Bourassa finds groove with Huskies

Rookie forward brings clutch playoff history from Weyburn

Bailee Bourassa, left, smiles after scoring for the Huskies.

    When Bailee Bourassa joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, she came with a playoff pedigree.

    The 18-year-old rookie forward will always be remembered in her hometown of Weyburn, Sask., for scoring the winning goal in the championship game of the 2014 Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament. Her tally helped her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings top the Edmonton Thunder 2-1 at the Gateway Ice Centre in Stoney Creek, Ont.

    With that goal, Bourassa cemented herself with hometown hero status by helping deliver a national championship to her community.

    “That was probably one of the best experiences of my entire life,” said Bourassa. “It was one of the best teams I have ever been a part of.

    “The girls were great. That was one of my best years of hockey. It was just an unreal experience being there and like how big of a deal it actually was.

    “Being the underdogs to come out on top was just an awesome feeling.”

Bailee Bourassa circles past a couple of defenders in the offensive zone.

    As a rookie with the Huskies, Bourassa has experienced the typical learning curve that comes with joining the U Sports level. She also exited the regular season on a high.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Bourassa wired home a setup from fifth-year defender Alyssa Dobler on the power-play shortly before the midway point of the second period in a match against the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The goal gave the Huskies a 2-0 edge that ultimately held up as the final outcome in a contest that closed the regular season for both sides.

    In that one moment, Bourassa displayed the scoring prowess that allowed her to net 21 goals and nine assists in 26 regular season games with the Gold Wings in her final midget AAA campaign in 2015-16.

    “It felt awesome, because our line was kind of on a dry streak,” said Bourassa, who stands 5-foot-8. “We finally put one in there, and it felt really good.”

    During her rookie campaign, Bourassa appeared in 25 regular season games with the Huskies netting four goals and five assists.

Bailee Bourassa bursts into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    In the 12 games the Huskies played since returning from the Christmas break, Bourassa found the back of the net three times and collected a couple of helpers.

    While adjusting to the university game, Bourassa quickly found a high comfort level with the Huskies.

    “I love it so far,” said Bourassa. “All the girls are awesome, and they are welcoming.

    “That was one thing I was kind of nervous about was like meeting new people. Honestly, I don’t think this could have been a better group of girls to be with.”

    In four seasons in the midget AAA ranks, Bourassa appeared in 107 regular season games with the Gold Wings piling up 40 goals and 43 assists.

    She was even more prolific in the playoffs picking up 19 goals and 10 assists in 35 career Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League post-season games. When she came to the Huskies, she knew she wasn’t going to step in and be the standout right away.

Bailee Bourassa looks for a shooting lane.

    “It is definitely different, because you go from being one of the top players to like having to start at the bottom and work yourself back up,” said Bourassa. “It has been a really good experience so far, and I am enjoying it.”

    Now Bourassa will get her first taste of post-season action at the post-secondary level. The Huskies (15-10-3) finished fourth in the Canada West conference and will host their provincial rivals the U of Regina Cougars (14-13-1) in a best-of-three first round series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    In that clash, Bourassa will be trying to score on former Gold Wings teammate in Cougars netminder Jane Kish. Kish, who is also from Weyburn, turned away 29 shots for the Gold Wings in their 2014 Esso Cup championship game win.

    Bourassa is expecting her first her first university playoff series to be a battle.

    “I think that it is going to be a fairly even matched series,” said Bourassa. “Our games against them all year were pretty tight.

    “It is going to be whoever works harder is going to win the game.”

    On Saturday against the Pronghorns, the Huskies went up 1-0 in the first period when star forward Kaitlin Willoughby converted a beauty setup pass from linemate Courtney Cormack. The tally gave Willoughby a new career high for goals in a season at 11. She recorded 10 goals in each of her first three seasons with the Huskies.

The Huskies celebrate their win over the Pronghorns.

    Fifth-year veteran goalie Cassidy Hendricks started the game between the pipes for the Huskies and turned away three shots in one period of work. She was the goalie of record when she was pulled before the start of the second period and picked up her 57^th career regular season win. The North Vancouver product is the Huskies all-time career leader in victories and is third all-time in the Canada West conference in career wins.

    Jasey Book played the final two frames in relief for the Huskies and stopped all 10 shots she faced.

    Alicia Anderson was stellar in goal for the Pronghorns turning away 40 shots to keep her side in the game. The Pronghorns finished last in Canada West with a 4-21-3 record.

    When the Huskies and Cougars clash in the playoffs, it will be their first meeting in the post-season since the 2014 Canada West championship series. The Huskies won that best-of-three series, when Willoughby scored the winner in double overtime to give the U of S a 2-1 victory in a series deciding Game 3.

Huskies men’s team eliminates Pronghorns

Wyatt Johnson scored twice on Saturday for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team ended the regular season by helping end the post-season hopes of the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns in Lethbridge.

    Powered by a goal and two assist performance from defenceman Tyler Borstmayer, the Huskies slipped past the Pronghorns 5-4. The Huskies built a 3-0 lead and never trailed in the contest despite a spirited Pronghorns comeback attempt.

    Wyatt Johnson scored twice for the Huskies, while Jaimen Yakubowski and Michael Sofillas had singles. Daniel Wapple made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Dogs, who finished the regular season topping the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 mark.

    Jay Merkley scored twice for the Pronghorns, who received singles from Justin Valentino and Ryan Chynoweth. Garret Hughson turned away 24 shots to take the loss in the U of L goal.

    With the setback, the Pronghorns finished seventh in Canada West with an 11-14-3 record. U of L was officially eliminated from the playoff picture, when the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds downed the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-1 on Saturday night in Calgary.

    The Thunderbirds improved to 12-13-3 and passed the Pronghorns for sixth place and the final playoff berth in Canada West. UBC opens the Canada West playoffs taking on the U of Calgary Dinos (18-9-1) in a best-of-three first round series in Calgary.

    The Huskies have a bye into the semifinal round of the Canada West post-season thanks to their first place finish.

    If you have any comments you would like to along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Smuk still brings everyone together

Stephanie Vause slips a shot past traffic at the Smuk Memorial tourney.

    Even after death, Cody Smuk is still the glue guy.

    In order to prove that observation, all one had to do was head out to the Sasktel Centre parking lot on Wednesday evening. A large number of Smuk’s friends and family were taking part in the Cody Smuk Memorial Road Hockey Tournament just over a month after the former heart and soul forward with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey team passed away. Smuk succumbed in his battle with cancer that lasted over a year.

    The 16 teams that took part in the event also contained a healthy showing of people that didn’t know Smuk but wanted to take part in a fundraising effort for Choc ‘la Cure, which raises funds for equipment at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre. The night was one that Smuk would have loved to have been part of in person, but was likely there in spirit.

    People did reminisce about the hard working and gritty skater, and it was obvious everyone came with the focus of having a good time.

    Two little street courts were set up for 3-on-3 action. The games were pretty much pick-up road hockey games, where the purpose was having fun. You might be hard pressed to find a group of adults anywhere that shared so many laughs.

    Games included those that hadn’t played hockey a whole lot, to those that currently play in the CIS and WHL and a handful of players from the professional ranks.

    During the evening, you learned that Dalyce Emmerson, who is a star post player with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Basketball team, can knock home goals from in front of the net as easily as she pours in points from the paint. Emmerson was playing on a squad mainly made up of her hoops teammates, who visibly enjoyed a different sporting venture.

    All the players frequently talked about the plays they made or didn’t make and chuckles always followed as they did. A few teams even came up with specially designed shirts to wear during games, which included the Get Smuk’d squad’s t-shirts that contained the Moose Jaw Warriors logo and the #10 Smuk wore for that WHL franchise.

Derek Hulak leads a rush at the Smuk Memorial tourney.

    For a few hours, everyone was a kid again just playing a game out in the street, and most arrived after toiling in a regular work day.

    It seemed amazing to think the tourney came together in about two weeks thanks mainly to the hard work of James Vause whose sister, Stephanie, was engaged to Smuk.

    The games were 16 minutes straight time in length. In the championship contest, team Get Smuk’d, which was made up of some of Smuk’s really good friends and former teammates, came up just short against a squad backstopped by Daniel Wapple, who is the star goalie for the WHL’s Regina Pats. Wapple’s team was believed to have gone by the name Battle Donkey’s.

    Overall, it was a night everyone will remember for fellowship and comradery. Somewhere, Smuk had to be grinning ear-to-ear seeing his pals have a good time.

Once Voice night spectacular

A One Voice fundraiser ticket.

    A week ago, Saskatoon’s TCU Place hosted a charity event that a unique and warm-feeling vibe.

    The One Voice fundraiser took place to raise money for the Neural Health Project at the U of Saskatchewan. The hope of the Neural Health Project is to develop a more complete approach to the treatment of mental illness through a combination of conventional and alternative therapies.

    The event was spearheaded by Mike Babcock, who is the head coach of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dr. DeeDee Maltman, who is the medical director for the Centre of Integrative Medicine at the U of S. Usually any charity event that involves Babcock is expected to be at least good, and this one way exceeded those good expectations in a spectacular way.

    The One Voice fundraiser was a $1,000 a plate event, but the large turnout that came to TCU Place were some of the most down to earth people you would meet anywhere.

    The stars of the night were Michael Landsberg, who hosts TSN’s Off The Record, Clara Hughes, who is a six-time Olympic medalist for Canada, and Kaitlin Hrudey, who is the 22-year-old daughter of former NHL goaltender and current hockey broadcaster Kelly Hrudey. They talked about their battles with mental illness. Landsberg and Hughes both battled depression, and Kaitlin Hrudey has contended with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

    The coolest thing about the night was the fact that mental health and mental illnesses were discussed normally in a big social setting.

    Unfortunately in today’s world that is still not the case. Often in the workplace, mental health is still the elephant in the room.

    As someone who has battled with issues regarding anxiety, the One Voice fundraiser was my best night in Saskatoon since I moved to the Bridge City in late July of last year. I admit I shed my share of tears that night, and I also had that warm and fuzzy feeling when Hughes, Kelly and Kaitlin Hrudey and Babcock, who has guided Canada’s Men’s Hockey team to two Olympic gold medal wins, all asked me how I was doing during various visits over the course of the night.

    It was also amazing to see people rally around Babcock, when he gets behind a cause. For anyone that has battled mental illness, it was inspiring to see someone of Babcock’s stature say what we are doing right now to deal with mental illnesses isn’t working, and we need to find a better way.

    Over $1-million was raised that night for the Neural Health Project.

    You almost wish you could bottle up the positive emotions from that event and carry them with you forever.

Hilltops back in action

The Hilltops celebrate their PFC title victory at SMF Field in 2014.

    On Monday, the venerable Saskatoon Hilltops will begin their quest in earnest for an 18^th national title.

    The defending Canadian Junior Football League champions open their main training camp on Monday with practices at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Hilltops clubhouse. Practices will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday at the team’s clubhouse leading to a game against the Hilltops alumni at 7 p.m. Thursday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    “The Sarge,” head coach Tom Sargeant is expecting to have a veteran laden team going into the 2015 campaign. While the Hilltops have won four of the last five CJFL titles, they will be challenged by an ever improving Prairie Football Conference in 2015, which should lead to a number of compelling games. Saskatoon always seems to consistently rise to the occasion in big moments, and that will likely continue this season to make for some interesting storylines.

    The Hilltops open the regular season traveling to Calgary to take on the Colts on Aug. 16. Saskatoon’s home opener is slated for Aug. 30 against the Winnipeg Rifles at Saskatoon Minor Football Field with a start time still to be determined.

    If you have any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Stars get going for real at Esso Cup

The Saskatoon Stars celebrate a goal by Jordyn Gerlitz.

    After building up anticipation over 24 off days, the Saskatoon Stars will finally get to play at nationals.
    The local midget AAA girls' hockey team left Saskatoon for Red Deer on Saturday to take part in the six team Esso Cup national championship tournament. Saskatoon opens the tournament Sunday, when they take on the Sudbury Lady Wolves. That match happens open the overall schedule for the tourney.
    Sudbury is making its second straight appearance at the Esso Cup after repeating as Ontario provincial champs. The Wolves were 16-5-1 during the regular season and won a bronze medal at last year's Esso Cup.
    The Stars are participating in the Esso Cup for the first time in team history. They have had a memorable season winning the Mac's tournament for the second time in team history and capturing their first Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title. Including action in the SFMAAAHL regular season and post-season and the Mac's, Saskatoon enters the Esso Cup sporting a 40-3 overall record.
    The contest between Saskatoon and Sudbury contains a classic rest versus rust storyline. The Stars, who have the youngest team at the Esso Cup, haven't played a game since downing the Prince Albert A & W Bears 2-0 in the final contest of the SFMAAAHL championship series on March 25. The Wolves only had a break of about seven days since winning the Ontario final.

Sophia Shirley has been invited to a Hockey Canada camp in May.

    Saskatoon was led in scoring by the dynamic duo of Nara Elia and Sophia Shirley, who were first and second respectively in SFMAAAHL scoring. Elia had 23 goals and 17 assists helping the Stars post a 25-3 regular season record, while Shirley had 22 goals and 17 assists. Both have two years of midget eligibility remaining.
    Shirley was recently invited to Canada's National Women's Program strength and conditioning camp, which runs May 6-10 in Hamilton, Ont.
    The Esso Cup will mark the final games captain Paige Michalenko, Brittany Heuchert, Courtney Cormack and Karlee Fetch at the midget level. Defender Jenna Nash, who has committed to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, will also graduate from the midget ranks, but the she will sit out the Esso Cup due to injury with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in one of her knees.
    The six teams at the Esso Cup will play five round robin games each, and the top four teams advance to the tournament's semifinal round on April 24. The bronze and gold medal games close the event on April 25.

Swan song for Tigers overagers

Tyler Lewington, left, celebrates a goal with Marek Langhamer.

    The WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers arguably will miss their three overage graduates more than most teams in the major junior ranks will.
    When the Tigers saw their playoff run come to an end Friday with a 4-3 double overtime loss to the Hitmen in Calgary, the major junior careers of goaltender Marek Langhamer and defencemen Tyler Lewington and Kyle Becker came to a conclusion. All three were key contributors to the Tigers on the ice and in the dressing room.
    Langhamer, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Arizona Coyotes, was with the Tigers for three campaigns posting a 68-42-7 record, a 2.86 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and six shutouts during his regular season career. At the moment, it appears the Czech product will be the last European goaltender to play in the WHL unless the Canadian Hockey League changes its import player rules to allow overseas goalies to play again.
    He again had a big post-season posting a 5-5 record in 10 starts with a 2.28 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.
    Lewington, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Washington Capitals, spent four seasons with the Tigers. He arguably had one of the highest compete levels out of any player in the WHL, and he was the Tigers captain this past season. The Sherwood Park, Alta., product was solid in both the offensive and defensive zones posting nine goals, 36 assists, a plus-25 rating in the plus-minus department and 113 penalty minutes in 69 regular season games this past campaign.
    Becker finished the 2011-12 season with the Tigers playing 11 regular season games and two post-season contests and became a full-time team member for the past three campaigns. The Langley, B.C., product developed a reputation for handling the back end with a calming presence. As an overager, he posted 11 goals, 14 assists and a plus-11 rating in 57 regular season games.
    The Tigers entered the 2014-15 campaign with the potential to go a long way in the post-season. They fell 4-1 in a best-of-seven second round series to the Hitmen.

Kyle Becker, right, clears a puck out from deep in his zone.

    Medicine Hat's undoing in the playoffs was due to the fact the offence dried up. In 10 post-season games, the Tigers gave up 25 goals against but only had 25 goals for. Three of the five games with the Hitmen went to overtime, and Calgary claimed two of those contests, which turned out to be the final two games of the series.
    The overtime results were a key factor in the Hitmen winning the series, and it also showed the Tigers weren't able to get the goals they needed at key times in that best-of-seven set.
    Going forward, Langhamer, Lewington and Becker all have potential to experience longer futures in hockey. The Tigers have made the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them extend that run to 14 seasons in 2015-16, when the begin play in the new Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre.
    With their playoff elimination, the Tigers time playing games out of The Arena, which is their long time legendary home rink, has come to an end.

Wapple valiant for Pats

Daniel Wapple stood tall in goal for the Pats in the playoffs.

    Daniel Wapple made the Brandon Wheat Kings sweat.
    The Wheat Kings, who topped the WHL's regular season standings with a 53-11-4-4 mark, were heavy favourites to take out Wapple's Regina Pats in the second round of the post-season. Regina appeared to be in a rebuilding phase trading away a number of key veterans before the league's trade deadline, but the Pats surprised many finishing eighth overall with a 37-24-5-6 record.
    The Pats qualified for just their second appearance in the second round since 1998. They swept the Swift Current Broncos 4-0 in the opening round and were playing with house money.
    After the Wheat Kings took the first two games of their series with the Pats, Wapple stepped up to give Brandon all sorts of fits. The Saskatoon product made 39 saves in a 3-2 Pats victory in Game 3 of the series in Regina. Game 4 in Regina went to overtime, and Wapple made 45 saves before Brandon escaped with a 3-2 win.
    In Game 5 on Friday in Brandon, Wapple made 48 stops before the Wheat Kings prevailed again in overtime by a 3-2 score.
    Wapple will likely be back with the Pats for his overage season, which has to make fans in the Queen City feel good about their prospects in the 2015-16 campaign.

Narcisse all-star event set for Saskatoon

A Don Narcisse card from 1999.

    Former Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Don Narcisse has a one-day football kids' camp coming up in Saskatoon.
    The camp is slated for Saturday, April 25, and it is set to run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sasktel Sports Centre. The camp is open for players aged 7 to 18 and the cost is $80 per player plus GST. The fees include a T-shirt and lunch.
    Following the camp, there will be a dinner gala held at the Travelodge Hotel at 6 p.m. with current Roughriders star defensive end John Chick slated to be the keynote speaker. Tickets for the gala dinner are $100 plus GST individually or $750 plus GST for a table of eight. Narcisse has goal to sell 20 tables by Tuesday, and he had six sold by Saturday.
    All proceeds from the camp and the dinner gala go to support Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Saskatoon and Area. Registration for the camp or gala can done by phoning 306-652-1487 or by going online through Narcisse's website by clicking here.

Oilers build NHL Draft Lottery dynasty

A memento from the Oilers winning era.

    The Edmonton Oilers accomplished a dubious milestone on Saturday.
    For the fourth time in six years, the Oilers won the NHL Draft Lottery, and they will have the first overall selection at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft set for June 26-27 in Sunrise, Florida. The distinction is dubious, because the Oilers also had to finish low enough for a number of consecutive years in the NHL standings to collect those first overall picks.
    The consensus first overall pick this year is viewed as a big prize in forward Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. McDavid, who netted 44 goals and 76 assists in 47 regular season games with the Otters, is being described as the best draft prospect since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sidney Crosby back in 2005.
    The Oilers haven't made the playoffs since 2006, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup finals and fell in seven-game series to the Carolina Hurricanes. Since that time, Edmonton's NHL team has been the butt end of jokes for how bad it has been.
    When it was announced the Oilers had the first overall pick, social media, especially Twitter, blew up. People were in disbelief the Oilers won the pick. There were all sorts of predictions made that the Oilers will find a way to mess everything up.
    Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see how everything plays out over the next two months leading up to the NHL Entry Draft.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.