Young’s tip puts Huskies a win away from Canada West title

Layne Young, middle, celebrates his winning goal for the Huskies.

    Layne Young’s first career U Sports post-season goal ended up being a huge one for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday before a season high crowd of 2,281 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the sophomore left-winger tipped home a mid range shot from linemate Levi Cable to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at the 3:57 mark of the third period.

    The Thunderbirds cut the cap to 3-2 with a turnaround shot from sophomore left-winger Maxwell James right in front of the U of S net with 31.1 seconds to play in the third, but the visitors couldn’t find the equalizer.

    The Huskies held on to make the 3-2 score hold up as the final in Game 1 of the Canada West Championship series between the two teams. Young was pumped he could net the winner for his side.

    “It feels really good,” said Young. “It is an unbelievable feeling.

Layne Young has had a breakout season with the Huskies.

    “The atmosphere was great here tonight, so it was awesome. It was 3-1 at the time, but I guess just the way it worked out it ended up being the game winner.”

    Thanks to their victory in Game 1, the Huskies will try to close out the best-of-three set in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis. If necessary, Game 3 is slated for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    After pulling to within 3-2, any further last second heroics by the Thunderbirds were stifled, when star netminder Rylan Toth was given a minor penalty for boarding inside of the final 20 seconds of the third.

    The Thunderbirds were starting out of their own zone on a rush shortly after the ensuing faceoff that resulted after cutting the Huskies edge to 3-2. Toth started skating out of his net for an extra attacker, when the puck was turned over to Cable along the right wing boards.

Layne Young is playing in lots of different situations for the Huskies.

    Toth, who is a Saskatoon product, was the closest Thunderbirds player to Cable and the puck stopper turned and nailed the fifth-year right-winger from behind into the boards. Toth was given a boarding penalty for his actions.

    Cable was playing in his 174th consecutive game for the Huskies including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season, and Young said Toth’s hit on the veteran provided some comic relief for the U of S side.

    “We were poking fun at Levi a little bit,” said Young. “It is not too often you get hit by a goalie, especially from behind, so it was kind of funny.

    “I was on the ice. I saw it. It was quite the thing that is for sure.

    “I had never seen that before.”

    During the opening 20 minutes of Friday’s game, Toth, who is in his third year with the Thunderbirds, was doing what he does best in keeping his squad in the game as the Huskies held a 14-2 edge in shots on goal over that span of time.

Jordan Tkatch, left, celebrates scoring the first goal for the Huskies.

    The Huskies took a 1-0 edge at the 7:38 mark of the opening frame when right-winger Jordan Tkatch tapped in a backdoor feed from centre Jared Dmytriw.

    As for Huskies star netminder Taran Kozun, he had to be extremely sharp on one of the two shots he faced in the opening frame. The Nipawin, Sask., product had to make a key stop on a tipped shot from James on a UBC power play.

    The Huskies expanded their edge to 2-0 at the 12:06 of the second period, when right-winger Carson Stadnyk tapped home a backdoor feed from centre Logan McVeigh on an offensive zone rush.

Rylan Toth was penalized for making a big hit for the Thunderbirds.

    With less than four minutes to play in the second, Thunderbirds rookie left-winger Jake Kryski snuck home a shot from the left side of the Huskies goal to cut the host side’s edge to 2-1.

    That set the stage for the dramatics in the third.

    While U of S had a strong start, Huskies head coach Dave Adolph thought his side had to ultimately gut out the win.

    “It wasn’t a Picasso, and it never usually is in the playoffs,” said Adolph, whose team was outshot 21-17 through the second and third periods. “I thought that once we got the lead we started playing tentative.

    “We started playing cautious. I think every team when you get to this point you are so worried about the next five minutes. You can’t think that way.

 

Levi Cable played in his 174th consecutive game for the Huskies.

  “We learned and we lived. We will be better tomorrow.”

    Adolph was pleased to see Young net the winner.

    “He (Young) is a really skilled player,” said Adolph. “It is good.

    “Some of our young guys the more times they get out there in these situations that is just going to help our program. Layne (Young) is going to be a goody.”

    Before joining the Huskies, Young was a star in the junior A ranks piling up 86 goals, 167 assists for 253 points in 169 regular season games playing with the Battlefords North Stars from 2014 to 2018. The Frenchman Butte, Sask., product was named the MVP of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in his final campaign with the North Stars in 2017-18 after posting 35 goals and 72 assists in 57 regular season games.

    Adolph was happy Young elected to join the Huskies enrolling Agriculture and Bioresources program at the U of S.

Carson Stadnyk had the Huskies second goal on Friday.

    “He (Young) had like four or five NCAA offers,” said Adolph. “He chose to go into agriculture, because that is what his family does.

    “He is a third generation dairy farmer and farmer. It is no different than (Huskies rookie forward) Justin Ball, who is going to be a star in our league too, when he gets his chance. Junior A guys don’t get overlooked.

    “Sometimes they chose an academic route rather than a hockey route.”

    After netting one goal in six regular season games as a rookie, Young recorded eight goals, 11 assists and a plus-10 rating in the plus minus department in 27 regular season games with the Huskies as a sophomore.

Jake Kryski had the Thunderbirds first goal on Friday.

    Throughout this season, Young has played on a line with Cable and fifth-year veteran Kohl Bauml at centre. Young, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 205 pounds, has enjoyed that opportunity.

    “It has been huge,” said Young. “We’ve been together since game one of this year, so our chemistry has just built all year.

    “It is has been awesome. They are great guys to play with, and it has just been great.”

    The 22-year-old said he would love to see the Huskies four fifth-year players in Bauml, Cable, McVeigh and Andrew Johnson graduate from the program hoisting championship trophies.

    “All four of our fifth years are just unbelievable people,” said Young. “I think they deserve a championship.”

    Kozun made 21 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Toth turned away 28 shots to take the setback in net for the Thunderbirds.

Jared Dmytriw set up the Huskies first goal on Friday.

    The Huskies entered the series as decided favourites finishing second in the Canada West Conference with a 22-4-2 record and being rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. They have won 14 straight games including action in the regular season and playoffs.

    The Thunderbirds have enjoyed a Cinderella run to get to this point after finishing fifth in Canada West with a 9-14-4-1 mark. They cracked the U Sports Top 10 rankings this week at the ninth position.

    Both teams are guaranteed berths to the David Johnston University Cup, which is the U Sports men’s hockey national championship tournament. The U Sports national championship tournament is played in an elite-eight format. It runs from March 12 to 15 in Halifax, N.S.

The Huskies celebrate their victory in Game 1 of the Canada West final.

    Before looking forward to nationals, Young said he would like to see his team lock up the Canada West title series on Saturday.

    “I think the nerves might hit a little bit tomorrow,” said Young. “We just have to play our way, and I think we will be OK.”

    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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Dinos bite back to force Game 3 with Huskies

Adam Kambeitz (#9) celebrates scoring the winning goal for the Dinos.

    For much of Friday night, the University of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team mimicked the NHL’s New Jersey Devils during the era when the Devils won Stanley Cups.

    Needing a win to stay alive in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Dinos clutch, grabbed, held and trapped their opponents. The tactics worked as the Dinos grinded out a 2-1 victory to even the series up at 1-1.

    A series deciding Game 3 will be held between the two sides on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Netminder Jordan Papirny makes one of his 27 saves on Friday.

    In order to survive Friday’s elimination game, the Dinos, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, elected to start rookie Jordan Papirny in goal in place of sophomore Matthew Greenfield. Papirny comes to the Dinos as no ordinary rookie carrying a pedigree from his WHL days as being a money goalie come playoff time.

    The Edmonton, Alta., product won nine playoffs series during his time in the major junior ranks, backstopped the Brandon Wheat Kings to an appearance in the WHL championship series in 2015 and to a WHL title in 2016. As an overager last season, Papirny almost powered the Swift Current Broncos to a surprising second round upset of the Regina Pats forcing the Pats to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to take the set in a deciding Game 7.

Dinos LW Ryan Graham (#23) ties up Huskies D Tanner Lishchynsky.

    Papirny’s calm was evident in the Dinos goal, and he was solid making 27 saves. While Papirny did his part, the skaters in front of him ensured the netminder had to just be solid and not spectacular to get the win.

    The Dinos started out grinding down the contest in the opening 20 minutes holding a slim 7-6 edge in shots on goal. In that frame, they utilized a lot of clutching, grabbing and tight checking tactics to prevent the Huskies from getting up ice with speed. The first period was full of little one-on-one hand fighting matches between the two sides.

    With 46 seconds to play in the first period, Dinos fifth-year centre Chris Collins circled around from behind the Huskies net and roofed a shot to the top left corner of the U of S goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Huskies D Jordan Fransoo (#6) battles Dinos D Dylan Busenius for the puck.

    In the second period, it appeared the Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, were going to take over the game. Just 13 seconds into the frame, left-winger Alex Forsberg ripped a shot off the post of the U of C goal.

    From that point, the Huskies were constantly in the Dinos zone during the second period holding a 14-4 edge in shots on goal. At the 6:37 mark of the frame, third-year right-winger Levi Cable knocked home a gritty power-play goal from in front of the Dinos net to tie things up at 1-1.

    After Cable scored, Papirny ensured the Huskies weren’t able to jump ahead. Late in the frame, he made a huge glove stop to deny Huskies centre Jordan Tkatch on a breakaway. The save on Tkatch came during a period of time when the Huskies were coming at the Dinos in waves.

Netminder Taran Kozun stops a high shot for the Huskies.

    In the third, the Dinos gained the upper hand by playing the trap for most of the frame. They were able to get the puck deep in the Huskies zone, sent in one forechecker and had their other four skaters clog up all the space in the centre ice zone.

    The visitors broke through with the winning goal to go up 2-1 at the 7:53 mark of the third, when fifth-year centre Adam Kambeitz scored after getting about two or three whacks at the puck in front of Huskies netminder Taran Kozun.

    Following Kambeitz’s goal, the Huskies appeared to be fighting to get out of quicksand, when they attempted to work their way up ice. The hosts turned the puck over a number of times in the third allowing the Dinos to hold a 12-8 edge in shots on goal.

    The Huskies had a chance to regroup with an extended 16-minute timeout to replace a broken pane of glass in the Dinos end with 3:23 remaining in the third. The pane of glass broke when Huskies captain Kendall McFaull missed a hit and his elbow shattered it.

Levi Cable scored a power-play goal for the Huskies.

    When play resumed, the Dinos continued to successfully muddy of the centre ice zone to prevent the Huskies from getting the equalizer.

    Kozun had a solid outing making 21 saves to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. The Nipawin, Sask., product played admirably in place of injured starter Jordon Cooke.

    Cooke went down in the first period of the Huskies 6-4 win over the Dinos in Game 1 on Thursday when he was hit by a scrum of players. He is on crutches forcing the Huskies to dress U of S student Brett Lewchuk of the Kenaston Blizzard of the Sask Valley Hockey League as the backup goalie. The Sask Valley Hockey League is a rural senior league.

The Dinos celebrate their Game 2 win over the Huskies.

    In the end, goaltending didn’t make the different in Friday’s encounter. The Dinos won, because they did a better job of executing their overall team game plan.

    The best part of the Canada West Conference in U Sports men’s hockey is all the teams are mostly made up of standout former WHLers as well as stars from the junior A ranks. These players are good at making adjustments, so there is never a certainly a result will repeat on a following night.

    In a series deciding Game 3, the deciding factor will likely hinge on who wants the game more.

    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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Resilient Huskies rally past Dinos 6-4

Star goalie Cooke leaves Game 1 of playoff series with injury

Jordan Tkatch, second from left, celebrates a short-handed goal.

    For a moment, it looked pretty dark for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Thursday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Dogs found themselves trailing the University of Calgary Dinos 3-0 at the 14:01 mark of the first period in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal playoff series. On the Dinos first goal, a scrum of players crashed into Huskies netminder Jordon Cooke, who was recently named a first team Canada West all-star for a third straight year.

    Cooke had to be helped to the dressing room after stopping 6-of-7 shots sent his way, and Leduc, Alta., product didn’t look to be in very good shape. He didn’t return to the game. It seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong for the U of S side.

Jordan Tkatch scored twice for the Huskies on Thursday night.

    After falling behind 3-0, the Huskies proceeded to catch fire, rolled off five straight goals to go ahead 5-3 and took the opening game of their playoff series with the Dinos 6-4. U of S will try to close out the series in Game 2 on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Rutherford.

    “Your starting goalie goes down and not much worse can happen,” said sophomore Huskies centre Jordan Tkatch, whose team is rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “We showed our character.

    “When we play our game, that is all that matters. When we play our game, we know what we can do, and it showed tonight.”

    Fifth-year defenceman Brayden Sherbinin scored the Dinos first goal at the 6:59 mark of the opening frame to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. Cooke was injured after Sherbinin’s goal went into the Huskies net.

Parker Thomas scored 23 seconds into the second to spark the Huskies.

    U of C’s edge increased to 3-0 when centre Chris Collins potted his first of two markers in the contest and right-winger Riley Sheen added a single.

    With 3:16 to play in the first period, Tkatch tipped home a point shot from Huskies captain Kendall McFaull to cut the Dinos edge to 3-1.

    Just 23 seconds into the second period, right-winger Parker Thomas potted the rebound from an Alex Forsberg shot to further trim U of C’s lead to 3-2. Just 57 seconds after Thomas’s goal, fifth-year right-winger Josh Roach scored for the Huskies to force a 3-3 tie.
    At that point, the Dinos, who are rated 10th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, called timeout to try and halt the host side’s momentum.

    Tkatch said the Huskies hit another gear after Parker scored.

Goalie Jordon Cooke, centre, is helped off the ice after being injured.

    “Everyone talks about momentum in playoff hockey,” said Tkatch. “We didn’t stay too high.

    “We kept going. When we got the third goal, we thought we had the game in control, and we just kept it all the way through.”

    The Huskies surge kept going. At the 6:24 mark of the second, Huskies star offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg worked a give and go in the centre ice zone to get sprung on a breakaway. He beat Dinos goaltender Matthew Greenfield on a deke to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead.

    At the 8:59 mark of the second, Tkatch scored his second of the contest blowing home a short-handed goal to the top left corner of the U of C net to give the Huskies a 5-3 lead.

Jesse Forsberg celebrates his second period goal for the Huskies.

    “It was a two-on-two and the puck kind of poked back, and I was the late trailer and picked it up,” said Tkatch. “I just walked the blue-line and I shot through a screen, and it happened to go in.”

    Greenfield was pulled from the game after Tkatch’s short-handed goal turning away 22-of-27 shots to ultimately take the setback in the Dinos net. Rookie Jordan Papirny stopped all nine shot fired his way playing the rest of the way in relief for the Dinos.

    Shortly after entering the game, Papirny stopped Tkatch on a breakaway.
    Tkatch admitted he would have liked to have scored a hat trick marker on that play.

    “Obviously, who wouldn’t want to score another one,” said Tkatch. “At the end of the day, you can’t let that hold you back.

    “You just have to keep going and just worry about the game. We got the “W,” and that is all that mattered.”

The Huskies and Dinos engage in a third period scrum.

    Collins scored his second of the contest at the 6:30 mark of the third to cut the Huskies lead to 5-4 to create some suspense for the rest of the contest. Left-winger Alex Forsberg scored an empty-net goal for the Huskies with 96 seconds to play to seal the final outcome.

    Huskies rookie netminder Taran Kozun was beaten on the first shot faced taking over in the U of S goal after Cooke’s departure. Kozun found his groove and had a solid rest of the game turning away 19-of-22 shots fired his way to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

    Cooke’s status for Friday and possibly the rest of the U Sports men’s hockey playoffs, which conclude on March 18, is uncertain.

Taran Kozun made 19 saves to back the Huskies to victory.

    Tkatch was proud that his Huskies rebounded after their disastrous start on Thursday.

    “You can take that part of the game and go one way, and our team decided to go the other way,” said Tkatch. “Koz (Kozun) went in and we probably left him dry for the couple first goals against.

    “I think it was after the second goal our team really turned around and showed our character.”

    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 win, everyone pitches in

Carson Stadnyk, right, looks to try a wraparound for the Huskies.

    It seemed like everyone was getting in on the action for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, six different player scored for the Huskies as they dumped the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons 6-2 in a U Sports regular season contest before 393 frigid spectators.
    The contest provided an interesting clash as the Huskies came in rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and had dropped a 4-2 decision last Saturday in Lethbridge to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Logan McVeigh had three assists for the Huskies.

    The Bisons were rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and were coming in high on confidence having won their last two outings by sweeping the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a two-game series on Jan. 5 and 6 in Winnipeg and having won four straight overall. The Golden Bears are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.
    U of S didn’t take the Bisons lightly jumping out of the gates with a fast start. Just 51 seconds into Friday’s clash, fourth-year right-winger Parker Thomas knocked home his fifth goal of the season at the left side of the Bisons net to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge.

    The hosts went ahead 2-0 with 1:29 to play in the first when sophomore left-winger Carson Stadnyk netted his fourth of the campaign. The Huskies outshot the Bisons 16-7 over the opening 20 minutes.

Josh Roach leads Canada West in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists.

    The Bisons found their legs in the second period coming with a big push back. Sophomore centre Remi Laurencelle scored 63 seconds into the second on the power play for the Bisons to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

    At the 8:11 mark of the second, the Bisons cashed in on a three-on-one opportunity down close near the Huskies goal. Bisons third-year defenceman Adam Henry pinched down to the left side of the Huskies goal and converted a tick-tack-toe passing play from forwards Zach Franko and Michael St. Croix to tie things up at 2-2.

    Just as the Bisons seemed to have all the momentum, the Huskies recaptured it when gritty fifth-year centre John Lawrence wired home his sixth of the season from the left slot to give the hosts a 3-2 edge with 9:05 to play in the second.

Michael Sofillas had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

    Centre Jordan Tkatch and right-winger Josh Roach netted singles at the 2:58 and 10:21 marks respectively of the third period to put the Huskies up 5-2.

    With 66 seconds to play in the third, the Huskies rounded out the scoring when right-winger Levi Cable and centre Logan McVeigh teamed up to spring left-winger Michael Sofillas on a breakaway towards an empty net, and he potted the puck easily into the vacated cage.

    Taran Kozun turned away 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who sit second in the Canada West Conference with a 15-3-1 record. Byron Spriggs turned away 34-of-39 shots taking the setback in goal for the Bisons, who sit third in Canada West with an 11-6-2 mark.

Netminder Taran Kozun begins to celebrate a win with two teammates.

    Roach, Sofillas and Stadnyk all had an assist each to go along with their respective goals. Roach continues to lead Canada West in scoring piling up 10 goals and 18 assists in 19 regular season games.

    McVeigh finished with three assists on the night to give him 18 helpers on the campaign to match his career high.
    The Kenaston, Sask., product was a plus-three in the plus-minus department.

Offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg had a stellar night collecting three assists and posting a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Vance returns to haunt Bisons

Jessica Vance picked up a special win in Winnipeg.

    Jessica Vance posted arguably one of her sweetest victories in her U Sports career on Friday night in Winnipeg, Man.

    The sophomore netminder with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team turned away 22 shots to back her squad to a 3-1 regular season victory over the host U of Manitoba Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. The Bisons were the Prince Albert, Sask., product’s first team, but she found herself buried on U of M’s goaltending depth chart.

    After dressing for one game as a backup early last season for the Bisons, Vance elected to leave the U of M side and joined the Huskies to play closer to home.

    Her teammates provided good offensive support in Friday’s clash before 400 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Just 2:38 into the opening frame, sophomore defender Kayla Kirwan netted her third goal of the season with checking winger Danielle Nogier drawing an assist.

    After a scoreless second period, the Huskies went ahead 2-0 at the 12:02 mark of the third, when third-year winger Rachel Lundberg netted her first goal of the campaign with rookie center Chloe Smith drawing an assist.

    Bisons fourth-year forward Lauryn Keen scored just over two-and-a-half minutes later to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

Kayla Kirwan scored for the Huskies on Friday night.

    Huskies sophomore left-winger Emily Upgang sealed the victory for the visitors scoring into an empty net with 72 seconds remaining in the third.

    Fifth-year netminder Rachel Dyck turned away 16-of-18 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bisons (13-5-1).

    To show how much the goalies are ruling the Canada West Conference in women’s hockey, Keen topped the conference in scoring last season with nine goals and 25 assists appearing in all 28 of her squad’s regular season games. Keen has five goals and four assists in 17 regular season games so far in the current campaign.

    Vance continued her stellar season winning her fifth straight start. She now has a 7-2 record, a 1.00 goals against average, a .958 save percentage and four shutouts on the campaign.

    With Vance in net, the Huskies have won their last four straight games to improve to 12-6-1.

    The two teams face each other again on Saturday in Winnipeg.

    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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Yakubowski pushes Huskies into series deciding Game 3

Canada West final with Golden Bears tied 1-1

Jaimen Yakubowski, right, celebrates his first of two goals.

    It is Jaimen Yakubowski’s world, and the University of Alberta Golden Bears are living in it.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the second-year winger scored both of that night’s goals for University of Saskatchewan Huskies to deliver them to a 2-0 victory over U of A in Game 2 of the Canada West men’s hockey championship series. 

    With the win, the Huskies, who are the defending conference champions, tie the best-of-three series 1-1 and force a series deciding Game 3 for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Both teams already have berths locked up at the University Cup national championship tournament, which runs March 16 to 19 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

    Besides hitting the scoresheet offensively, Yakubowski played his feisty forward role perfectly. The 22-year-old competed hard and did his part to agitate U of A players with some verbal jabs during and after the play. The Dalmeny, Sask., product also absorbed some shots like a butt end to the face in the third period when he wasn’t able to draw any penalties.

Jaimen Yakubowski brought a feisty edge to the Huskies game.

    “In the moment, I am just here to contribute in whatever way I can,” said Yakubowski. “I don’t really think about it at that moment. It definitely does feel good to get on the scoresheet and muck it up at the same time.”

    The Golden Bears roster contains players that have reputations of being able to trash talk and pull a few physical jabs to draw penalties. A number of U of A players have been trying to do just that in both games of the series so far with the Huskies.

    Yakubowski’s forward line, which also contains centre Jordan Tkatch and winger Parker Thomas, have been the Huskies counter point to that aspect of the Golden Bears game. Yakubowski, Tkatch and Thomas have at times struck first and initiated getting under the skins of the Golden Bears, but the tactic has been something that has come in the moment.

    “I wouldn’t say it was planned or anything,” said Yakubowski, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 205 pounds. “We’ve been a very disciplined team. It started since last year.

The Huskies and Golden Bears engaged in a number of scrums.

    “I think we understand that in order to put ourselves in the best position to win we don’t need to take those stupid penalties. At the same time, we have to stand up for ourselves and for our teammates.

    “(You are) just riding the line that you try not to go over it so much. We’ve been really good at that all playoffs.”

    Besides being feisty, Yakubowski showed the packed rink of 845 spectators that he has some pretty good skill. After the Huskies came out of the gate with a strong first period, Yakubowski got the puck in close of the U of A goal just three minutes into the second, and he tucked his first marker past Golden Bears goalie Brendan Burke. Thomas and offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg combined to get the puck to Yakubowski down low.

    At the 8:59 mark of the third, Wyatt Johnson and Forsberg combined to get the puck to Yakubowski down low again, and he put a backhand shot past Burke after a deke move to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge.

Jesse Forsberg (#5) had two big assists for the Huskies.

    During the regular season, Yakubowski had four goals and six assists in 20 games for the Huskies. While he wasn’t one of U of S’s top scorers, Huskies head coach Dave Adolph wasn’t surprised to see the feisty winger score twice noting Yakubowski had 32 goals and 18 assists in 66 regular season games with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes as an 18-year-old in 2012-13.

    In 247 career WHL regular season games with the Hurricanes, Seattle Thunderbirds and Moose Jaw Warriors, Yakubowski picked up 67 goals, 56 assists and 507 minutes in penalties.

    “He is hard to play against,” said Adolph. “He has been (hard to play against) his whole career in the Western League, and he has here.

    “He had a bit of a shoulder issue, when he first got to us. He has always had the ability to score.

    “That second goal he scored, those are nice hands. That was a goal-scorer’s goal.”

Huskies goalie Jordon Cooke makes one of his 26 saves in a shutout win.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke made 26 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings. Burke turned away 40 shots taking the loss in net for the Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports top 10 rankings.

    The Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 record, while the Golden Bears finished second with an 18-8-2 mark.

    On Sunday, the Huskies will try to repeat what they did when they hosted the 2012 Canada West final against the U of Calgary Dinos. In that year, the Huskies lost the opening game and rallied back to take the series 2-1.

    The Huskies won Game 3, when Brett Ward scored at the 6:33 mark of the third overtime period to give U of S a 2-1 victory.

The Huskies celebrate their Game 2 victory.

    Yakubowski didn’t want to venture a guess who could possibly be the Game 3 goal-scoring hero for the Huskies this year against the Golden Bears.

    “I’m hoping my linemates each get one,” said Yakubowski. “That is the best-case scenario.

    “I don’t care who gets them as long as somebody does, and we put up a good battle tomorrow. That is all we are looking forward to.”

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

Thomas comes up clutch for Huskies with two key goals

U of S downs Cougars 4-3 in opener of Canada West semi

Parker Thomas, left, hugs Jaimen Yakubowski after scoring on a breakaway.

    Parker Thomas seems to love playoffs.

    The third-year winger is developing a habit of delivering in big moments for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team in the post-season. At the U Sports national championship tournament held in March of last year in Halifax, N.S., Thomas scored a quadruple overtime winner to deliver the Huskies to a 3-2 quarter-final victory over the Carleton University Ravens.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Thomas delivered two big goals in two big moments to help power the Huskies to a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the Mount Royal University Cougars. The Huskies will attempt to go for the sweep when they host Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    “It is huge,” said Thomas about the win. “It is the first game of playoffs. It is only a three-game series.

    “To get that first one out of the way was big.”

Parker Thomas speeds up ice for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s first goal came with 16 seconds to play in the first period, when he cut across the face of the Mount Royal goal and tucked the puck home to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The goal helped break some momentum the Cougars had built. Mount Royal held a 14-7 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes thanks to working on a couple of power play opportunities.

    Following Thomas’s first goal, the Huskies proceeded to build a 3-0 lead with singles coming from the sticks of Kohl Bauml and Levi Cable early in the second period.

    Before the second frame ended, Mount Royal answered back with a power-play goal coming from forward Jamal Watson, who tipped home a point shot from Emerson Hrynyk, to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1. Just 1:54 into the third, the host’s edge shrank to 3-2, when Cougars defenceman Maddison Smiley blasted home a power-play goal top left corner through a screen from the point.

Parker Thomas wins a battle in the corner for the Huskies.

    When it seemed the Cougars had all the momentum on their side, Thomas came through in another key moment just before the midway part of the frame. Third year defenceman Jordan Fransoo sprung Thomas on a breakaway with a beauty stretch pass coming from the U of S zone.

    Thomas showed the finesse that made him one of the top scorers in junior A playing for the Selkirk Steelers in Manitoba from 2010 to 2014 faking Cougars goalie Cam Lanigan to the ground and tucking in the puck around the right side of the netminder. The goal gave the Huskies a 4-2 lead and stood up as the winner.

    The Cougars proceeded to throw a scare into the Huskies down the stretch, when third year forward Cam Maclise scored an unassisted goal with 3:31 to play in the third to cut the Huskies lead to 4-3. Shortly after that goal, the Cougars wired a potential equalizer off the crossbar of the U of S net.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke made 38 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Cam Lanigan turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Cougars.

Netminder Jordon Cooke snags one of his 38 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    The Cougars came off winning a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-1 last weekend in Calgary against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings, had a bye into the semifinal thanks to finishing first in the conference standings with a 21-5-2 record. The Cougars were fourth in Canada West with a 15-11-2 mark.

    Thomas, who was close a couple of times to netting a hat trick, was pleased to pick up a couple of goals, but was more focused on the bigger picture.

    “It was nice, but the win was better,” said Thomas, who didn’t think the shots on goal were indicative of the play Friday. “They are still into it a bit.

    “I think we started well. It didn’t look like we had a couple of weeks off there.”

    The 23-year-old Winnipeg product was also glad to see his team stayed out of some of the extra-curricular sparring and talking that occurred after the whistle.
    The Cougars had the top power play in Canada West this season clicking at 23.1 per cent, and it looked like there was a visible effort to draw the Huskies into penalties.

Winger Jaimen Yakubowski played a high energy game for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s line containing rookie centre Jordan Tkatch and sophomore winger Jaimen Yakubowski also came through with a number of aggressive and high energy shifts throughout the game that seemed to get the Huskies on track, when they were in a lull. Tkatch and Yakubowski drew assists on Thomas’s first goal, and the trio was arguably the Huskies’ best forward unit on the night.

    “We have a couple of big bodies, so we like to crash and bang,” said Thomas. “We were matched up against one of their bottom lines, so it was good.”

    Including the regular season, the Huskies have now won four of the five head-to-head meetings with the Cougars in the 2016-17 campaign. If the Huskies aren’t able to close out the series on Saturday, they will have another chance on Sunday if necessary in a series deciding Game 3 set for 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Huskies women’s team falls in series opener with Thunderbirds

Netminder Cassidy Hendricks made 17 saves Friday night for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team were blanked in Game 1 in their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series opener on Friday night in Vancouver.

    In a tight checking battle, the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds slowly pulled out a 2-0 win. Second-year forward Mathea Fischer scored at the 7:31 mark of the opening frame, and Madison Patrick scored early in the third to give the host side a two-goal edge. Patrick is the older sister of Nolan Patrick, who is a superstar with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and is pegged as the potential first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in June.

    Fifth-year veteran netminder Cassidy Hendricks turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Rookie netminder Amelia Boughn turned away 14 shots to pick up the shutout win in the Thunderbirds goal.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday night in Vancouver, and the Huskies need to win to stay alive in the series. If a series deciding Game 3 is needed, it will be held Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.

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

Character line has Huskies on verge of locking up first

Logan McVeigh has been on fire for the Huskies.

    The good guys are coming through to make a nice feel good story for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    The forward line of second-year centre Logan McVeigh, third-year winger Michael Sofillas and fourth-year winger Josh Roach have emerged as the Dogs’ top offensive unit this season. On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the trio combined for three goals and four assists to lead the Huskies to a 5-3 victory over the U of Manitoba Bisons.

    The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top ten rankings, to improve to 19-4-2. They need to earn one more point in the standings to clinch first in the Canada West Conference and home ice advantage through the conference playoffs for a second straight year.

    Coming into the 2016-17 campaign, McVeigh, Sofillas and Roach weren’t expected to be the Huskies top scoring forwards. They all have offensive ability and were expected to contribute on the scoreboard, but they are all best known for leading the way on the ice by example with their work ethic.

Josh Roach, left, celebrates a goal with Michael Sofillas.

    Working together as a unit, all three are having career seasons offensively. McVeigh leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 16 assists. The Kenaston, Sask., product picked up a goal and two assists on Friday, and he has points in four consecutive games totaling six goals and four assists over that time.

    Sofillas, who had an assist on Friday, is third in team scoring piling up 11 goals and 13 assists, while Roach has eight goals and 16 assists to sit fourth in Huskies scoring. Roach had a pair of goals and an assist in Friday’s win.

    McVeigh is having the breakout campaign he had desperately been seeking since he piled up 20 goals and 34 assists in 39 regular season games in the midget AAA ranks with the Saskatoon Contacts back in 2009-10.

Josh Roach zips up ice for the Huskies.

    During a WHL career that spanned five seasons, McVeigh played for four teams including the Kamloops Blazers, Prince Albert Raiders, Medicine Hat Tigers and Regina Pats. He appeared in 328 regular season games collecting 55 goals and 96 assists.

    In each of his WHL stops, McVeigh was well respected by teammates, coaches and team staff. His compete level was always high and consistent, but he was never able to hit overdrive with his offensive output.

    Sofillas played two full seasons with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes before finishing his junior career in Manitoba’s junior A ranks in 2013-14, where he netted 14 goals and 24 assists playing in 54 regular season games with the Dauphin Kings and Winkler Flyers. His WHL career totals didn’t approach what he put up in the MJHL.

    Roach played four seasons as a defenceman in the junior A ranks appearing in 203 regular season games with the Humboldt Broncos and Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He totalled 43 goals and 105 assists over that time.

    The offensive defenceman was converted to a forward with the Huskies, where he has flourished. He has also been an assistant captain with the Huskies since his sophomore year.

    McVeigh, Sofillas and Roach all carry reputations of being guys you want to represent your team in the community and to see them take off in one of Canada’s top elite but still underrated leagues is truly special.

Michael Sofillas (#15) celebrates a win with goalie Jordon Cooke.

    Against the Bisons on Friday, the visitors recorded the first six shots on goal before the Huskies went up 1-0 on their first shot of the game coming off the stick of Jordan Tkatch. Just 53 seconds later, Roach netted his first of two goals on the night to put the Huskies up 2-0 on their second shot of the contest.
    Remi Laurencelle pulled the Bisons to within 2-1 before Huskies winger Levi Cable rifled home a goal top corner to give the hosts a 3-1 edge heading into the first intermission.

    McVeigh scored early in the second to give the Dogs a 4-1, before the Bisons attempted a rally. Blake Heinrich scored for the visitors before the second period expired, and Brett Brooks slipped home a goal on a power play in the third to cut the Huskies edge to 4-3.

    Roach sealed victory with an empty-net tally.

    Huskies superstar goaltender Jordon Cooke made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for U of S. Byron Spriggs stopped 27 of 31 shots to take the loss in net for the Bisons (12-11-2).

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Huskies women’s team blanked in Winnipeg

Cassidy Hendricks was solid in goal again for the Huskies.

    The Huskies women’s hockey team didn’t find any luck around the net Friday night in Winnipeg falling 3-0 to the host Bisons.

    Jordyn Zacharias scored the Bisons first goal at the 3:29 mark of the opening frame and their third marker at the 10:35 mark of the second period.
    Megan Neduzak picked up a single 49 seconds into the second stanza to count for U of M’s other tally.

    Rachel Dyck made 24 saves to pick up the shutout in the U of M net. Cassidy Hendricks stopped 28 shots to take the loss in the U of S net.

    The Bisons, who are ranked fifth in the U Sports top 10 rankings, improved to 18-5-2 with the win.
    The Huskies, who were shutout for a second straight contest, fell to 13-9-3. The Huskies sit fourth in the Canada West conference.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday in Winnipeg.

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