Sister Act – Willoughbys deliver memorable win to Huskies

Morgan Willoughby celebrates her winning goal for the Huskies.

    In one of the only times they can remember, the Willoughby sisters combined to create a heroic moment on the ice.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, it appeared seniors’ night was going to have a sombre tone for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team. The Huskies held a 2-0 lead over the defending U Sports national champion University of Alberta Pandas heading into the third period before the visitors mounted a comeback.

    Pandas star centre Alexandra Poznikoff scored her 12^th of the season while being hauled down from behind on a breakaway to cut the Huskies lead to 2-1. The scoring chance was created by a centre ice zone turnover by the Huskies.

Morgan Willoughby scored her second goal of the season.

    With 2:09 to play in the third, the Pandas caught the Huskies on a bad line change, and U of A fifth-year centre Deanna Morin blew home the equalizer past U of S netminder Jessica Vance to force a 2-2 tie.

    On the ensuing shift, the Willoughbys took control. Star fifth-year captain Kaitlin Willoughby drove hard to left post of the Pandas goal and found younger sister Morgan Willoughby with a beauty backhand pass heading alone towards the U of A goal backdoor down the right wing.

    Morgan blew home a shot for her second goal of the season past Pandas netminder Dayna Owen with 1:49 to play in the frame to the delight of most of the 323 spectators in attendance. The third-year defender’s tally held up as the winner in a 3-2 victory for the Huskies in the U Sports regular season clash.

    “It felt pretty good,” said Morgan. “Obviously as a defenceman, you don’t expect a lot out of yourself to get many points in a year, so it always feels extra special when I do get to score a goal.

    “Kaitlin drove down the middle of the ice, and I just saw that nobody saw me coming backdoor. I called for it, and I was praying that she heard me, and it was a perfect pass for me to get a goal.”

Kaitlin Willoughby set up her younger sister for the Huskies winning goal.

    Morgan’s goal created an upbeat night for the Huskies, who were honouring their fifth-year veterans in Kaitlin, Kira Bannatyne, Kennedy Harris and Kori Herner. After the game, the foursome took a number of photos on the ice with family, and they attended a team fifth-year dinner function later that night.

    Kaitlin, who plays right wing, was pumped she could find her sister in a critical moment.

    “I couldn’t honestly think of a better ending than me and Morgan scoring that goal together and having my family all in that stands right there too,” said Kaitlin. “In the corner of my eye, I could see Morgan, and she was calling really loud.

Kori Herner had a big night scoring twice for the Huskies.

    “I was like you know what I could go for the shot or else I could slide it over to her. I trusted in her, and it worked.”

    Growing up first in Canwood playing minor hockey together before moving to Prince Albert to play for the Northern Bears female midget AAA team, Kaitlin, who is 22-years-old, said she never had a magical on ice goal moment like what happened in Saturday’s game with Morgan, who is 20-years-old. That mainly comes from the fact Kaitlin plays forward, while Morgan is on defence.

    “That was like the textbook like connecting play,” said Kaitlin. “We’ve never scored a game-winning goal like that together. It was awesome.”

    Herner also had a big night for the Huskies. At the 3:18 mark of the first period, winger Emily Upgang passed the puck from behind the Pandas net to Herner, who was alone in front of the goal. Herner’s initial shot was stopped, but she backhanded home her rebound to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge.

Huskies D Kira Bannatyne (#20) battles Pandas C Alexandra Poznikoff.

    Just 46 seconds into the second, the speed winger blew past a Pandas defender down the left wing, cut to the front of the U of A goal and tucked home a shot between Owen’s legs to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge.

    Before the game, Herner was telling a couple of her teammates she was looking to break a 14-game goalless drought. Before scoring twice on Saturday, the Kindersley product’s last goal came back on November 17, 2017 in Edmonton, when the Huskies dropped a 3-1 decision to the Pandas.

Goalie Jessica Vance dives to keep a puck away from her goal.

    “Before the game, I looked at Smitty (Chloe Smith) and Liz (Elizabeth Salyn) and I was like I hadn’t scored since we played Alberta last, so I am going to go out and put it in,” said Herner. “I did it once.

    “Liz was like you are going to go again. It just happened. I just finally had luck.”

Herner was pumped her team could pull off a dramatic finish to get the win.

    “For my fifth year ending off my career here, it was a really special moment,” said Herner. “It was unbelievable.”

    The Pandas had the Huskies pinned in their zone for much of the third period holding a 21-5 edge in shots on goal for the frame. Vance came up with a number of huge saves to prevent the Pandas from getting more than the two goals they collected in the stanza. The Prince Albert product turned away 35 shots overall to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

Deanna Morin scored for the Pandas to tie the game at 2-2 late in the third.

    Owen turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pandas.

    With the win, the Huskies keep their hopes alive for finishing in one of the top two spots in the Canada West Conference and earning a bye in the playoffs to host a best-of-three conference semifinal series.

    The Huskies sit tied with the Pandas for third and fourth place in the conference with 52 points in the standings. In the Canada West women’s hockey standings, teams earn three points for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time losses.

    The Huskies are 17-7-2 and have collected their 52 points from 16 regulation wins, one extra time win and two extra time setbacks. The Pandas, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, are 18-5-3 and have collected their 52 points from 13 regulation wins, five extra time wins and three extra time setbacks.

Kori Herner celebrates her first of her two goals.

    The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have an 18-5-3 record and sit second in Canada West with 53 points build from 14 regulation wins, four extra time wins and four extra time setbacks.

    The University of Manitoba Bisons, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have a 20-5-1 record and top the Canada West standings with 58 points built from 17 regulation wins, three extra time wins and one extra time setback. The Bisons need to earn just one more point in the standings to clinch at least a second place finish in Canada West and two points to lock up top spot in the conference.

Huskies RW Kaitlin Willoughby, right, breaks past Pandas D Taylor Kezama.

    All teams in Canada West have two regular season games remaining on their respective schedules.      The Thunderbirds and Pandas finish the regular season playing each other on back-to-back nights this coming Friday and Saturday in Edmonton.

    The Huskies close their regular season schedule by traveling to Calgary to face the Mount Royal University Cougars, who sit fifth in Canada West with a 10-15-1 record, on back-to-back nights this coming Friday and Saturday.

    The Willoughby sisters had about 40 family members in attendance in Saturday’s win against Pandas to see Kaitlin’s final regular season home game.

The Huskies salute the crowd at Rutherford after their win.

    Kaitlin was sentimental on Saturday, but she said she is expecting her team to make a long post-season run that includes making an appearance at the U Sports women’s hockey nationals that run March 15 to 18 in London, Ontario.

    “I said just to all of them like I want to thank you all for how much they support me, because I’ve honestly received so much support from them throughout the five years,” said Kaitlin. “I was like but I am not saying it is over.

    “You guys come see all my playoff games. I’m saying thanks now, because it is a very sentimental night, but at the same time, it is like I know we still have a lot of hockey left. We’re playing until mid-March. I know that for sure. We are going for it.”

Cooke captures saves milestone, Dogs fall to Golden Bears

Jordon Cooke sits second all-time on the Huskies career saves list.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke moved up to second on the all-time career saves list for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, but the Huskies still saw their losing streak increase to four games.

    On Saturday before 1,881 spectators at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Cooke made 27 saves as his Huskies fell 3-1 to their “Forever Rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a U Sports regular season clash. The Golden Bears, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won six in a row to improve to 22-3-1.

    They locked up first place in the Canada West Conference with their win over the Huskies on Saturday.

    With his performance on Saturday, Cooke now has 2,333 career saves in his four campaigns with the Huskies and he sits second on their all-time career saves list. He moved past Jeff Harvey, who now sits third on the Huskies all-time career saves list with 2,308 stops. Harvey played for the Huskies from 2005 to 2010.

    Ryan Holfeld, who played for the Huskies from 2010 to 2015, tops the Huskies all-time career saves list with 2,602 stops.

    In Saturday’s clash, Tyson Baillie scored for the Golden Bears in the first period and Steven Owre tallied in the second period to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

    Gritty forward Parker Thomas scored his seventh of the season at the 3:23 mark of the third for the Huskies to cut the Golden Bears edge to 2-1.

Parker Thomas had the Huskies lone goal on Saturday in Edmonton.

    Owre added his second of the contest at the 12:53 mark of the third to round out the two-goal win for U of A. The Rocklin, Calif., product picked up an assist on the Golden Bears first tally to finish with a three-point night.

    Brendan Burke turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Golden Bears.

    The end of the game had some excitement as Golden Bears head coach Serge Lajoie was given a game misconduct for not controlling his bench. Golden Bears forward Cole Sanford was given a cross-checking penalty at that time, while Huskies offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg was given a 10-minute misconduct.

    The Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, fell to 18-7-1 to remain second in Canada West. The Huskies need to earn two more points in the standings over their final two regular season games to lock up a second place finish in Canada West and earn a bye in the playoffs to host a best-of-three conference semifinal series.

    The University of Manitoba Bisons, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won five straight to sit third in Canada West three points behind the Huskies with a 16-8-2 record. The Bison have two games remaining on their regular season schedule.

    U of S can’t finish any lower than third in Canada West.

    The Huskies close their regular season schedule by hosting the Mount Royal University Cougars (12-12-2) in back-to-back nights this coming Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. each night at the Rutherford Rink.

    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 grind out win on Vance’s third shutout

The Huskies congratulate goalie Jessica Vance on her shutout.

    Steve Kook hopes the low scoring nail-biter isn’t the norm for his University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The veteran head coach watched his side squeak out a gritty 1-0 victory over the University of Regina Cougars on Saturday night in a U Sports regular season clash at the ancient Rutherford Rink. So far this season, low scoring battles have been the norm for teams playing head-to-head in the Canada West Conference. Venla Hovi, who is a star forward for the University of Manitoba Bisons, is the only player averaging a point a game with four goals and eight assists in 12 appearances.

    In building a 9-6-1 record to sit fourth in Canada West, the Huskies and the University of Calgary Dinos are tied for giving up the fewest goals in the circuit at 23. The Huskies have only scored a combined 26 goals which ranks fifth in the eight-team conference.

    Kook said grinding out the low-scoring win isn’t the easiest thing to do.

    “I think it is hard on teams to do this every weekend,” said Kook. “I don’t think it is any different than what we’ve gone through every year.

Jessica Vance makes a glove save for the Huskies.

    “The challenge for us is to try to find a way to get more than one person at the net. Goalies are so good in this league you have to find a way to get two people at the net or attack in multiples.”

    The Cougars came at the Huskies hard in the opening 20 minutes outshooting the host side 16-8. Thanks to the stellar goaltending from Jessica Vance, the Huskies entered the first intermission locked in a 0-0 tie.

    Vance’s two best saves in the opening frame included robbing Cougars captain Kylee Kupper on a backdoor play and making a glove stop on fourth-year forward Emma Waldenberger.
    “They came on strong, and it was important to make those first few saves to keep my team in it,” said Vance. “Luckily, my team did a good job by keeping most of the shots to the outside to make it a little easier for me.”

    At the start of the second, Vance made a trio of big saves first on Cougars star forward Jaycee Magwood, then on Kupper and another on Jenna Grube.

    The Huskies found traction, when they went to work on their fourth power-play of the contest. During a net scramble, Huskies star captain Kaitlin Willoughby, who had a solid lunch pail type game, got the puck from a crowd at the left side of the Cougars goal and drove home her fifth tally of the season.

Kaitlin Willoughby scored for the Huskies on this net scramble.

    That goal ultimately turned the tide of the contest in favour of the Huskies. The hosts held a 12-5 edge in shots on goal in the second period.

    The third period was a calm one with both sides not have a whole lot in the way of scoring chances. Vance made a big late save on Magwood in a 27 save shutout performance.
    In six starts this season, Vance has posted a 4-2 record, a 1.18 goals against average, a .955 save percentage and three shutouts.

    “It feels good to have the shutouts, but the most important part is for my team to get the win,” said Vance. “I try not to think about my stats too much and just focus on working together with my team to get the win.
    “A lot can be said for my team’s defence as well for my shutouts as that is a key part of the game.”
    Jane Kish stopped 23 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars, who fell to 7-8-1 to remain fifth overall in Canada West.

    During their first 16 games, the Huskies held the edge in shots on goal in six of the seven games they lost.

Kaitlin Willoughby drives into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    A lot of the times, they have outshot their opponents by a comfortable edge, but that work hasn’t resulted in a gusher of goals.

    On the power play, the Huskies are 3-for-55 with a 5.5 per cent success rate on the campaign. Kook said his team is getting chances on the power play, and it is a challenge to keep the confidence up with everyone.

    “The natural thing is to want to try and change something,” said Kook. “I’d be more concerned if we weren’t getting good looks and good scoring chances off the power play.

    “We need to get better at the things we do. We need to tweak a little bit maybe some strong net front presence and a more committed net front presence. For us to make a wholesale change I think is wrong.

Goalie Jessica Vance makes one of her 27 saves on Saturday.

    “We’re getting good scoring looks.”

    The Huskies now head into their exam and Christmas break. They return to action on Jan. 5 in the new year, when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (7-9-2) at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Kook liked how his team won puck battles on Saturday and wants to see that continue in the second half. He would also like to see his side manage the puck better.

    The bench boss thought his team had lapses in Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Cougars in Regina, where the Huskies did have a 31-19 edge in shots on goal.

    “Literally in the second half, it is a sprint,” said Kook. “We have 12 games over six weeks. Before you know it, it is over.

    “You just have to make sure we are in games like this right off the bat. (Friday night), I thought we didn’t play a very good 40 minutes, and we played a good 20 minutes. That is what we are going to try and focus on.”

Cooke sits alone in second on Huskies career wins list

Jordon Cooke picked up his 54th career regular season win for the Huskies.

    Jordon Cooke hit another major milestone before his U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team departed into the semester break.

    On Saturday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Cooke made 23 saves to back the Huskies to a 6-5 victory over the host U of Regina Cougars before 1,020 spectators. The victory was the 54^th of Cooke’s regular season career with the Huskies, which places him alone in second spot on the team’s all-time regular season win’s list.

    Cooke sits one victory ahead of former teammate Ryan Holfeld, who won 53 games playing goal for the Huskies from 2010 to 2015.

    Jeff Harvey sits first on the team’s all-time wins list picking up 60 victories playing goal for the Huskies from 2005 to 2010.

    As for Saturday’s contest itself, the Huskies and Cougars battled in a seesaw affair. With the two sides locked in a 5-5 draw, feisty forward Jaimen Yakubowski scored the winner with 1:32 to play to lift the Huskies to a one-goal win.

    Andrew Johnson scored twice for the Huskies, while John Lawrence, Tanner Lishchynsky and Alex Forsberg had singles.

    Corwin Stevely, Colton Sparrow, Zach McPhee, Cody Fowlie and Ian McNulty replied with singles for the Cougars.

    Michael Herringer started in goal for the Cougars turning away 5-of-8 shots before being pulled at the 5:36 mark of the first period. Dawson MacAuley stopped 36-of-39 shots going the rest of the way in relief for the U of R.

    The Huskies, who have won five straight, sit second in Canada West with a 13-2-1 mark. The Cougars fell to 3-11-2 to sit in the basement of the eight-team Canada West Conference.

    The Huskies return to action on Jan. 5 in the new year, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns (6-9-1).

    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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Cooke wins 50th with Huskies

Kendall McFaull, left, gives congrats to Jordon Cooke on his 50th win.

    Jordon Cooke further cemented his status as one of the best goalies to ever play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team with a unique accomplishment.

    On Saturday at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Cooke made 26 saves as his Huskies, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, downed the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 5-2. With that effort, Cooke became the third goalie in the history of the Huskies men’s hockey team to win 50 career regular season games.

    The other two netminders who have pulled off that feat are Ryan Holfeld, who won 53 games playing for the Huskies from 2010 to 2015, and Jeff Harvey, who picked up 60 wins playing for the Huskies from 2005 to 2010.

    During his career with the Huskies, Cooke has been phenomenal. Currently during regular season play with the team, the Leduc, Alta., product has posted a 50-19-2 record, a 2.38 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and eight shutouts.

    The 24-year-old has been the U Sports goalie of the year and a U Sports first team all-Canadian in each of the past two seasons.

Jordon Cooke makes a glove stop for the Huskies.

    He was instrumental in helping the Huskies win the Canada West title in the 2015-16 campaign and make an appearance in the U Sports championship game – the University Cup – last season.

    Cooke was a prized recruit for the Huskies back at the start of the 2014-15 season have been named the Canadian Hockey League’s goaltender of the year back in the 2013-14 campaign while with the Kelowna Rockets.

    Standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 185 pounds, Cooke was passed over in the NHL Entry Draft as those clubs are hooked on finding netminders who stand at least 6-foot-2.

    With that said, Cooke can flat out stop the puck making key bailout saves, and he should be in the professional ranks. Numerous pears that he played with and against in major junior and the university ranks believe Cooke should be playing in the professionally now.

    What can’t be denied is Cooke has made his mark with the Huskies. He is arguably the most recognizable player on an extremely talented Huskies men’s team.

    He is the type of player you want representing your team out in the community. Cooke is well-mannered, personable and approachable, and he has a pretty slick sense of humour too, which makes him a beauty.

    Cooke has held his own in the classroom too. Before the start of the season, he was named one of many recipients of the Huskie Athletics All-Academic Second Team award for having an average of at least 74.5 per cent on a minimum coarse load of 24 credit units last season.

Jordon Cooke, left, and Levi Cable chat during a stoppage in play.

    For players coming out of major junior hockey, they always face initial anxiety about the classroom work, when they join a university squad. A lot of times, those players will have been out of school for two or three years. Academic achievements are gratifying for those players.

    While Cooke had a solid night on Saturday, Michael Sofillas scored twice for the Huskies, while Kohl Bauml, Parker Thomas and Logan McVeigh all had singles helping the Huskies improve to 8-1-1.

    Manraj Hayer and Tyler Sandhu replied with singles for UBC. Saskatoon product Rylan Toth turned away 36-of-40 shots taking the setback in goal for the Thunderbirds (5-4-1).

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday when they host their forever rivals the U of Alberta Golden Bears (10-0) at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Proud to be 3rd Huskie goalie to hit 50 wins in a Huskie uniform. Thanks boys, aiming for 61! #thedogs

— Jordon Cooke (@jordoncooke32) November 12, 2017

Vance still in prime form after layoff

Jessica Vance in her last game with the Bears on March 25, 2015.

    Jessica Vance showed a layoff of about two and a half years didn’t diminish any of her skills when it comes to play goal.

    On Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, B.C., Vance made her second consecutive start for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team. She made 17 stops to back the Huskies to a 2-1 victory over the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    One night earlier, Vance made 33 saves to pick up a 2-0 shutout victory for the Huskies against the Thunderbirds in her U Sports regular season debut. UBC had been ranked first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings heading into the weekend.

    Before stepping in goal for the Huskies on the weekend, Vance’s last competitive hockey start came way back on March 25, 2015 for the Prince Albert Northern Bears in Game 3 of that year’s Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series. She made 20 saves in that game, but the Bears fell to the host Saskatoon Stars 2-0 at the Agriplace Arena and were swept out of that series 3-0.

    Playing for the Bears from 2010 to 2015, Vance became one of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s all-time greatest goalies posting a 48-36 record, a 2.27 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 91 career regular season games. Her 48 wins, 16 shutouts and 91 games played are all SFMAAAHL career regular season records.

    After exhausting her midget AAA eligibility, Vance committed to play for the U of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team, but she was forced to sit out the 2015-16 campaign as a medical redshirt after suffering a major leg injury playing competitive softball in the summer of 2015.

    Vance dressed for one game as a backup goalie very early last season for the Bisons before electing to play closer to home. Due to dressing for that one game, she wasn’t eligible to play for the Huskies until Nov. 1 of this year.

Kayla Kirwan scored her first U Sports goal on Sunday.

    Against the Thunderbirds, Vance didn’t show any rust. The 20-year-old played up to her star reputation from the past stopping 50-of-51 shots over two games against a powerhouse Thunderbirds side.

    With those two wins, the Huskies improved to 7-2-1 to sit first in the Canada West Conference by a single point over the Bisons (7-3).

    U of S built that record playing three goalies who have all delivered strong performances in Vance, Jasey Book and Chloe Marshall. Huskies head coach Steve Kook has a good problem of having to make a tough decision of who starts, who dresses and who sits among the trio on any given night.

    In Saturday’s win, Emily Upgang had a goal and an assist for the Huskies, and the assist came from helping set up defender Kayla Kirwan’s first career U Sports regular season goal.

    Hannah Clayton-Carroll had the lone reply for UBC. Amelia Boughn made 26 saves to take the loss in goal for the Thunderbirds, who fell to 6-4.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Edmonton to take on the defending U Sports champion U of Alberta Pandas (6-2-2).

Thompson stones Blades

Jake Kustra scored for the Blades on Saturday.

    The Saskatoon Blades couldn’t overcome a hot goaltender against the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Saturday night.

    Overager Logan Thompson made 36 saves to allow the Wheat Kings to slip past the Blades 3-1 before 4,804 spectators at Westman Place.

    The two teams played through a scoreless opening frame. Baron Thompson scored the only goal of the second period to give the Wheat Kings a 1-0 lead.

    At the 13:45 mark of the third period, Stelio Mattheos potted his 11^th goal of the season to give Brandon a 2-0 edge. Blades defenceman Jake Kustra got the visitors on the board with a short-handed goal with 1:15 to play in the third period.

    Saskatoon pressed for the equalizer, but Evan Weinger closed out the Wheat Kings victory with an empty-net goal right before the third period buzzer.

    Ryan Kubic turned away 21-of-23 shots taking the setback in goal for the Blades.

    The Wheat Kings improved to 11-6-1 with the win, while the Blades fell to 7-10-1.

    The Blades return to action Wednesday, when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Get ready for Roughriders hysteria to crank even higher

Quarterback Kevin Glenn led the Roughriders to a playoff win in Ottawa.

    Now that the Saskatchewan Roughriders have won the East semifinal, you can expect the excitement for the CFL club to hit an even higher fever pitch in the province that boasts the “Land of the Living Skies.”

    The excitement in warranted. After missing the CFL’s playoffs for two straight seasons, the Roughriders have exceeded expectations in the current campaign posting a 10-8 regular season record. It has been enjoyable to watch this team come together over the course of the season. Going into the playoffs, the Roughriders had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

    On Sunday before 24,107 spectators at TD Place in Ottawa, the Roughriders downed the host and defending Grey Cup champion Redblacks 31-20. Thanks to that win, Saskatchewan advances to the East Final this coming Sunday against the Argonauts in Toronto.

    In the win over the Redblacks, Roughriders ageless 38-year-old quarterback Kevin Glenn completed 18-of-28 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown to pace the visitors. Glenn carried the ball three times for 10 yards and scored one touchdown.

    Running back Marcus Thigpen carried the ball 15 times for 169 yards and scored on an electrifying 75-yard touchdown run.

    Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris did his best to try and keep his side’s post-season alive. He completed 37-of-60 passes for 457 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

    Listening to the radio call of Roughriders play-by-play voice Rod Pedersen was fun, when he described Thigpen’s 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Pedersen goes right out there being excited for the Roughriders, and the entertainment value of his call was priceless. As a fan, you come away thinking your team is number one, if you are a Roughriders backer like I am.

    At that moment, I was thinking too hard on a serious subject, and that touchdown call came at a perfect time to lighten the mood. I had a good chuckle.

    On the Roughriders front, the figures are crossed for this upcoming Sunday.

    The Edmonton Eskimos dumped the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg 39-32 in the West semifinal. The Eskimos advance to face the Stampeders in Calgary this coming Sunday in the West Final.

    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.