Reconnecting for training helps mental health for sports world

Huskies DT Evan Machibroda pressures and opposing quarterback.

    It is safe to say those in the sports community aren’t taking for granted the chance to get out and train in the current day.

    Of course, athletes all over North America had to go through a lengthy stretch of not being able to train together due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In North America, massive shutdowns took place from March 11 to 13.

    When those shutdowns took effect, athletes and those in the general public who wanted to stay in shape had to find ways to do workouts and exercise on their own.

    In most places in North America, reopening plans started taking shape throughout May.

    In Saskatchewan, athletes and those in the general public looking to stay in shape have been able to train together at gyms and fitness centres since Phase 3 of the provinces reopening plan took place on June 8.

    Since June 8, further restrictions have been lifted in Saskatchewan, but life hasn’t returned to what it was before the shutdowns occurred due to COVID-19.

    Still, some sports like golf have been able to once again hold competitive events in Saskatchewan.      The sports of softball and baseball are expecting to start playing games at the house and city league levels in a matter of days.
    While there hasn’t been a lot of mingling at training centres, those attending sessions at training centres are visibly happy when they get to see others they haven’t seen for sometime due to the lockdown.

David Solie (#15) boots a field goal for the Huskies.

    A number of the athletes have jobs in the working world. In these present days, these athletes go through long stretches where they just see people from their work environments.

    When gyms and fitness centres opened up, those athletes had an avenue to see people outside of their work worlds.

    I’ve seen that play out first hand, when I wear my hat working as the communications coordinator at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I’ve seen athletes from various sporting communities usually take part in workouts with Ignite Athletes with a little extra jump in their steps.

    The majority that I know come from the football world.

    From the U Sports world, one of the first persons I saw on the grounds was University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team kicker David Solie. When Solie saw me, he smiled.

    When we got talking, he said he was happy to get out of his house after being cooped up for so long.

    He works as one of the staffers at the complex too, but you could tell he had a new appreciation for being able to get out and about.

    I saw Brant Morrow, who is a defensive back for the six-time defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops, shortly after June 8 passed and had a catch up chat with him. He appeared really happy to see familiar faces again.

    One of the best visits I had was a chance encounter with Huskies offensive utility player Colton Klassen and now graduated Huskies defensive tackle Evan Machibroda at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Ryder Klisowsky (#61) locks up on a block for the Hilltops.

    Klassen was selected by the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL Draft held on April 30. Machibroda was selected by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2019 CFL Draft and signed a contract with the club from the Alberta capital on Jan. 28.
    Both are training and staying ready for a CFL season they hope takes place in 2020. We hung out for about 20 minutes catching up and telling all sorts of old stories.

    I also crossed paths with now graduated Saskatoon Hilltops left guard Ryder Klisowsky. Klisowsky is training to join the University of Manitoba Bisons football team for the 2021 U Sports season since the 2020 U Sports football campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He admitted he was happy to see familiar faces, when he went out to train.

    While most sports are still trying to navigate a return to play, it can’t be understated how much of a breath of fresh air it is to go out and train.

    For athletes, a new appreciation appears to have been built for that aspect of their lives.

Andrews departs as Pats play-by-play voice, other notes

Thank you Regina! pic.twitter.com/d2pmLNmrxD

— Phil Andrews (@Phil_Andrews_) June 29, 2020

    Phil Andrews’ successor is going to have monster shoes to fill as the play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Regina Pats.

    On Monday, Andrews resigned his posts as the Pats play-by-play voice and director of media and communications effective July 31, 2020. Andrews has been the Pats play-by-play voice for the past nine seasons and added the role of director of media and communications in 2016.

    The 31-year-old had quite the run as the Pats play-by-play voice. Andrews called the rise of the great Pats teams that had the likes of Adam Brooks, Sam Steel, Austin Wagner, Connor Hobbs, Jake Leschyshyn, Nick Henry, Robbie Holmes, Chase Harrison, Josh Mahura and Tyler Brown.

Adam Brooks had lots of highlight moments called by Phil Andrews.

    That group came up under the guidance of head coach and general manager John Paddock, who shed the head coach role before the start of the 2018-19 campaign, and assistant coach and assistant general manager Dave Struch, who became the head coach and assistant general manager before the 2018-19 season.

    Andrews called games with professionalism, class and flair. He saw the Pats win first round playoff series in 2015 and 2016.

    The 2016 post-season saw the Pats fall 2-1 in a series deciding Game 7 to the Rebels in Red Deer in the second round. At the time, the Pats hadn’t played in a WHL final semifinal series since 1993 and were heartbreakingly close when they bowed out to the Rebels.

    That set the stage for the Pats to top the WHL in 2016-17 with a 52-12-7-1 record. In the 2017 playoffs, the Pats advanced all the way to the WHL final for the first time since 1984.

    They fell in the 2017 WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds, where the Thunderbirds closed out the series with a 4-3 win in overtime in Game 6 played at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

    In May of 2018, the Pats hosted the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Pats made the final of the 100^th edition of the Memorial Cup falling 3-0 to Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who are based out of Bathurst, New Brunswick.

    Over all that time, Andrews became engrained as the Pats play-by-play voice making iconic calls of big plays made by Brooks, Steel, Hobbs, Brown and company.

Sam Steel seemed larger than life thanks to Phil Andrews’ calls.

    Anytime you saw the Pats stars making a highlight, you could hear Andrews’ voice.

    It was a cool development considering Andrews grew up in Saskatoon. A lot of fans of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades hate the Pats more than any other team in the league including the Blades archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Combining Andrews’ talent and his relative youth, I felt he would be the one guy out of all the current WHL play-by-play voices who would find his way into being the play-by-play voice of an NHL team.

    Andrews said the time has come to be more present with his wife, Megan, and their three children. Phil mentioned over Twitter they would be returning to Saskatoon.

    Andrews will be a winner in life no matter what he does. The impact he made calling plays for the world’s oldest major junior team in the Pats, whose history dates back to 1917, will not be forgotten in “The Queen City.”

• Last Saturday, the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-handed pitcher and Muenster, Sask., product Logan Hofmann to a rookie contract. The Pirates selected Hofmann in the fifth round and 138^th overall in the MLB Draft held on June 11.
• In the CHL Import Draft held on Tuesday, the Prince Albert Raiders selected forward Uladzislau Shyla from Minsk, Belarus, in the first round and 45^th overall. The 17-year-old, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 147 pounds, had 10 goals and nine assists in 55 games for Belarus’s under-18 team this past season. With the selection of Shyla, the Raiders released 19-year-old Belarusian centre Daniil Stepanov on Tuesday. Stepanov had six goals and five assists in 49 games last season split between the Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors.
• In the CHL Import Draft held on Tuesday, the Saskatoon Blades picked centre Brad Lambert from Lahti, Finland, in the first round and 33^rd overall. Lambert, who will turn 17-years-old in December, picked up 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points in 42 games last season with the HIFK Helsinki-U20 team. Lambert, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 172 pounds, did spend some years growing up in Saskatoon before his family relocated to Finland for the start of the 2017-18 season.
• The North Bay Battalion of the OHL had the first overall selection in Tuesday’s CHL Import Draft. The Battalion used that pick to take winger Matvei Petrov from Moscow, Russia. The 17-year-old, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 163 pounds, had five goals and four assists in 21 games with MHK Krylia Sovetov from Russia’s top junior circuit.
• On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Rush defender Kyle Rubisch was named a first team National Lacrosse League all-star. In the Rush’s 10 games last season, Rubisch had two goals and six assists.
• The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame located in Regina is targeting to open on Sept. 1. The museum is undergoing renovations which were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Museums were allowed to reopen in Saskatchewan on Monday according to the province’s reopening plan.
• With how the number of cases of COVID-19 have spiked in the United States, people in Saskatoon and the province of Saskatchewan might feel better about the decision that the Merlis Belsher Place hockey rink facility on the University of Saskatchewan grounds is a field hospital in waiting. The Merlis Belsher Place field hospital in waiting might be termed a “Linus blanket” field hospital in waiting as everyone hopes it never needs to be used for that purpose.
• It was 10 years ago today the Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes 54-51 in double overtime as both teams opened their respective 2010 CFL regular season schedules. Roughriders star quarterback Darian Durant connected with star receiver Weston Dressler on a three-yard touchdown pass for the winning score on Saskatchewan’s second overtime possession. A sellout crowd of 30,048 spectators at Regina’s historic Taylor Field celebrated in raucous style after Dressler’s winning score. Seems weird to think it has been a decade since that all-time CFL classic contest was played.  

    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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Honours keep coming to Kozun

Netminder named Huskies male athlete of the year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Huskies’ Lokombo named U Sports top defensive player

Nelson Lokombo (#25) is the U Sports defensive player of the year.

    Nelson Lokombo took home a U Sports honour no University of Saskatchewan Huskies football player had received in 21 years.

    On Thursday at the annual Vanier Cup gala held in Quebec City, Quebec, U Sports handed out its national awards and all-Canadian honours for football. Lokombo, who is a third year defensive back for the Huskies, was named the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy as the U Sports defensive player of the year.

    Lokombo topped the Huskies with four interceptions, and he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns during the regular season.

    The Abbotsford, B.C., product posted 23.5 total tackles, 2.5 sacks and four pass breakups during the regular campaign as well.

    Lokombo was the first Huskies player to win the Presidents’ Trophy since current defensive coordinator Warren Muzika claimed that honour as a Huskies linebacker in 1998. Muzika was playing in his final season with the Huskies in 1998 and helped them win the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions with a 24-17 victory over the Concordia University Stingers.

    On top of winning the Presidents’ Trophy, Lokombo was named a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. He was one of five Huskies players named first team all-Canadian all-stars.
    The Huskies first team all-Canadian all-stars included running back Adam Machart, left guard Mattland Riley, centre Connor Berglof and defensive tackle Evan Machibroda.

Nelson Lokombo, right, returns an interception for a touchdown.

    Running behind an offensive line that contained Riley and Berglof, Machart carried the ball 156 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. He also hauled in 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

    His total of 1,334 yards rushing and 1,538 all-purpose yards are new Huskies team records for one regular season. Machart led U Sports in rushing.

    Machibroda, who was playing out his final season of U Sports eligibility, piled up 22 total tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery during the regular season.

    The Huskies finished second in the regular season standings of the Canada West Conference with a 5-3 mark and fell to the University of Calgary Dinos 29-4 in the Canada West final – the Hardy Cup.

    Fifth-year quarterback and U Sports all-time great Chris Merchant of the University of Western Ontario Mustangs won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding player in U Sports. Merchant beat out Machart for that honour.

    McGill University defensive tackle Andrew Seinet-Spaulding claimed the J.P. Metras Trophy as the most outstanding down lineman. Seinet-Spaulding beat out Machibroda for that award.

    Concordia University Stingers receiver Jeremy Murphy was named the winner of the Peter Gorman Trophy as the top rookie in U Sports. He beat out Huskies linebacker Ramsey Derbas for that honour.

Nelson Lokombo, right, secures one of his four interceptions this season.

    York University Lions free safety Jacob Janke captured the Russ Jackson Award for excellence in football, academics and citizenship in U Sports.

    Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall took the Frank Tindall Trophy as the U Sports coach of the year. Marshall beat out Huskies head coach Scott Flory for that award.

    Veteran University of Regina Rams defensive line coach Greg Nesbitt took the Gino Fracas Award as the volunteer coach of the year for U Sports. Nesbitt has been on the Rams staff for a lengthy stretch of time.

    The U Sports football season concludes on Saturday, when the Dinos (9-2 overall) face the University of Montreal Carabins (9-2 overall) in the Vanier Cup at the Universite Laval in Quebec City.

Hilltops’ “Sarge” still should have been CJFL coach of the year

Tom Sargeant was passed over for CJFL coach of the year.

    Saskatoon Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant will take CJFL champions over individual honours any day.

    Last Saturday, the Hilltops won their sixth straight CJFL championship downing the host Langley Rams 11-6 in the CJFL title game – the Canadian Bowl. The Hilltops have won nine of the last 10 CJFL crowns and have been CJFL champions 22 times.

    While the Hilltops have piled up all these titles, Sargeant, who has been the team’s head coach since 1998, continually gets shutout in winning the CJFL coach of the year award.

    At the CJFL awards banquet last Friday in Langley, the CJFL coach of the year award was given to Rams head coach Howie Zaron. The Rams finished the 2019 campaign with a 12-1 overall record after falling to the Hilltops in the Canadian Bowl.

    Sargeant claimed CJFL coach of the year honours on two occasions in 2000 and 2003.

    It has to be noted the CJFL looks really bad not naming Sargeant the coach of the year on the national level even just once during the Hilltops current run of winning nine of the last 10 CJFL titles.

    Last year, there was a huge opportunity to correct that oversight as the Hilltops won the Canadian Bowl posting a perfect 11-0 record. They were so dominant in the 2018 campaign they trailed on the scoreboard for a total of just 81 seconds in all their games.

    This season, the Hilltops went through a huge amount of turnover in starters on both offence and defence. They needed fourth quarter comebacks to pull out victory in a couple of contest.

    Incredibly, the Hilltops put together another perfect season with a 12-0 record. Sargeant picked up his 200^th career victory in Week 2 of the season, and he later became the all-time wins leader in Canadian amateur post-secondary football.

    Sargeant currently has a career 210-30-2 in the CJFL’s regular season and post-season.

    If Sargeant wasn’t have to claim CJFL coach of the year honours after either of those campaigns, one has to wonder if he will ever receive that honour 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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Huskies playoff exit stings

Football team agonizingly close to big things

Adam Machart had a record breaking season for the Huskies.

    The family feeling inside of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team might be as strong as it has ever been over the past 10 years.
    It is that family feeling that makes a playoff exit tough to take. On Saturday, the Huskies fell 29-4 to the host University of Calgary Dinos at McMahon Stadium in the Canada West Conference championship game – the Hardy Cup.

    One year earlier the Huskies captured the Hardy Cup 43-18 against the Dinos in that same venue.

    The Huskies went into the 2019 campaign returning a large group of players from the squad that won the conference title one year earlier. Hopes were high amongst the Huskies that they would win the Hardy Cup for a second straight year and maybe advance further on the U Sports post-season trail and capture the Vanier Cup as national champions for the first time since 1998.

Nelson Lokombo was the top defensive player in Canada West.

    The fact the Huskies won’t be gathering for film sessions on Monday and hitting the turf at Griffiths Stadium for a full practice on Tuesday seems numbing.

    Still, the Huskies in the current day are still trying to build a new tradition of success that can link back to the team’s glorious past.

    U of S entered the 2018 post-season having lost eight straight playoff games and having missed the playoffs entirely in 2017.

    When the Huskies won the Hardy last year for the first time since 2006, the success felt new again and excitement was high. The 2018 playoffs came to an end in a U Sports semifinal contest, when the Huskies fell 47-24 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Mitchell Bowl.

    The Huskies added another playoff win this season, when they downed the University of Alberta Golden Bears 28-23 in a Canada West semifinal game on Nov. 2 at Griffiths Stadium. That was the Huskies first post-season home game since 2014 and first playoff home win since 2009.

Mason Nyhus had a solid campaign as the Huskies starting QB.

    While post-season wins are starting to come, the Huskies are still going to experience some learning and growing pains in attempting to make playoff success a habit again.

    For the second straight year, the Huskies posted a 5-3 record in the regular season, but this time that mark was good enough for a second place finish in the Canada West standings. U of S placed third in Canada West in 2018 with a 5-3 mark.

    The Huskies were at their best when they played at home this season winning all four of their home dates in the regular season and their one home date in the post-season.

    It was a different story on the road, where the Huskies posted a 1-3 record in the regular season and lost their lone road playoff game in the Hardy Cup.

    Looking back at the regular season, the Huskies would likely have some regrets for letting two road contests get away.

    On Sept. 21, they dropped a 19-17 decision to the Golden Bears in Edmonton, Alta., and fell 38-37 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Oct. 19 in Vancouver, B.C.

Losing Colton Klassen to injury was a blow to the Huskies.

    Had the Huskies won just one of those games, they would have finished first in Canada West due to the fact they held the standings tiebreaker against the Dinos. The two sides met once in the regular season with the Huskies pulling out a 29-15 victory on Sept. 27 at Griffiths Stadium.

    Due to the fact Canada West hosts one of the two U Sports semifinals this season, the Huskies would have had home field advantage in the playoffs with a first place finish in Canada West up until the Vanier Cup.

    Those road losses show how much of a difference a play or two can make towards how a season plays out.

    The Hardy Cup could have played out differently had the Huskies been successful on a third-and-goal gamble from the Dinos two yard line on the final play of the first half.

Evan Machibroda made big plays for the Huskies.

    Had the Huskies been successful, they would have had an 8-4 lead at halftime and might have not been chasing the game like they ultimately did in the second half.

    Also, losing star utility player Colton Klassen to a campaign ending broken right leg in the final contest of the regular season hurt a tonne too.

    Of course, the Huskies had lots of highlights this season. Third-year quarterback Mason Nyhus became the Huskies starter and completed 138-of-228 passes for 1,739 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Regina, Sask., product was a highly touted recruit joining the team as a red shirt in 2016 and looks to be on his way to fulfilling star potential.

    Running back Adam Machart had a dream season being named the player of the year for Canada West via unanimous selection. Machart carried the ball 156 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

    He set a Huskies team record for most rushing yards in a regular season and most combined yards in one regular season at 1,538.

    Fifth-year defensive tackle Evan Machibroda was named the most outstanding lineman for Canada West. Defensive back Nelson Lokombo picked up honours as the most outstanding defensive player.

Mattland Riley, centre, and the offensive line made the Huskies go.

    Linebacker Ramsey Derbas had an unreal season at age 18 picking accolades as the rookie of the year for Canada West via unanimous selection. Derbas led the Huskies with 43 total tackles to go along with an interception and a half sack.

    In his third campaign guiding the Huskies as head coach, Scott Flory took home honours as the coach of the year for Canada West.

    The five individual Canada West awards won by the Huskies this season was an all-time high for the program. All five winners could possibly claim those same accolades at the U Sports national level.

    The future is still bright for the Huskies, and they may accomplish their lofty team goals next season by winning another Canada West title and the Vanier Cup.

    Still in the more immediate aftermath in the Hardy Cup loss to the Dinos, the disappointment lingers of what might have been.

Rouge et Or get tweet of the week

🏈 Hey @WesternMustangs there’s a seat at our table if you wanna join us. pic.twitter.com/FmnT1FEJWB

— Rouge et Or (@rougeetor) November 9, 2019

    You have to love U Sports athletic department Twitter accounts that have a sense of humour.

    Due to the fact main university communications departments keep track was what is posted on the social media accounts of the institutions’ respective athletic departments, humour is often avoided.

    Still, the Universite Laval Rouge et Or posted a total winner in the humour department on Saturday. Since 1999, the Rouge et Or football program has won the Vanier Cup as U Sports national champions 10 times. Laval’s 10 Vanier Cup titles are the most by any U Sports football team.

    The Rouge et Or entered the 2019 season as defending Vanier Cup champions and were hoping to qualify for the U Sports title game for a fourth straight year. Laval plays host to this year’s Vanier Cup.

    In the last two Vanier Cups, the Rouge et Or faced the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, and the Mustangs won the national title in 2017.

    This season Laval topped the Quebec Student Sports Federation conference standings with a 7-1 regular season record. On Saturday, the Rouge et Or fell in the QSSF title game – the Dunsmore Cup – 25-10 to their archrivals the University of Montreal Carabins.

    The Mustangs finished first in the Ontario University Athletics conference standings with an 8-0 record. On Saturday, they fell in the OUA title game – the Yates Cup – 29-15 to the McMaster University Marauders.

    Following their respective U Sports post-season losses, the Rouge et Or sent a tweet the Mustangs way asking if they wanted to join the Quebec powerhouse squad to drink away the sorrows.

    With Laval’s season having come to an end, it should be noted that Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin has the second most career wins in the history of U Sports posting a 186-33 record including action in both the regular season and post-season.

Stars’ Kliewer shines on the national stage

KLIEWER WITH THE UNBELIEVABLE PAD SAVE ON MCLEOD @Sask_hockey @HC_NWU18 #U18Nationals #ForTheGame pic.twitter.com/n8XxDWTNQl

— Women's Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) November 9, 2019

    Arden Kliewer is a natural when it comes to excelling in the spotlight of big games.

    On Satruday, Kliewer, who is a star netminder for the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA hockey team, played one of her best games ever on national television for Team Saskatchewan at the National Women’s under-18 Championship in Winkler, Man.

    The 17-year-old did her best to steal the gold medal game for Team Saskatchewan turning away 32-of-34 shots sent in her direction. Kliewer had three stops shared on the Women’s Sports Highlights Twitter account.

    While Kliewer had a stellar game, Team Saskatchewan still fell to a powerful Team Ontario Red 3-1, which included an empty-net goal by the Ontario side.

    Kliewer is in her fourth season with the Stars and has posted a 39-9 record, a 1.80 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 49 career SFMAAAHL games. She is the all-time wins leader in the history of the Stars program.

    Kliewer helped the Stars win SFMAAAHL titles in each of the past two seasons and appear in the Esso Cup female national midget AAA championship tournament.

Arden Kliewer in action last season with the Stars.

    The Stars made the championship game of the 2018 Esso Cup falling 2-1 to the Alberta-based St. Albert Slash.

    Kliewer has often been an underrated part of the Stars team as the Stars carried a number of elite level players on their roster like Mackenna Parker, Grace Shirley, Anna Leschyshyn, Joelle Fiala, Ashley Messier and Chase Sperling.

    Kliewer has committed to joining the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team next season.

    This season, Kliewer, who is playing her final midget AAA campaign, is doing her best to give her Stars a chance to be in most games as they go through a huge rebuild undergoing a lot of turnover in players and coaches.

    In six regular season appearances in the current campaign, Kliewer has a 1-5 record, a 3.51 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.

    Kliewer was joined on Team Saskatchewan by current Stars teammate Makena Kushniruk and now Stars alums Messier and Sperling. Messier was named the most valuable player of the National Women’s under-18 Championship.

    The silver medal finish marked the first time Team Saskatchewan has earned a medal at the National Women’s under-18 Championship.

    Messier currently plays for the Selects Hockey Academy in Rochester, New York.

    Sperling is playing this season for the Pursuit of Excellance Hockey Academy in Kelowna, B.C.

Clark hat trick powers Canada over U.S.

THROW THE HATS 🎩🎩🎩!!!! @emclark13 fights off Keller and gets it over Burt for Canada's 5th goal #ForTheGame #USAvCAN pic.twitter.com/n3XBtOxpzd

— Women's Sports Highlights (@WSportHilites) November 10, 2019

    Emily Clark had one of her biggest days on the international stage on Sunday.

    Playing for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team, Clark scored a hat trick to power Canada to a 5-3 victory over the United States in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. Clark tallied goals at even strength, on the power play and short-handed in the win.

    Canada was playing a two-game series against the United States taking the first encounter 4-1 on Friday.

An Emily Clark hockey card.

    In Sunday’s encounter, Canada held a 3-0 lead after the first and second periods. Canada was up 4-1 in the third before the United States cut the lead to 4-3.
    Clark sealed the victory scoring her short-handed goal with 4:14 remaining in the third period.

Melodie Daoust and Natalie Spooner netted singles for Canada.

    Kendall Coyne Schofield, Dani Cameranesi and Kelly Pannek replied with singles for the United States.

    Emerance Maschmeyer made 31 saves to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Kaitlin Burt turned away 23 shots to take the setback in goal for the United States.

    Clark, who is 23-years-old, played female midget AAA hockey with her hometown Saskatoon Stars from 2009 to 2012 collecting 45 goals and 46 assists in 82 regular season games.

    The skilled forward played four seasons with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team starting in 2015 and wrapping up last season with an NCAA national championship win. Clark piled up 70 goals and 76 assists in 147 overall games with the Badgers.

Will Roughriders versus Blue Bomber CFL West final sellout?

The Roughriders and Blue Bombers will battle in the West final.

    It appears the Saskatchewan Roughriders ticket sellers and marketers received an early Christmas gift.

    The Roughriders, who finished first in the CFL’s West Division with a 13-5 record, will host the West final on Sunday, November 17 at 3:30 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium. To make that contest more enticing, the opponent will be the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (12-7).

    This past Sunday, the Bombers advanced to the West Final by upsetting the defending Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders 35-14 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta. The Stampeders finished the 2019 campaign with a 12-7 overall record.

    The Roughriders have had strong attendances, but they aren’t selling out as many games as they once did. Their only sellout this season was the Labour Day Classic back on Sept. 1, when they downed the Bombers 19-17.

    The question remains will a sellout crowd of 33,356 spectators attend the West final between the two sides.
    There was a time Roughriders playoff home games would sellout in a matter of hours, especially during the rare occasion when they host the West final.

The Roughriders celebrate their win in the Labour Day Classic.

    The last time the Roughriders hosted the West Final was 2009, when they downed the Calgary Stampeders 27-17 at Taylor Field. Before the 2009 game, the Roughriders previously hosted the West final way back in 1976, when they downed the Edmonton Eskimos 23-13 at Taylor Field.

    Checking the Ticketmaster map of Mosaic Stadium after Bombers beat the Stampeders, there were still lots of tickets available for the West final, especially in the upper decks. The Pil Country standing room section is sold out.

    At the moment, the entire sports industry in Canada is seeing attendance declines. In recent years, people don’t seem to want to attend live football games in cold weather that is slightly cold.

    One would think a West final at Mosaic Stadium between the Roughriders and Bombers would automatically sellout, but these are different times in the current day.

    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 aim to keep Hardy Cup away from Dinos

Mason Nyhus (#8) and the Huskies aim to get past the Dinos.

    While they still have the Hardy Cup in hand, long playoff runs are still a novelty for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team.

    They are a habit for the University of Calgary Dinos.

    Last year, these two teams battled for the Hardy Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta., to determine a champion for the Canada West Conference. The Huskies stormed to a 43-18 victory to claim their first conference title since 2006.

    On Saturday, these two teams will meet again at the same location on the U Sports playoff trail. The Huskies (6-3 overall) and Dinos (7-2 overall) will battle it out again for supremacy in the Canada West in this year’s Hardy Cup (2 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CJWW 600, SaskTel TV).

    The winner earns the opportunity to host a U Sports semifinal playoff contest in the Mitchell Bowl.

    On top of trying to bring the Hardy Cup back to Saskatoon for a second straight year, the Huskies are appearing in their second conference title game in the last 10 U Sports campaigns.

The Huskies will try to get to Dinos QB Adam Sinagra, left.

    The Dinos are appearing in the Hardy Cup for the 12^th straight year and have captured the Hardy Cup eight times in their previous 11 visits. U of C will host the conference championship game for a 10^th straight year.

    “They are a very good team,” said Huskies quarterback Mason Nyhus. “They always have been.

    “I’m sure they will be for years to come. We have our work cut out for us, but I am very excited for the opportunity.”

    The two sides met once this season, with the Huskies pulling out a 29-15 victory on Sept. 27 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. The Dinos are 5-0 this season at home in action during the regular season and post-season, while the Huskies are 1-3 on the road.

    Even though U of S won this same contest last year in Calgary, Huskies defensive back Nelson Lokombo said that doesn’t mean history will repeat itself in this year’s encounter.

Ben Whiting had 39.5 total tackles in the regular season for the Huskies.

    “I think it is better to prepare for this year’s Calgary team,” said Lokombo. “That is the best thing to do.

    “The past is done now. We have to focus on the future.”

    Nyhus completed 138-of-228 passes for 1,739 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions during the regular season for the Huskies.

    Jesse Kuntz and Sam Baker are the Huskies two biggest threats at receiver. Kuntz caught 29 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns in eight regular season games.

    Baker missed the Huskies first five regular season games due to injury. In the squad’s last three regular season games, Baker hauled in 15 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns.

    Star running back Adam Machart has a superb year carrying the ball 156 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. He also hauled in 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Deane Leonard led the Dinos with four interceptions in the regular season.

    His total of 1,334 yards rushing and 1,538 all-purpose yards are new Huskies team records for one season. Machart was the top rusher this season in U Sports.

    The Dinos are led by fifth-year star quarterback Adam Sinagra. During the regular season, Sinagra completed 159-of-256 passes for 2,014 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

    Sophomore receiver Jalen Philpot was the Dinos top pass catcher hauling in 52 passes for 767 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season.

    Robinson Rodrigues has taken over the starting duties at running back for the Dinos, and he carried the ball 54 times for 271 yards during the regular season.

    On defence, super rookie outside linebacker Ramsey Derbas led the Huskies with 43 total tackles in the regular season, while outside linebacker Ben Whiting had 39.5 total tackles.

Sam Baker has returned to top form with the Huskies.

    Defensive tackle Evan Machibroda and defensive end Nicholas Dheilly each had five sacks to top the Huskies in that department in the regular season, while Lokombo led U of S with four interceptions. Lokombo returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.

    Middle linebacker Grant McDonald topped the Dinos with 40.5 tackles, and he also had 2.5 sacks and one interception in the regular season. Defensive tackle J-Min Pelley had 13 total tackles and equalled McDonald for the team high in regular season sacks at 2.5.

    Defensive back Deane Leonard led the Dinos with four interceptions during the regular season, and he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns.

The Huskies need to celebrate a number of big plays to win the Hardy Cup.

    Huskies head coach Scott Flory said what happened in last year’s Hardy Cup won’t have an effect on this year’s game.

    “They have a whole bunch of different players, different staff,” said Flory. “They are a different football team.

    “They are going to be prepared. They are well coached.”

    Lokombo said his side just wants to get the game on.

    “This is what we’ve been working towards during the season, so it is always a good feeling knowing that it has paid off,” said Lokombo. “All the guys are super excited.

    “We really stressed that we wanted to do it for our guys, our fifth-years and just allowing ourselves to have an extra week to play football with each other. It is awesome.”

Huskies haul away five Canada West season awards

Adam Machart (#20) is the Canada West player of the year.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies football team piled up the individual major Canada West conference awards in a massive fashion.

    On Thursday, the Huskies claimed five out of the seven major awards handed out by the conference. That marked the most major individual conference awards the Huskies have won in any season in program history.

    Huskies star running back Adam Machart was named the player of the year for Canada West by unanimous selection after a sensational campaign. He carried the ball 156 times for 1,334 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. He also hauled in 20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

    His total of 1,334 yards rushing and 1,538 all-purpose yards are new Huskies team records for one season. Machart led U Sports in rushing.

    Defensive tackle Evan Machibroda claimed honours as the conference’s most outstanding lineman. The fifth-year veteran piled up 22 total tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery during the regular season.

    Third-year defensive back Nelson Lokombo was named the conference’s most outstanding defensive player. Lokombo topped the Huskies with four interceptions, and he returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns.

    He posted 23.5 total tackles, 2.5 sacks and four pass breakups.

Scott Flory was named the Canada West coach of the year.

    Linebacker Ramsey Derbas took honours as the rookie of the year by unanimous selection for the conference. Derbas started the last seven of the Huskies eight regular season games and posted a team high 43 tackles to go along with an interception and a half sack.

    Huskies head coach Scott Flory was named the coach of the year for the Canada West Conference after guiding the team to a 5-3 regular season record for the second straight campaign. Flory is in his third season as the Huskies head coach.

    He guided the Huskies to a Canada West title last season and has the Huskies back in this year’s Canada West final. This year’s Canada West title game will see the Huskies face the U of Calgary Dinos on Saturday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

    Fifth-year defensive lineman Derek Dufault from the University of Manitoba Bisons took home the student-athlete community service award for Canada West.

    Veteran U of Regina Rams defensive line coach Greg Nesbitt was named the Canada West nominee for the Gino Fracas Award as conference’s volunteer coach of the year. Nesbitt has been on the Rams staff for a lengthy stretch of time.

CTV vet creates Hilltops in video game form

The @SaskHilltops on PS4! Created roster & uniforms! Check it out & the TD pass 2 Connor Graham #cjfl #yxe #hilltops pic.twitter.com/PAgfiWRYz4

— Matt Young (@MattYoungCTV) November 6, 2019

    Matt Young might be best known as an on-air talent for CTV in Saskatoon, but what most don’t know is he is a video game guru and connoisseur.

    On Wednesday, Young put out a tweet to show he created the 21-time CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops on a PlayStation 4 game called “Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football 2019.” The game includes Canadian teams and allows for customization.

    Young put in the time on the customization feature to create the Hilltops with their current roster. The video Young posted sees the Hilltops taking on their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder.

    You see plays of Hilltops star power running back Ben Abrook running with the ball. You see quarterback Tyler Hermann hit receiver Dillan Heintz with a deep pass.

    Hermann also connects with receiver Connor Graham on a deep post route for a touchdown that is caught in the back of a 20-yard deep end zone.

    Hilltops kicker/receiver Rylan Kleiter nails a convert from the professional football spot at 32 yards out.

    Of course, you can’t go to your nearest video game story and purchase this game with the Hilltops already installed. If you want to put in the time that Young did into customizing a team, you can plays as the storied CJFL club in video game form.

    You can bet anyone associated with the Hilltops will get a kick out of this video.

A reset for the CJFL?

    One of the most interesting pieces that was written about the CJFL this week came from Blake Roberts, who was a long time executive on the circuit mainly with the Okanagan Sun of the British Columbia Football Conference.
    Roberts has been overseeing a podcast called Dieters CJFL Podcast and a blog under that same name. On Wednesday, Roberts put together a post entitled, “Time for the CJFL to press reset.”

    In the piece, Roberts makes a well thought out case for why the CJFL should move from being a 22-and-under league to a 20-and-under league. Part of the argument centres around creating more competitive games and positioning the CJFL as mainly a feeder league for the Canadian university football programs in U Sports.

    Roberts, when he was still the vice-president of the BCFC, made a presentation at the CJFL annual general meeting a year ago in Saskatoon on the merits of making an age change.

    I am just putting both things out there for readers to think about hopefully with an open mind. The link to Roberts piece from Wednesday can be found by clicking right here.

    The link to the paper of his presentation at the 2018 CJFL annual general meeting can be found by clicking right here.

    I will admit I am intrigued by the outside the box thinking, and I welcome it.

    Knowing how people in today’s world like to overact, I must note these are ideas that are put forward. The CJFL will not be changing its age rules tomorrow just because ideas are put forward.

    With how politics works generally in Canada’s amateur sports world, changes usually happen at a medium to slow pace.

    Both of Roberts’ pieces talk about working with U Sports in order to create a better development football system for Canada. My concern there is that if you do get the CJFL clubs to agree on an age change, I am not certain what type of motivation there would be on the U Sports side of things to work with the CJFL.

    When you deal with U Sports, you are not just dealing with the athletic departments at each school. You will ultimately deal with the academic institutions themselves.

    You can never predict where the politics of the academic institutions will take things, and it is possible an academic who is a university head will spin something in a direction to prevent any cooperation from happening.

    For now, Roberts put together a well thought out plan that he believes can make things better for the CJFL and football in Canada. Time will tell if these ideas do get any traction and become something more.

    Right now, this is likely something only the ultra-passionate CJFL followers will have taken a look at.

    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.