Hilltops will be back

Venerable CJFL club will continue positive impact in Saskatoon

Austin Thorarinson raises the Canadian Bowl for the Hilltops in 2015.

     The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic became a tough more real for the followers and all those involved with the Saskatoon Hilltops.
    While the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the North American sports scene since March 11, the reality of it hits teams and leagues to a more elevated degree when normal events of an entire season stop happening. That includes missing training camp activities and games.

    On Thursday, the CJFL announced the cancellation of the entire 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of regulations regarding travel and large gatherings that needed to be eased for football activities were just a couple of factors that were too much for the CJFL to overcome.

Tom Sargeant gets the ice bucket shower after the 2015 CJFL title win.

    Many other leagues in Canada are dealing with similar hoops the CJFL is trying to overcome. On Friday, the Prince Albert Minor Football Association cancelled all its fall programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On the CJFL front, the Hilltops have won the last six straight league title and nine out of the 10 CJFL championships. The Canadian Bowl trophy has comfortably resided in the trophy display located at the entrance way of the Hilltops clubhouse.

    For the Hilltops, Thursday’s announcement would have been the latest shoe drop for this week. For those involved with the team, events that were missed in annual timelines had to be running through everyone’s minds.

Justin Filteau in action for the Hilltops in 2014.

    Monday would have normally be the start of Hilltops training camp. Thursday would have been the usual time for the team’s Alumni Game.

    The Alumni Game is an annual event alums look forward to, because it is often the one time every year the old players get to come back and see each other again. The alums often take part in some social gatherings after the game.

    There were likely a few times this week where those involved with the Hilltops thought, “Wow, we actually aren’t doing this for this year.”

    At this point in time, it is apparent the whole sports scene in Canada is going to go through a reset due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No one can predict what that reset will look like outside of the fact things will look a lot different than they did on March 10, which was seemingly the last normal sports calendar day in North America.

    The Hilltops will be there when the pandemic ends and the reset runs its course. In a current world that has very few certainties, this is one you can bank on.

Jordan Walls fires a pass downfield for the Hilltops in 2018.

    The current modern day version of the Hilltops first hit the field in 1947 and won the provincial title that year. They made it to the CJFL title game in 1948 falling 23-10 to the Hamilton Wildcats.

    In 1953, the Hilltops won their first CJFL championship hammering the Windsor AKO Fratmen 34-6 in front of 7,200 spectators at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon on the golden arm of quarterback Ron Adam, who completed 12-of-20 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns. Adam’s throwing was complimented by powerful and tough rushing attack.

    Since that first CJFL championship win, the Hilltops have gone on to win a total of 22 CJFL titles hoisting three different league championship trophies in the Leader-Post Trophy, the Armadale Cup and the Canadian Bowl in the process.

Jadyn Pingue in action for the Hilltops in 2019.

    Since 1998, the Hilltops have been guided Tom Sargeant as head coach and have won 13 CJFL championships under his direction. Sargeant also experience CJFL title wins one as a player and twice as an assistant coach with the Hilltops.

    He holds the record for most career post-secondary head coaching football wins in Canada posting a 210-30-2 mark in the CJFL regular season and post-season. Sargeant is cemented on the Mount Rushmore of amateur football coaching greats in Saskatchewan.
    Tonnes of his former players credit him for being one of their biggest life influences.

    Besides “Sarge,” the Hilltops have a legacy of stellar people hold executive and coaching roles with the team who have had big impacts in the community. The list includes people like Ed Henick, Len Richardson, Don McDonald, Bob Arn, Al Ledingham and Dave Hardy.

Rylan Kleiter makes a tough catch for the Hilltops.

    Due to the great leadership the club has had over the years, the Hilltops have build a vast network of alums and people that identify with the team in the community.

    If Saskatoon is having a year where seemingly everything is going on in the world is bad, the Hilltops inevitably seem to be the one thing that rises up and shows you can still do great things by doing things the right way.
    Any time the Hilltops go on a CJFL championship run, people in Saskatoon can recall warm memories the team produced in the past and relive those memories in the present.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the Canadian Bowl in 2018.

    The memories include players like Ron Atchison, Steve Molnar, Wayne Shaw, Gord Barwell, Ted Dushinski, Warren Muzika, Sheldon Ball, Brian Guebert, Jorgen Hus, Andre Lalonde, Justin Filteau, Jordan Walls and Jadyn Pingue leaving everything on the field for the team.

    The amount of people that have positive emotional investment in the Hilltops seems endless. You can bet the Hilltops will continue to leave a positive and inspirational mark on Saskatoon sports scene when North America and the world gets rolling after the tough part of these current pandemic times end.

Huskies’ Vance, Drever to coach one day female goalie camp

Information on Solid Goaltending’s all-girls one day camp.

    If you are a young female goaltender that is looking to get out of the house, Solid Goaltending has an offer that is too good to pass up.

    On Sunday, Aug. 16, Solid Goaltending will be running a one day girls’ only camp featuring Jessica Vance and Camryn Drever as instructors at the Jemini Arena. Vance and Drever make up the dynamic goaltending tandem for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Solid Goaltending is run by Sheldon Goertzen, who is the goaltending coach for the Huskies women’s team.

    The camp has six spots open for goalies in the under-18 age group and six sports for the under-15 age category.

    For young female netminders, this camp will be well worth their time. Vance and Drever are outstanding goalies and are both personable and approachable.

Jessica Vance in action for the Huskies.

    Odds are quite high those attending the camp will come away feeling they had a great experience.

Vance just finished her fourth season of U Sports eligibility and third campaign with the Huskies. The Prince Albert, Sask., product has appeared in 59 career regular season games with the Huskies posting a 38-14-6 record, a 1.17 goals against average, a .947 save percentage and 20 shutouts.

    In the 2017-18 U Sports campaign, Vance was the most valuable player of the Canada West Conference and a U Sports first team all-Canadian all-star. She starred for five seasons with the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 AAA team from 2010 to 2015.

    Drever just finished her second U Sports campaign with the Huskies. She has appeared in 14 career regular season games posting an 8-5-1 record, a 1.56 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and four shutouts.

Camryn Drever makes a stop for the Huskies.

    The Edmonton product backstopped the Alberta based St. Alberta Slash to Canadian female Under-18 AAA championships capture the Esso Cup in 2017 and 2018.

    Together, Vance and Drever bring a vast amount of experience that they can pass on to a younger generation and give the camp attendees an upbeat break from the stress of the current COVID-19 pandemic world.

    Those interested in registering for the camp can call (306) 371-6008 or email solid.goaltendingsk@gmail.com.

    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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Raiders hammer Hitmen 8-3

The Raiders celebrate one of their eight goals on Tuesday.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - The Prince Albert Raiders delivered a technical knockout to the Calgary Hitmen.

    On Tuesday before 2,481 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raider stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and romped to an 8-3 victory in a WHL regular season clash between the two sides. The win was a third straight for the defending WHL champions who improved to 35-17-5-4 to sit five points up on the Brandon Wheat Kings (34-21-4-2) for first in the East Division.

    “I liked our energy,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose team was playing their fourth game in five days. “Their goalie had a tough night to be fair.

    “I thought we were on the puck. Our ability to get the puck back when we lost it in our end I thought was key. I like the jump.

    “I like the resiliency. They (his players) had built in excuses, but they didn’t take them.”

Brayden Watts (#27) had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

    The Raiders came out on fire and drew first blood at the 9:01 mark of the opening frame when a mid-range shot from left-winger Brayden Watts snuck between the legs of Hitmen netminder Jack McNaughton and trickled into the Calgary goal.

    Just 1:41 after that tally, Raiders captain Zack Hayes fired home a point shot through a screen to give the host side a 2-0 edge.

    The onslaught continues with 6:02 remaining in the opening frame when 18-year-old centre Reece Vitelli tipped home a shot from the left boards taken from right-winger Spencer Moe to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.

    Things continued to get worse for the Hitmen as Watts tallied on the power play with 2:43 remaining in the first to put the Raiders up 4-0.

Prince Albert had a 19-7 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes.

Reece Vitelli had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

    “We just had a hot start,” said Watts, who had an assist to go with his two goals. “I think that kind of got us going.

    “We had some moments there where they kind of took over the game. Luckily, our goaltending was really good tonight as usual, and we were able to notch a couple more in the second and third.”

    The Hitmen attempted to battle back scoring two goals 12 seconds apart shortly after the five-minute mark of the second coming from the sticks of Cael Zimmerman and captain Mark Kastelic. Those tallies cut the Raiders lead to 4-2.

    The Raiders called a timeout after Kastelic’s tally to regroup.

    The host side went back up 5-2 at the 12:10 mark of the second, when Belarusian import centre Aliaksei Protas tucked home a shot from the front of the Calgary. 

Aliaksei Protas scored his 30th goal on Tuesday.

    The tally was the 30^th of the season for Protas.

    Vitelli added his second of the night about 2:40 later to give the Raider a 6-2 advantage.

    “Habby (Habscheid) made a great choice calling a timeout there to settle us down,” said Vitelli, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department. “We don’t want to give up two at the start of the second period there and get them back in the game.

    “We responded well in the second half of the second period and just continued there for the rest of the game.”

    Early in the third, 18-year-old left-winger Ilya Usau tallied on the power-play early to give the host side a 7-2 advantage.

    Moe scored on a breakaway tucking the puck five-hole on McNaughton to give the Raiders an 8-2 lead.

    Zimmerman rounded out the game’s scoring tallying his second of the night for the Hitmen.
    Max Paddock made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Jack McNaughton turned away 36 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (34-22-4-1).

Spencer Moe had a goal and two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    The Raiders top line of Protas centring Watts and Moe had a big night. While Watts collected three points, Protas and Moe both had a pair of assists to go with their goals to post respective three-point outings.

    “They are our top line,” said Habscheid. “They have to produce.

    “They have to score. We need them to score. It is nice when your depth chips in.

    “Singers sing, dancers dance and goal scorers score goals, and they have to score goals. That is just the way it is.”

    Usau had a pair of assists to go with his goal for a three-point night, while Raiders sophomore star defenceman Kaiden Guhle had a pair of assists.

The Raiders salute the Art Hauser Centre faithful after their win on Tuesday.

    The only down part about for the Raiders was the fact that 19-year-old right-winger Justin Nachbaur left the game late in the third period. Habscheid said Nachbaur was day-to-day, and the extent of his injury was still being determined.

    Besides the work of his top line, Habscheid liked how Vitelli played on Tuesday.

    “Reece (Vitelli) has carved out a little bit of a niche,” said Habscheid. “He is a faceoff guy.

    “He blocks shots. He plays the right way. He is good teammate.

    “He fits in well to our room.”

    The Hitmen return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 31-23-2-3 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

    The Raiders get back at it on Friday hosting the Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Huskies’ Willoughby, Vance star on “This Girl Can” night

Morgan Willoughby sets to drop the ceremonial faceoff puck.

    Morgan Willoughby and Jessica Vance, who are both veterans of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, were treated to star status leading up to the Prince Albert Raiders game on Tuesday.

    The two are from Prince Albert and are both alums of the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA hockey team. Willoughby and Vance took centre stage for the “This Girl Can” night that was put on by the Raiders.

    The promotion was held in conjunction with the Bears and the 2020 Esso Cup committee. Prince Albert will host the Esso Cup, which is the female midget AAA national championship tournament, from April 19-25.

    “This Girl Can” night was held to celebrate young girls and women in sport, business and in community groups.

Jessica Vance (#30) shakes hands with Raiders captain Zack Hayes.

    Willoughby and Vance took part in an on-ice session with young female players from Prince Albert and area on Tuesday afternoon. Following the on-ice session, they were the main speakers for a speaking engagement at the Ches Leach Lounge.

    During a pre-game ceremony before the Raiders thumped the visiting Calgary Hitmen 8-3, Willoughby and Vance took part in a ceremonial faceoff.
    Willoughby just finished her fifth and final season as a tough defensive defender with the Huskies. She skated in 117 career U Sports regular season games posting six goals, eight assists and a minus four-rating in the plus-minus department often playing against the top lines of opposing teams.

    This past season, Willoughby appeared in 26 regular season games with the Huskies posting one goal, two assists and a plus-five rating.

Jessica Vance and Morgan Willoughby wave to the Art Hauser Centre crowd.

    Vance has been a star goalie for the past three seasons for the Huskies. She has appeared in 59 career U Sports regular season games posting a 38-14-6 record, a 1.17 goals against average, a .947 save percentage and 20 shutouts.

    This past season, Vance saw action in 19 regular season games posting a 12-4-3 record, 1.44 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and five shutouts. She has one season of U Sports eligibility remaining after starting her university career with the University of Manitoba Bisons.

    The Huskies finished third in the Canada West Conference with a 17-7-2-2 record this past season. They lost two overtime games in the post-season falling in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-0 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    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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Playing up rivalries in U Sports women’s hockey a mistake – only for now

Thunderbirds sweep Huskies in epic rivalry series

The T-birds mob Hannah Clayton-Carroll after her OT2 winner.

    It was a column that was a bigger bust than Alexandre Daigle’s NHL career.
    In a column I published on this blog on Thursday, I ask, “Should a women’s hockey rivalry be played up in U Sports?”

    After Game 1 of a Canada West quarter-final series won 3-2 in overtime by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies drew 324 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the answer is a resounding “No.” But, it is only a resounding “no” for now, and it didn’t have any reflection on the two teams in question – just the attendance.

Members of the Huskies react to falling in an epic rivalry clash.

    On Saturday at Merlis, the two sides followed up battling toe-to-toe in what could go down as one of the most epic games in U Sports women’s hockey in Game 2 of the set. The Thunderbirds prevailed in double overtime, when right-winger Hannah Clayton-Carroll tipped home a shot from UBC captain Mathea Fischer through the five-hole on Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance.

    The Thunderbirds took the game 1-0 and swept the best-of-three series 2-0. They advance to play the University of Alberta Pandas in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series beginning this coming Friday. 
    On Saturday, a total of 417 spectators watch the Thunderbirds and Huskies - two archrivals - stand up for the honour their game.

    It was a beautiful sight to behold.

    The only thing missing was the background of a packed sellout crowd and the fan atmosphere like you see in some of the old storied rinks of the Western Hockey League during playoff time like the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current or The Arena, which is now decommissioned in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Hannah Clayton-Carroll (#22) had the double overtime winner for UBC.

    With the way the Thunderbirds and Huskies played in their quarter-final series, to say they deserved that is an obvious understatement. Game 2 was one that could have been played on national television.

    The blog post I published on Thursday trying to play up the rivalry between the Thunderbirds and Huskies, which can be found by clicking here, sat between 70 to 80 page views for most of the day Friday with a slight surge over the dinner hour.

    In the piece, I outlined the past bitter rivalry between the Thunderbirds and Huskies, detailed the challenges promoting rivalry in U Sports and proceeded to take some digs at the Thunderbirds to play into the rivalry.

Huskies Morgan Willoughby, left, and UBC’s Hannah Koroll in a stare down.

    With an attendance of 324 spectators and minimal page views on the post, you can’t justify at this moment in time going the route of creating a rivalry column to increase interest in the series. The attendance figure was the lowest for the Huskies women’s hockey team this season.

    Over 14 regular season home dates, the Huskies women’s team had the second best average attendance at 496 per game.

    It is a big mistake to produce a rivalry column right now, because the interest beyond the family and friends of the two teams isn’t there.

    Basically all you do is upset some of the parents on both sides of the rivalry, and of course that inevitably happened. There is an unwritten rule in minor sports that parents can be your worst enemy in the community, if they feel you have wronged their kid.

Kennedy Brown (#2) breaks out of the pack for the Huskies.

    The parents on both sides have sizable emotional investment in their athletes and have put countless hours in over the years helping their kids get to this point. All the players on both sides are where they are, because they are elite people. Of course, some parents are going to be protective of that.

    There were a lot parents that were all into the rivalry as well, so I am uncertain how I might be grading an overreaction by some on the front that didn’t like the rivalry piece.

    While members of the Thunderbirds and Huskies are elite athletes of young adult age spanning 18 to 24, the low attendance figures at this moment do not justify writing a rivalry column along the lines that you would write involving the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders taking on the Saskatoon Blades.

Mathea Fischer (#26) brings the puck up ice for the Thunderbirds.

    The Raiders usually are in standing room at their 2,580 seat rink when they play the Blades, and the Blades can expect 4,000 to 5,000 spectators when the Raiders come to town. The interest is there to create a rivalry column to stir the pot.

    I was trying to transfer some elements from last year’s memorable six-game second round WHL playoff series between the Raiders and Blades into the series between the Thunderbirds and Huskies.

    At the moment for U Sports women’s hockey, the best way to advance a playoff series is a feature article on a popular player. 

The epic T-birds-Huskies clash was just missing a Raiders type home crowd.

    Usually, my page views for features on female hockey players, not just in U Sports, do well, even if attendance isn’t high.

    The risk of doing a rivalry column where attendance is just limited to family and friends is it can potentially increase tension between the parents groups and friends groups. The tensions can be increased with a controversial finish. I have seen that happen in the past in hockey.

    Friday’s classic encounter had a controversial finish.

Morgan Willoughby works the point for the Huskies.

    Fischer knocked in the winning goal with a high stick inside of the final 20 seconds of the first overtime period of that contest.

    It was a bang-bang play hard for the officials to see, but it was clear on replay. There are no instant replay reviews in U Sports women’s hockey.

    That type of finish combined with a rivalry column can create a lot of hostility between parents groups.

    As Friday went on and I saw the rivalry post wasn’t gaining views, I started to wonder if attendance would not be good. I was at the Indoor Training Centre at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex that day, and I learned it was reading week next week at the University of Saskatchewan and most of Saskatoon’s high schools.

    I got the impression attendance wouldn’t be high at the women’s hockey games, because athletes at the training centre who were not in season were focused on getting away to ski trips and vacations. 

Hannah Koroll starts a rush up ice for the Thunderbirds.

    In the current age of elite sport, athletes put more time into their craft than in any other era, so I don’t blame those athletes on wanting to get some down time.

    Fairly confident there wasn’t going to be a big attendance figure for Game 1, I figured it would be best to stay away just in case there was some type of controversy or incident, because due to the rivalry column, I would be the easy target to blame for any possible incidents had they occurred.

    That is a risk you also take in writing a rivalry column. I elected to follow the Game 1 proceedings online with the thought of trying to prevent any further hostilities.

    I figured it would be the best for everyone to get the night’s sleep and refocus for Saturday.

    Full marks go to the Thunderbirds on rallying from down 2-0 to get the win in Game 1. The fact that Saskatoon product and former Prince Albert Northern Bears captain Hannah Koroll got the third period equalizer was really nice.

The Thunderbirds and Huskies engaged in numerous physical battles.

    She scored a power-play goal on a beauty play pinching down from the post to the side of the U of S net to pot the tally. Former Medicine Hat Tigers captain Kris Russell scored many goals on that exact play, so that was a pretty sweet play.

    Actually, the two games Koroll played on Friday and Saturday were the best two games I ever saw her play. I saw her be a key member helping the Bears win the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title in 2017 and advance to the Esso Cup national female midget AAA championship tournament.

    Believe it or not, I do want to see her do well and reach her full potential in the game.

Thunderbirds goalie Tory Micklash dives for a loose puck.

    I know I took jabs at her in a couple of pieces this season including the rivalry piece. When you are trying really hard to fire jabs at someone, it does mean they are one of your favourites, and honestly that is the case here whether you believe it or not. She is an all-world talent.

    Hockey players that have come through Prince Albert aim to emulate the romantic vision of the WHL’s Raiders of being the team of Mike Modano and Dave Manson - franchise where honour still matters. Koroll lived up to that this weekend.

Jessica Vance clamps on to a save for the Huskies.

    On the U Sports front, you always have to be mindful of how much time universities in Canada put into oversight. I apologize to all parties involved for any time they had to put into addressing the rivalry column that they didn’t want to. In the current world, I know how time becomes more and more a stressed commodity.

    Friday night while Game 1 was on at my home, I had to do catch up on other projects, and I completed the catch up.

    At the moment, I still feel the time I spent on the rivalry column would have been better spent doing a feature on a popular player to advance the series. Of course due to the community support in “Hockey Town North,” I have found Prince Albert area players are consistently popular, so talking to defender Morgan Willoughby and Vance of the Huskies are can’t miss subjects.

T-birds LW Ireland Perrott, left, avoids Huskies LW Shyan Elias.

    Koroll too is a can’t miss subject. I think the picture I shot of her and Willoughby, who is another former Bears captain, having a stare down in Game 2 will ultimately be a popular one in Prince Albert. It encompassed what that hockey community is about.

    During the Game 2 clash, Vance turned away 28 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. Tory Micklash stopped 38 shots to get the shutout for the Thunderbirds.

    Both sides had multiple great scoring chances in Game 2, and they transitioned up and down the ice at a frightening pace. 

Emma Nutter controls the puck on the point for the Huskies.

    The officials put the whistles away for most of the game, and there were actually a lot of great hits too.

    While I think the rivalry column is a mistake at this time, I do not regret the exercise, because I believe something really special came out of it. If I didn’t write the rivalry column, maybe the games that happened wouldn’t have occurred.

    The Thunderbirds and Huskies proved U Sports women’s hockey can play in the big time and how great the game can be. It is society’s loss that interest in the game is only contained in a small niche group of people.

    Both teams proved they can handle a series being hyped like a rivalry series in the Western Hockey League, which of course is a guy’s league. Shame on anyone that doubted that.

The T-birds-Huskies series ended with genuine respectful handshakes.

    Being human, there was a small sliver in me that maybe doubted that, so shame on me.

    At the end of Game 2, the handshake line was a genuine one with respect, and you could tell the players on both the Thunderbirds and Huskies knew in their hearts they made their point.

    I would love to see U Sports women’s hockey reach the interest leagues like the Western Hockey League have. Today isn’t that day.

    The rest of us need to catch up to where the Thunderbirds and Huskies are, and the rivalry column wouldn’t carry the feeling of being a risk. It would just be another fun part of the game.

    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.

Huskies, Thunderbirds rivalry is for real

Should that be played up in U Sports women’s hockey?

The Huskies and Thunderbirds scrum at the end of their 2018 playoff series.

    Should a women’s hockey rivalry be played up in U Sports?
    I have been struggling with that question since a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series was cemented between the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 is slated for 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    The Huskies finished third in Canada West with a 17-7-2-2 record, while the Thunderbirds were sixth with a 10-13-4-1 mark.

    This will mark the fourth time the two sides have faced each other in the post-season since 2014 and the third time since 2017. Due to the recent playoff encounters, a lot of ill will has built up between the two sides causing the squads to become archrivals.

    When these teams last met in the post-season, the lasting image was of then Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby trying to get after Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer after a Thunderbirds player hit Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance at the third period buzzer.

The officials break up the Huskies and Thunderbirds in 2018 playoffs.

    A huge scrum developed in front of the Huskies goal, and tensions were high enough that a brawl could have resulted.

    That was how a 2-1 Huskies victory concluded of Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, which U of S swept 2-0.

    The post-game handshakes from that Game 2 weren’t actual handshakes but a series of “low fives” like you would see at a minor sports event played at the eight-year-old age level.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook received a one game suspension, when it was deemed his players broke an archaic league rule by coming up the bench at the end the game before the referee’s command.

    Both teams return a lot of players from that 2018 series to this year’s tilt including Vance and Fischer. Since that series, it is safe to say there has been bitterness in the encounters between these two teams.

    Even with that back story, I have wondered if it worth playing up the rivalry angle leading up to this series. 

Huskies D Morgan Willoughby and T-birds D Celine Tardif talk dinner plans.

    While the rivalry is a great one, it isn’t the Prince Albert Raiders taking on the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League. On that circuit, the fact the fans get passionately into that rivalry makes in that much better.

    The Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert is usually packed for those games, and it is fair to expect 5,000 to 6,000 spectators to appear at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon when those teams meet.

    Fans will bring signs to the rink to show their dislike for the rival and beaks will go off on various social media lines.

    Comparatively, games in U Sports women’s hockey are mostly family and friends games when it comes to attendance and receive extremely little play in the mainstream media. If attendance exceeds 200 for a U Sports women’s hockey game, it is deemed a success.

    One of the few exceptions to that reality was the last Crowchild Classic in Calgary, Alta., that featured the women’s game between the U of Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royals University Cougars in the primetime spot. 

Huskies D Isabella Pozzi (#8) nails a Thunderbirds player this season.

    That contest on Jan. 30 drew 10,002 spectators to the Scotiabank Saddledome to see the Dinos down the Cougars 4-1. That attendance figure is a U Sports record for women’s hockey.

    The Huskies women’s team has been one of the attendance leaders in Canada West since moving into Merlis for the start of the 2018-19 campaign. In 2018-19, the Huskies averaged 650 spectators through 14 home regular season games to lead all women’s hockey teams in Canada West.

    This season, the Huskies averaged 496 spectators for their 14 home regular season dates to sit second behind the Dinos, whose figure was propped up being pegged as the home team for the Crowchild Classic.

    Also, it seems like to me U Sports women’s hockey is patronized, where you should cheer players like an eight-year-old athlete who has learned a skill.

    U Sports women’s hockey teams are elite squads made up of highly skilled athletes, but they don’t get anywhere near the following to make it worthwhile to play up the rivalry angle.

Huskies D Emma Nutter (#21) and T-birds C Mathea Fischer trade words.

    If you do, you come off as a jerk.

    Plus, I don’t believe the appetite is there for U Sports programs to play up a rivalry angle. If you do and things get over the line out of hand, teams ultimately have to answer to university presidents and university board of directors.

    Both traditionally have had no patience for sports teams going overboard with rivalries as university are deemed institutions of higher learning. The academics thumb their noses at athletes who get too worked up over rivalries.

    Outright suspensions from school have to be the biggest worry in that scenario too.

    I always feel the fan codes of conduct are used as a deterrent with regards to cheering at a U Sports event.

    On the Huskies hockey front, the last time a crowd was extremely engaged in a playoff series was the 2016 men’s Canada West final between the Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Huskies hockey teams were playing out of the ancient Rutherford Rink back then, and that place was rocking like the Art Hauser Centre during Raiders Western Hockey League playoff games.

    I don’t condone going out and getting offensive with heckles. If a fanbase wants to do the Winnipeg, Man., fan thing and chant someone on their team is better than someone on the opposition, go for it.

Hannah Koroll would be great, if she played for the Huskies.

    As for me, I think I will finish off going down the “jerk” road in the women’s hockey rivalry between the Huskies and Thunderbirds, because I believe rivalry sells tickets.

    Being based in Saskatoon, I can’t wait for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s diving – er – I mean women’s hockey team. I wonder if the Thunderbirds prefer to work from the three-foot board or the 10-foot board?

    Thunderbirds sophomore defender and Saskatoon Holy Cross High School grad Hannah Koroll is a good player. She would be a great player, if she played for the Huskies women’s hockey team.

    Actually, you could get your dislike in the jealously department on for Koroll, because she is a 13 out of 10 in the looks department, great in school, and if she want to be, she can be the best player on the ice in any game she skates in. She might end up being like Tom Brady one day.

    Anyways, take a screenshot of this post and send it to the Thunderbirds women’s hockey team to see, if you like. I don’t care.

    This post might get me unfriended on all social media lines by celebrity University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team alumna Claire Hanna. I don’t care.

There won’t be a lot of love between the Huskies and Thunderbirds.

    As Rod Pedersen used to say as the play-by-play voice of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats when they would take on the Moose Jaw Warriors in major junior hockey’s greatest rivalry, “Let’s get it on, because we don’t get along.”

    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 drop 3-2 heartbreaker to Cougars after shootout

Second place and bye in Canada West playoffs eludes U of S

It is on to UBC for captain Brooklyn Haubrich and the Huskies.

    One rival leaves and another one is on the way.

    On Saturday before 735 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team closed out the U Sports regular season falling to their provincials rivals the University of Regina Cougars 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout.

    The Cougars took the shootout 1-0 after star captain Jaycee Magwood scored in the fourth round.

    The clash between the two sides had the intensity of a playoff tilt. As both clubs look towards their respective upcoming post-season runs, Huskies fifth-year captain Brooklyn Haubrich said it was good for her team to get the feel of a high-intensity game before the post-season comes around, even though the setback stung.

The Cougars third period equalizer gets past Huskies goalie Jessica Vance.

    “It hurts,” said Haubrich. “Obviously, we didn’t want to lose.

    “We didn’t want to end our regular season on a losing note. I think there are a lot of positives that we can take into playoffs. There are good battles out there.

    “Any time you play Regina, everyone is hyped up and ready to go. I’m hoping we can bring that energy into playoffs and put this one behind us. It is a new season next weekend, so move forward.”

    The Huskies were hoping to move into second place in the Canada West Conference at the start of Saturday’s game. They finished third with a 17-7-2-2 record.

    Had the Huskies won on Saturday, they still wouldn’t have been able to move into second place due to the fact the U of Calgary Dinos got past the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-1 on Saturday in Calgary, Alta. 

The Cougars celebrate a third period equalizer from Paige Hubbard.

    The Dinos finished second with an 18-7-1-2 mark, while the Pronghorns placed last in the eight team conference and missed the post-season with a 9-16-1-2 record.

    The U of Alberta Pandas, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished first in Canada West with a 20-8 record after blanking the U of Manitoba Bisons 4-0 in Winnipeg, Man.

    The Bisons finished seventh in Canada West with a 10-17-1 record and will miss the post-season.

    The Pandas and Dinos both have byes past the first round of the Canada West playoffs.

    The Huskies will host their archrivals the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series, and Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis. 

Sophie Lalor scored for the Huskies in the third period.

    The Thunderbirds finished sixth in Canada West with a 10-13-4-1 record.

    The Huskies and Thunderbirds have been frequent playoff foes and last met in the post-season in 2018, when the Huskies swept a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series 2-0 at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The end of the Huskies 2-1 series clinching victory in Game 2 included a huge scrum in front of the U of S net that nearly turned into a brawl.

    Haubrich admitted the ill will from past games with the Thunderbirds hasn’t been forgotten by her side.

    “I think we are just going to have to be mentally tough,” said Haubrich. “I think we are going to have to keep our head on our shoulders.

Morgan Willoughby scored for the Huskies in the third period.

    “We know what it is like to play them. Lots of us have been around long enough that we know what they are like. It is going to be a gong show.

    “There are going to be lots of penalties. We’re just going to have to keep our head on straight so that we can push through that adversity.”

    As for Saturday’s game against the Cougars, the star goaltenders took centre stage over the opening 20 minutes making a number of tough stops. Jessica Vance stopped 11 shots for the Huskies, while Jane Kish turned away nine shots for the Cougars.

    The Cougars jumped ahead 1-0, when left-winger Merissa Zerr netted a gritty in close power-play goal at the right side of the Huskies net at the 3:59 mark of the second. 

Jaycee Magwood recorded her 100th career U Sports regular season point.

    The host side protested that the whistle had blown on the scramble play, but the protests fell on deaf ears.

    In the third, the Huskies evened the score 1-1 at the 11:47 mark, when left-winger Sophie Lalor wired home a power-play goal with her team working on a two-person advantage. Lalor potted her goal from the right boards after receiving a great backdoor pass from Huskies star right-winger Bailee Bourassa.

    With 5:41 remaining in the third, Huskies fifth-year defender Morgan Willoughby fired home a post shot through a screen for her first goal of the campaign to put the host side up 2-1.

    Just when the Huskies appeared they would skate away with a victory, the Cougars tied the contest up at 2-2, when rookie right-winger Paige Hubbard netted her fifth goal of the season during a net scramble with 40.6 seconds remaining in the third. That tally forced the contest to go to overtime.

Jane Kish was stellar in goal for the Cougars.

    Hubbard and Zerr both picked up assists on each other’s goals in the contest. 
    Magwood, who is in her fifth and final year of eligibility, picked up assists on both U of R goals in regulation. That allowed her to surpass 100 points for her U Sports regular season career.

    In 130 career regular season games with the Cougars, Magwood has 48 goals and 53 assists for 101 points.

    The two sides weren’t able to break the deadlock after a five minute overtime period of four-on-four play and a five minute extra session of three-on-three play.
    During the extra sessions, the goalies on either side were knocked down once by opposing players.

    All that dramatics set the stage for Magwood to score the only goal in the tiebreaking shootout.

    “It felt like we were in the playoffs already,” said Haubrich. “You get that desperate feeling when you are in playoffs, and that is kind of how we felt tonight.

    “We were playing desperate hockey, and we were hungry. It is just tough it didn’t turn out for us.”

Huskies RW Abby Shirley, right, tries to escape tight checking.

    Vance stopped 26 shots in goal for the Huskies over 70 minutes of play and three out of four shooters in the shootout. Kish turned away 34 shots in goal for the Cougars and all four shooters she faced in the shootout.

    The Cougars were a perfect 4-0 this season in games that went to a tiebreaking shootout.

    With the win, the Cougars finish fifth in Canada West with a 14-13-1 record with 38 points in the standings. They will travel to Calgary, Alta., to face the Mount Royal University Cougars in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series with Game 1 of the series slated for Friday.

The Cougars celebrate their win on Saturday.

    Mount Royal finished fourth in Canada West with a 14-14 record with 40 points in the standings.
    In Canada West women’s hockey, teams receive three points for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks. Mount Royal earned 40 points on 12 regulation wins and two extra time victories.

    U of R earned 38 points on nine regulation wins, five extra time wins and one extra time setback.

Haubrich said Saturday’s loss left her side with a hollow feeling, but she expects her squad will refocus quickly.

    “Talking to lots of friends and family here, they are like, ‘You know what, it is over with, and you have a brand new season,’” said Haubrich. “It is fun and exciting.

    “In playoffs, you always feel like it is a brand new fresh start. I’m excited for us to get rolling. I think we have a lot to prove come playoffs, so I’m excited.”

Huskies thump Cougars, finish second in Canada West

Taran Kozun picked up his 41st career regular season win on Saturday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team controlled what they could control, but first place in the Canada West Conference didn’t come their way.

    On Saturday playing before 543 spectators at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, won their 11th straight game romping over the host U of Regina Cougars 6-2 in a U Sports regular season clash. That win allowed the Huskies to finish the regular season with a 22-4-2 record to place second in the Canada West standings.

    In Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday, the host U of Alberta Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, dumped the U of Manitoba Bisons 5-2. The Golden Bears improved their winning streak to four straight games finishing the regular season with a 23-5 record, while the Bisons finished sixth in Canada West with a 9-15-2-2 record.

    Both the Huskies and Golden Bears had 46 points in the standings, but the Golden Bears took first place having won three out of four head-to-head encounters with the Huskies.

Against the Cougars on Saturday, the host side took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal from fourth-year centre Tristan Frei.

    The Huskies jumped ahead 3-1 in the second period with goals coming off the sticks of Layne Young, Kohl Bauml and Gordie Ballhorn.

    At the 4:05 mark of the third period, right-winger Connor Odelein scored for the Cougars to cut the Huskies lead to 3-2.

Levi Cable has played 174 consecutive games for the Huskies.

    The Huskies thwarted any thoughts of a comeback by the host side closing the contest with three straight goals coming from the sticks of Logan McVeigh, Carter Folk and Andrew Johnson.

    Young, who is a sophomore left-winger, had two assists to go with his goal. McVeigh had a helper to go with his tally.

    Fifth-year right winger Levi Cable had three assists to help pace the Huskies offence. Cable played in all 140 regular season games he could possibly appear in during his U Sports career.

    Currently, Cable is the Huskies current ironman appearing in 174 consecutive games between the regular season and post-season.

    Taran Kozun stopped 11 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Kozun picked his 41^st career regular season victory which moved him to sixth on the Huskies career regular season wins list.

    The Nipawin, Sask., product passed Ross McKay, who won 40 regular season games for the Huskies from 1984 to 1987.

    Dawson MacAuley turned away 30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars. The Cougars finished seventh in the Canada West standings missing the playoffs with an 8-17-2-1 record.

    The Huskies and Golden Bears have byes past the first round of the Canada West playoffs.

    Both teams are slated to host best-of-three Canada West semifinal series expected to be slated for Feb. 21 to 23.

Huskies’ great George saluted at Merlis

Breanne George, centre, drops the ceremonial faceoff on Saturday.

    One of the all-time greats in the history of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team made her way back to Saskatoon to receive a much deserved salute.

    Former Huskies star forward Breanne George received her Canada West Hall of Fame plaque before Saturday’s U Sports regular season game between her former squad and the U of Regina Cougars. George received a rousing ovation from the 735 onlookers in attendance.

    The 30-year-old dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff between the two sides.

    The Cougars would claim the contest 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout.

    In a crazy twist, George never actually played a regular season game for the Huskies at Merlis. She played her whole U Sports career during a time when the Huskies still called the ancient Rutherford Rink home.

Breanne George, centre, receives her Hall of Fame plaque.

    Huskies women’s and men’s hockey teams moved into Merlis Belsher Place before the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

    George was inducted as part of the inaugural class to the Canada West Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

    She played for the Huskies women’s team from 2007 to 2012 and is still the squad’s most prolific scorer. George holds the Huskies career records for most regular season goals (86) and points (149).

    Her 63 career regular season assists ranks third in Huskies team history.

    George holds the Huskies record for most goals in one regular season at 28 and points at 46. Those marks were achieved in the 2009-10 campaign.

    She topped the Canada West Conference in goals and points in the 2009-10 season and was named the Canada West MVP.
    The Saskatoon product was a first team Canada West all-star in 2010 and 2011 and a second team Canada West all-star in 2012. She was a first team U Sports all-Canadian in 2010 and 2011.
    George was the first member of the Huskies women’s hockey team to be named the MVP of the Canada West Conference and a U Sports all-Canadian.

    In 2011, George played for Canada’s women’s team at the FISU Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey. She had seven goals and 12 points in seven games helping Canada win gold.

Breanne George, left, visits some of her old teammates.

    George is currently a physiotherapist in Sherwood Park, Alta.

    Along with saluting George, the Huskies saluted their eight players who are in their fifth-years of eligibility and are set to graduate after this season in Leah Bohlken, Courtney Cormack, Shyan Elias, Brooklyn Haubrich, Rachel Lundberg, Emma Nutter, Elizabeth Salyn and Morgan Willoughby.

    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.