tackles to go with his interception return for a touchdown.

Defensive back Liam Wilde led the X-Men with 8.5 total tackles. Defensive lineman Alex Fedchun had a quarterback sack for the host side.

Overall, the Huskies deserve full credit for pulling out the win against an inspired X-Men side. The visitors persevered past the mistakes they did make.

Charlie Ringland (#3) had a sack for the Huskies on Saturday.

In football playoffs, it is all about winning and playing another day. The Huskies are going back the Vanier Cup for a second straight year.

Last year, the Huskies fell 27-21 in the Vanier Cup to the Mustangs at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec. In 2021, the Huskies were making their first Vanier Cup appearance since 2006.

This year, the Huskies are looking to take care of unfinished business and win the Vanier Cup for the first time since 1998. The battle in the Uteck Bowl should sharpen the focus for the Huskies players for the last contest they can possibly play in for the 2022 campaign.

All the Huskies need to do is win one more game to become the champions of U Sports, and it won’t matter if that win is a work of art or not.

Business trip ✅#HuskiePride | 📸 Bryan Kennedy pic.twitter.com/BanlS0pswH

— Huskie Football (@skhuskies) November 19, 2022

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Sidorov snipes OT win for Blades against Tigers

Saskatoon downs Medicine Hat 4-3 for fourth straight victory

Egor Sidorov (#19) celebrates scoring the OT winner for the Blades.

Egor Sidorov has developed a knack for being in the right place at the right time for the Saskatoon Blades.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the import right-winger was having kind of a quiet night as his club took on the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. In the third period, Sidorov started to put together consecutive dangerous offensive shifts as the two clubs went into overtime deadlocked at 3-3 in a WHL regular season clash.

At the 1:11 mark in the extra session, Sidorov was positioned in front of the Medicine Hat net, when he received a setup pass from Blades centre Jayden Wiens. Sidorov proceeded to dangle around a Tigers checker and sniped home a shot to the low left side of the Medicine Hat goal to deliver the host side to a 4-3 victory to the delight of 3,106 spectators.

Egor Sidorov leads the Blades with four game-winning goals.

The tally was Sidorov’s only goal of the contest, but it was his team leading fourth game winner of the season. While he missed 11 games due to injury, Sidorov, who stands 6-feet and weighs 180 pounds, is still one of the Blades top offensive threats.

He has at least one point in each of the eight games he has appeared in so far this season posting nine goals and nine assists to go with a plus-10 rating. The 18-year-old is following up on a solid rookie campaign in 2021-22 that saw him record 23 goals and 12 assists in 58 regular season games.

Since joining the Saskatoon side, Sidorov quickly became a fan favourite amongst the Blades faithful. The support has only increased as Sidorov decided to live in Saskatoon year round due to the political situation involving his home country of Belarus.

Egor Sidorov has 18 points in eight games for the Blades.

With Belarus supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, Sidorov is in a situation where he doesn’t know when he will ever return home. Sidorov had been with the Blades for six months when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine this past February.

Sidorov and the Blades organization know that the skilled forward runs the risk of not being able to return to Canada, if he does return home to Belarus. As a result, Sidorov’s billet family and the Blades team have become a much closer extended family.

When Sidorov is on the ice, it feels like all the worries outside the team environment go away. He wears his heart and enthusiasm for the game on his sleeve. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Sidorov has the most fun on the ice in pretty much every game he plays.

Jayden Wiens had an assist on the Blades OT winner.

Friday’s encounter with the Tigers ended up being one of those fun back-and-forth games that was made for television.

The teams played through a feeling out style and tight checking first period with the Blades holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Right-winger Brendan Lee had a good early chance to score for the Tigers, but his close in shot was turned away by a pad stop from Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick.

The Blades had their best chance to score inside the final minute of the first 20 minutes. While working the power play, Sidorov got the puck at the right boards, cut to the front of the net and fired a shot through a screen that was turned away by Tigers netminder Beckett Langkow.

Brendan Lee had a goal and an assist for the Tigers.

That late first period power play came due to the fact Tigers right-winger Brayden Boehm received a double minor for slew-footing. That infraction will trigger an automatic review for a possible suspension by the WHL office.

Business picked up offensively in the second.

The Tigers broke through at the 6:11 mark of the frame on an offensive zone rush. After entering the Saskatoon zone, Lee chip passed the puck past the Blades defence putting linemate Andrew Basha in the clear. Basha quickly buried his sixth of the season to put the visitors up 1-0.

Just 41 seconds later, the Blades evened the score at 1-1, when right-winger Vaughn Watterodt fired home a shot through a maze of players for his fourth goal of the season.

Blades RW Vaughn Watterodt, left, and Tigers RW Dallon Melin jockey.

At the 10-minute mark of the second, the Blades went ahead 2-1 on a great effort by Mikhail Volotovskii. Volotovskii got into the Medicine Hat zone on a partial break. The sophomore 17-year-old centre fended off Boehm and fired home to the top right corner of the Medicine Hat net to give the hosts a one-goal edge.

Just 10 second after that goal, Blades left-winger Justin Lies and Tigers defenceman Rhett Parsons engaged in a short fight. Both players threw about two punches at each other before falling to the ice.

Andrew Basha scored the Tigers first goal on Friday.

They were each given fighting majors and kind of surprising game misconducts. In that situation, that was a signal by the officials to both teams they weren’t going to tolerate any scraps that night.

With 2:18 remaining in the second, the Tigers were able to even the score at 2-2 thanks to a positive bounce play. Medicine Hat centre Tyler Mackenzie took a stride over his own blue-line and shot the puck into the Saskatoon zone.

The puck deflected off the boards behind the Saskatoon net out to Boehm, who was positioned in front of the Blades net after rushing into the offensive zone. Boehm quickly wired his eighth goal of the season past a handcuffed Chadwick to put the visitors on even terms.

Brandon Lisowsky had a goal and an assist for the Blades.

At the 1:27 mark of the third, the Blades went back in front 3-2 scoring on the power play as star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky one-time home a setup pass form linemate Trevor Wong.

The Tigers didn’t go away. Just 2:29 later, the visitors scored on the power play to even the score 3-3, when Lee one-timed home a setup pass from 17-year-old centre Oasiz Wiesblatt.

That set the stage for Sidorov to come through with his winner in overtime.

Chadwick made 16 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades, who improved to 15-4 with a fourth straight victory. Langkow turned away 21 shots to take the extra setback in net for the Tigers, whose record moved to 6-9-4-1.

Ethan Chadwick makes a glove save for the Blades.

Lisowsky had an assist to go along with his goal for a two-point night.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 7-12-2 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades are off until next Friday, when they host the Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

While the contest against the powerhouse Ice will be the Blades biggest challenge of the season, you can expect Sidorov will take that as another opportunity to get out on the ice and have fun soaking in the game he loves. His positive outlook helps give great levity to pressure packed situations during games.

The Blades celebrate their OT win on Friday.

If Sidorov keeps piling up the points, you have to believe NHL scouts are going to come calling. If Sidorov ends up with an NHL club, it would be an ultimate feel good moment.

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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Could Blades be sleeper team in 2022-23 WHL campaign?

The Blades celebrate a goal from Jayden Wiens (#9).

Are the Saskatoon Blades destined to be the bracket buster in 2022-23?

In what has been arguably the quietest development in the current hockey season, the Blades have floated into the top four of the WHL’s overall standings. “The Bridge City Bunch” has put together a stellar 14-4 record to this point in the season. On Tuesday, they cracked into the CHL’s Top 10 rankings in ninth spot.

During their last outing on Sunday, the Blades downed Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats 5-2, and the host Saskatoon side drew a season high 7,868 spectators to the SaskTel Centre. While Bedard was the big draw that attracted the crowd, the fans arrived at the rink to cheer on the Blades.

Sophomore Blades 17-year-old centre Lukas Hansen provided an unexpected highlight reel goal scoring play. He got the puck at the right side boards in the Regina zone, cut across the front of the Pats net and tucked home his third tally of the season to give the Blades a 3-0 lead with 2:58 remaining in the second period. Hansen’s tally held up as the winner.

Egor Sidorov has 17 points in seven games this season for the Blades.

The Blades are building up belief that they can make some noise this season. They return to action on Friday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers (6-9-3-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Before the campaign got underway, they were never really talked about as a team that could be one of the WHL’s better clubs.

Those talks focused around the Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, Kamloops Blazers, Portland Winterhawks and Seattle Thunderbirds. In the WHL’s Easter Conference, a decent amount of pre-season talk occurred around the Pats due to the presence of Bedard and the Moose Jaw Warriors, who were returning a strong core from last season. The Warriors roster got stronger on Monday, when the NHL’s New York Rangers reassigned 20-year-old centre Ryder Korczak to Moose Jaw.

It was easy to count out the Blades after they graduated star netminder Nolan Maier at the end of last season. Maier holds the WHL record for most career regular season goaltending victories at 122. For the five seasons Maier suited up for the Blades, they never had to worry about their situation in goal.

Austin Elliott (#31) holds the fort in goal for the Blades.

The 18-year-old duo of Ethan Chadwick and Austin Elliott have filled in admirably as Maier’s successors. Chadwick, who is in his second WHL season, has started nine games posting a 6-3 record, a 1.90 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and one shutout.

Elliott, who is in his rookie campaign, has started nine games posting an 8-1 record, a 1.55 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and one shutout. Elliott, who played last season in the SJHL with the Notre Dame Hounds, looked stellar making 32 saves in the Blades victory over the Pats on Sunday.

If the Blades continue to get goaltending like this or even goaltending where there is a drop to a team 2.50 goals against average and a team .920 save percentage, they have the potential to make some noise. Saskatoon had put together a good enough defence and forward groups to make the playoffs, but goaltending was the obvious question mark. The Blades have shown they are secure in net.

Trevor Wong leads the Blades in scoring with 22 points.

Defensively, the Blades are anchored by 20-year-old captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere. He missed the tail end of the 2021-22 regular season and the entire 2022 post-season due to shoulder surgery, but he has come back and leads the Blades in defenceman scoring with 20 points coming on five goals and 15 assists to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department.

Their sound starting six is rounded out by Tanner Molendyk, Blake Gustafson, Charlie Wright, Prince Albert product Marek Schneider and Ben Saunderson. Molendyk is De La Gorgendiere’s defensive partner and a 17-year-old who is expected to be selected in the next NHL Entry Draft. In 17 games with the Blades this season, Molendyk has seven assists and a plus-13 rating.

The forward group is a good one with the likes of Brandon Lisowsky, Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov, Josh Pillar, Conner Roulette, Jayden Wiens, Vaughn Watterodt, Tyler Parr, Rowan Calvert, Hansen, Jordan Keller and Justin Lies. Lisowsky, who is an 18-year-old left-winger, was selected in last July’s NHL Entry Draft and has eight goals, 12 assists and a plus-10 rating for the Blades so far this season.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere anchors the defence for the Blades.

Wong is a 19-year-old centre who has always had a sound offensive upside. He leads the Blades in scoring with 22 points coming off eight goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Sidorov is an import right-winger who is a fan favourite. He recently returned from injury and has eight goals, nine assists and a plus-10 rating in seven games.

Spencer Shugrue continues to be the energetic utility player that goes out and does whatever the Blades coaches ask of him.

Brennan Sonne, who is the Blades 35-year-old second year head coach, is showing he is really adept at managing a team, and his players improve as the season goes on. The Blades hit a home run by bringing former team hero and captain Wacey Rabbit back to the fold as an assistant coach. Blades general manager Colin Priestner has done a tremendous job of building the Blades current roster and has grown a tonne in his current role since taking it on during the off-season in 2016.

Of course, Prince Albert Raiders fans love to hate the Blades. The Raiders faithful is likely the one group already perched to take on a Rachel Phelps persona and gloat if the wheels fall of the Blades express or they don’t have a long playoff run.

The Blades mark a win at game’s end.

With that said, nothing is expected of the Blades from people outside the team this season, and their roster is positioned for the team to be good next year too. The Blades are playing with house money, so any success they have this season is a win.

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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