Wildcats stand in Stars return road to Esso Cup

The Stars aim to build off their latest SFMAAAHL title win.

    Only one more obstacle stands in the Saskatoon Stars way of returning to the Esso Cup.

    On Friday, the Stars will begin a best-of-three Western regional playdown series against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the series is slated for 3:45 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at Merlis.

    The winner of the series advanced to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national hockey championship tournament, which runs April 21 to 27 in Sudbury, Ont.

    The Stars posted a 27-1 regular season record in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and went on to capture their fourth league title in the last five years. They advanced to the gold medal game of last year’s Esso Cup falling 2-1 to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash, who claimed the national crown for a second straight year.

    The Wildcats topped the regular season standings of the Manitoba Female Midget AAA Hockey League with a 21-5-2 record before advancing on to win the league crown. They also won the inaugural Esso Cup title back in 2009.

    The Stars will enter the series as favourites due to carrying a roster that contains players that have loads of post-season experience blended in with some talented rookies and second-year players.

Ashley Messier has had an outstanding season on the Stars blue-line.

    Grace Shirley, who is the Stars outstanding 17-year-old captain, led the team in regular season scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points. She was the second leading scorer in the SFMAAAHL.

    Shirley was on the Stars roster in their three previous visits to the Esso Cup in 2015, 2016 and last season. She played in the 2015 tournament as an associate player call up.

    Kaitlin Jockims, who is another standout 17-year-old forward, finished second in Stars team scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points. All of those totals were career highs for Jockims.

    Anna Leschyshyn was third in team scoring with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points and is also looking to graduate from the midget AAA ranks after this season on a high note.

    Joelle Fiala, who is also playing her final midget AAA season, was fourth in team scoring with 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points.

    The Stars have a strong defensive unit that can get things done offensively as well. Ashley Messier, who just turned 17-years-old in late March, led all Stars defenders in regular season scoring with career highs in goals (five), assists (27) and points (32).

    Chace Sperling, who turned 17-years-old in January, had a breakout year on the back end posting career highs in regular season play in goals (eight), assists (12) and points (20).

    In goal, the Stars will likely turn to steady third-year veteran Arden Kliewer. Kliewer, who turned 17-years-old in February, was outstanding in the regular season posting a 16-0 record, a 1.21 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Arden Kliewer has been stellar in goal for the Stars.

    For the Wildcats, their two most dynamic scorers are Alisha O’Hara and Paige Hubbard. O’Hara, who is in her final season of midget AAA eligibility, led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.
    Hubbard, who is also in her final midget AAA campaign, was second in Wildcats team scoring with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points.

    Defender Jori Hansen-Young quarterbacks the power play leading all Wildcats blue-liners in scoring with four goals and 13 assists.

    In goal, 15-year-old Natalie Williamson carried the bulk of the workload in the playoffs for the Wildcats. In 12 regular season appearances, Williamson posted a 9-2-1 record, a 1.73 goals against average, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts.

    Way back in 2009, the Wildcats swept the first ever Western regional playdown series against the Prince Albert Northern Bears 2-0. A Manitoba champion hasn’t won that series since 2012, when the Morden-based Pembina Valley Hawks swept the Notre Dame Hounds 2-0 and moved on to capture the Esso Cup.

    Last year, the Stars swept away the Eastman Selects in Steinbach, Man., 2-0.

Blazers had a great run

Nolan Allan had an outstanding season for the Blazers.

    The Saskatoon Blazers are likely still feeling some lingering disappointments, but they had a great run in 2018-19.

    Last Friday, the Blazers saw their season come to an end, when they fell 4-1 in Game 4 of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League Championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox, Sask. Notre Dame took the best-of-five series 3-1.

    The Hounds won the SMAAAHL title for the second straight year and are hoping to win the Telus Cup midget AAA national title for a second straight year too.
    Notre Dame heads to the four team Telus Cup Western Regionals tournament that starts Thursday and runs to Sunday in Tisdale, Sask. The winner advances to the Telus Cup, which runs April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

    Last Friday, the Blazers and Hounds were locked in a 1-1 after two periods before the Hounds closed the contest out with three goals in the third.

    Trey Funk scored for Notre Dame in the first period and Keenan Allan replied for the Blazers in the second frame.

    In the third, Maxwell Joy and Coalson Wolford put the Hounds up 3-1, and Cam Recchi sealed the win with an empty-net goal inside of the final 30 seconds of the third.

    Thomas Wardle made 18 saves in goal for the Hounds. Matthew Pesenti turned away 20-of-23 shots in goal for the Blazers.

    The Blazers finished third in the SMAAAHL regular season with a 31-10-3 record, while the Hounds were fourth with a 28-12-2-2 mark.
    The campaign was an outstanding one for the Blazers, who finished five points behind the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the regular season.

Rhett Gibson sets to fire a shot on goal for the Blazers.

    Nolan Allan, who was a 15-year-old rookie with the Blazers, was named the top defenceman of the SMAAAHL and a first team all-star. Having been selected in the first round and third overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders, Allan will likely make the jump to the WHL club next season.

    He had 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 39 regular season games with the Blazers. Allan appeared in seven regular season games with the Raiders collecting one assist.

    Cole Nagy, who is 17-year-old forward with the Blazers, was named a first team SMAAAHL all-star, while 15-year-old rookie netminder Brett Mirwald was a second team SMAAAHL all-star.

    Due to the fact most SMAAAHL rosters experience almost a 70 per cent turnover from year to year with players moving to the major junior and junior A ranks, the Blazers are far from guaranteed from having a follow up stellar campaign next season.

    With that said, those that were part of the Blazers team this season made memories they will never forget.

Labach is “the queen” of the Huskies

Julie Labach won two major Huskies awards.

    Track star Julie Labach has to take the title as “the queen” of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    Last Friday at the Huskie Salute held at TCU Place, Labach, who stands 5-foot-7, completed a fifth and final season with the Huskies being named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the program’s female athlete of the year for a second straight year. The 22-year-old also claimed the Valerie Gisberger Award as the top female all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    To say Labach had a sensational year might actually be an understatement. She had a season that was beyond a dream.

    Labach was named U Sports female track athlete of the year. At U Sports nationals, Labach won gold in women’s 1,000-metre race and added silver in the women’s 600-metre race. She was also a member of the Huskies 4 X 400 women’s relay team that capture gold.

    At the Canada West Conference championships, Labach won gold in the women’s 600 and 1,000 metre races and helped the Huskies women’s team capture the team conference championship.

    In the classroom, Labach was named an academic all-Canadian in her first four seasons with the Huskies. She is currently completing her first year of studies in law school.

    Actually, Labach is so gifted and outstanding that we would all be fortune to work for her or be her “yes person” in the future. She is pretty personable and modest, so you have to like her when you meet her.

Julie Labach had a dream final U Sports season.

    Labach became the first double winner of the all-around and athlete of the year awards since former wrestler Daniel Olver pulled of the same feat on the men’s side in 2011.

    These days, Olver is the head coach of both Huskies wrestling teams, and he was named the winner of the Colb McEwon Trophy as the coach of the year for the Huskies program. Olver guided the Huskies women’s wrestling team to a Canada West title and a second place finish at U Sports nationals.

    He also took home honours as the Canada West and U Sports coach of the year in women’s wrestling.

    Midfielder Payton Izsak of the Huskies women’s soccer team won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the Huskies female rookie of the year.

    Sophomore netminder Taran Kozun of the Huskies men’s hockey team claimed the E. Kent Phillps Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Kyle Siemens, who was the fifth-year quarterback of the Huskies football team, took home the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the top male all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    Logan Sloan of the Huskies men’s wrestling team captured the Howard Nixon Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Brianna Antonichuk and Melinda Ardagh were both winners of the Dr. Walter Hader Student Trainer of the Year Award.

CWHL’s demise leaves a big hole

This morning we were informed the #CWHL is folding. As players, we will do our best to find a solution so this isn’t our last season of hockey but it’s hard to remain optimistic. #NoLeague

— Kaitlin Willoughby (@willowtree92) March 31, 2019

    One of the surprising news stories of the week occurred on Sunday, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced it will be folding on May 1 after 12 seasons of existence.

    The circuit first hit the ice in 2007 creating a new professional league for women’s hockey.

    The announcement to fold seemed to shock everyone involved with women’s hockey.

    On Tuesday, the National Women’s Hockey League, which is based in the United States, announced plans to expand to Toronto and Montreal for the start of next season. The possibility that the NWHL could add more expansion teams wasn’t ruled out.

    The CWHL had four teams in Canada, one in Worcester, Massachusetts and one in Shenzhen, China. It is uncertain if any of these franchises will resurface in another league.

    Here is hoping that the void can be filled that the demise of the CWHL will leave.

    In its final season existence, the CWHL provided a great opportunity to Kaitlin Willoughby, who is a forward from Prince Albert, Sask., originally hailing from Canwood, Sask.

    Willoughby, who turned 24-years-old in late March, starred for five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team becoming the program’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.

    From 2008 to 2013, she appeared in 96 regular season games with the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.

    When her midget AAA career finished, Willoughby was viewed as a good player, but she wasn’t declared a phenom that was on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    During her university career, Willoughby continued to improve and blew past a larger number of players that put up more points than she did or were viewed as better than her in midget AAA.

    Hockey Canada took notice, and Willoughby earned a spot on Canada’s women’s team that won silver at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2017.

    She was invited out to Hockey Canada summer development camps for three straight years from 2016 to 2018. Last September, Willoughby was one of 59 players invited to Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team’s Fall Festival in Dawson Creek, B.C.

    That camp is used to evaluate and develop Canada’s top female players and players can earn a chance to play on Canada’s Senior National Women’s team from that camp.

    During each of those points, Willoughby earned an invite from her accomplishments with the Huskies. At the Fall Festival, it could be argued that Willoughby was just there to be a camp body, but she managed to create a bigger blip on the radar for herself.

    If the CWHL didn’t exist at that point, it was possible Willoughby’s career as a competitive hockey player could have been done there.

    She suited up for the Calgary Inferno and played with and against the top women’s players in the world including senior national team members from Canada, the United States and a few countries in Europe.

    Willoughby had a goal and five assists in 27 regular season games with the Inferno and played in their 5-2 victory in the Clarkson Cup final on March 24 over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in Toronto, Ont. While her point total was modest, she showed off her athletic ability including her great speed that allowed her to pull away from players even at that level.

    Willoughby learned the ins and outs of playing with top level players, where you have to get to spots on the ice and the puck will be on the tape of your stick. She performed well enough that there was talk of having her play further up the Inferno’s lineup.

    A player like Willoughby is still improving, and you still wonder how good she could actually be. She has played well enough that if you cut her the person that makes that cut likely goes home and feels sick all night over that decision.

    Willoughby might play for Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey team and might play in a Winter Olympics one day. If she doesn’t have a league like the CWHL to play and improve in, all of a sudden she doesn’t have the vehicle that will give her the opportunity to reach her full potential.

    She also skated again for Canada in the last FISU Winter Universiade that recently wrapped up as the captain of the women’s hockey team in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. On March 11, Willoughby led Canada to the gold medal game, where they lost a 2-0 heartbreaker to the host Russian side.

    If there isn’t that professional option, it lessens the chance for female players that have their biggest improvement curves after high school to get on the radar of Hockey Canada. You have to hope you go to camp for or make Canada’s under-18 women’s team to get on that radar.

    While there is uncertainty in the women’s professional game, hopefully something works out to keep the players that were on the six CWHL clubs playing. It would be unfortunate to tell someone like Willoughby the time has come to pack it in after all the strides forward she has made.

    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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Love looks to make his mark as Blades new head coach

Colin Priestner, left, welcomes Mitch Love to the Blades as head coach.

    Mitch Love is looking forward to placing his stamp on the Saskatoon Blades after he finally received his long awaited opportunity to be a WHL head coach.

    The Quesnel, B.C., product, who will turn 34 in June, was announced as the Blades new head coach on Wednesday at a press conference at the SaskTel Centre. He takes over from Dean Brockman, who was released as the club’s head coach on March 18.

    Love signed a four-year contract with a club option for a fifth year with the Blades.

    “What I want our players to understand here is as a staff we are going to have their backs,” said Love. “We’re going to work every day.

    “We’re going to work a 200-foot game. We’re going to check people. We are going to be a hard team to play against.”

    Love joins the Blades after spending seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. He joined the Silvertips in 2011 as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. He was an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager this past season.

    As one of the Silvertips bench bosses, Love helped Everett finish third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-20-2-3 mark this past season. In the playoffs, the Silvertips advanced all the way the WHL Championship series, where they fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Swift Current Broncos.

    During his playing days in the WHL from 1999 to 2005, Love appeared in 320 regular season games as a tough and rugged defenceman for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Broncos and Silvertips collecting 33 goals, 66 assists and 901 penalty minutes.

Mitch Love manned the Silvertips bench as an assistant coach.

    In the 2002-03 campaign, Love appeared in 70 regular season games with the Broncos and set a new team record for most penalty minutes in one regular season at 327. That record still stands today.

    Love joined the Silvertips for their inaugural season in 2003-04 and helped them make it to the WHL Championship series, where they were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0.

    During his overage campaign in 2004-05, Love was the Silvertips captain.

    “As an ex-player to a long-time assistant coach in this league, I eat, breathe and live the Western Hockey League,” said Love, who stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds. “I’m real excited to be here.

    “I’m real excited to be part of the city of Saskatoon.”

    From 2005 to 2011, Love played six seasons in the minor professional ranks in the AHL, ECHL and CHL before joining the Silvertips coaching staff.

    During his years with the Silvertips, Love was also an assistant coach for a couple of Canadian teams at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2015 and 2016.

    Blades general manager Colin Priestner received permission from the Silvertips to speak to Love, when they were in the second round of the playoffs. Priestner met Love at the Vancouver International Airport between Games 2 and 3 of the Silvertips series with the Portland Winterhawks.

    Priestner said Love made a good impression. After checking with a number of hockey contacts, Priestner was sold on bringing Love to the Blades, but the Silvertips run through the post-season had to conclude before anything on that front could happen.

    “We really feel Mitch is one of the best young coaches in the country,” said Priestner. “That has been echoed by dozens of people I’ve spoken to.

    “Hockey Canada strongly advocated for him.”

Mitch Love makes a speech at a Blades press conference.

    Priestner said he had been contacted by a few former NHL head coaches that were reaching out to see if they could come to Saskatoon to finish out their careers there. The Blades general manager wanted to go in the direction of hiring someone younger who worked their way to the point in the WHL that they needed to make the step to become a head coach.

    WHL teams have been turning toward that trend since the Lethbridge Hurricanes hired Brent Kisio as head coach at age 32 back on June 4, 2015, and the Hurricanes have had three successful campaigns since that time. Before Kisio was hired, WHL clubs filled head coach vacancies by hiring former head coaches from other clubs on the circuit or former NHL coaches.

    “We want a young, hungry guy,” said Priestner. “Not to say that you can’t be a hungry 60-year-old former NHL coach.

    “We wanted someone with the passion that is going to be like dying to make his name here and hang a banner up there. It has been a long time since a banner has been hung up there.

    “I wanted someone that is not coming here to play out the stretch. I wanted someone who is extremely hungry.”

    Love likes the roster of players he will oversee. The Blades had the 15^th best record in the WHL last season at 35-33-3-1 and missed the playoffs playing out of an ultra-competitive East Division.

    They are set to return a talented group of forwards including Kirby Dach, Eric Florchuk, Josh Paterson, Chase Wouters and Max Gerlach. On defence, Saskatoon is set to bring back a healthy veteran group in Jackson Caller, Seth Bafaro, Dawson Davidson and Jake Kustra along with 16-year-old rookie Aidan De La Gorgendiere. 

    In goal, the Blades will be looking to see how standout Nolan Maier can improve on a sensational rookie campaign in his 17-year-old season.

    Love gave credit to the former staff under Brockman for bringing the players a long way.

Mitch Love meets media members at a Blades press conference.

    “I don’t want to take anything away from the coaching staff that was here before,” said Love. “They’ve improved the last two seasons as a group.

    “I think there is still some more to give there. I think we will just work towards that. There are some really good pieces in place.”

    Love’s teams are best known for their tough defence, and last season, the Silvertips gave up the fewest goals in the league during the regular season at 167. The Blades equaled the Calgary Hitmen for giving up the third more goals in the regular season on the circuit at 276.

    Going forward, Love said he wants his players to put in an honest effort, and there will be work to do at the rink. He added that there will be fun that goes along with the work to keep everyone motivated to come to the rink.

    “This has got to be a place that they want to come and enjoy and be at,” said Love. “They spend a lot of time here.

    “They spend time away from their families. This is their second home coming to the rink, and I want them to have fun doing that.”

Back in the Express with Labach

Julie Labach is a track star with the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on Julie Labach.

    Labach is a star with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field team. She originally came to the U of S to play on the Huskies women’s soccer team before competing in both soccer and track and field for the past four seasons.

    This past season, Labach had a banner year personally. She capped it winning gold in the 1,000-metre race and bronze in the 600-metre race at U Sports nationals.

    Due to her stellar season, she was named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    In the classroom, Labach was named a U Sports academic all-Canadian in her first three years with the Huskies and will likely be awarded that designation again, when those awards are handed out in September. She will enter the College of Law in the fall.

    With law being an intense program, Labach plans to only compete in track and field for the Huskies in her final campaign of U Sports eligibility.

    The story on Labach can be found right here.

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

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Track and Field teams clean up at Huskie Salute

The track teams hauled in the hardware at the Huskie Salute.

    Could another golden age for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field teams have been foreshadowed?

    On Friday night at TCU Place, Huskie Athletics handed out its Major 7 Awards at the annual Huskie Salute, and four of those honours were claimed by members of the school’s track and field teams. Julie Labach, who was part of both the women’s track and field and soccer teams for her fourth season, claimed the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year.

    Kieran Johnston, who completed his second season of eligibility with the men’s track and field team, captured the E. Kent Phillips Trophy as male athlete of the year. Kendra Farmer from the women’s track and field team was named the winner of the Patricia Lawson Trophy as female rookie of the year. Jason Reindl, who was in his first year as head coach of both track squads, won the Colb McEwon Trophy as coach of the year.

Julie Labach, left, was the female athlete of the year.

    The Huskies women’s team won their 22^nd Canada West championship this past season, while the men’s team finished fifth in the conference. At their respective U Sports nationals, the Huskies women’s team finished fifth, while the men’s team finished 13^th.

    Looking back on the campaign, Labach said the highlight was helping the women’s team win the Canada West title for the first time since 2012.

    “Winning that Canada West banner with the team was really, really special,” said Labach, who stands 5-foot-7. “That was the first banner that we won since I have been on the team.

    “Coming from soccer, that is what I miss sometimes about track. You don’t really get that whole team atmosphere. It really felt like we were all in it together and like every point counted and that was really great.”

Julie Labach gives a speech at the Huskie Salute.

    Labach had a memorable campaign personally. As a striker, she helped the Huskies women’s soccer team finish second in the Prairie Division of the Canada West Conference with a 7-3-4 record before falling in a quarter-final match in the playoffs 3-0 to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

    The 21-year-old graduate from Saskatoon’s Aden Bowman Collegiate had a stellar season on in track and field. At the Canada West championships, she claimed gold in the 1,000-metre and 600-metre races and won silver medals in the 1,500-metre race and the 4 X 400-metre relay.

    At the U Sports nationals, Labach won gold in the 1,000-metre race and bronze in the 600-metre race.

    Before the U Sports campaign started, Labach won gold in the 800-metre race and silver in the 1,500-metre race at the Canada Summer Games, which ran July 28, 2017 to August 13, 2017 in Winnipeg, Man.

Kieran Johnston, right, was the male athlete of the year.

    “It was honestly like a dream year,” said Labach. “The momentum kind of started in the summer when I was at Canada Games. I won a gold and silver medal there.

    “It just carried forward into the soccer season. The soccer team had a really great regular season. Unfortunately, we didn’t really go as far as we wanted to in playoffs, but that happens sometimes.

    “Coming into track right off the bat from that first meet, everything just kind of fell into place. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

    She said her most memorable individual moment came winning gold in the 1,000-metre race at the U Sports nationals, which were held in March in Windsor, Ont.

    “I do a lot of different events, but the 1,000, which is the one I won gold in, is one of my favourites,” said Labach. “I couldn’t have written that race better than it went.

    “It was like magic. It was really special.”

    Being named the Huskies female athlete of the year provided an unexpected topper.

Kendra Farmer, right, was the female rookie of the year.

    “It was amazing,” said Labach. “I got a little bit nervous when I got up there and saw everyone.

    “It was really, really special. It is really just an honour. There are so many great girls nominated. I means a lot.”

    Labach said she wasn’t sure if she would return to use her fifth year of eligibility. The business student has been accepted into the law school program at both the U of S and the University of Toronto.

    No matter what she decides, she believes the track team can relive its storied past. The women’s team has won seven national titles and the men’s team has claimed five national titles. The last U Sports national championship win for both track teams came in 2005.

    “I think the future is really looking good,” said Labach. “Jason Reindl, this is his first year as our head coach.

    “He has really brought a lot of like life and energy back into the team. We said that our goal like at the beginning of the season was to win a Canada West banner, and we accomplished that (on the women’s side).

    “I think next is a national title. That is what we are aiming for so figures crossed.”

Kendra Farmer gives a speech to the crowd at the Huskie Salute.

    Kaitlin Willoughby, who is the graduating fifth-year star captain of the Huskies women’s hockey team, captured the Valerie Girsberger Trophy as the all-around female athlete of the year for excellence in sport, in the classroom and for leadership. Willoughby likely delivered the night’s most stirring speech highlighting the other nominees for the award she won and telling how much her time at the U of S meant to her emotionally and how important her support system was that surrounded her in family and friends. The speech ended with a bit of humour.

    The humour part included giving a shout out to her boyfriend from the Huskies men’s hockey team in Parker Thomas, who is a fourth-year grinding forward. The two have dated for the majority of their time at U of S. Willoughby, who is the second all-time regular season leading scorer in the history of the Huskies women’s team, said the pair always had a bet on who would score the most points each season and that she always won that bet.

Jason Reindl, right, was the coach of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    Kendall McFaull, who is the graduating fifth-year captain of the Huskies men’s hockey team, claimed the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the all-around male athlete of the year for excellence in sport, in the classroom and citizenship.

    Dylan Mortensen of the Huskies men’s volleyball team won the Howard Nixon Trophy as the male rookie of the year. The recipient of the Dr. Walter Hader Award as student trainer of the year was Rachel Mamer from the football team.
    A tribute video was shown for Lyle Sanderson, who was the legendary Huskies track and field coach who passed away in February.

    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.