Conference championship not meant to be for Huskies

Bisons sweep Canada West title series with Game 2 win

 

Canada West finals loss sinks in for Kaitlin Willoughby, right, and the Huskies.

  WINNIPEG, Man. - For a moment, it looked like Kaitlin Willoughby was going to do it again.

    Just when all hope seemed lost for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, the star fifth-year captain hit high gear.

    On Saturday night before a raucous crowd of 860 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena, the host University of Manitoba Bisons surged out a 3-0 lead in the second period in Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West conference championship series with the Huskies. The Huskies needed to win to force a deciding Game 3 on Sunday.

    With 4:45 to play in the second, Willoughby drove into the Bisons zone on an individual rush and scored to cut the host side’s lead to 3-1.

Captain Kaitlin Willoughby scored twice for the Huskies.

    Just 78 seconds into the third, Willoughby drove home a shot from the half-wall on right side boards to further trim the Bisons lead to 3-2. It appeared the Prince Albert, Sask., product was going lift her team to victory with another stellar playoff performance.

    Inside of the final five minutes of the third, the hosts halted the comeback attempt by the visitors.

    With 4:56 to play in the frame, Bisons third-year centre Jordyn Zacharias cut across the front of the U of S net and tucked a key insurance goal to give U of M a 4-2 lead. Fourth-year centre Courtlyn Oswald scored into an empty net with 72 seconds to play in the third to round out a 5-2 victory for the Bisons.

    The win allowed the Bisons sweep the Canada West championship series 2-0 and give U of M its third conference title in women’s hockey and first since the 2010-11 campaign.

Jordyn Zacharias celebrates her third period goal for the Bisons.

    “I said to the girls if we’re still down by two goals and there is four minutes left, we are not giving up,” said Willoughby. “I said we’re not quitters, and we are going to play hard the whole game no matter what.

    “I’m really proud of our team, because I know that is what we did.”

    Both teams had already locked up berths to the U Sports nationals to be held March 15 to 18 in London, Ont., by the University of Western Ontario Mustangs by making it to the Canada West championship series. With that in mind, the Bisons and Huskies preferred to head to nationals as conference champions.

    The Huskies were looking to win the school’s second Canada West women’s hockey title in team history.

    After the loss to the Bisons on Saturday, a real sombre atmosphere hung over the Huskies dressing room area.

    Willoughby scored the Canada West championship winning goal for the Huskies as a rookie in their 2-1 double overtime victory over the University of Regina Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 in March of 2014. 

Natasha Kostenko, left, scored in the Bisons second-period surge.

    She dealt with a mix of emotions following Saturday’s loss to the Bisons.

    “Just being in my fifth year, it makes it hard, because I know I am not going to be here in this position again,” said Willoughby. “I wanted to finish it off strong with a Canada West championship.

    “At the same time, this is the beauty of it. We know we can go to nationals here, and we know we have a second shot. I think this is honestly going to fuel us, because we know how much it hurts and we don’t want to feel this way again at nationals.”

    In Saturday’s game, the two sides played through a tight checking opening frame. Despite zipping up and down the ice, the scoring chances by either side were limited.

Lauren Taraschuk, left, turns away a shot playing goal for the Bisons.

    The Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, surged out to a 3-0 lead in the second period. Fifth-year left-winger Charity Price tucked home a goal at the right side of the Huskies net to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    Fifth-year left-winger Alanna Sharman followed that tally up with a breakaway goal, and fourth-year right-winger Natasha Kostenko completed the Bisons goal gusher scoring with 7:23 remaining in the second.

    When Willoughby scored her first goal of the game, her tally ended a playoff shutout streak for Bisons netminder Lauren Taraschuk that lasted 259 minutes and 30 seconds. Taraschuk, who was the rookie-of-the-year for the Canada West Conference, made 18 stops to back the Bisons to victory.

Kaitlin Willoughby passes the puck up ice on a rush for the Huskies.

    “It was just really focusing on doing my part,” said Taraschuk, whose Bisons topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-5-1 record. “We worked so hard for this all year, and I’m just doing what I can to help my team out.”

    After the Huskies closed to within 3-2, Taraschuk was pumped her team stayed composed to score twice more to seal victory. The 18-year-old puck stopper was elated to experience the thrill of winning a Canada West title so early in her U Sports career.

    “There are absolutely no words to describe this feeling,” said Taraschuk. “We laid it all out there.”

    “It is an absolute family. We love each other.

Netminder Jessica Vance clears the puck away from the Huskies net.

    “We stuck together through thick and thin all season. We’re really proud of each and every one of us.”

    Jessica Vance, who was Canada West’s player-of-the-year, turned away 22-of-26 shots fired her way to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook liked how his side battled in the setback.

    “It is not the end result that hurts,” said Kook, whose team is rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “You compete in a game like that, and you just keep pushing.

    “The game got decided way at the end of the game here. You are pushing and pushing.

    “All of sudden, it is taken away from you at the end of the game. They are just processing that right now.”

The Bisons celebrate their Canada West title win.

    Kook said making it to the conference finals was still a big accomplishment noting that this was only the third time the Huskies women’s hockey program has advanced this far in the post-season. The veteran bench boss said time will come when the players will reflect fondly on what happened.

    “I know they are not going to appreciate it right now,” said Kook, whose Huskies finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 19-7-2 mark. “The program really appreciates the work that they did.

    “Our alumni are going to be proud of the things they did. I think it is going to take tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday to process, “Hey, this is pretty good. We’re top two in a very tough conference.”

The disappointed Huskies will now regroup for nationals.

    “At some point, it is going to get there. Maybe not tonight. That was the message.”

    While the Huskies weren’t able to bring the Canada West championship trophy - the Catherwood Cup - back to Saskatoon, Willoughby plans to do everything she can to help her team conclude the 2017-18 campaign on a high note at nationals.

    “We are just going to reset on Monday,” said Willoughby. “We are going to go back to practice, and we are going to work our asses off.

    “We are going to hopefully come out on top in two weeks.”

    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 take gut punch in controversial Game 1 finish

Bisons claim Canada West finals opener 1-0 in overtime

The Bisons celebrate an overtime winning goal from Caitlin Fyten.

    WINNIPEG, Man. - Kaitlin Willoughby was still trying to process a stunning loss for her University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    With 8.6 seconds remaining in overtime, captain Caitlin Fyten of the University of Manitoba Bisons drove home the winning goal to deliver her team to a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the Canada West championship series at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Fyten’s goal on Friday night was surrounded by hectic action played in front of 640 spectators.

    Huskies right-winger Bailee Bourassa was knocked to the ice by one of the Bisons skaters and the U of S players on the ice were calling for an interference penalty. Willoughby, who is the Huskies star fifth-year captain, skated over to the officials to talk to them about another concern.

Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby talks to the officials after the game.

    She thought the officials blew the whistle early causing the Huskies players to stop on the play. When the dust settled post-game, Willoughby was still dumbfounded by what happened.

    “I thought that our player got interfered with, but whatever,” said Willoughby. “The ref didn’t see that, but that is how it goes.

    “But after, I thought I heard the ref blow the whistle, so that was what I was asking him about after the game. He said he did blow the whistle, but it was still a good goal if it goes in.”

    The overtime goal moved the Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, into position to sweep the short best-of-three series. U of M will try to close out the set in Game 2 at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena. If necessary, Game 3 will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday also at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

Caitlin Fyten had the overtime winner for the Bisons.

    “I think I just need a few minutes to like just let it sink in,” said Willoughby. “(It is) definitely not the ending that we wanted.

    “Obviously, we don’t want to be losing the first game. That is how it goes. Sometimes, hockey plays don’t go your way, and we just have to come back tomorrow.”

    As she has done throughout her playoff career, Willoughby did have a couple of chances in clutch time to make the outcome of Friday’s game a different one. In the third, she shot a puck using a defender as a screen on a dangerous rush only to be denied by the glove had of Bisons netminder Lauren Taraschuk, who is the Canada West rookie-of-the-year.

    Late in the third, Willoughby tried to fire a smart shot between Taraschuk’s legs, but the puck stopper turned aside that chance with a stick save.

    Taraschuk turned away 25 shots to pick up her second straight playoff overtime shutout win in goal for the Bisons.

Kaitlin Willoughby was denied on two good third period chances.

    In the Huskies end, netminder Jessica Vance, who is the Canada West player-of-the-year, was doing her best to steal the win making 32 saves overall in the setback.

    For the host side, Fyten played the role of hero. The fifth-year defender was solid at both ends of the ice, and her strong play was especially evident in overtime.

    Before she scored her winner, Fyten came up with a key shot block on Huskies rookie centre Chloe Smith on a three-on-one U of S rush. That shot block set the stage for Fyten to score her winning goal.

    “I’m happy for the captain,” said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel. “She played a solid game.

    “She was just so good against their top line today. She just found a way shooting pucks to the net and getting some traffic, which we were trying to do the whole game.

    “We had a lot of good looks today. We just finally found one.”

    Vance’s play was key in keeping the contest scoreless through the first period, where the Huskies were outshot 12-5. The sophomore goalies turned away a handful of backdoor setups.

Netminder Jessica Vance turned away 32 shots in Friday’s playoff setback.

    When the Bisons were working on a power play in the third period, centre Courtlyn Oswald was denied down low by Vance after receiving the puck on a sweet setup from the point.

    The Bisons thought they went ahead 1-0 with 9:26 to play in the third, but the goal was waved off when the officials said one of the U of M players contacted Vance in the crease.

    Bisons head coach Jon Rempel gave credit to Vance for her play, and he also gave props to his team for playing a sound game.

    “You know she (Vance) is going to stop most of the pucks that she sees,” said Rempel. “We had some good looks today. I think we had three goalposts and a disallowed goal, so we were there.

    “I thought we did some good things. I thought we controlled the puck. I thought we controlled the play for almost the whole game.

Netminder Lauren Taraschuk turned away 25 shots in goal for the Bisons. 

    “We didn’t give them much at our net. Most of their stuff came from the outside.”

    Willoughby said her team can’t dwell on how Friday’s game ended. She took solace in the fact she knows her team can play better.

    “I think we just have to make sure we come ready to play in the first period,” said Willoughby, whose Huskies are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “We know we are a better team than we were today.

    “We just have to come ready to play in the first period. It is do or die now.”

The Huskies look stunned after their Game 1 loss.

    NOTE – The Huskies didn’t have head coach Steve Kook behind the bench for Friday’s game. Under an old U Sports rule, Kook was serving a one-game suspension for the fact his players left their bench at the end of their 2-1 Canada West semifinal series clinching win over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds last Saturday at the Rutherford Rink before the referee gave them permission to do so when another penalty had been called on the U of S side. Kook was given a game misconduct, when that happened.

    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.