Valkyries continue to write great feel good story

Nine time WWCFL champs show sports at its best

The Valkyries celebrate with the WWCFL championship trophy.

The Saskatoon Valkyries have created a space where all feels right with the world.

Definitely, all feels right in the world of the powerhouse Western Women’s Canadian Football League club. The results on the field have certainly proven for that to be true.

On Sunday at Leibel Field in Regina, the Valkyries claimed their ninth WWCFL title downing their provincials rivals the Regina Riot 36-21 in the WWCFL Championship Game. The victory was the 33^rd in a row for the Saskatoon side that went 6-0 overall in 2024. The Valkyries last loss came way back on June 24, 2018 at Mosaic Stadium, when the host Riot claimed a 14-10 victory in that year’s WWCFL title game.

The Valkyries coaches pose with the WWCFL championship trophy.

For the second time in team history, the Valkyries have won four straight WWCFL titles. They took the league title in four straight seasons from 2011 to 2014, which were the first four campaigns of the WWCFL’s existence.

The Valkyries overcame a unique challenge in their current run of winning four consecutive WWCFL championships. The run started with a 25-3 WWCFL Championship Game victory over the Riot on June 29, 2019 at Mosaic Stadium.

Kelsey Murphy returns an interception for the Valkyries.

The 2020 and 2021 campaigns were lost due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. The Valkyries did manage to play a three-game exhibition series against the Riot in 2021 winning all three of those contests.

When the WWCFL returned to regular action, the title wins continued for the Valkyries. On June 25, 2022, the Valkyries downed the Manitoba Fearless 36-6 in the league title game at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Another WWCFL championship came on June 24, 2023 as the Valkyries blanked the Calgary Rage 40-0 in the league title contest held at Griffiths Stadium.

The roll kept going this past Sunday with the Valkyries most recent victory against the Riot.

Alex Wojcichowsky has been with the Valkyries since 2013.

Saskatoon’s success can be attributed to the togetherness of everyone on the club. In a current world where the word “division” has become the defining characteristic of society, the Valkyries provide a space where acceptance is the defining characteristic.

It is the place where the Christian Catholic, the person in a same sex relationship, the African-American, the individual from an Indigenous background, one with Asian cultural roots and various other defining cultures and characteristics all play together. On top of that, everyone becomes best friends and family.

Unfortunately in today’s world, it is becoming more common where some in those backgrounds don’t want you interacting with others outside of the group that defines your characteristics away from the game. In some spaces, those that do are considered very, very bad people.

Alex Eyolfson has played QB for the Valkyries since 2016.

The Valkyries provide the example of where sport can bring everyone together. The family feeling on the team is one of main things that keeps bringing a core group of players together to train during the times of the COVID-19 shutdowns when it wasn’t clear when the team would next play in a real game.

The storied Saskatoon club has hit a point in its history where players from the Valkyries inaugural campaign in 2011 are coaches with the club in co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marci Halseth, defensive line coach Beth Thompson and linebackers coach Beth Lalonde. Jaime Lammerding, who also an original Valkyries player, is on the team’s board of directors overseeing fundraising, and Rienna Rueve, who joined the Valkyries in their second campaign in 2012, is a defensive backs coach.

Emmarae Dale has suited up at MLB for the Valkyries since 2016.

The players that were once kid youngsters starting their first years after high school graduation are now veteran leaders. That includes Alex Wojcichowsky who has continuously been with the team since 2013 playing centre through most of that time and also serving for a short stint as a trainer.

The list of those who were once youngsters and are now veterans includes defensive back and kick returner Kelsey Murphy, who has played with the Valkyries since 2014, and receiver Reed Thorstad and left tackle Alyssa Funk who have both suited up with the Saskatoon side since 2015.

Haley Girolami has made big plays for the Valkyries since 2019.

The 2016 class of newcomers included quarterback Alex Eyolfson, receiver Ricki Obed and middle linebacker Emmarae Dale. These days, it is hard to imagine any of those seven players were ever rookies, because they’ve all be standouts and stars on the squad for some time.

Also, current physiotherapist Jae Gorgchuk and massage therapist Lakyn Biberdorf were rookie players on that 2016 squad.

 Running back Sarah Wright and O-line standout Lauren Ferguson came to the Valkyries in 2017, defensive back Danielle Girolami first suited up in 2018, while physical defensive end Danaye Holynski and receiver Haley Girolami came on board in 2019.

Jaimyn Mantyka became the Valkyries starting safety in 2023.

Those players have helped guide the way for the newcomers who have joined the Valkyries since 2021 including Jackie Semple-Dyck, Kaylin O’Neill, Lexi Beuker, Julia Smith, Kelli Young, Marissa Glanville, Caitlyn Spurr, Teagan Craig, Jaimyn Mantyka, Arden Kliewer, Kennedy Mann, Jacey Harris, Grace Farthing, Emry Halbgewachs, Sydney Schenn, Brenanna Allegretto, Mykayla Laroque, Kate Boyer, Mackenzie Young and Halle Hindmarsh and a host of other players.

The Valkyries also welcomed back veterans in 2024 who had past good runs with the team in defensive backs Shaylyn De Jong and Phelycia Black and Shae Dixon on the D-line.

Saskatoon has also benefitted from having stability at the head coach position. Jeff Yausie, who is also the long time defensive coordinator of the CJFL’s venerable Saskatoon Hilltops, was the Valkyries head coach from the team’s inception in 2011 through to 2016.

Teagan Craig made big plays as a rookie running back this season.

Pat Barry joined the Valkyries as a position coach in 2014 and has served as the team’s head coach since 2017. The continuity at head coach has allowed the family feeling culture on the Valkyries to continue and allows for consistency in the schemes and strategies the team uses on the field.

Also, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Wyatt Carleton usually gives some of the best pump up talks and speeches.

While there might seemingly be chaos in the world away from the game, the Valkyries continue to provide an uplifting spot for female players that want to continue or give tackle football a try. Another spinoff is a number of the Valkyries players give back coaching minor football in the community helping to bring their positive culture influence to that level of the game.

Rookie LB Jacey Harris enjoys her first WWCFL title win.

The Valkyries championship success on the field comes from all these numerous things taking place behind the scenes that builds a great forward momentum. When they capture another WWCFL championship, it really does feel for a short time in that moment that all is right with the world.

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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Love for the game makes Valkyries go

Family feeling and championships result from football bond

The Valkyries celebrate a Grace McCorriston (#82) TD.

The Saskatoon Valkyries love the game of football, and the game has loved them back.

The base commonalty between everyone on Saskatoon’s storied Western Women’s Canadian Football League team is that they love the game. That has allowed players from all sorts of backgrounds to be able to come together.

Ultimately through that initial bond of the love for the game, the family atmosphere on the team developed.

On Saturday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Valkyries completed a perfect 7-0 season taking the WWCFL Championship Game 36-6 over the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Fearless. The win marked the seventh time the Valkyries have won the WWCFL title dating back to the team’s and the league’s inaugural season in 2011.

The Valkyries celebrate winning their seventh WWCFL title.

Actually, the last time the Valkyries lost a game was way back on June 24, 2018, when they fell 14-10 to the Riot in Regina at Mosaic Stadium in that year’s WWCFL title game. Since that setback, the Valkyries have won 19 straight games including one contest by forfeit.

The winning streak included capturing the WWCFL crown on June 29, 2019 with a 25-3 victory over the Riot in Regina at Mosaic Stadium. The Valkyries dedicated that perfect 9-0 season to defensive position coach Justin Filteau, who passed away in a plane crash on June 1, 2019 with that campaign still in progress.

Jaime Lammerding (#21) carries the Valkyries flag to the field.

Filteau’s parents in father, Ron and mother, Nancy, took part in the coin toss before the Valkyries WWCFL title winning game on Saturday and were presented with Justin’s championship ring from 2019.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world, the 2020 and 2021 WWCFL campaigns were cancelled. The Valkyries were able to take the field in 2021 winning every outing in a three-game exhibition series against the Riot.

This season the Valkyries returned to the field with a great mix of veterans and first and second year players. The second-year players all got their first taste playing for the squad in the 2021 exhibition series against the Riot.

Ashley Viklund (#65) locks up on a block for the Valkyries.

The fact that so many veterans returned after two years of not playing an actual regular season or post-season games speaks highly to the culture on the team. On top of loving the game, the family atmosphere is so good you couldn’t imagine not having the teammates, coaches and staff on the Valkyries in your life.

For the newcomers that are in their first and second years, they found an atmosphere that was so welcoming they immediately felt a sense of belonging. It is another aspect that adds to the Valkyries machine and allows it to go.

The atmosphere is so good on the Valkyries that you see someone like star defensive tackle Jaime Lammerding return to the field year after year playing a position that is taxing physically. She took the field with the Valkyries in their first season back in 2011.

Rienna Rueve punts the ball for the Valkyries.

When she let it be known the 2022 campaign would be her last ride season as a player, the Valkyries made sure she went out on a high note. Lammerding has added the most to the Valkyries upbeat culture over the years.

Away from the field, she took up a leadership role serving as president of the WWCFL taking on countless volunteer hours that go with that role.

Linebacker Beth Lalonde has been with the Valkyries since their inaugural season and would have played in 2022 had it not been for an injury she sustained before the start of the regular season. She still remained with the team helping coach the linebackers throughout the season.

Another hero that has kept the Valkyries motoring along behind the scenes has been Michelle Duchene, who help found the team and has been the club’s general manager since its inception. Usually, someone in a volunteer leadership role like Duchene holds stays in that spot for about five years before taking a break.

Emmarae Dale (#45) and Danaye Holynski (#55) team on a tackle.

With the Valkyries, no one has to worry about who is at the helm, because Duchene has always been there. A lot of the family feeling with the team starts there with her.

Players who were once rivals have been adopted into the Valkyries family like former Riot members in left guard Ashley Vikland and receiver Rachelle Smith. Life brought Vikland to Saskatoon in 2018 and the Smith to “The Bridge City” in 2019.

Vikland was a member of two WWCFL title winning teams with the Riot, and Smith was with the Regina side for all three of their WWCFL championships.

When they came to the Valkyries, it seemed like they played their entire football lives with the team earning two more WWCFL championships in 2019 and 2022.

Alex Eyolfson had arguably her best season with the Valkyries.

Like Lammerding, Vikland has elected to hang up the cleats on a stellar playing career following the completion of the 2022 campaign.

Veteran quarterback Alex Eyolfson radiates a vibe that makes you feel like everything is going to be alright even if things go wrong. She arguably had her best season guiding an offence that was veteran heavy with players like receivers Reed Thorstad, Ricki Obed, left tackle Alyssa Funk, centre Alex Wojcichowsky, right tackle Betsy Mawdsley, right guard Lauren Ferguson and running back Sarah Wright.

Saskatoon got a lot of key performances from big play third year receiver in Haley Girolami.

All-time great Valkyries running back Sam Matheson suffered a season ending knee injury in the team’s second regular season game but remained with the squad helping coach the running backs.

Valkyries LB Sydney Schenn (#57) pressures the quarterback.

The defence was led by the veteran presence of middle linebacker Emmarae Dale along with Lammerding. The defensive secondary got a boost when Rienna Rueve, who has been with the club since 2012, elected to return to the lineup as a player after two games as injuries started to add up. Rueve handled punting duties too upon her return.

Ninth-year defensive back Shaylyn De Jong also helped out in the coaching department after her season came to an end with a leg injury.

Receiver Kelsey Murphy, who has been with the Valkyries since 2014, and fourth year pass catcher Danielle Girolami bolstered the defensive playing safety and defensive halfback respectively.

Sarah Wright breaks downfield on a long run.

Defensive end Danaye Holynski and linebacker Jamie Wingate, who both joined the Valkyries in the 2019 WWCFL championship season, solidified star status with the big plays they made in 2022.

The first and second year players brought spunk and a kick butt youthful energy to the team. The second year players that brought spark included defensive back Makayla Sader, defensive end Arden Kliewer, running back and kicker Drew Lundquist and receiver and kicker Grace McCorriston.

Defensive back Jackie Semple-Dyck, Grace Farthing on the defensive line, linebackers Kiara Willick and Sydney Schenn and offensive guard Breanna Allgretto made immediate big impacts on the team as rookies.

About eight first or second years players on average usually started on defence as injuries piled up on that side of the ball this past season.

The Valkyries start celebrating their WWCFL championship win.

In practice under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff led by head coach Pat Barry, defensive coordinator Wyatt Carleton and offensive coordinator Caleb Dueck, the Valkyries efficiently get a tonne of work done in practices and video sessions.

When no one is watching, the Valkyries are doing what they need to do to get better and the results show up on the field.

Overall, the Valkyries are able to go from the simple fact that they love the game of football. From there, the family atmosphere and the stellar play on the field comes around naturally.

The Valkyries have fun with the WWCFL championship trophy.

Even when world events beyond anyone’s control causes stoppages and prevents championship games from being played for a couple of years, the Valkyries come back better than ever.

The memories and culture that was in place before those stoppages was remembered and helped the Valkyries move forward like no time had passed when everything started rolling again.

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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Wingate rises up to be key playmaker on Valkyries defence

Saskatoon to host Storm in WWCFL semifinal

Jamie Wingate (#47) is a playmaker on defence for the Valkyries.

Jamie Wingate is filling a need for the Saskatoon Valkyries that wasn’t seen at the start of the season.

When the 2022 WWCFL campaign began, the 25-year-old alumna of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School was penciled in as a starter at linebacker for the Valkyries. Wingate was entering her third season with the team and second season as a starter.

She didn’t expect to be veteran presence in the Valkyries linebacker corps. That was the role Wingate found herself in as the injury bug started taking chunks out of the Valkyries defensive unit.

Star outside linebacker Beth Lalonde, who has played for the Valkyries since their inaugural season in 2011, was injured before the 2022 campaign began and has yet to dress for a game. Star middle linebacker Emmarae Dale was injured during the Valkyries second game of the season and has been kept off the field until returning to practice this week.

Star defensive back Shay De Jong is still out with a leg injury and various other players have been in and out the Valkyries defence with various dings.

Wingate along with defensive tackle Jaime Lammerding, who has been with the Valkyries since their inaugural season in 2022, have often been the two to offer the veteran presence on a defence that has usually consisted of first or second year players or veterans that have converted over from offence.

“That was kind of a shock for me,” said Wingate, who has mainly played middle linebacker as the injuries piled up. “I’m still learning every practice and every game too.

“We’ve had so many injuries just hit every position. Everyone just has to work together, and we just try to make it as best as we can with who we have on the field. Obviously, we can tell we are missing them (the injured defensive players).

Jamie Wingate has taken her game to a higher level.

“That is one thing I feel like this year we did great at is just like overcoming those things and being able to still come together as a team and still pull off a ‘W’ and everything.”

Even with the constant changes on defence, the Valkyries finished the WWCFL regular season with a 4-0 record. 

After the Winnipeg Wolfpack forfeited their WWCFL quarter-final to the Saskatoon side, the Valkyries (5-0 overall) are set to host a WWCFL semifinal against the Edmonton Storm (3-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

The other WWCFL semifinal takes plays on Saturday in Calgary as the host Rage (3-1) take on the Winnipeg based Manitoba Fearless (4-1 overall). The Fearless downed the Regina Riot 20-13 in a WWCFL quarter-final contest held this past Sunday in Winnipeg.

The semifinal winners advance to the WWCFL champion game slated for Saturday, June 25 at 7 p.m. at SMF Field.

Wingate played a big role helping the Valkyries close their regular season schedule winning both games of a home-and-home series against the Riot. On May 28 at SMF Field, Wingate made an interception and had two total tackles helping the Valkyries post a 46-7 victory.

On June 4 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Wingate piled up 8.5 total tackles helping the Valkyries post a 33-14 victory over the Riot.

Valkyries head coach Pat Barry said Wingate has helped the Valkyries defence stay steady through adversity.

Jamie Wingate has taken on a leadership role on defence.

“When you think what our linebacking corps was going to look like at the beginning of the year, it is amazing with what Jamie (Wingate) has done for us,” said Barry. “She has stepped up.

“She has been a leader. She has so much fun out here. She is really starting to get it, and she is playing so well.

“It is something that is super exciting to how she has been for our linebacking corps.”

During her final two years of high school at Holy Cross, Wingate played in the Rush high school female flag league. Valkyries quarterback Alex Eyolfson was her teammate on those flag teams at Holy Cross.

Wingate played hockey, basketball and volleyball growing up, and basketball became her main sport at Holy Cross. Eyolfson and Wingate were teammates on the Holy Cross Crusaders senior girls’ basketball team and won a 5A Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association title in 2015.

Following her graduation from Holy Cross in 2015, Wingate played for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers Women’s Basketball team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association ranks for a season and a half before deciding to end her competitive playing career.

She continues to coach basketball both at Holy Cross and in Saskatchewan’s provincial team system.

While she was coaching, Wingate wanted to get back into playing a sport competitively, but she didn’t want play through a sport that had a lengthy season. 

With the Valkyries playing all their games usually inside a three-month time period, Wingate decided to give tackle football a try. She had always wanted to play with the Valkyries since her high school days.

Jamie Wingate, right, loves the physical aspect of football.

Wingate joined the Valkyries after they had already played their first game in the 2019 season. She saw action in two regular season games and all of the team’s playoff contests helping them win the WWCFL title.

Wingate took to the sport immediately and enjoyed the fact everyone on the Valkyries were best friends. She found the contact side of the game fun too.

“Hitting people is very nice,” said Wingate. “You can ask anyone who played basketball against me or with me they know I’m a very aggressive person.

“I feel like it was just very suiting for my temperament. That is the one thing I like too is basically I don’t get in trouble for any of the stuff that I used to do in other sports that I would get in trouble for. It is also different than any other sport that I’ve played as well.”

During the second half of that 2019 season, Wingate remembers she tried to be there to help her teammates emotionally after defensive position coach Justin Filteau died in a plane crash on June 1 of that year. 

She was proud her team was able to win the WWCFL title that season after dedicating that campaign to Filteau’s memory.

Beating the host Riot 25-3 in the title game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on June 29, 2019 will always be a highlight for Wingate.

“Being there with everyone was like super awesome,” said Wingate. “It was like great just like being on the Mosaic Field.

Jamie Wingate is good reading opposing offences.

“Just to have that experience was crazy to me. With Alex Eyolfson on the team, me and her we’ve won provincials and stuff in basketball. To be in a big CFL stadium like that was crazy, and the competition was really good too.

“It was just like a totally different game honestly than any other games that we played.”

Following the 2019 campaign, the 2020 and the 2021 WWCFL seasons were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. The Valkyries managed to get on the field in 2021 playing a three-game exhibition series against the Riot winning every one of those contests.

In the second game of that series, Wingate returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in a 42-7 victory at SMF Field on July 16, 2021.

Barry said Wingate has improved a lot since she first joined the Valkyries. When she first game to the team, Barry said the coaches through she would be a great fit at linebacker.

“She is a big fearless and physical athlete,” said Barry. “That is sort of the definition of linebacker.

“That is why she excels in that position.”

Wingate is looking forward to play the Storm on Sunday. When the regular season came to a close, Wingate said you could feel the level of play in practice has gone up a notch now that the playoff are here.

Jamie Wingate (#47) and the Valkyries aim for playoff success.

“It just seems like our intensity is up, and we’re really trying to focus and get everything down and make sure that we’re prepared for this game,” said Wingate. “Another big thing is like we’re not thinking about what is after this.

“We’re really focusing down on the team ahead of us and making sure we have them under control. Once we have that handled, then we can move on to the next team. It will be good.

“With the playoffs, obviously, we are a little nervous, but hopefully, we will be able to shake it off and take it to them.”

Former Valkyries star Chan makes homecoming with Storm

Ehjae Chan (#24) celebrates an interception in 2019.

Sunday’s WWCFL semifinal game at Saskatoon Minor Football Field will be a homecoming for Ehjae Chan.

Chan will be playing for the visiting Edmonton Storm when they take on the host Saskatoon Valkyries at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Before joining the Storm, Chan starred at linebacker and defensive back for the Valkyries for six seasons from 2014 to 2019 helping them win three WWCFL titles in 2014, 2016 and 2019.

Chan had an interception in the 2016 WWCFL Championship game when the Valkyries hammered the Storm 81-6 at the University of Lethbridge Community Stadium in Lethbridge, Alta.

In the 2019 WWCFL Championship game, Chan recorded two interceptions and three tackles helping the Valkyries down the host Regina Riot 25-3 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The Valkyries dedicated that 2019 campaign to the memory of defensive position coach Justin Filteau, who passed away in a plane crash before Saskatoon’s final regular season game.

Filteau was on Chan’s mind, when she took part in a large post-game media scrum.

“This feels unreal, especially with everything that has happened this year, the adversity our team has experienced and overcome on this field,” said Chan. “It means so much like more than words can even express.

“For us to be here to have played in this game and pulled through, we really felt coach Filteau here today. This game was 100 per cent for him. I think for us it just felt fitting.”

Chan moved to Edmonton after the 2019 campaign came to a close. She is helping coach minor football in the Alberta capital along with returning to action and playing for the Storm this season.

Ehjae Chan (#24) celebrates the Valkyries 2019 WWCFL title win.

No matter where life takes her, she will always be part of the Valkyries family.

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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Valkyries win away from first place finish in conference

Provincial rivals Riot stand in the way of top spot

Veteran Valkyries DT Jaime Lammerding (#21) enjoys playing the Riot.

When Jaime Lammerding first suited up for the Saskatoon Valkyries in the team’s inaugural season in 2011, she never expected to be playing in provincial rivalry games against the Regina Riot 11 years later.

“I don’t know if I ever thought quite that far ahead,” said Lammerding, who is the Valkyries veteran star defensive tackle. “I always knew that I would play for a few years, and eventually I would kind of be done.

“This is going to be it for me. This is going to be the last year.”

If this truly ends up being Lammerding’s last year, the upcoming clash with the Riot has that familiar big game feeling. On Saturday, the Valkyries (2-0) and Riot (1-1) are slated to go at it in a WWCFL regular season clash at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. If the Valkyries pull out a win in that contest, they will lock up a first place finish in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference.

If the Riot wins, the Valkyries will have a second chance to lock up first place, when they go at it again with the Regina side on Saturday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. That June 4 encounter closes the respective regular season schedule for both sides.

“Playing Regina is always a focal point of our season, because they are our provincial rivals,” said Barry. “They are always well coached.

“We look forward to it. It is always a challenge for us, and they pose some problems for us. We have to make sure we are ready for it.”

Emmarae Dale (#45) anchors the Valkyries defence.

Lammerding along with linebacker Beth (Thomson) Lalonde are the only two players that have taken the field for the Valkyries from the team’s inaugural campaign in 2011 to the present. Even after all these years, Lammerding said the excitement and anticipation of playing the Riot is still there.

Still, there are signs time is marching on. Former Riot star players Claire Dore, Shelby Moran, Adrienne Zuck and Katie Hungle are all assistant coaches with the Regina side now.

Star receiver Alex Kowalski is the longest tenured player on a relatively younger Riot side with nine years of experience with the team. Jessie Noname on the defensive line is the second most tenured player with the Riot with eight years of experience playing with the club.

The Riot are able to lean on a few other standout veterans in defensive back Ashley Clayton, Hailee Raffey on the offensive line and Kyla Krenbrink at receiver.

“It is different now,” said Lammerding. “There are not as many people who started there as there was anymore, but there are still familiar faces.

“I think we all get excited to play each other – that battle of Saskatchewan, that classic play a game between Saskatoon and Regina. Everybody gets excited for it.”

The Valkyries have their share of first and second year players too. With that noted, Saskatoon still has a strong presence of standout veterans.

Sarah Wright is a steady power running back for the Valkyries.

The offence include star starting quarterback Alex Eyolfson, star receiver and backup quarterback Reed Thorstad and power running back Sarah Wright and sure handed pass catchers Haley Girolami, Ricki Obed and Rachelle Smith.

The offensive line is anchored by left tackle Alyssa Funk, right tackle Betsy Mawdsley, left guard Ashley Viklund, right guard Lauren Ferguson and centre Alex Wojcichowsky.

Smith and Viklund were also former members of the Riot.

Defensively, the Valkyries are anchored by star middle linebacker Emmarae Dale and third year defensive end Danaye Holynski to go along with long time contributions of Lammerding and Lalonde.

Barry said the Valkyries are fortunate that Lammerding and Lalonde just keep going.

“Those two athletes, like they are so special,” said Barry. “Talking about ‘Dinger,’ I’m just so proud to be her coach.

“She is such a great leader. She is such a positive person. She is such a great role model for all of our athletes and for everyone in our league.”

If the Valkyries lock up first place in the Prairie Conference, they will have home field advantage through the entire WWCFL playoffs. Saskatoon hosts the WWCFL championship game on June 25 with an expected 1 p.m. start time.

The WWCFL campaigns in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the Valkyries and Riot did play a three game exhibition series in 2021. The Valkyries won the WWCFL title the last time it was contested in 2019.

Danaye Holynksi makes a tonne of plays at defensive end.

In order to finish first this season, Lammerding said her squad has to focus on the task at hand in playing the Riot and the ups and downs that will come in that contest. She expects the Riot will make their share of big plays in the upcoming encounters.

“Football is one of those games you never know what is going to happen,” said Lammerding. “It could come down to one play.

“It could come down to three or four plays in a game. People can surprise you. Games can surprise you.

“You can never go into anything expecting anything. You just have to play it by ear and do what you can to make sure you are successful at the end.”

Valkyries to honour alums and first head coach Yausie

Jeff Yausie, left, on the Valkyries sideline in May 2016.

The Saskatoon Valkyries will have some familiar faces in the stands for their final regular season home game.

When the Valkyries host the Regina Riot at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, they will be honouring the alumnae of the club as well as the team’s founders and first head coach in Jeff Yausie. Yausie guided the Valkyries as their head coach from the squads inaugural season in 2011 to 2016, which included five WWCFL championship wins in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

He remained with the Valkyries for one more campaign in 2017 as defensive coordinator.

“I think it is always great to have our alumnae come out and be able to show them kind of what they’ve built and how far we’ve come from that and that we’re still succeeding,” said star defensive tackle Jaime Lammerding, who has played for the Valkyries since their inaugural campaign. “Jeff (Yausie) of course was here from the very, very beginning.

“I don’t think we would have been anywhere near where we are today, if it wasn’t for him. To kind of be able to showcase what he built I think is great.”

Team Canada loaded with Valkyries and Riot

Alyssa Funk (#56) made Canada’s National Women’s Football Team.

The Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot will have sizable representation on Football Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Football Canada announced its National Women’s Team roster this past Friday. The main roster includes 12 members of the Valkyries along with one player on the reserve list, and the Riot had seven players crack the main roster along with one player on the reserve list.

The Valkyries players that cracked the main roster include Emmarae Dale (MLB), Lauren Ferguson (OL), Alyssa Funk (OL), Haley Girolami (R), Danaye Holynski (DL), Arden Kliewer (DL), Beth Lalonde (LB), Betsy Mawdsley (OL), Ricki Obed (R), Reed Thorstad (QB/R), Ashley Viklund (OL) and Sarah Wright (RB).

Valkyries all-time great running back Sam Matheson, who is nursing an injury, is on the reserve list.

The Riot players that made the main roster include Rebekah Hove (RB), Alex Kowalski (R), Kasey McCombs (RB), Quinn Petrinchuk (DL), Hailee Raffey (OL), Shanelle Rioux (R) and Rae-Lynn Schaffer (LB). Rioux is the Riot’s starting quarterback.

Christina Andrews, who play on the Riot’s defensive line, was named to the reserve list.

Canada’s National Women’s Team will take part in the International Federation of American Football’s Women’s World Championship, which will run July 28 to August 8 in Vantaa, Finland. The United States enters the tournament as defending champions, and teams will be there from Finland, Mexico, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Great Britain.

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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Valkyries expect tough battle with Riot in WWCFL final

The Valkyries and Riot will tangle for the WWCFL title.

    Beth Lalonde might know better than anyone that past results can be thrown out the window, when her Saskatoon Valkyries face their archrivals the Regina Riot in the post-season.

    For the second straight year, the two squads will square off in the championship game of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League. This year’s contest is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

    Lalonde is a veteran linebacker who has been a career member of the Valkyries since the club first hit the field in 2011. She expects Saturday’s game to be another battle.

    “Last year, we were the underdogs and fighting for the win,” said Lalonde. “It was a really good championship game.

    “Now, it has kind of switched. We have the two (head-to-head) wins under our belt, and we just want to get that last one just to show them that we were the dominant team this year. We want to go out with the win.”

Mallory Starkey (#7) is a key veteran for the Riot.

    Last year, the Riot downed the Valkyries 14-10 in the WWCFL final in that same venue. It marked the second straight year Regina claimed the WWCFL title.

    The Valkyries last captured the league crown in 2016.

    Last season, the Riot entered the championship game as the favourites and completed the 2018 campaign with a 7-0 overall record with the victory in the league final.

    The Valkyries finished with a 4-3 overall mark, and all three of those losses came to the Riot.

    This season, the Valkyries are pegged as favourites posting a 7-0 overall record heading into the title game. The Riot are 3-3 overall and won two straight playoff games on the road to get to the final.

Saskatoon claimed both head-to-head meeting posting a 38-13 victory at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on May 11 and a 22-7 triumph on June 2 in Regina.

Sam Matheson (#22) is back in top gear for the Valkyries.

    Lalonde expects the Riot will enter Saturday’s clash with a huge boost in confidence.

    “Playing Regina is always a tough game,” said Lalonde. “We know they are a tough team.

    “They are hungry for this win. They have those two wins under their belt. They are going hard, and they are at home.

    “They are going to have new plays in. They are going to have defensive strategies that we haven’t seen yet. We just have to react and play and listen to our coaches.”

    Valkyries head coach Pat Barry said Riot like his squad have a shuffled deck with rookies mixed in with established veterans.

    The sideline boss noted the Riot still have veteran star quarterback Aimee Kowalski, who is a career member of the Regina club since it was formed in 2011. Barry said Kowalski is finding her groove with her new teammates.

Aimee Kowalski continues to lead the Riot at quarterback.

    “I’ve watched their last couple of games,” said Barry. “They are doing a lot of things well.

    “It looks like their quarterback, who is an excellent quarterback in Aimee (Kowalski), is starting to throw on time. She is starting to trust her receivers. She is an excellent quarterback.

    “That is something that is a concern for us. Defensively, they have a lot of real experienced people who have won a lot. We have to be aware of that.”

    Both teams have their slate of star players who have been to this point many times before. For the Riot, that list includes Kowalski, her younger sister and receiver Alex Kowalski, running back Mallory Starkey, Taline Blakley on the offensive line, linebacker Adrienne Zuck and Katie Hungle on the defensive line.

    The Valkyries counter with quarterback duo of Alex Eyolfson and Reed Thorstad, running back Samantha Matheson, left tackle Alyssa Funk, Lalonde, linebacker Emmarae Dale and Jaime Lammerding on the defensive line.

Alex Eyolfson (#15) will aim to fire lazers downfield for the Valkyries.

    Receiver Kelsey Murphy, who is in her sixth season with the Valkyries, said there is lots of familiarity on both sides due to the head-to-head clashes and from the fact players on both sides have been teammates on the Saskatchewan provincial team and Canada’s national team program.

    “It is terrible to go up against them in the game, but it is actually really nice to see them,” said Murphy. “Some people will even help you up, when you are down like after they push you over.

    “Once the whistle blows, you are friends again. With some of them, you just don’t have that yet. They are just enemies all the time.”

Valkyries LB Beth Lalonde (#2) meets Riot R Alex Kowalski.

    While there are a plenty of veterans on the Riot side that Murphy knows, she said the Regina club is gaining more and more newcomers she doesn’t know.

    Still, Murphy expects Saturday’s came to be the most intense encounter of the season between the two sides.

    “I think it will be a lot tougher,” said Murphy. “It is the championship game.

    “They’ve had two wins. We’ve beaten them twice, so that is definitely going to like fuel them. It will be tougher, but we’re working harder too.”

    The Valkyries have their share of emotional motivation heading into the WWCFL title game. The most obvious is playing for their late defensive position coach Justin Filteau, who passed away in a plane crash on June 1.

Sarah Wright wants to experience her first WWCFL title win.

    Filteau joined the Valkyries coaching staff in 2017.
    Saskatoon wants to reclaim the WWCFL title for the first time since 2016, and a large number of players on the Valkyries have never experienced a league title win.

    One of those players is third-year running back Sarah Wright, who joined the team in 2017 and vaulted to standout status.

    “I really want a ring,” said Wright. “All the girls are super excited to help some of the rookies as well and the people that haven’t been on a winning team before.

    “They are all willing to help us out. I think we are going to go for it pretty hard.”

    Murphy would love to see the Valkyries players that have never experienced a WWCFL title win gain that feeling on Saturday.

    “We want to get it for them, and we want to get it for (Justin) Filteau,” said Murphy. “For those two reasons, we are just going to work even harder.

    “There are so many people on this team now who haven’t gotten a ring. We want to bring that home for them.”

Blades pick two defencemen in CHL Import Draft

    The Saskatoon Blades used the CHL Import Draft to solidify their back end.

    On Thursday, the Blades selected two blue-liners from the Czech Republic in the Import Draft. In the first round and 55^th overall, the Blades picked 19-year-old Libor Zabransky.

    In the second round and 115^th overall, the Blades selected Radek Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December.

    Zabransky, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 190 pounds, started last season with the Kelowna Rockets appearing in 35 regular season games posting two goals, seven assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

    Due to have a surplus of defencemen, the Rockets released Zabransky on Jan. 12 just a couple of days after the WHL’s trade deadline. Zabransky joined the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League posting four goals, 12 assists and a minus-eight rating in 30 regular season games.

    The Blades were able to draft Zabransky due to the fact he was released by the Rockets.

    In 2017-18, Zabransky played his first season season in the WHL for the Rockets appear in all of the team’s 72 regular season games posting two goals, 17 assists and a plus-seven rating.

    Kucerik, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 209 pounds, was captain of the HC Kometa Brno under-19 team last season. With that squad, Kucerik appeared in 43 regular season games posting six goals, 17 assists and a plus-nine rating.

    The Blades confirmed that their two imports from last season in Norwegian left-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen and Swedish defenceman Emil Malysjev won’t be back with the team this year.

    Last season, Roykas-Marthinsen appeared in 62 regular season games with the Blades posting 13 goals, 16 assists and a plus-12 rating. He was selected in the seventh round and 213^th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and went unsigned by the team.

    Roykas-Marthinsen, who is entering his overage season, is looking to play somewhere in the professional ranks this coming season.

    As a 17-year-old rookie last season, Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, turned heads appearing in 63 regular season games recording three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating.

    After going unselected in the NHL Entry Draft, Malysjev informed the Blades he won’t be returning for his 18-year-old season, and he is electing to play in Sweden.

Raiders take Russian forward in CHL Import Draft

    The Prince Albert Raiders added some speed and skill making one selection in the CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round with the 60^th overall pick, the Raiders selected 17-year-old Russian forward Ivan Kechkin. Kechkin, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 143 pounds, played for the Rus Moskva under-17 and under-18 teams last season.

    With the under-17 team, Kechkin appeared in 23 regular season games collecting six goals and nine assists. With the under-18 team, he skated in 15 regular season games posting six goals and 12 assists.

    “Ivan (Kechkin) has good vision, a high skill level and skates well,” said Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt in a release. “His coach is the father of Denis Tolpeko, who played for me in Regina.”

    With the addition of Kechkin, the Raiders have three import players on their roster.

    Belarusian left-winger Aliaksei Protas posted 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games last season. The 18-year-old had a head turning WHL playoffs posting 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating in 23 games helping the Raiders win the WHL championship.

    Protas was selected in the NHL Entry Draft that recently wrapped up in Vancouver, B.C., in the second round and 91^st overall by the Washington Capitals.

    Belarusian defenceman Sergei Sapego posted 10 goals, 33 assists and a plus-42 rating last season for the Raiders. Sapego, who will enter his overage season, is currently attending the NHL development camp of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    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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    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.