Canada West champion Huskies have the right mix

Will this group win an elusive second U Sports nationals?

Jeff Faith, left, and Evan Fiala ham it up.

    Could the intangible characteristic of chemistry be the thing that pushes the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to a U Sports national title?
    As of right now, the Huskies have that characteristic in spades. They have the right mix.

    Due to the fact it is almost impossible to measure intangibles by statistics, someone might say it is totally bonkers to outright say a team has the right mix or chemistry to win a national title.

    Still on a gut feeling, things just feel right with this Huskies team. It seems every player, coach and staffer is where they are supposed to be in the here and now.

    When the Huskies travel to Halifax, N.S., for the David Johnston University Cup that runs March 12 to 15, they will encounter a number of powerhouse U Sports squads from Eastern Canada that can prove having the right mix might not be enough to win a U Sports national title.

Evan Fiala is popular in Saskatoon’s hockey community.

    The David Johnston University Cup is played in an elite-eight format to determine the U Sports national champion. In a one-and-done event, any number of factors on any given day can do in a team like a hot goaltender, a hot scorer or a positive bounce for the opposition.

    With all that in mind, you have to feel excited about this Huskies team.

    Their perseverance showed early after starting the regular season 0-3-1 due to a number of injuries on defence. At that point, thoughts about the Huskies finishing first or second in Canada West to earn a first round series bye seemed distant.

    It seemed reasonable to think they could rally to earn the right to host a first round playoff series.

    Despite other injuries that came up during the campaign, the Huskies rolled off a 22-1-1 run over 24 games to finish the regular season with a 22-4-2 record to place second in Canada West. 

Collin Shirley is a big favourite in Saskatoon’s hockey community.

    Had they earned just one more point in the standings, they would have finished on top of the conference.
    They are currently rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

    The Huskies got healthy as the post-season drew near. Currently, the only player still out due to a long term injury is fourth-year forward and assistant captain Wyatt Johnson, who has a past history of battling concussion injuries. He still tries to be a source of support for the team

    The Dogs rolled off 11 straight wins to close the regular season and have extended that streak to 15 games after sweeping their Canada West semifinal and championship series.

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies completed a 2-0 sweep of the best-of-three Canada West final with a 3-1 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Game 2. Merlis was rocking as 2,667 spectators jammed into the main rink, which was a record crowd for the facility.

Levi Cable has played 175 consecutive games for the Huskies.

    The win marked the first time the Huskies captured the Canada West title since 2016.

    The Huskies are heading back to U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year. The overall depth in talent on the Huskies might have been a touch greater the three previous campaigns.

    They still have good talent this season, but it also seems to be the right amount of talent. They have balanced scoring from all four of their forward lines.

    They have a strong shutdown defensive unit playing in front of a star netminder in Taran Kozun, who was named both the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of the year.

    It seems like everyone on this Huskies team fits into their roles. They know who will be scorers, the defensive forwards, the power play quarterbacks on defence, the shutdown rearguards and Kozun holds the last line of defence.

Merlis Belsher, second from left, greets Huskies goalie Taran Kozun.

    Actually, the Huskies have another great goaltender as their backup in Travis Child, but in this case, he is performing the role of supportive goaltending partner exceptionally well.

    These Huskies don’t get derailed by those who play the role of agitator on opposing squads.

    This Huskies team just has some good old guys you have to like.

    Canada West second team all-star forward Collin Shirley and sophomore defensive defenceman Evan Fiala are arguably two of the team’s most popular players in minor hockey rinks across Saskatoon.

    Both are local products as Shirley grew up in Saskatoon and Fiala comes from the bedroom community of Clavet, which is located just outside the southeast corner of the city limits.

The noisemakers came out at Merlis on Saturday.

    Other that seem to subjectively be favourites around local area rinks are Johnson, Kohl Bauml and Carson Stadnyk.

    The Huskies have a strong fifth-year group who have been key contributors to the team and strong in the classroom in Bauml, Levi Cable, Andrew Johnson and Logan McVeigh. Cable has played in 175 consecutive games with the Huskies in the U Sports regular season and post-season showing unmatched durability.

    Fourth-year left-winger Jordan Tkatch can played skilled or grease it up, and that style of play has allowed him to still have a strong backing in Prince Albert, where he played for the WHL’s Raiders.

Carson Stadnyk has been clutch for the Huskies.

    Sophomore left-winger Layne Young seems just happy to be on the team, and he has become a key offensive contributor. Rookie centre Jared Dmytriw transitioned from being the captain of the Vancouver Giants, who appeared in last season’s WHL final, to playing like a natural with U Sports veteran experience on the Huskies.

    Captain Tanner Lishchynsky and fellow fourth year veteran Colby Harmsworth might be one of the best shutdown defensive pairings in amateur hockey in Canada.

    Sophomore rearguard and second team Canada West all-star Gordie Ballhorn and third-year blue-liner Sam Ruopp bring strong offensive skill to the back end.

    Rookie Jeff Faith plays a utility role and has a fun goofy side to his personality as well.

    You can keep going down the roster, but the Huskies are a team that is made up of guys that are just good guys. They have guys that have a bit of character too.

Tanner Lishchynsky leads a group that has a good vibe.

    The right tone around that team is just there.

    It would be sweet if they were able to bring home the Huskies second U Sports national title. The Huskies have a storied history winning the Canada West championship 18 times, and 12 of those title wins have come since the first U Sports national title was awarded in 1963.

    When they get to nationals, it seems like the unfairness of sports takes frequent bites out of the Huskies. They have had a number of teams stocked with talented good guys, and all but one have been unable to win the big prize.

    Since winning a national title in 1983, the Huskies have fallen in the U Sports championship game on four occasions in 1987, 2005, 2014 and 2017.

Layne Young, right, shares a special moment with his parents.

    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph, who is the U Sports leader in all-time career victories, had guided his team to the University Cup 15 times and still hasn’t seen his squad win the championship game. The man who has one of the best senses of humour in U Sports and is a stellar coach deserves to have experienced victory in at least one U Sports championship game as a coach.

    He was a player on the 1982-83 Huskies team that won both the Canada West title and the U Sports national championship.

    The 1982-83 Huskies lived the saying, “Win today and walk together forever.”

The Huskies hope to repeat this scene at U Sports nationals.

    When that team has a reunion, only one or two players are usually not able to attend. The members of that Huskies squad are well-known for their tight bonds.

    You can bet the current Huskies team will do everything that they can control to have that bond too.

    If the hand of fate decides to give them a break or two that most past Huskies teams haven’t had at this stage of things, that would be a good thing too.

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

-------                                     

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Huskies suffer power outage

Power play goes 0-for-11 in 2-0 loss to rival Cougars

Rachel Johnson (#19) tries to bury a scoring chance for the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team was powerless on the power play, and it cost them their five-game winning streak.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies failed to cash in on 11 power-play chances in a 2-0 setback to their provincial rivals the University of Regina Cougars. The Huskies entered the contest riding a five game winning streak, which allowed them to be rated ninth in the U Sports top ten rankings.

    The Cougars came flying out of the gates scoring twice in a span of 2:20 early in the first period to put the Huskies back on their heels. Feisty forward Kylee Kupper potted the first goal for the visitors while working on a power play and sophomore Jaycee Magwood netted the second tally. Cougars captain Alexis Larson picked up assists on both goals.

Alexis Larson picked up a pair of assists for the Cougars.

    U of R scored once on six power-play opportunities.

  After getting the early lead, Cougars netminder Jane Kish slammed the door shut in goal making 28 saves to pick up the shutout. She also had a lot of help in front as her teammates cleared away rebounds and also blocked a fair number of shots helping the Cougars improve to 4-3.

    The Cougars shot blocking started to make the Huskies double clutch in the offensive zone, especially while working on other power play. The U of S players just couldn’t seem to find their flow when they attempted to set up scoring chances.

    In the third period, the Huskies failed to score on two separated lengthy five-on-three power-play chances.

    Cassidy Hendricks made 18 stops taking the setback in goal for the Huskies (5-2).

    The two team go at it again on Saturday in Regina at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.

Blue-liners on fire for Huskies

Tanner Lishchynsky picked up his first U Sports goal.

    The defencemen for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team were playing with a hot hand on Friday night in Regina.

    Three different blue-liners found the back of the net for the Dogs as they downed the host U of Regina Cougars 4-1 at the Co-operators Centre. Captain Kendall McFaull scored in the first period, and fellow rearguards Jesse Forsberg and rookie Tanner Lishchynsky added singles in the second. Lishchynsky’s tally was his first in his U Sports career.

    The Cougars tried to battle back as Landon Peel scored early in the third, but Parker Thomas restored the Huskies three-goal edge scoring just past the midway point of the frame.

    Jordon Cooke made 25 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies (5-1-1). Andy Desautels turned away 33 shots taking the setback in goal for the Cougars (1-4).

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

Football Dogs roll into playoffs with 48-9 romp over U of A

Colton Klassen (#7) powers in for a Huskies touchdown.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is hitting on all cylinders heading into the post-season.

    On Friday night before 2,686 spectators at Griffiths Stadium, the Huskies romped over the University of Alberta Golden Bears 48-9. Huskies receiver Chad Braun returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to give the Huskies a 7-0 with 5:29 to play in the first quarter. The hosts rolled to 23-0 edge at halftime and led 33-0 at one point in the third quarter before cruising to the finish.

    The Huskies attack was a balanced one as they piled up 223 yards rushing as a team and 278 yards passing as a team. Starting quarterback Kyle Siemens completed 13-of-25 passes for 188 yards and one interception. Former starter and current backup Drew Burko, who is in his fifth year of eligibility, finished things off for the Huskies in relief connecting on 10-of-14 passes for 90 yards.

    Tyler Chow topped the Huskies in rushing piling up 79 yards on eight carries, and he scored one major. Colton Klassen ran the ball 10 times for 78 yards and score two touchdowns.

    Third-year kicker Sean Stenger connected on all six of his field goal attempts. He finished the regular season making 22-of-26 of his field goal attempts. Stenger’s 22 made field goals also set a new Huskies team record breaking the old mark of 19 set by Grant Shaw in 2009.

    Golden Bears quarterback Ben Kopczynski completed 17-of-36 passes for 170 yards and one interception. He also ran the ball 10 times for 66 yards scoring one touchdown.

Kyle Siemens (#19) fires a pass downfield for the Huskies.

    The two squads also traded safety touches.

    The Golden Bears finished last in the six-team Canada West conference with a 1-7 mark.

    The Huskies improved to 5-3 with the win, and they are riding a three-game winning streak heading into the playoffs. U of S could still finish second in Canada West, if the U of Calgary Dinos (5-2) fall to the UBC Thunderbirds (3-4) on Saturday in Vancouver.

    The Dogs and Dinos split their two regular season encounters, but the Huskies hold a standings tiebreaker having outscored U of C 57-55 in those two contests.

    If the Huskies host a Canada West semifinal playoff game, it will be held Nov. 5 at Griffiths Stadium.

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