Stars build SFMAAAHL dynasty, win fourth Fedoruk Cup in last five years

Anna Leschyshyn, right, lifts the Fedoruk Cup, while Ashley Messier cheers.

    It felt like it was just a matter of time before the Saskatoon Stars championship pedigree was going to rise to the surface.

    On Tuesday, the Stars were looking to sweep the best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Championship series in a Game 3 clash against the Regina Rebels at Merlis Belsher Place. The host Stars seemed to start a little slow coming out of the gate, and the Rebels held a slight edge in play holding a 10-8 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes.

    At that point, the Stars hit another gear.

    Just nine seconds into the second period, Stars star veteran winger Anna Leschyshyn blew home a power-play goal to the top corner of the Regina goal to give the Stars a 1-0 advantage.

Anna Leschyshyn had the Stars first goal on Tuesday.

    The Rebels evened things at 1-1 just 29 second later on a goal from 15-year-old forward Neena Brick, who was the SFMAAAHL’s rookie of the year this season.

    Saskatoon responded with two goals before the second frame ended to go up 3-1 and cruised to a 3-2 victory.

    With the win, the Stars swept the SFMAAAHL title series 3-0 and captured the Fedoruk Cup as league champions for the fourth time in the last five years.

    “It is obviously really special,” said Stars veteran captain Grace Shirley. “We’ve kind of been working for this ever since the beginning of the season.

    “It is really awesome that we could get the win. It is pretty special, because it is my last year. I kind of wanted to go out of the league on a winning note.

Neena Brick scored for the Rebels on Tuesday.

    “It is obviously super special, and I’m excited for what’s next.”

    When the Rebels evened the game up at 1-1, the Stars didn’t get rattled. They controlled the majority of the play for the rest of the contest.

    At the 4:12 mark of the second, Shirley put the Stars ahead 2-1 when her seemingly innocent backhand shot had eyes and found its way past Rebels netminder Chantel Weller.

    Shirley said her goal was a lucky one, but despite the luck, her team found its edge offensively.

    “I think started just like playing our game offensively and getting shots and chances,” said Shirley. “Once we started to do that, they started to go in for us, so it was good.”

Captain Grace Shirley had a goal for the Stars on Tuesday.

    With 1:37 remaining in the second period, rookie forwards Halle Helperl and Kaylee Baun teamed up to set up 17-year-old veteran linemate Kaitlin Jockims for a goal to put the Stars up 3-1.

    The Rebels were held to just two shots on goal in the third period, but one of those shots resulted in a goal from veteran 17-year-old forward Samantha Sichkaruk that cut the Stars lead to 3-2 with 8:50 remaining in the frame.

    During the dying seconds of the third, the Rebels had a huge chance to tie the game, but a final desperate shot by Brick from in close on the left side of the Saskatoon goal went just wide of its mark.

    Rookie Stars forward Haylee Kos, who turned 15-years-old in early February, said her team’s confidence was still high even after the Rebels closed to within 3-2.

    “There was a little bit of nervousness, because we got so close,” said Kos. “I think we all had some pretty good composure.

Sydney Pedersen brings the puck up ice for the Rebels.

    “We kept our defence up.”

    When the third period clock hit zero, Kos said she screamed and jumped over the boards as fast as she could to celebrate with her teammates. She said this was a dream moment during her journey in her rookie campaign.

    “It is absolutely incredible,” said Kos. “It was a little bit chaotic at first adjusting to everything, but I think once I got used to it, it was one of the best experiences of my life.”

    Arden Kliewer made 15 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Weller turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

    Saskatoon finished first in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 27-1 mark, which was the best record the team ever posted in regular season play. Regina was second with a 17-7-4 record.

The Stars begin celebrating their SFMAAAHL title win.

    Greg Slobodzian has guided the Stars to all four of their SFMAAAHL title victories as head coach. 
    The Stars claimed the league crown in 2015, 2016 and last season. He said it is always special to finish as the top team in the province and that all of the Stars SFMAAAHL championship victories had equal meaning.

    “They are all great,” said Slobodzian. “This one is really nice, because you’re with this group of girls for so long, like the other ones too.

    “We’ve got a pretty big graduating class this year. We’ve got some young girls here that I am so happy that they get a chance to experience this. They are all great.

The crowd at Merlis Belsher Place salutes the Stars for their title win.

    “This one is just like all the other ones. I’m going to be enjoying it for a long time.”

    The Stars will now host the Manitoba female midget AAA champion Westman Wildcats from Hartney in a best-of-three Western regional playdown series. The dates and times of that series are still to be announced. It is expected the series will start around April 5.

    The winner of that series advances to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament to be held April 21 to 27 in Sudbury, Ont.

The Stars pose for the traditional team championship photo.

    Saskatoon has advanced to the Esso Cup the three previous times it has won the SFMAAAHL title.

    Shirley is pumped to get the chance to play in another regional playdown series.

    “It is awesome,” said Shirley. “I think any time you get to play more games it is good.

    “I think we are just going to keep getting better and see where that takes us.”

    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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Stars one win away from SFMAAAHL title repeat

Jockims’ monster night gives Saskatoon 4-1 win in Game 2

Kaitlin Jockims had three points for the Stars on Monday.

    Kaitlin Jockims took her turn to become the latest star to step up in a big moment for the Saskatoon Stars.

    On Monday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Jockims had a pair of goals and an assist to help the visiting Stars erase a 1-0 first period deficit and down the host Rebels 4-1 in Game 2 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series.

    With the win, the Stars take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. They will have their first chance to close out the series and win the Fedoruk Cup for a second straight year in Game 3 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon.

    In Monday’s game, the Rebels opened the scoring at the 10:51 mark of the first period on a goal from 15-year-old sophomore defender Sydney Pedersen.

    The Stars evened things up at 1-1 at the 3:34 mark of the second, when Jockims netted her first of the contest.

    With under three seconds to play in the second period, Jockims teamed up with captain Grace Shirley to set up Anna Leschyshyn for the go-ahead goal on the power play to give Saskatoon a 2-1 advantage.

Sydney Pedersen scored for the Rebels on Monday.

    Jockims proceeded to score a huge insurance marker to give the Stars a 3-1 edge with 2:50 remaining in the third period. Sophomore forward Calli Arnold rounded out the Stars scoring with an empty-net goal inside of the final 50 seconds of the third.

    Arden Kliewer made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Chantel Weller turned away 23-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

    Saskatoon finished first in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 27-1 mark, while Regina was second with a 17-7-4 record.

    The Stars are trying to win their fourth SFMAAAHL title in the last five years. The Rebels won their lone SFMAAAHL title in 2013.

    If the Rebels win Game 3 on Tuesday to stay alive in the series, they would force a Game 4 to be held in Regina on Thursday at 7:45 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre. If a series-deciding Game 5 is required, it will be held on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    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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Stars advance to SFMAAAHL final for fifth straight year

Saskatoon eliminates Notre Dame with 3-1 win in Game 4

Joelle Fiala scored the winning goal for the Stars on Thursday.

    A slight scare ultimately couldn’t keep the Saskatoon Stars from returning to the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series for a fifth straight year.

    On Thursday at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox, the Stars fell behind 1-0 to the host Notre Dame Hounds before rallying for a 3-1 victory in Game 4 of a SFMAAAHL semifinal series. With the win, the Stars take the best-of-five series 3-1.

    Saskatoon advances to the best-of-five SFMAAAHL championship series to play for the Fedoruk Cup for a fifth straight year. The Stars won the league title in 2015, 2016 and last season.

    They will face the Regina Rebels in this year’s league final. Saskatoon topped the SFMAAAHL regular season standings with a 27-1 record, while Regina finished second with a 17-7-4 mark. Game 1 of the SFMAAAHL final is set for Saturday at 7:45 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Stars were forced to play a Game 4 of their semifinal series against the Hounds on Thursday after Notre Dame prevailed 2-1 in double overtime in Game 3 on Tuesday at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon.

    Notre Dame hit the scoreboard first in Game 4 when 16-year-old defender Jada Livingston scored at the 10:21 mark of the first period to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

Kaitlyn Ross made 25 saves in goal for the Hounds on Thursday.

    Coming out after the first intermission, the Stars proceeded to control play the rest of the way.

    At the 3:58 mark of the second, Stars 15-year-old sophomore forward Makena Kushniruk potted the equalizer that forced a 1-1 tie.

    Veteran centre Joelle Fiala netted what would be the game and series winner for the Stars just over four minutes after Kushniruk’s tally to put Saskatoon ahead 2-1.

    Veteran forward Anna Leschyshyn added a key insurance marker at the 9:27 mark of the third to round out the 3-1 victory for the visitors.

    Arden Kliewer made 12 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Kaitlyn Ross turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hounds in the final outing of her stellar midget AAA career.

    Notre Dame finished fifth in the SFMAAAHL with a 12-13-3 regular season record and eliminated the Prince Albert Northern Bears 3-1 in a best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series.

    Last season, the Stars swept the Bears 3-0 in the best-of-five SFMAAAHL championship series. Saskatoon will be making a record eighth overall appearance in the league final.

Bohlken’s OT winner pushes Rebels into SFMAAAHL final

Larissa Bohlken scored the OT winner for the Rebels.

    Larissa Bohlken found some magic in overtime to become a playoff hero for the Regina Rebels.

    On Wednesday at the Fairview Arena in Swift Current, Bohlken, who is a sophomore defender, scored the winner at the 4:13 mark of overtime to give her Rebels a 3-2 victory over the host Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in Game 4 of a SFMAAAHL semifinal series. With the win, the Rebels take the best-of-five series 3-1.

    Regina advances to the best-of-five SFMAAAHL championship series to play for the Fedoruk Cup for the first time since 2014. The Rebels fell in that year’s league final to the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings, who advanced on to win the Esso Cup as national female midget AAA hockey champions.

    Regina won the SFMAAAHL championship in the 2012-13 season and advanced to the Esso Cup national championship tournament finishing fourth.

    The Rebels will face the defending SFMAAAHL champion Saskatoon Stars in the best-of-five SFMAAAHL final. Game 1 for the SFMAAAHL championship series is set for 7:45 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon.

    Against the Wildcats on Wednesday, the Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the second period with goals coming from the sticks of veteran forward Lauren Focht and Bohlken, who scored her first of two on the night.

    The Wildcats evened things up at 2-2 early in the third period with goals coming from the sticks of 17-year-old veteran forward Carissa Hogan and SFMAAAHL MVP Taylor Lind. Lind scored short-handed to force the 2-2 tie with 14:14 remaining in the third period.

Taylor Lind scored for the Wildcats on Wednesday.

    Both Hogan and Lind ultimately played the final games of the respective stellar midget AAA careers.

    After the Wildcats tied things up, that set the stage for Bohlken to score her second goal of the night to become the overtime hero for the Rebels.

    Chantel Weller stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Amaya Giraudier turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wildcats.

    The Rebels finished second in the SFMAAAHL regular season standings with a 17-7-4 mark, while the Wildcats placed third with a 17-10-1 record.

    The Rebels and Wildcats split the first two games of their SFMAAAHL semifinal series. Regina went ahead 2-1 in the series taking Game 3 on Tuesday 4-2 at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    In that contest, Emma DeCorby, Kaylee Dyer, Focht and Jordan Fry netted singles for the Rebels. Kamryn Johnson and Sara Kendall replied with singles for the Wildcats.

    Weller made 27 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Giraudier turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wildcats.

    The Rebels swept away the Melville Prairie Fire 3-0 in a best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series. The Wildcats swept away the Battlefords Sharks 3-0 in another best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series.

    Back in 2013, the Rebels swept the Prince Albert Northern Bears 3-0 in the best-of-five SFMAAAHL championship series.

    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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Champs again! - Stars capture third SFMAAAHL title with sweep

Stars captain Mackenna Parker, right, raises the Fedoruk Cup.

    The Saskatoon Stars weren’t going to be denied in their quest to recapture the Fedoruk Cup.

    A year ago, the Stars were swept away 3-0 by the Prince Albert Northern Bears in the best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League Championships Series, which the Stars had won in 2015 and 2016. This year, the Stars returned the favour.

    On Tuesday night at the Agriplace Arena, the Stars scored twice late in the first period of Game 3 of the SFMAAAHL title series to erase an early 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead on the Bears. 

    Saskatoon held on over the next two frames to cement that 2-1 score as the final outcome for Game 3 to sweep the series 3-0 to claim the SFMAAAHL championship banner and the Fedoruk Cup.

The Stars celebrate winning the SFMAAAHL title and the Fedoruk Cup.

    “It feels amazing,” said Stars captain Mackenna Parker. “I have been waiting for it for two years now.

    “Finally, we came together and did it. It is so exciting.”

    For a lengthy stretch of the opening frame, it appeared the Bears were going to force the series to go to a Game 4. They took a 1-0 lead on a well-executed power-play goal at the 5:25 mark of the first.

    Bears physical defender Jordan Ashe passed the puck from the point down to the Jadyn Kushniruk at the right side of the Saskatoon goal. Kushniruk passed the puck across front of the Saskatoon net to skilled centre Kate Ball, who tucked home the opening tally of the contest.

Kate Ball scored to give the Bears an early lead.

    Stars netminder Arden Kliewer had to make a number of big stops to keep the Bears from extending their advantage, which included turning away Ball on a backdoor opportunity later in the frame.

    With 2:58 remaining in the first, Stars forward Kaitlin Jockims took a pass from Anna Leschyshyn to pot the equalizer to tie things up at 1-1.

    Parker proceeded to net the series winner with 12.5 seconds to play in the first period, when she swooped across the front of the Prince Albert goal and tucked home a backhand shot between the legs of Bears netminder Ryan Fontaine. Leschyshyn picked up an assist on that tally as well.

    “I didn’t know if it was going to go through or not, but it did,” said Parker. “It just ended up going five-hole.”

    After 20 minutes, the shots on goal were even at 14-14 thanks to the Stars push in the final three minutes of the frame. Stars head coach Greg Slobodzian said the two goals his side scored at the end of the first was the turning point of Game 3.

Kaitlin Jockims had the equalizer for the Stars on Tuesday night.

    “P.A. came out hard,” said Slobodzian. “We knew they were going to come out hard. You have a team like that which plays hard all the time and then you back them into a corner, they really sent it.

    “We weathered the storm. As soon as we scored those two goals, I was like to play that hard and come out down one goal that is sort of disheartening. They continued to push for sure, but they didn’t have the same jump that they had.”

    The Stars carried play for much of the second period outshooting the Bears 13-5. Netminder Ryan Fontaine made a number of big saves for the Bears to ensure the Stars didn’t get any further ahead on the scoreboard.

    In the third, Bears captain Hannah Koroll likely had the best chance to net the equalizer for her side firing a hard mid-range drive on goal in the second half of the frame, but Kliewer turned away the shot. Outside of Koroll’s opportunity, Saskatoon clamped things down defensively to close out the victory.

Captain Mackenna Parker celebrates her series winning goal for the Stars.

    “It is awesome,” said Jockims of the win. “It is a great feeling to share with all my friends and family.”

    Kliewer made 25 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Fontaine turned away 33 shots to take the setback in the Bears net.

    In Game 2 in Prince Albert on Sunday, Kliewer had a huge outing turning away 30 shots to back the Stars to a 4-2 win. After experiencing what it was like to be swept out of the SFMAAAHL title series a year ago by the Bears in her rookie campaign with the Stars, Kliewer was pumped to be on the winning side this time around as second-year player.

    “It feels great to comeback this year and sweep them the same as they did to us last year,” said Kliewer. “It is an amazing feeling.”

Goalie Ryan Fontaine makes one of her 33 saves for the Bears.

    As for her play in net, Kliewer said she was riding a good vibe.

    “I was just feeling the puck having a good game,” said Kliewer. “I had a good team in front of me. I was just feeling it.”

    Tuesday’s victory marked the third time in four years the Stars captured the SFMAAAHL championship. Parker along with forwards Kianna Dietz, Jordyn Gerlitz and Jordyn Holmes played for the Stars in all three league championship seasons.

    This year’s league championship series had been pegged as another big showdown as the Stars finished first in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 24-3-1 record, while the Bears were second with a 22-5-1 mark.

Goalie Arden Kliewer makes one of her 25 stops in goal for the Stars.

    Slobodzian said the run by his team has been a remarkable one.

    “I’ve always said I have been blessed with really, really good athletes who are eager to get better and want to play the right way,” said Slobodzian. “These are the outcomes that you get.

    “I’m just happy for them. We work those girls so hard in practice, and they are so committed in their dryland. To get rewarded for all that work, it means a lot.”

    The Stars now advance to play in a best-of-three female midget AAA Western regional playdown series versus the Manitoba female midget AAA champion.

Jordyn Holmes, left, and Jordyn Gerlitz enjoy the Fedoruk Cup.

    The best-of-five Manitoba championship series is still going on as the Eastman Selects, who are based in Ste. Anne, have a 2-1 edge in the set on the defending champion Pembina Valley Hawks, who are based in Morden. The latest that series is slated to go on is Friday.

    The winner of the Manitoba championship series will host the Stars for the entire Wester regional playdown series.

    “Everyone on this team gets along so well,” said Jockims. “It is just awesome to have a couple of more weeks together.”

    The club that takes the playdown series advances to the Esso Cup national female midget AAA championship tournament, which runs April 22 to 28 in Bridgewater, N.S.

The Stars celebrate their third SFMAAAHL title in four years.

    Parker, Dietz, Gerlitz and Holmes are all playing out their final campaign of midget AAA eligibility along with defender Dana Wood and netminder Jordan Ivanco. The Stars captain was happy that her team’s season will continue in April.

    “I don’t have to worry about hockey being done,” said Parker. “We can just keep going.

    “I don’t want leave that great group of girls that we have here.”

    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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Stars, Bears off to start SFMAAAHL finals at the Ruthy

The Stars and Bears are set to battle in the SFMAAAHL finals.

    If the Saskatoon Stars and Prince Albert Northern Bears are lucky (or unlucky), they might get to experience an infamous Rutherford Rink “rust break.”

    On Friday at 8:30 p.m., the Stars and Bears will open their best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series at the ancient Rutherford Rink on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan. It is believe this will be the last competitive playoff hockey encounter at the 88-year-old home of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies hockey teams, which will be replaced by the new twin pad rink complex being constructed on campus named Merlis Belsher Place.

    During Huskies games, it is common for rust from the ceiling beams to fall on the ice, if a puck hits the roof. The cleanup of the rust on the ice creates a “rust break.”

    The Stars actually experienced a “rust break” in their current home the Agriplace Arena back on March 11, 2017, when they defeated the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats 4-0 to sweep a best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series 3-0.

Abby Soyko topped the Bears in scoring with 38 points.

    When this year’s SFMAAAHL championship series starts, the Stars and Bears might experience this stoppage that has become infamous with the Ruthy.

    As for the series itself, the Stars and Bears are battling in the SFMAAAHL title series for the right to claim the Fedoruk Cup for the second straight year and the third time in four years. The Stars swept the Bears 3-0 to take the title series in 2015, while the Bears turned the tables and swept the Stars 3-0 in last year’s championship set.

    During the regular season, the Stars won three of the four head-to-head encounters between the two clubs. The Bears claimed the final meeting 2-1 coming back on Dec. 20, 2017 at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    The Stars finished first overall in the SFMAAAHL regular season with a 24-3-1 mark, while the Bears were second overall with a 22-5-1 record.

    Stars captain Mackenna Parker topped the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She equaled the Stars team record for most points scored in one regular season at 60 first set by Emily Clark, who is a member of Canada’s senior national team, in the 2011-12 campaign.

Mackenna Parker led the Stars in scoring with 60 points.

    Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn finished second in SFMAAAHL scoring with 24 goals and 29 assists appearing in all 28 regular season games. Skilled centre Grace Shirley was fourth in SFMAAAHL scoring recording 30 goals and 18 assists in 23 regular season games with the Stars.

    Winger Joelle Fiala piled up 18 goals and 22 assists to finish seventh in league scoring appearing in all 28 regular season games for the Stars.

    Sophomore 15-year-old defender Ashley Messier was the Stars power-play quarterback leading all the team’s rearguards in scoring with three goals and 23 assists.

    Jordan Ivanco is the odds on favourite probable starter in goal for the Stars posting a 12-1-1 record, a 1.76 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout in 14 regular season appearances.

    For the defending SFMAAAHL champion Bears, forward Abby Soyko topped the team in scoring recording 21 goals and 17 assists appearing in all of her team’s 28 regular season games to sit eighth overall in the league.

The Stars and Bears have good respect for each other.

    Jasper Desmarais was second in Bears team scoring with 10 goals and 16 assists. Camryn Amundson and Kate Ball each recorded 25 points this season to sit right behind Desmarais.

Amundson recorded 11 goals and 14 assists, while Ball had seven goals and 18 assists.

    On the back end, physical defender Jordan Ashe keeps improving as an all-around player and led all Bears rearguards in scoring with seven goals and 13 assists. She also topped the team with 42 penalty minutes.

    Captain Hannah Koroll was second in scoring among all Bears defenders recording three goals and 14 assists in 26 regular season games.

    Ryan Fontaine is the probable starter in the Bears goal posting a 13-3 record, a 1.70 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and three shutouts in 17 regular season appearances.

    Game 2 of the series is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. Game 3 will be on Tuesday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

    If necessary, Game 4 will be held on Saturday, March 31 at the Art Hauser Centre, and Game 5 will be on Sunday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

Huskies’ Masikewich named to Commonwealth Games team

Summer Masikewich (#11) is Commonwealth Games bound.

    Summer Masikewich is receiving a welcome extension to her basketball season.

    On Tuesday, the star forward with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team was named to the roster of Canada’s women’s team that will play at the Commonwealth Games, which will run April 4-15 in Gold Coast, Australia. The 19-year-old Calgary, Alta., product completed her second season with the Huskies finishing second in team scoring averaging 16.1 points per game, and she topped the Huskies averaging 6.9 rebounds per game.

    Masikewich, who stands 6-foot-2, helped the Huskies finish second overall in the Canada West Conference with a 17-3 record during the regular season. She was key in helping the Huskies make the Canada West title game on March 2 in Regina, which they fell 75-55 to the host University of Regina Cougars.

    At the U Sports nationals elite eight tournament in Regina, Masikewich aided the Huskies run to the title game on March 11, where they dropped a 69-48 decision to the Carleton University Ravens.

    On the international stage, Masikewich was a member of Canada’s Junior Women’s National team in 2016 and 2017.

Back in the Express with feature on Rush coach

Rush HC and GM Derek Keenan speaks at a rally in 2017.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on Saskatchewan Rush head coach and general manager Derek Keenan.

    Keenan is the all-time leader in career head coaching victories in the history of the National Lacrosse League, and he is basically the circuit’s Scotty Bowman.

    The bench boss is pretty personable, and the 56-year-old showed his sense of humour when he was asked to reflect on his wins record.

    “I’m old,” said Keenan with a laugh. “I’ve been doing it a long time.”

    Keenan has the Rush leading the entire NLL at the moment with an 11-2 record. Local area fans will be pumped to know the Rush play four of their final five regular season games at home. That final stretch of games begins on Saturday when the Rush host the Rochester Knighthawks (6-7) at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    I found my one-on-one interview with Keenan to be real enjoyable, and I came away thinking the Rush were lucky to have him as their head coach and general manager.

    The story on Keenan can be found right here.

    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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Sweet title sweep for Bears

P.A. turns tables on Stars from 2015, wins Fedoruk Cup

Bears captain Brooke Hobson holds the Fedoruk Cup during a team picture.

    Winning a league championship was all that much more sweet for Brooke Hobson, because she remember all too well what it was like to be on the other side.

    The captain for the Prince Albert Northern Bears has way too many bad memories about how tough it was to be swept out of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series losing the series clinching game to the host Saskatoon Stars at the Agriplace Arena two years ago. 

    Fast forward to Tuesday night and Hobson and her Bears were back at the Agriplace Arena in the SFMAAAHL final looking to sweep away the Stars, who were the two-time defending league champs.

    The Bears pulled out a 4-2 victory to sweep the best-of-five series 3-0 and capture the Fedoruk Cup for the second time in team history before a packed house. Prince Albert last won the SFMAAAHL title back in 2009.

Captain Brooke Hobson is the Bears grizzled vet.

    “It is awesome,” said Hobson. “This is my fifth year trying to run for the title and getting it in my last year definitely means a lot to me.

    “I have been working hard since my first day on this team, and this finally came to pay off here. The emotions are definitely flipped upside down here from losing. Having beat the team that beat us that last year we were in the finals definitely means a lot.”

    Hobson, who was a member of Canada’s under-18 women’s team, is the most battled hardened out of all the Bears players. The 17-year-old defender, who is in her final season of midget eligibility, has appeared in a team record 128 regular season games piling up 41 goals and 45 assists. She has appeared in an SFMAAAHL record 46 playoffs games posting five goals and 24 assists.

    In Game 3 on Tuesday, Hobson had a key role in manufacturing her side’s biggest goal of the season. With the Bears locked in a 2-2 draw with the Stars in the third period, Hobson fed a pass to forward Jasper Desmarais to spring a two-on-one break.

    Desmarais fed a perfect pass across the front of the Saskatoon net to linemate Camryn Amundson, who calmly tucked home the championship winner at the 12:19 mark of the frame.

Brooklyn Anderson jets up ice for the Bears.

    “She (Amundson) comes out shinning whenever we need her,” said Hobson. “I am super proud of her and my whole team. She is awesome.”

    Amundson, who is in her second season with the Bears, was pumped to be the finisher on what she thought was some great work by her teammates.

    “It was the perfect pass,” said Amundson. “Jasper (Desmarais) gave me the perfect pass, and if I missed it, I would have been so disappointed.”

    “It wasn’t that great of a shot, but it snuck through. I am just glad it did.”

    The Stars came out with the big jump, when forward Brooke Hausermann scored at the 3:21 mark of the first period on her team’s third shot of the contest to give Saskatoon a 1-0 lead. The hosts held a 10-5 edge in shots over the opening 20 minutes and carried the majority of the play over that time.

    Momentum changed early in the second, when Bears standout forward Abby Soyko scored in her team’s first shot of the period to tie things up a 1-1 just 2:27 in. Brooklyn Anderson proceeded to put the Bears ahead 2-1 scoring just 2:07 after Soyko’s goal.

    Saskatoon regrouped before the second period ended. During a net scramble with 3:24 to play, Jordyn Gerlitz scored to put the Stars on even terms with the Bears at 2-2.

Hannah Koroll (#20) makes a clear for the Bears.

    That set the stage for the play that resulted in Amundson’s series winner. Jadyn Kushniruk added an empty-net tally with 24.7 seconds to play to round out the scoring for the Bears.

    Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby, who is in his sixth season guiding the team as head coach, was proud to see his players win the SFMAAAHL title and quietly admitted it felt good from a personal standpoint.

    “It is like you built a big building,” said Willoughby. “It has been a long time coming.

    “We have seven girls that played in this final two years ago. We had 11 girls that lost a heartbreaker last year in the semifinals.

    “We’ve had our chance to be on the other side, the losing side, so we know what it feels like. It makes this win special.”

    Ryan Fontaine turned away 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bears, who posted a perfect 9-0 record in the SFMAAAHL playoffs. Jordan Ivanco stopped 22-of-25 shots to take the loss in net for the Stars.

Alli Soyko (#22) enjoys victory with a couple of her Bears teammates.

    Willoughby said his players did a good job playing as a unit of five throughout the series, which helped put the Bears in favourable situations.

    “I think from the first game it was our plan to make sure we tried to match them five-on-five, don’t over pursue pucks and cause two-on-one situations for them,” said Willoughby. “I think the girls were resilient doing that.

    “They were consistent, and I think that was the biggest factor.”

    The Bears will now host a best-of-three Western regional playdown series against the Westman Wildcats, who play out of Hartney, Man. Game 1 of that series is set for March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

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

The dream is alive like in 2009 for Prince Albert Northern Bears

Stars face elimination in SFMAAAHL championship series

Abby Soyko pats Camryn Amundson on the head.

    PRINCE ALBERT - Often the difference in a championship series is who can come through in the clutch, and Prince Albert Northern Bears forward Camryn Amundson is proving to be a clutch player.

    With the Bears locked in a 1-1 tie with the visiting Saskatoon Stars just over seven minutes into the second period in Game 2 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series, the 16-year-old product from Debden, Sask., came through with the key play that made the difference in the game. 

    While the Bears were killing a penalty, Amundson got in deep on the forecheck in the Saskatoon zone, caused a turnover, and wired home a short-handed goal that Stars netminder Arden Kliewer had no chance on.

    That goal gave the Bears a 2-1 victory a very vocal and appreciative crowd at the Art Hauser Centre. The Stars could never find the equalizer from that point despite their best efforts, which included a frantic scramble in front of the Prince Albert net with about a minute remaining in the third period.

    The victory also gave Prince Albert a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series.

Camryn Amundson (#9) battle Willow Slobodzian  (#20) for the puck.

    The Stars, who have won the SFMAAAHL title in each of the last two years, will try to avoid elimination in Game 3 back at the Agriplace Arena in Saskatoon on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

    Prince Albert will be attempting to its second league championship. The Bears last championship win came back in 2009.

    Amundson, who was named the SFMAAAHL’s most sportsmanlike player this season, was also money in two critical moments during the Bears 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the league title series on Thursday in Saskatoon. In that contest, the speedy forward set up Story Navrot’s game-winning short-handed goal.

    Later in that same contest, Amundson fired home a knuckleball shot that gave her team a 4-1 lead and solid command of that contest leading to a 5-1 win.

    Sunday’s Game 2 clash in Prince Albert was fairly evenly played with a few momentum swings. At the 7:51 mark of the opening frame, the Bears opened the scoring when star centre Abby Soyko netted a power-play goal.

Stars centre Kianna Dietz (#12) puts a backhand shot on goal.

    The Stars answered back 93 seconds later with an even strength point-shot goal from Chace Sperling to force a 1-1 tie.

    Saskatoon had two huge chances to go ahead before the opening frame ended. First, centre Kianna Dietz had a close in backhand opportunity, but she was robbed by Bears netminder Brooklyn Elek.

    A short time later, Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn broke in alone on the Prince Albert goal, but Elek turned away her drive as well.

    Early in the second, Dietz rang a shot off the post of the Prince Albert goal. That set the stage for Amundson to net the winner minutes later.

Centre Abby Soyko brings the puck up ice for the Bears.

    Kliewer had a solid outing making 21 saves to take the loss in goal for the Stars. Elek turned away 18 shots to pick up the win in net for the Bears.

    If the Stars came back to rally for three straight wins to take the SFMAAAHL title, they would be only the second club in the 11-year history of the league to accomplish that feat.

    Prince Albert is the only team in the history of the SFMAAAHL to rally back down 2-0 in the best-of-five league final to take the series 3-2. The Bears pulled that off in 2009 against the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats.

    The Stars have the players who have a history of making plays in the clutch to give them the ability to rally back. Saskatoon needs their standouts to come through, or the Bears will be bringing the Fedoruk Cup back to “Hockey Town North.”

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

Bears impress in Game 1 win

Stars forced to regroup in SFMAAAHL championship series

The Bears celebrate a second period goal from Camryn Amundson.

    It appears the Prince Albert Northern Bears are ready to end the Saskatoon Stars quest for the three-peat.

    On Thursday at the Agriplace Arena, the Bears took Game 1 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series by a decisive 5-1 score over the host Stars.
    The Stars enter the best-of-five series looking to win their third straight Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title, but during their run of success, the Bears have always seemed to be the club that forces the Saskatoon side to reset.

    The Stars will have to do just that when the series shifts to Prince Albert for Game 2 on Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. 

Grace Shirley gave the Stars an early 1-0 lead on Thursday night.

    During the regular season, the Stars and Bears split their four head-to-head encounters, but they haven’t met since Dec. 14, 2017, when the Stars claimed a 3-0 victory at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. Saskatoon finished first in the SFMAAAHL with a 25-2-1 record, and Prince Albert was second with a 22-6 mark.

    For those that saw Thursday’s clash, they saw a Bears team hit the ice that was pretty much a mirror image of the Stars.
    Prince Albert rolled out four good forward lines, a solid group of six defenders and received sound goaltending from Ryan Fontaine.

    Speedy forward Camryn Amundson likely turned the most heads out of the Prince Albert bunch netting a goal and an assist in the win, but it wasn’t one or two star players from the Bears that burned the Stars. It seemed like everyone on the Prince Albert side contributed in the win.

Camryn Amundson slips home a knuckleball shot for the Bears.

    The Bears played with sound structure, and they also played calm and under control game. What makes the Bears an even tougher opponent is the fact they have a good team culture and credit for that has to be given to head coach Jeff Willoughby and his staff for that.

    When the Bears play, it is easy to find an alum or two in the stands who consider Willoughby like having another father. Those words come from former players other than his two extremely talented daughters Kaitlin and Morgan who star for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    For the Stars, this visit to the SFMAAAHL championship series will be harder to win than when they won it all in each of the past two years. This Prince Albert team is better than the one Saskatoon swept out of the SFMAAAHL title series in 2015.

Stars netminder Jordan Ivanco holds back pressure from the Bears.

    With all that in mind, the Stars got out to a good jump in Game 1. Just 75 seconds in, standout forward Grace Shirley wired home a shot to the top left corner of the Prince Albert goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

    Just before the midway point of an evenly played first period, 15-year-old forward Miranda Heidt potted the equalizer for the Bears to force a 1-1 tie.

    Early in the second, the Stars had a big chance to jump back out in front, when forward Brooke Hausermann was stopped trying to shovel in a short-handed marker at the side of the Prince Albert goal.

    Shortly after that opportunity, the game turned when Bears forward Story Navrot potted a short-handed goal to put the visitors up 2-1. Just 2:05 later, standout 15-year-old rookie forward Kate Ball scored to put the Bears up 3-1.

Forward Sierra Parenteau (#10) fires a backhand shot on goal for the Bears.

    The Bears weren’t done just yet. With 4:05 to play in the second, Amundson scored on a knuckleball shot to give Prince Albert a 4-1 edge.
    Underage 14-year-old forward Brooklyn Anderson rounded out the scoring for the visitors in the third and Fontaine made 29 stops to pick up the win in goal.

    Jordan Ivanco turned away 23 shots to take the loss in goal for the Stars.

    Both teams failed to score on the power play, with the Bears going 0-for-5 and the Stars 0-for-7.

    Despite being down, the Stars did try to mount a comeback holding a 12-7 edge in shots on goal in the third period. Veteran centre Kianna Dietz had the best chance to score, when she misfired on a puck looking into an open Prince Albert cage early in the frame.

Kate Ball circles in the offensive zone for the Bears.

    The Stars don’t have to battle back from adversity often, but they have done that in the past.
    Last year, they dropped the opening game of the SFMAAAHL championship series 4-3 to the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats, but rallied to take the series with three straight wins.

    The adversity after Thursday’s loss to the Bears looms larger than last year’s loss to the Wildcats.

    Still, the Stars roster is filled with talent in the likes of captain Willow Slobodzian, Mackenna Parker, Grace Shirley, Abby Shirley, Joelle Fiala, Anna Leschyshyn and Julia Rongve.
    They have won in all sorts of circumstances that included going into rinks on the road that are filled with huge support for the opponent.

Willow Slobodzian works the point for the Stars.

    Guided by a first rate coaching staff headed by Greg Slobodzian, it would be highly unlikely to see the Stars fall again in Game 2 by a lopsided score.

    The Stars road to a three-peat will be a hard one, but if the three-peat is achieved, it will be that much more fulfilling.
    As one wise veteran hockey coach often told me in the past, if something was easy to do, everyone would do it.
    If you’re a good team, you want to play a tough opponent that has a good culture, because that makes you better.

    The Bears took round one, but this heavyweight tilt likely won’t be a short one.

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