Mustangs upset Huskies, COVID-19 scare ends both U Sports hockey nationals

Carson Stadnyk scored for the Huskies on Thursday.

    It was an upset that should have been the story of the day at the David Johnston University Cup.

    By the time Thursday came to the end, the upset was a footnote in the day’s events.

    The University Cup opened on Thursday in Halifax, N.S., with the seventh seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs downing the second seeded University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2 in a quarter-final match. After the opening day’s action came to a conclusion, U Sports cancelled the rest of its elite-eight men’s national hockey championship due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Late in the day Thursday, Hockey Canada announced it was cancelling all its sanctioned activities including national championships affective Friday due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Due to this announcement, U Sports called off its men’s national championship tournament and the U Sports women’s elite eight national championship tournament, which was being held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

    Both events were slated to hold their bronze and gold medal matches on Sunday.

    A national champion in U Sports men’s hockey won’t be crowned for the first time in 58 years, and a national champion in U Sports women’s hockey won’t be crowned for the first time in 22 years.

    That means the David Johnston University Cup and the Golden Path Trophy will be unclaimed this season.

Sam Ruopp had a goal for the Huskies on Thursday.

    The encounter between the Mustangs and Huskies was a battle, and due to the fact it was played early Thursday afternoon, everyone believed the winner would get to play in a semifinal contest on Saturday.

    Defenceman Reed Morison game the Mustangs a 1-0 lead scoring on the power play with 2:51 remaining in the first period.

    Huskies fourth-year right winger Carson Stadnyk evened the score at 1-1 scoring at the 5:37 mark of the second period.

    Before the second period ended, the Mustangs jumped ahead 3-1 with a short-handed marker from centre Cordell James and an even-strength marker from defenceman Stephen Desrocher.

    Sean Montgomery, who was a career five-season member of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, picked up assists on the Mustangs first and third goals.

    The Huskies didn’t go quietly. Third-year defender Sam Ruopp scored with 43 seconds remaining in the third period to cut the Mustangs lead to 3-2.

    U of S was unable to find the equalizer in the time that remained.

    Luke Peresinni made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Mustangs. Taran Kozun, who was named the U Sports player of the year and goaltender of the year on Wednesday, turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    Ironman Levi Cable was scratched from Thursday’s game with an undisclosed ailment that brought his consecutive games streak to an end at 175 contests for the Huskies including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season.

Kohl Bauml played his final game for the Huskies on Thursday.

    Thursday’s events brought an end to the U Sports careers of four forwards in their fifth-years with the Huskies in Cable, Kohl Bauml, Andrew Johnson and Logan McVeigh.

    Dave Adolph guided the Huskies into the University Cup for the 16^th time, and a national title has eluded the U of S side in each visit. Even had the Huskies won, fate would have ultimately prevented a championship win with the coronavirus scare.

    The Huskies posted a 22-4-2 record in the regular season to finish second in the Canada West Conference and went 4-0 in the Canada West playoffs to win the conference title.

    The Mustangs finished eighth in the Ontario University Athletics West conference with an 11-13-4 record. In the post-season, the Mustangs went on a Cinderella run upsetting the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who finished first in the OUA West, and Ryerson University Rams, who finished second in the OUA West.

    Both of those best-of-three series went the distance.

    The Mustangs fell to the Guelph University Griffins in a best-of-three series in the OUA West final that went the distance. Western proceeded to down the Concordia University Stingers 5-2 in the OUA bronze medal game to earn a berth at nationals.

Taran Kozun made 22 saves in goal for the Huskies on Thursday.

    Following the clash with the Mustangs and Huskies, the third seeded Saint Mary’s University Huskies upset the Guelph University Griffins 5-1 in another quarter-final encounter.

    At the women’s nationals in Charlottetown, the seventh seeded Mount Royal University Cougars upset the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 2-1 in overtime in the first quarter-final. The second quarter-final saw the third seeded Saint Francis Xavier University X-Women slip past the University of Montreal Carabins 3-2 in overtime.
    In the end, all teams had their hearts broken as both U Sports hockey nationals were called off. It was an unprecedented end coming out of an unprecedented time in history as the world reacts to the coronavirus pandemic.

Contacts fall in last meaningful hockey game in Saskatoon

Riley Girod, right, jets up ice for the Contacts.

    It was a game where the celebrations were muted.

    On Thursday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Moose Jaw Warriors took on the Saskatoon Contacts in Game 3 of a Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series. The Warriors led the best-of-five series 2-0 and were looking for the sweep.

    Late in the evening Thursday, Hockey Canada put out a release saying it was cancelling all its sanctioned events including national championships effective on Friday due to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

    Both teams were told before they took the ice that this would be the final game of their respective seasons.

    The Warriors won 5-3 to sweep the series 3-0.

    Alex Bernauer gave the Contacts a 1-0 lead scoring 61 seconds into the contest.

    Atley Calvert netted the equalizer for the Warriors just 3:36 later, and Warriors forward Ben Wourms-Rowe scored twice to give the visitors a 3-1 edge heading into the first intermission.

    With 2:25 remaining in the second, the Contacts cut the gap to 3-2 with a goal from forward Riley Girod.

    The Warriors extended their edge to 5-2 in the third with power-play goals coming from the sticks of Ethan Peters and Maximus Wanner.

    Contacts rookie forward Tye Spencer rounded out the game’s scoring netting a buzzer beater with 0.1 seconds remaining on the third period clock.

The Warriors and Contacts do fist bumps in the traditional handshake line.

    Chase Hamm made 39 saves to take the setback in goal for the Contacts. Dylan Ernst turned away 41 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors.

    The two sides took part in the handshake line giving fist bumps with their gloves on. The Contacts finished third in the SMAAAHL regular season standings with a 30-12-2 record, while the Warriors were fourth with a 30-13-0-1 record.

    While the Warriors technically advanced to the SMAAAHL championship series, there wasn’t much celebrating due to the fact they won’t play another series.

    At game’s end, it seemed both side were still processing the finality.

    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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“Rat Line” pulls Golden Bears even with Huskies in Canada West Championship series

The Golden Bears celebrate a goal from captain Riley Kieser.

    Needing a win to stay alive in the Canada West Championship series, the “Rat Line” hit top gear for the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team.

    U of A’s forward unit centred by captain Riley Kieser flanked by Cole Sanford at right wing and Trevor Cox at left wing played like three Theo Fleurys on the ice. They brought agitation and skill knocking the University of Saskatchewan Huskies off their game on Saturday and accounted for the Golden Bears first two goals.

    When the dust settled at Merlis Belsher Place, the Golden Bears skated away with a 3-0 victory over the Huskies in Game 2 of the best-of-three Canada West final before a packed crowd of 2,643 spectators. The win by the Golden Bears evens the series at 1-1 and forces a series deciding Game 3 on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

Riley Kieser had a goal and an assist for the Golden Bears.

    The Huskies claimed Game 1 by a 4-2 score on Friday at Merlis.

    Following Saturday’s game, Kieser said the Golden Bears entered Game 2 with the goal of coming out with a better work ethic, more intensity and were trying to avoid getting too pretty in the skill department.

    “We won one-on-one battles,” said Kieser. “We got pucks in deep and made them work in their defensive zone. It was a lot more fun game to play.”

    Kieser’s line seemed to be in the centre of all sorts of little skirmishes in the opening frame. It appeared that unit in particular had a different sort of high intensity to their game playing at their “pest best.”

    After a scoreless first period, Kieser opened the game’s scoring 19 seconds into the second period, when he ripped home a goal from the top of the left faceoff circle. Sanford picked up an assist on the tally.

Cole Sanford had a pair of assists for the Golden Bears.

    “It is always helpful to get that first goal,” said Kieser. “It definitely gives you confidence.

    “We weren’t able to get that yesterday, but we got it today and just rolled with it.”

    At the 13:46 mark of the second period, the “Rat Line” struck again to put the Golden Bears up 2-0. Kieser had the puck behind the Huskies net and slipped a beauty centring pass to Cox in front of the U of S goal.

    Cox fired home the insurance marker with Sanford picking up an assist on the play as well.

    The trio also has all sorts of playoff experience coming in both the WHL and U Sports.

    Kieser helped the Edmonton Oil Kings win the WHL and Memorial Cup championships in his final season of major junior hockey in 2013-14. Upon joining the Golden Bears, he helped U of A win the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports national champions in his first campaign with the team in 2014-15 and last season.

Trevor Cox had a goal for the Golden Bears.

    Cox and Sanford helped the Medicine Hat Tigers advance to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series in 2013-14 and were key players helping the Golden Bears win the Canada West Conference and U Sports national titles last season.

    “It is great to play with those two guys,” said Kieser. “They definitely bring a lot to the game.

    “They play with a lot of intensity and a lot of work ethic. I think all four of our lines came out hard tonight, but we were fortunate on a couple of goals, so that definitely set tone.”

    Grayson Pawlenchuk, who was the Canada West rookie of the year, capped the Golden Bears victory scoring a power-play goal from a bad angle at the 9:11 mark of the third period.

Trevor Cox (#36) and Riley Kieser (#14) agitated the Huskies.

    Zach Sawchenko stopped 20 shots to pick up the shutout win for the Golden Bears. Taran Kozun made 27 saves to the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    Saturday’s clash, which was the 510^th overall meeting between the two sides, was very much a rivalry game that included both teams delivering a lot of extra shots after whistles. The officials would attend to a scrum at one end of the ice, and something underhanded would happen at the other end of the ice.

    Huskie sophomore defenceman Sam Ruopp was slammed hard on a couple of occasions including being the victim of a hard hit from behind by Cox in the first period and being nailed by another U of A player in the third period.

Saturday’s game was filled with lots of rough stuff.

    Near the end of the contest, the Huskies became totally unraveled.

    With 2:11 remaining in the third, Huskies sophomore forward Alex Forsberg tackled Cox and was given a tripping minor, a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct. Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg, who is Alex’s older brother, also received a 10-minute misconduct at that point in the game.

    At the 19:22 mark of the third, Huskies left-winger and agitator Jaimen Yakubowski was given a roughing major, while centre Wyatt Johnson and right-winger Carter Folk were given 10-minute misconducts during the same stoppage.

Golden Bears RW Brandon Magee and Huskies D Jesse Forsberg get tied up.

    Folk actually gave a love tap cross check to a linesman, which resulted in his misconduct.
    The Huskies finished the game with 58 minutes in penalties, while the Golden Bears had 12 minutes of infraction accessed against them.

    “It is always a good feeling to know that they are getting frustrated,” said Kieser. “You just want to keep playing your game, play the right way and you will get rewarded, and that is what we did today.”

    When the puck drops for Sunday’s series deciding Game 3 between these “forever rivals,” Kieser believes the Huskies will be over their frustrations and his side has to be ready for a most focused push back from the U of S side.

The Golden Bears celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    “It is do or die again,” said Kieser. “We came out battling for our lives today, and we’re going to do the same tomorrow.
    “It is going to be a great 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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Huskies break longstanding wins record with sweep of Cougars

Kozun breaks into goaltending record books too

Parker Thomas and Taran Kozun mark a Huskies win.

    It had been tied on a couple of occasions before finally being broken.

    On Saturday before 1,670 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team thumped the Mount Royal University Cougars 6-1 in a U Sports regular season contest to improve to 23-3. With their 23^rd win, the Huskies set a new team record for wins in one regular season.

    The old record of 22 wins was posted on three occasions. The former mark of 22 victories was first established in the 1987-88 season, when the Huskies posted a record of 22 wins, five losses and one tie.

    The Dogs reached 22 wins again in the 1999-2000 regular season posting a record of 22 wins, three losses and three ties. The record was last equaled in the 2015-16 campaign when the Huskies posted a 22-6 record. That season marks the last time the Huskies won the Canada West title.

Taran Kozun has posted 19 wins in goal this season for the Huskies.

    U of S equaled its former wins record on Friday downing Mount Royal 1-0 in double overtime before 1,713 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.
    Fourth-year winger Levi Cable scored the only goal of the contest at the 1:35 mark of a second five-minute overtime period with captain Jesse Forsberg picking up the assist.
    Taran Kozun made 14 saves to pick up the shutout in goal for the Huskies. Rookie Riley Morris turned away 44 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.

    In Saturday’s encounter between these two squads, the Huskies led 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 after the second frame. They expanded their edge to 6-0 in the third before the Cougars rounded out the game’s scoring with the final goal.

    Forsberg scored twice for the Huskies, while Carter Folk, Donovan Neuls, Collin Shirley and Sam Ruopp had singles. Connor Chartier had the lone reply for the Cougars.

    Kozun made 25 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

Levi Cable had the double OT winner for the Huskies on Friday.

    Fourth-year netminder Colin Cooper turned away 34 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars, who fell to 12-12-2 to remain fourth in Canada West.

    When Chartier beat Kozun at the 15:58 mark of the third period, that goal ended a shutout streak that lasted an impressive 267 minutes and 32 seconds for the Huskies puck stopper. Kozun’s streak, which spanned over five games, set a new Canada West Conference record for the longest consecutive shutout streak in regular season play.
    Before being beaten by Chartier, Kozun last allowed a goal to Brooks Maxwell of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the 14:11 mark of the second period in a 5-4 Huskies win in Lethbridge on Jan. 19.

    The old Canada West record for longest consecutive shutout streak in regular season play was held by former University of Calgary Dinos goalie Kris Lazaruk. During the 2014-15 campaign, Lazaruk posted a shutout streak lasting 255 minutes and three seconds that spanned over five games.

Jesse Forsberg had a big weekend for the Huskies.

    With the sweep of the Cougars in the books, Kozun, who is in his sophomore season, has posted an impressive 19-3 record, a 1.79 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts in goal for the Huskies this season.

    The Nipawin, Sask., product has matched the Huskies team record for most wins in one regular season by a goaltender. He shares the record with former teammate a recent Huskies grad in Jordon Cooke.
    Cooke recorded 19 wins in two separate regular seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

    As a team, the Huskies are one point shy of matching their team record for most standings points collected in one regular season, which currently sits at 47 points set in the 1999-2000 campaign.

    The Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won their last eight straight games, and with their 23-3 mark, they top the Canada West standings with a one point lead over the defending conference and U Sports national champion University of Alberta Golden Bears (22-3-1).
    The Golden Bears, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won 11 straight and have recorded points in their last 19 regular season games. 

Donovan Neuls scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    If the Huskies can win their final two regular season games, they will lock up first place in the Canada West regular season standings for the third time in the last four years.

    They close the regular season by traveling to Winnipeg to face the University of Manitoba Bisons (6-18-2) on Friday and Saturday.

    The Golden Bears conclude their regular season with a pair of games against the Dinos (18-6-1-1). The two squads meet Friday in Calgary and Saturday in Edmonton.

    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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Bauml regains top offensive form with Huskies

Kohl Bauml scored twice for the Huskies on Friday night.

    Kohl Baum has found the groove that has eluded him since his rookie season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, Bauml potted a pair of goals in the second period to lift the Huskies to a 4-0 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a U Sports regular season clash before 1,998 spectators. With those goals, Bauml has recorded points in his last five straight games posting four goals and four assists over that span of time.

Kohl Bauml, right, has points in his last five straight games.

    The fourth-year forward had nine goals and 17 assists for 26 points appearing in all of the Huskies 23 regular season games to date. The Saskatoon product is having his best season since he led the Huskies in scoring as a rookie in the 2015-16 campaign posting 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points appearing in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games.

    Last season, Bauml, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 170 pounds, posted his lowest offensive totals in a U Sports campaign recording four goals and nine assists for 13 points. His work ethic was there, but the offensive numbers didn’t come.

The Huskies celebrate Kohl Bauml’s first goal on Friday night.

    The Huskies have a deep and talented squad, so when Bauml wasn’t able to contribute offensively on the scoresheet, others did.

    Now that Bauml has rediscovered his top offensive form, he helps make the Huskies that much more of a contender for the Canada West Conference title and the U Sports national championship.

    U of S is currently riding a five game winning streak and sits first in Canada West with a 20-3 record holding a one point lead over the 19-3-1 University of Alberta Golden Bears, who are the defending Canada West and U Sports champions. The Huskies are also rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

Collin Shirley scored the Huskies fourth goal on Friday night.

    Against the Thunderbirds on Friday night, Bauml, who has built a reputation as being one of the Huskies best ambassadors in the community, scored one goal off of grit and another off of finesse.

    With the Huskies holding a 1-0 lead thanks to a first period goal from sophomore defenceman Sam Ruopp, Bauml extended the host side’s edge to 2-0 potting the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Levi Cable at the 6:57 mark of the second frame.

    Just under four minutes later, Bauml scored a power-play goal to put the Huskies up 3-0 converting a backdoor feed from a beauty set up pass from centre Logan McVeigh.

    From that point, Bauml’s Huskies teammates ensured the Thunderbirds weren’t able to get up off the ground.

    With 40.6 seconds remaining in the third period, sophomore forward Collin Shirley tipped home an Alex Forsberg shot from the right side boards on another power play to give the Huskies a 4-0 advantage.

Evan Fiala was sound on defence for the Huskies.

    During the course of the contest, the Huskies had the Thunderbirds pinned in their own zone for extended periods and had the potential to really bury the visitors. The score could have looked worse had it not been for a stellar 37-save performance from UBC netminder and Saskatoon product Rylan Toth.

    The Thunderbirds fell to 11-10-2 with the loss, but they still sit fifth in the Canada West standings and have a playoff berth locked up.

    Sophomore goalie Taran Kozun, who has become a star this season between the pipes for the Huskies, stopped all 17 shots sent his way to pick up his third shutout of the campaign.

    The two teams go at it again tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Bauml is one of the Huskies top good guys, and it is always great to see good things happen to good people.

    Hopefully, he will have a lot more big offensive moments as the season and the upcoming post-season rolls along.

Taran Kozun made 17 saves to pick up the shutout in goal for the Huskies.

    NOTE – Friday’s game was the “Huskies Fight Cancer Game” for the men’s hockey team. Money was raised for equipment purchases for the Saskatoon Cancer Centre through Choc ’la Cure. The Huskies had superkid Roan, who is battling leukemia, drop the puck for a pre-game ceremonial faceoff. 

    He was joined at centre ice by Marty and Darla Smuk. Marty and Darla are the parents of Huskies alum Cody Smuk, who passed away from cancer in June of 2015.

    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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