Regnier, fellow P.A. connections power Huskies to Canada West title

Ethan Regnier takes a lap with the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

Not so long ago, Ethan Regnier believed that his opportunities to score big goals in the U Sports post-season had flown by the wayside.

The Prince Albert product had been playing with the Mount Royal University Cougars Men’s Hockey Team. He decided that direction in life at that time wasn’t for him after his second season with the team wrapped up after the 2022-23 campaign. He left Calgary and returned to Saskatchewan playing senior hockey closer to home with the Rosthern Wheat Kings in 2023-24.

After Regnier left the Cougars, Brandin Cote, who is the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, came calling. The two were part of the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos together from 2018 to 2020 with Regnier playing forward and Cote serving as an assistant coach.

Regnier elected to join the Huskies. Last Sunday, Regnier found himself playing centre for the Dogs against the visiting Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Conference Championship Series at Merlis Belsher Place on the U of S campus.

With 5:55 remaining in the third period, Regnier, who is a Prince Albert Minor Hockey product, potted a key insurance goal to give the Huskies a 2-0 advantage. The Huskies would go on to post a 3-0 victory before a record tying attendance of 3,013 spectators at their state of the art home rink.

This story of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Oh how sweet it is – Huskies capture Canada West title

Dogs claim first conference championship since 2020

Justin Ball goes for a spin with the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

It was the spark that helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team surge to a Canada West championship.

On Sunday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies found themselves in a scoreless deadlock in the third period with the Mount Royal University Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship series. The Cougars had gotten the record crowd of 3,013 spectators at the Huskies state of the art rink to fall into a hush.

At the 10:09 mark of the frame, the Huskies got a rush that turned the game around. 

Vince Loschiavo scored the winning goal for the Huskies.

Second-year offensive defenceman Landon Kosior got the puck to fourth-year left-winger Chantz Petruic at the left side of his own blue-line. Petruic made seeing-eye pass up the centre of the ice to fifth-year right-winger Vince Loschiavo to spring him into the Mount Royal zone on a one-on-one rush.

Loschiavo jetted up the left wing, took a shot that deflected off the stick of Cougars defenceman Michael Ladyman into the Mount Royal net to put the Huskies up 1-0 and almost blow the roof off Merlis. That started a three-goal surge that allowed the Huskies to take the game 3-0. With the win, the Huskies claimed the best-of-three set 2-1 to capture their first conference crown since 2020.

Vince Loschiavo reacts to score at the 10:09 mark of the third period.

Both Huskies and the Cougars will play in the U Sports Championship Tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. It is slated to be held at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, from March 20 to 23, and it will be played in elite-eight format.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote, who was named the Canada West Conference coach of the year this season. “They put in so much work.

“They bought in, and that is what good teams do. They are so close and so tight. We’re going to enjoy this, but we also got nationals to be ready for as well, so we’re not done yet.”

The Huskies celebrate a third period goal from Vince Loschiavo (#18).

The Huskies captured the Canada West title for the 19^th time in team history with 12 of those wins coming in the conference’s modern era that started in 1972.

For the first 40 minutes in Sunday’s game, it seemed like the Huskies were stuck in a mud bog. While they had their spurts of offence, the Cougars pinned the hosts in their own zone for extended stretches.

Mount Royal had a 12-4 edge in shots on goal after the first period and 24-11 advantage in the same department heading into the second intermission. While the Cougars had their chances, they couldn’t solve Huskies fourth-year netminder Roddy Ross, who claimed honours as the Canada West goaltender of the year for the current campaign.

Part of the crowd of 3,013 spectators cheer the Huskies first goal.

Kosior said Ross’s performance helped give the Huskies traction.

“Roddy (Ross) was making saves,” said Kosior. “I think that just gave us so much belief.

“We knew that he is not letting anything in. We just knew that we had to get one. Once we got it, it was all gas.”

Huskies second-year right-winger Keaton Sorensen thought his team’s effort was there for the first 40 minutes and the intensity of the contest was high. He said all his squad had to do was get a touch more composure.

Roddy Ross made 30 saves to pick up the shutout win on Sunday.

“We just took it period by period every five minutes,” said Sorensen. “Sometimes, we got revved up.

“We just got calm and collected. We just got it done today.”

The game’s momentum shifted drastically in the third when Loschiavo got the Huskies on the scoreboard. Kosior was pumped to see the rush that he started get finished off by Loschiavo.

“That was unbelievable,” said Kosior. “That was a feeling I won’t forget.

“We celebrated, and then knew there was nine minutes left or whatever it was. We had to refocus and finish the game out.”

Shane Farkas stopped 24-of-26 shots in goal for the Cougars.

Following Loschiavo’s goal, the Huskies got the puck deep in the Mount Royal often and were hard on the forecheck. That pressure resulted in a key insurance goal with 5:55 remaining in the third.

Cougars third-year defenceman Remy Aquilon had the puck deep in his zone, and he was forced to cough it up after he was floored by a big hit from Huskies fourth-year right winger Jarrett Penner. After the hit, the puck squirted to Huskies third-year centre Ethan Regnier, who was all alone in front of the Mount Royal net.

Regnier tucked a shot between the legs of Cougars netminder Shane Farkas to push the Huskies lead out to 2-0.

“Penn (Jarrett Penner) is my linemate there,” said Regnier. “He is always hard on the puck, so you always have to be ready.

Ethan Regnier scored the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

“You never know what is going to happen. It just came out to me. I tried to make a quick move, and luckily, it went in.”

Regnier was pumped his Huskies prevailed in Game 3 to capture the conference title.

“I’m pretty speechless,” said Regnier. “To do it in front of the crowd and the support we have here, it is awesome.”

With 1:16 remaining in the third, fourth-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine sealed the victory with an empty-net tally that rounded out the 3-0 final score.

Ross stopped all 30 shots sent his way to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Farkas turned away 24-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars.

During the regular season, the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 23-5 record, and they were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings. 

The Huskies pour off their bench after winning the Canada West title.

The Cougars were second overall in Canada West at 22-6, and they were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings.

Kosior was elated his squad claimed the conference title.

“It feels unreal,” said Kosior. “At the start of the year, this was our goal.

“To accomplish it, it is the best feeling in the world.”

Sorensen contributed some gritty minutes to help the Huskies cause. With 3:34 remaining in the third, he drew a tripping penalty from Cougars rookie right-winger Justin Lies that help keep the momentum on the Huskies side.

Ty Prefontaine (#9) reacts to getting his Canada West gold medal.

When the third period clock expired, Sorensen was over the moon excited about the fact his team won the conference title.

“It is awesome,” said Sorensen. “There is no better feeling than winning.

“It is just awesome. We have a great group of guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.”

The 3,013 spectators the Huskies drew for Game 3 matched the record total they attracted for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at Merlis, which the Cougars claimed 2-1 in overtime. In the Huskies 6-3 victory in Game 1 of the series on Friday, 2,980 spectators packed into Merlis, which was the attendance record for the building until Games 2 and 3 of the series were played.

Landon Kosior raises the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

Kosior played before some lively crowds during his WHL career as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in “Hockey Town North.” He loved how the Huskies faithful brought the noise and the energy in the Canada West final.

“The crowd has been amazing,” said Kosior. “It is unbelievable.

“I can’t even put it into words. We’re just so thankful with how good our crowd was.”

Now the Huskies turn their attention to trying to win their second U Sports championship in team history. Their lone U Sports title came from their legendary 1982-83 squad that was coached by Dave King and captained by Willie Desjardins.

Kosior said his squad is looking forward to what awaits then at the David Johnston University Cup.

The Huskies celebrate their Canada West title win on Sunday.

“We’re excited,” said Kosior. “We will celebrate this, and then, we will come back and be ready to go and be looking forward to nationals.”

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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Cougars blank Huskies 2-0 in playoff type encounter

Huskies LW Kenzie Lausberg (#22) shields off a Cougars defender.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team got a tune up for the post-season.

On Saturday, the Huskies finished out hosting a two-game regular season set against the defending U Sports champion Mount Royal University Cougars before 711 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place. In that clash, the smallest moment in time proved to be the difference when it came to earning a victory and taking a defeat.

The two sides entered the third period locked in a 0-0. The Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, started the frame working on the power play, and during that opportunity, star left-winger Sophie Lalor rang a shot off the crossbar.

The Cougars celebrate a goal from Athena Hauck (#29).

After that power play expired, Cougars fourth-year left-winger Athena Hauck found herself alone in front of the Huskies net. She wired home a midrange shot to the top left corner of the Huskies goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the 5:26 mark of the frame.

With 12.9 seconds remaining in the third, Cougars fourth-year centre and team captain Lyndsey Janes popped home an empty-net goal that cemented a 2-0 victory for the visitors, who are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings.

“The margin of error tonight was we had a centre who lost an assignment for like three seconds, and that is the margin of error,” said Huskies head coach Steve Kook. “That would be playoff hockey.

“Outside of that, it was a solid game. Outside of that, we are going to overtime. Outside of that, we are going to a shootout.”

Athena Hauck had the winning goal for the Cougars.

While the Huskies came out on the wrong end of the scoreboard, Kook thought Saturday’s game as a big bounce back one for his squad after they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Cougars on Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place. In Saturday’s regular season clash, Kook said the Cougars ultimately showed the pedigree which saw them win the U Sports championship last year.

“Given our performance last night which I thought was terrible with the exception of (Huskies star netminder) Cam (Camryn Drever), it was a 180 degree turnaround,” said Kook. “We just totally got off script yesterday.

“Today, we played on script. Kudos to them, I think they blocked probably about 10 or 12 shots in the last five or six minutes, and a couple of them had to crawl off the ice. They’re a national champion, and that is what they are willing to do.

Paris Oleksyn jets into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

“They block shots right in the gut and the chest and crawled off the ice.”

The setback saw the Huskies fall to 17-7-1-1. With two games left on their regular season schedule, the Huskies are locked into fourth place in the Canada West Conference standings. They will open the post-season hosting a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series against either the 11-13-2 U of Calgary Dinos or the 10-15-1 U of Manitoba Bisons.

U of S has lost three straight, and the skid started on Jan. 27 with a 2-0 setback against the U of Alberta Pandas in Edmonton. The Pandas, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, sit second in the Canada West Conference with a 19-3-1-3 mark.

Camryn Drever stopped 24-of-25 shots in goal for the Huskies.

The Cougars improved to 20-6 with the win over the Huskies to sit third in Canada West just two standings points behind the Pandas. Both the Cougars and Pandas have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

The defending Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 Rankings, have first place in Canada West locked up with a 22-1-1-2 mark. They will have home ice advantage throughout the Canada West playoffs in the U Sports post-season.

The Thunderbirds, Pandas, Cougars, Huskies, Dinos and Bisons will be the six teams taking part in the Canada West playoffs.

Scout Anderson (#30) makes one of her 15 saves for the Cougars.

Huskies third-year left-winger Paris Oleksyn said Saturday’s clash with the Cougars was a game where her squad had to battle for everything. She said those types of games will be the norm for her squad in the post-season.

“This game was definitely a good stepping stone going into playoffs,” said Oleksyn. “It kind of taught us what to expect in playoffs.

“I really thought like we battled like a playoff game. We worked hard. It sucks that we didn’t get the lucky bounces our way.

“We hit a few posts and stuff like that. I think as a team we played a lot better today, and we played like a playoff game.”

Sophie Lalor wired a shot off the crossbar early in the third.

Saturday’s encounter started out a tight checking one. The Huskies first shot on goal in the contest came at the 13:50 mark of the opening frame from defender Kendra Zuchotzki, and at that point in time, the Cougars only held a 4-1 edge in shots on goal. Mount Royal held a 7-2 edge in the shots on goal department after 20 minutes.

In the first half of the second period, the Huskies had a pair of power plays. With a one skater advantage, the Huskies had great puck movement and set up some strong scoring chances. They did everything they could right on the power plays but weren’t able to crack on to the scoreboard due to solid work from Cougars second-year netminder Scout Anderson.

Kendra Zuchotzki brings the puck up ice for the Huskies.

Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play on Saturday. The Huskies seemingly had the stronger chances to score on their power plays, which played a factor in the game’s final outcome.

“On the power play in the second period, (McKenna) Bolger hits the top of Scout Anderson’s stick, and it goes out the other way,” said Kook. “(Sophie) Lalor puts one off the crossbar here (in the third period).

“They blocked probably more shots than we got through.”

After the Cougars went ahead, the Huskies best chance to get the equalizer might have come when second-year right-winger Jayde Cadieux was denied from point-blank range at the right side of the Mount Royal net.

The Cougars celebrate an empty-net goal from Lyndsey Janes (#12).

Drever stopped 24-of-25 shots to take the setback in net for the Huskies. Anderson turned away all 15 shots she faced to pick up her third shutout win of the campaign.

The Huskies close their regular season schedule traveling to Winnipeg to take on the Bisons this coming Friday and Saturday at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m. local time and Saturday’s clash is tabbed for 3 p.m. local time.

Oleksyn said her Huskies will be focused on getting back into the win column before the post-season rolls around.

“We know what we need to do to get the job done,” said Oleksyn. “We know what we don’t have to do.

“We just have to focus on capitalizing on the important parts of the game and work together as a team.”

Huskies captain Kennedy Brown will soon graduate from the team.

NOTES – Saturday’s game was “Seniors Night” as the Huskies honoured their graduating players presenting them with jerseys in a pre-game ceremony. The Huskies graduating players include Drever, Lalor, captain Kennedy Brown, Isabella Pozzi, Kara Kondrat, Kenzie Lausberg and Kate Ball. Ball still has one more season of U Sports eligibility remaining, but she is slated to graduate from the Kinesiology program at the U of S and plans to move on to her next life chapter. The Huskies held a kids skate following Saturday’s 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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New heroes lift Huskies to Canada West Final

Camryn Drever has been beyond stellar in the post-season.

Legends are made in the playoffs, and the new generation from University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team is leaving their mark.

The Huskies advanced to the Canada West Conference Championship Series sweeping the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-0 in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series this past weekend in Calgary, Alta. The Cougars had topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 16-2-2 record, while the Huskies finished fifth with an 11-7-2 mark.

Mount Royal won the two regular season encounters with the Huskies, but both victories came by 1-0 scores.

On top of advancing to the Canada West Final, the Huskies earned a berth at the U Sports Championship Tournament for the fourth time in program history with the previous appearances coming in 2004, 2014 and 2018.

The biggest star in the Huskies series upset win over the Cougars was third-year goaltender Camryn Drever. In the two wins over the Cougars, Drever turned away 85-of-86 shots to allow the Huskies to post a 1-0 victory in Game 1 and a 2-1 overtime triumph in Game 2.

Drever has made her first four U Sports post-season starts this year, and she won all four of those contests. She came to the Huskies as an experienced post-season performer.

Before joining the U Sports ranks, Drever was the star goaltender for the St. Albert Slash, and she backstopped them to two straight Esso Cup titles as national under-18 AAA hockey champions in 2017 and 2018. She earned a reputation as a clutch player in those runs.

In Game 1 against the Cougars played this past Friday played before 265 spectators at the Flames Community Arena, third-year forward Kara Kondrat scored at the 3:08 mark of the first period to account for the contest’s only goal in the Huskies 1-0 win.

Kennedy Brown scored the OT series winner for the Huskies.

The tally was Kondrat’s third career U Sports goal including play in the regular season and playoffs and her first marker in U Sports post-season play. It was also a career highlight as Kondrat is from Cochrane, Alta., which is a small city located on the northwest border of Calgary.

Rookie forward Mallory Dyer and rookie defender Brooklyn Stevely picked up assists on the play.

Kondrat’s goal was all the offence the Huskies would need as Drever made 32 saves to pick up her second shutout win of the post season, which matched her shutout total from the regular season.

Zoe De Beauville made 12 stops in goal for the Cougars.

In Game 2 last Saturday played before 250 spectators at the Flames Community Arena, Huskies rookie defender Larissa Bohlken scored on the power play at the 1:50 mark in the second period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The tally was Bohlken’s first career U Sports goal including action in both the regular season and playoffs.

Third-year forwards Sophie Lalor and Jordyn Holmes picked up assists on the play.

Before the second period ended, third-year forward Breanne Trotter scored for the Cougars to even the score at 1-1. From there, the contest went to overtime.

At the 3:42 mark of overtime, Huskies third-year forward Kennedy Brown popped home the rebound from a shot taken from linemate Bailee Bourassa to count for the game and series winner. The tally was Brown’s second winning goal of the post-season.

For Bourassa, the assist was the first point of the post-season for the Huskies captain. As the team’s lone fifth-year player, Bourassa, who is pursuing her master’s degree in nursing, has faced tighter checking from opposing teams as a known scoring threat.

Brooklyn Stevely had an assist for the Huskies this past Friday.

Bourassa topped the Huskies in regular season scoring with 11 points coming on seven goals and four assists appearing in all 20 of the Huskies games. She along with the Huskies lone fourth-year player in forward Abby Shirley have provided a steady had to guide the team’s new generation.

Shirley picked up a second assist on Brown’s series winning goal.

Drever had a spectacular night making 53 saves to backstop the Huskies to victory. De Beauville turned away 22 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Cougars in what would be her final U Sports game as she completed her fifth-year of eligibility.

The Huskies will now face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West Championship series. The Cougars swept the other best-of-three Canada West semifinal 2-0 against the University of Alberta Pandas.

The Thunderbirds finished second in Canada West regular season standings with a 14-6 mark. UBC will host the Canada West Final at the Doug Mitchell Sports Centre on Vancouver, B.C.

Game 1 is this coming Friday (9 p.m. Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca), Game 2 follows this coming Saturday (9 p.m. Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca), and if necessary, Game 3 is set for this coming Sunday (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca).

This will be the fifth time since 2014 the Huskies and Thunderbirds have met in the post-season and the first time a post-season clash between the two sides will be for the Canada West title. Both sides sport two series wins each from the previous four post-season meetings.

Before the 2020-21 campaign was lost due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, the Huskies and Thunderbirds had developed a rivalry in the style fitting the WHL from the 1980s.

Both teams experienced sizable turnover since the Thunderbirds swept a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series between the two clubs 2-0 in February of 2020.

The Huskies aim to keep the victory celebrations coming.

The Huskies and Thunderbirds split their two encounters in the 2021-22 regular season with the two squads playing intense but straight up. The current Huskies and Thunderbirds are in position to add their own unique spin to what has been a storied set of post-season battles that have happened in the past.

Both teams will play in the U Sports Championship Tournament, which is set for March 24-27 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

For this new generation of the Huskies, they have really nothing to lose and everything to gain. A priceless challenge lies ahead to keep adding pages to this special and unique chapter in team history they are currently writing.

KENNEDY BROWN SAYS GOOD NIGHT IN CALGARY!#HuskiePride #PowerOfThePack https://t.co/jE8AkqrVUQ pic.twitter.com/3b1uITfSB2

— USask Huskie Women's Hockey (@HuskiesWHKY) March 6, 2022

D-man breakaway gives Raiders OT win, other notes

Nolan Allan scored a breakaway OT winner on Saturday.

A defenceman breakaway proved to be one of the top highlights of this past weekend in the WHL.

On Saturday, the host Prince Albert Raiders found themselves locked in a 2-2 in overtime with the WHL East Division leading Winnipeg Ice in the friendly confines of the Art Hauser Centre. The Ice were buzzing in the Prince Albert zone until Raiders defenceman Nolan Allan picked off a drop pass from Winnipeg rearguard Benjamin Zloty.

Allan chipped the puck past Ice centre Chase Wheatcroft to spring himself on a breakaway. Wheatcroft fell when he turned to chase Allan allowing the Raiders blue-liner a clear unchallenged path to the Winnipeg goal.

Allan broke into the Winnipeg zone and sniped home the winning goal low glove side on Ice netminder Gage Alexander to give the Raiders 3-2 victory and allow the 2,339 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre to try and blow the roof off the legendary rink with their raucous response.

The tally was Allan’s third goal of the season and his second winner on the campaign. The first round NHL Entry Draft selection who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks has 24 assists to go with his three goals for 27 points in 49 games with the Raiders this season.

Power forward Jack Finley scored to give the Ice a 1-0 lead late in the first period of Saturday’s contest.

Offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior scored on the power play for the Raiders in the second period to even things up at 1-1. Early in the third, Raiders right-winger Cale Sanders scored to put the host side up 2-1.

With 8:57 remaining in the third, Ice star left-winger Mikey Milne scored the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie and send the contest to overtime.

That set up the dramatics for Allan’s winner.

Import netminder Tikhon Chaika turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (21-28-2-1). Alexander turned away 36 shots to take the extra time setback in net for the Ice (36-9-3-2).

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the 23-25-2-1 Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

A defensemen? On a breakaway?

What else can you expect in WOAH-VERTIME!@PARaidersHockey | @NHLBlackhawks pic.twitter.com/MtMRKEmRwf

— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 6, 2022

• It is official, Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid sits alone in fifth place on the WHL’s all-time career regular season head coaching wins list. Habscheid did indeed pick up his 573^rd victory to move alone into fifth spot, when the Raiders downed the Hitmen in Calgary 1-0 on February 23. The Raiders current run of two straight wins has pushed Habscheid’s career regular season win total to 575 victories. Lorne Molleken sits fourth on the WHL’s career regular season head coaching wins list with 626 victories. Molleken piled up his win total working stints behind the bench with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades, Regina Pats and Vancouver Giants from 1989 to 2016. Brett Smith, who is the Raiders manager of communications and community relations, double checked to confirm Habscheid’s win total.
• A monster season allowed Regina Rebels forward Alexis Petford to vault into 10^th place on the all-time career regular season scoring list for the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League. Petford led the league in regular season scoring with 76 points coming on 38 goals and 38 assists appearing in 29 games with the Rebels. All of those point totals were career highs for Petford, who is skating in her final campaign of under-18 AAA eligibility. In her career with the Rebels, Petford has appeared in 91 regular season games piling up 127 points coming on 63 goals and 64 assists. Petford overtook Lauren Zary for 10^th place on the career scoring list. Zary now sits 11^th on the SFU18AAAHL career regular season scoring list with 126 points. She collected her 126 points on 44 goals and 82 assists playing 103 career regular season games with the Saskatoon Stars from 2008 to 2012.
• On Saturday, the University of Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Hockey team dropped a 2-1 decisions to the Ohio State University Buckeyes in a WCHA semifinal contest. Sophie Shirley, who is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA hockey team, had the lone goal for the Badgers. Shirley’s sister, Grace, is also on the Badgers roster and is also a Stars alumna. The Badgers still qualified for the NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey Championship tournament. On Thursday, the Badgers will play the Clarkson University Golden Knights in an opening round match in Boston, Massachusetts. The winner moves on to the elite eight quarter-final round against the third seeded Northeastern University Huskies. The Huskies roster contains star defender Brooke Hobson, who is an alumna of the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 AAA team.
• On Saturday, the Cracovia Krakow from Poland downed the host Aalborg Pirates in Denmark 4-0 to win the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Continental Cup. The Krakow locked up a spot in the Champions Hockey League in Europe for the upcoming season. The Krakow roster contains Collin Shirley, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers and U Sports’ University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey team. Shirley had a goal in the Krakow’s win over the Pirates.
• On Monday, the Swift Current Broncos removed the interim tag on Devan Praught’s job title as the team’s head coach. The 34-year-old Praught’s is now the Broncos full-time head coach. Praught originally joined the Broncos as an assistant coach on July 30, 2021. He became the club’s interim head coach on October 14, 2021 after Dean Brockman stepped down as the Broncos head coach and general manager. The Broncos posted an 18-25-5-2 record after Praught became in the interim head coach. Chad Leslie became the Broncos general manager after Brockman’s departure.
• On Monday, the WHL named Brandon Wheat Kings overage defenceman Chad Nychuk as the player of the week for the week ending this past Sunday. Nychuk had three goals and seven assists in three games for the Wheat Kings to pick up player of the week honours. Also on Monday, the WHL named Kamloops Blazers netminder Dylan Ernst as the goaltender of the week for the week ending this past Sunday. Ernst won all three of his starts for the week in question posting a 1.97 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
• The Edmonton Oil Kings are riding an 11-game winning streak to lead the WHL’s overall standings with a 41-11-2-1 mark.
• If you are looking for stories on the U Sports playoff run of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team, you need to check out huskiefan.ca. Huskies women’s hockey play-by-play voice Daniella Ponticelli has filed great stories about the playoff run accompanying the team on the road. HuskieFAN has provided beat coverage of the Huskies Football team and the Huskies Men’s Hockey team.

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 find magic in unique and special season

Women’s hockey squad ventures on in playoffs

The Huskies celebrate a goal earlier this season.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team is leaving a mark on a season that is like no other.

A year ago at this time, players were focusing on university assignments and exams. They never even got to play a game in the 2020-21 campaign as it was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that still grips the world.

On top of that, they were kicked out of their home rink as Merlis Belsher Place was serving as a potential field hospital in waiting and was being used to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Now fast forward to this past Saturday. The Huskies were playing in Winnipeg, Man., and they blanked the host University of Manitoba Bisons 3-0 in Game 2 of a Canada West quarter-final playoff series.

That win allowed the Huskies to sweep the best-of-three set 2-0 to advance in the U Sports playoffs. They overcame an opponent they weren’t able to beat in the four head-to-head encounters in the regular season.

The Bisons finished fourth in the Canada West regular season standings with a 13-7 mark just ahead of the Huskies who were 11-7-2.

Thanks to those playoff wins over the Bisons, the Huskies were back in Merlis Belsher Place this week conducting practices preparing for their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the Mount Royal University Cougars in Calgary, Alta.

The Cougars topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 16-2-2 mark.

Bailee Bourassa led the Huskies in scoring this season.

Game 1 of the series is set for Friday (8 p.m. Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca), and Game 2 follows on Saturday (7 p.m., Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca). If necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, HuskieFAN.ca). All of those contests will be played at the Flames Community Arena.

Going into the 2021-22 campaign, the Huskies likely didn’t know what to expect. In late August of 2021, they moved back into Merlis Belsher Place, so they had at least the security of knowing they were going to be in their home rink.

Still, they never knew if the rug was going to be pulled out from under them on the COVID-19 front and the season would grind to a halt. With that noted, there was a sense of purpose from the Huskies and the rest of the teams in the conference to push through with the campaign to keep the Canada West Conference relevant.

That was true for the teams in men’s hockey along with that teams that play in all the various other sports under the conference’s umbrella.

With that noted, you have to suspect long time Huskies head coach Steve Kook had some sleepless nights navigating the program through the unique ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic since the middle of March of 2020. Kook would collect his 200^th career win in the 2021-22 campaign.

Going into the season, the Huskies would also be searching for a new identity on the ice since last playing a game in February of 2020, when they were eliminated from the U Sports playoff picture. Following the 2019-20 campaign, the Huskies lost eight players due to graduation.

Camryn Drever earned her first two U Sports playoff wins.

After losing a whole season, the Huskies had players contemplating life decisions, which including moving on from playing the sport of hockey. Out of the four players from the 2019-20 campaign who were playing their fourth years of eligibility on the team, only forward Bailee Bourassa came back to play her fifth and final season of U Sports eligibility.

She elected to pursue her master’s degree in nursing, while taking on the role of captain for the Huskies.

Forward Abby Shirley is the only player on the Huskies roster skating in her fourth year of eligibility.

The presence of Bourassa and Shirley helped give a steady hand to a younger generation of players looking to make their mark with the program.

Bourassa led the team in scoring with seven goals and four assists appearing in all of the Huskies 20 regular season games. Shirley skated in 18 regular season games collecting five goals and four assists.

Last Friday, Shirley arguably had her greatest on ice moment with the Huskies netting her first career U Sports hat trick in a 4-2 victory over the Bisons in Game 1 of their Canada West quarter-final series in Winnipeg.

The younger generation stepped up too as third-year forward Kennedy Brown had the Huskies lone other tally that proved to be the game winner breaking a 2-2 tie with four minutes remaining in the third period.

In the Huskies 3-0 series clinching victory in Game 2 against the Bisons this past Saturday, the U of S side received singles from third-year forward Sophie Lalor, rookie defender Brooklyn Stevely and Brown.

Abby Shirley picked up her first career U Sports hat trick.

During those two playoff wins, rookie defenders Larissa Bohlken, Kendra Zuchotzki and Emily Holmes have each picked up a pair of assists.

The Huskies also have an ace card to play in third-year netminder Camryn Drever. While she didn’t have any U Sports playoff starts going into the 2021-22 season, the Edmonton, Alta., product is an experienced post-season performer.

Before joining the U Sports ranks, Drever was the star goaltender for the St. Albert Slash, and she backstopped them to two straight Esso Cup titles as national under-18 AAA hockey champions in 2017 and 2018. She earned a reputation as a clutch player in those runs.

The Huskies series sweep over the Bisons marked Drever’s first two post-season wins at the U Sports level. She made 18 saves in the Huskies Game 1 victory and 21 stops for the shutout in the Huskies Game 2 win.

During the regular season, Drever appeared in 16 games posting an 8-7-1 record, a 1.49 goals against average, a .939 save percentage and two shutouts.

The 2021-22 campaign has been kind of a mulligan type of season, because no one could truly know what to expect when a whole league comes back after a season off.

At the moment, the Huskies have a legit shot to create more post-season magic. The Cougars won both regular season encounters between the two sides, but both games were only decided by respective 1-0 final scores.

The winner of this series will advance to the Canada West Championship series and lock up a berth in the U Sports final eight championship tournament, which is set for March 24 to 27 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

The Huskies want to have more victory celebrations.

The Huskies might ultimately bring home a couple of championship trophies.

Even if the championship trophies don’t come, the program accomplishments this season already have to be viewed as a major victory.

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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Five Huskies get all-Canadian nods in lead up to Vanier

Dogs play in U Sports title game on Saturday

David Solie was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

While team success is always the most remembered thing in football, it always good to take time to celebrate individual honours.

Ultimately, it is the players and individual stories in the game that help followers draw a closer connection to the sport.

On Thursday night at the annual U Sports football awards show held in Quebec City, Quebec, five members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies were named all-Canadian all-stars.

At the ballroom in the Hotel le Concorde Quebec, running back Adam Machart, left tackle Noah Zerr, defensive end Nathan Cherry and kicker David Solie were named first team all-Canadian all-stars, while Connor Berglof, who plays both centre and right guard, was named a second team all-Canadian all-star.

Solie earned his first team all-Canadian all-star nod at punter. Berglof claimed his second team all-Canadian all-star position at centre.

The awards were handed out as the Huskies close in on playing in the U Sports championship game – the Vanier Cup – for the first time since 2006.

The Huskies (8-1 overall) face the University of Western Ontario Mustangs (9-1 overall) in the Vanier Cup on Saturday at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, CBC). The Mustangs head into that clash as favourites, but the weather might favour the Huskies as it is expected to be -10 C with a 60 per cent chance of snow according to Environment Canada.

The Dogs are looking for their first Vanier Cup win since 1998, while the Mustangs last won the U Sports title in 2017. The Huskies have won the Vanier Cup three times, and Mustangs claimed the top prize in U Sports football seven times.

On the individual front, Machart picked up a first team all-Canadian nod after a solid campaign. He led the Huskies in rushing yards during the regular season piling up 415 yards on 60 carries and scoring two touchdowns appearing in five of U of S’s six regular season games.

During those five regular season contests, Machart hauled in 14 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. This was the second consecutive season Machart was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

Noah Zerr, right, makes a blog in a double team.

U Sports didn’t hold any national championships and most of that circuit’s teams didn’t play in the 2020-21 campaign due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Zerr was named an all-Canadian for the first time with his first team all-Canadian all-star nod. On September 1, Zerr was rated 20^th among the top 20 prospects for the 2022 CFL Draft as ranked by the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau.

Cherry also picked up his first all-Canadian honour with his first team all-Canadian all-star selection. He had a monster year at defensive end recording 5.5 sacks and 13.5 total tackles playing all six of the Huskies regular season games.

Solie took all-Canadian status for the first time with his first team all-Canadian all-star award thanks to his outstanding year punting the ball. Appearing in all six of the Huskies regular season games, Solie punted the ball 36 times for 1,563 yards for an average of 43.4 yards per kick.

Berglof claimed all-Canadian status for a second straight season. In 2019, he was named a first team all-Canadian all-star at centre.

This season, Berglof was named a second team all-Canadian all-star at centre. The CFL Draft selection of the Toronto Argonauts played most of the regular season at centre for the Huskies.

He was moved to right guard near the end of the regular season and remained at that spot through the post-season.

The work Zerr, Berglof and the rest of the Huskies offensive line put in saw quarterback Mason Nyhus only get sacked four times and the Huskies lead U Sports in rushing yards per carry.

As for the major award winners in U Sports football, University of Waterloo Warriors quarterback Tre Ford won the Hec Crighton Award as the most outstanding player of the year.

Mustangs defensive end Deionte Knight claimed J.P. Metras Award as the most outstanding lineman.

University of Alberta Golden Bears linebacker Josiah Schakel took the Presidents’ Trophy as the most outstanding defensive player.

Connor Berglof (#68) throws a block for the Huskies.

Concordia University Stingers receiver Jaylan Greaves claimed the Peter Gorman Trophy as the rookie of the year.

Late University of Ottawa Gee-Gees defensive lineman Francis Perron was posthumously awarded the Russ Jackson Award for outstanding community service. Perron passed away after the Gee-Gees first regular season game, when they fell 11-10 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in Toronto on September 18.

Queen’s University Golden Gaels head coach Steve Snyder captured the Frank Tindall Trophy as the coach of the year.

University of Guelph Gryphons offensive line coach Michael MacDonald took the Gino Fracas Award as the Volunteer coach of the year for U Sports.

Alums send pump up messages to current Huskies team

Tyler Siwak (#19) in action for the Huskies in 2002.

The alumni of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football put together video of pump up messages for the current team going into this year’s Vanier Cup.

The Huskies play the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the U Sports football championship game on Saturday at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec.

The video was shared over the social media channels for the Huskie Football Alumni and the University of Saskatchewan. The messages were great and a number of them were colourful.

The video showed how many beauties played on the team and were characters that have character like Murray Sadownick, Cal Hobbs, Brent Schneider, Kelly Bates, Tyler Siwak, Lyndon Rush, Ben Coakwell, Ivan Brown, Laurence Nixon, Parker Siemens, Rylund Hunter, Ben Heenan and Tanner Secord.

Secord, who played his fifth and final year in 2019 on the offensive line, told former teammate and current fourth-year centre and right guard on the offensive line Conner Berglof that he was allowed to smile after the current team wins on Saturday.

Feel free to check out the video below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Huskies FB Alumni (@huskiealumni)

Hockey men’s Huskies romp past MRU 7-2

Jaxan Kaluski had two goals and an assist for the Huskies.

It was all Dogs all night at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday night.

In a U Sports men’s hockey regular season contest, the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies thumped the Mount Royal University Cougars 7-2 holding a 37-17 advantage in shots on goal before 1,673 spectators. The Huskies, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, led 2-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second frame.

Jaxan Kaluski had two goals and an assist for the Huskies. Jared Dmytriw and Vince Loschiavo each picked up a goal and two assists in the win.

Captain Gord Ballhorn, Donovan Neuls and Owen Hardy had singles for the Huskies.

Riley Sawchuk and Tyson Helgesen replied with singles for the Cougars.

Roddy Ross made 15 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies (8-3). Riley Morris turned away 30 shots going the distance in goal for the Cougars (6-5-1).

Those two squads go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

MRU blanks Huskies women’s team 1-0

Bailee Bourassa had eight shots on goal for the Huskies.

Zoe De Beauville was a brick wall the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team wasn’t able to overcome.

The netminder for the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s hockey team made 28 saves to backstop her squad to a 1-0 U Sports regular season win over the Huskies at the Flames Community Arena in Calgary on Friday. The shutout was the third of the season for De Beauville.

Cougars captain Amy Tatum scored on the power play at the 11:12 mark of the first period to account for the game’s only goal. Emma Bergesen and Breanne Trotter picked up assists.

The Cougars, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, improved to 8-1-2 with the win.

Camryn Drever made 24 stops to take the setback in goal for the Huskies 6-3-2. Huskies captain Bailee Bourassa had eight shots on goal.

The Cougars were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies were unable to score on five power-play chances.

The two sides go at it again on Saturday in Calgary.

Expect Bombers to pull out win on Irving’s last call, other notes

Andrew Harris and the Bombers to give their all for Bob Irving.

On the CFL front, the Saskatchewan Roughriders might be heading into a buzz saw, when they head into Winnipeg to face the host Blue Bombers in the West Final on Sunday.

On sports talk shows based out of Saskatchewan, locals have been phoning in their support for the Roughriders saying they will win as the Bombers battle rust. The Bombers topped the entire CFL standings with an 11-3 record and closed the regular season losing two straight games that wouldn’t effect where they were in the standings.

The Roughriders, who were second in the West Division with a 9-5 mark, have won five of their last six games including a thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West semifinal at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

The Bombers head into the West Final at IG Field in Winnipeg with extra motivation.

The West Final will be the last game Bob “Knuckles” Irving calls as the iconic play-by-play voice of the Bombers. The 71-year-old has filled that roll with CJOB in Winnipeg since 1974.

Irving is a total professional when it comes to calling the game. He has piled up many accolades including induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and having the press box at IG Field named in his honour as the Bob Irving Media Centre.

He has called Bombers games through many ups and downs and seen the team win Grey Cup championships in 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2019.

Irving means a lot to the team. While the Bombers were favourites in this game anyways, you have to believe they will dig down to find another gear to get this one for Irving.

You can expect veterans like star running back and hometown hero Andrew Harris, who is returning from injury, will try his best to allow Irving to depart on a high.

Irving will be inducted to the Bombers ring of honour before Sunday’s game.

He is a true media professional, and he gets uncomfortable when the story becomes about him or a fuss is made over him.

Hopefully, he lets himself enjoy the ride this time.

If the Bombers do win as expected, it would be cool if the management and broadcasters at TSN work things out to allow Irving to call the Grey Cup game in Hamilton on Dec. 12 as an extra treat for a national audience. That won’t likely happen, but it would be the right thing to do, if the Bombers are in that game.

• On Monday, the Winter Universiade, which was set to run Dec. 11 to 21 in Lucerne, Switzerland, was cancelled due to concern over the omicron variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world since March of 2020. Switzerland had imposed border restrictions on travelers from several countries where the new omicron variant has been discovered causing the cancellation of the games. Several countries including Canada have introduced new travel restrictions due to the omicron variant. The Winter Universiade was originally supposed to be held back in January but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as vaccines were just starting to be distributed at that time.
• As the Universite Laval Rouge et Or won’t be playing in the Vanier Cup, it is unknown who the neutral crowd at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, will cheer for in the U Sports football championship game on Saturday. The University of Saskatchewan Huskies take on the University of Western Ontario Mustangs for the title. Since London, Ont., is way closer to Quebec City than Saskatoon, Mustangs fans might travel to give their side more of a home field advantage. Fans in Quebec City may cheer on the Huskies due to the fact they had to travel further to get to the game and the Mustangs developed a slight rivalry with the Rouge et Or after meeting the Vanier Cup in 2017 and 2018. The Mustangs took the 2017 Vanier Cup and the Rouge et Or claimed the 2018 title game.
• The Bodog sports betting site has the University of Western Ontario Mustangs favoured in an opening spread by 9.5 points over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saturday’s U Sports football championship game – the Vanier Cup. The game will be played at Stade Telus – Universite Laval in Quebec City, Quebec. You can check those odds out by clicking right here.
• On Friday, Nov. 26, former WHLer and University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team alum Matt Swaby passed away in a farming accident. His celebration of life was held today in Prince Albert. Swaby played defence for the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team from 2002 to 2004, the WHL’s Tri-City Americans from 2004 to 2007, the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings from 2007 to 2008 and the U Sports’ Huskies from 2008 to 2011. He leaves behind his wife Carla and their three boys Thomas, 6, Blake, 4 and Cody, 2. Swaby was a friend to all and a GoFundMe campaign has raised over $221,000 for the family. Anyone looking to donate to the GoFundMe campaign for the family can do so by clicking 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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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.