Huskies’ Whiting hits final sprint in U Sports

Ben Whiting is playing his final games with the Huskies.

    The end of the line with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team is becoming more real for Ben Whiting with each passing day.

    Over the last four years, the standout outside linebacker has watched the Huskies graduating fifth-year players be introduced individually to the crowd at Griffiths Stadium before the team’s last home game. The fifth-years run out of the tunnel and between two lines of team alums, who are dressed in their old game jerseys from their playing days.

    Now, Whiting is a fifth-year player, and he will make that same run to the field on Saturday, when the Huskies host the University of Alberta Golden Bears at 2 p.m. at Griffiths. The contest will close the U Sports regular season schedules for both sides.

    “It definitely flew by,” said Whiting, who is a graduate of Saskatoon’s Marion M. Graham Collegiate Falcons football team. “You watch the fifth-years when you are a rookie running through, and you think it is going to not sneak up on you like it did.

Ben Whiting, right, tackles a Thunderbirds running back.

    “It definitely snuck up on me, and (it was) definitely a goal that I wanted to reach for myself when I came here. I’m glad that I am being able to reach it.”

    Whiting is one of six players on the Huskies roster who are in their fifth and final seasons of U Sports eligibility. The five others are defensive back Payton Hall, linebacker Eric Thakurdeen, defensive lineman Evan Machibroda, and offensive linemen Andrew Serke and Tanner Secord.

    Saturday’s game has quite a bit on the line too. The Huskies and Golden Bear both have 4-3 records going into the contest and the winner will be assured of at least a second place finish in the Canada West Conference standings and will host a Canada West semifinal playoff game.

Ben Whiting sizes up the opposition offence.

    The Huskies, who are the defending Canada West champions, could still finish first in Canada West, if they win on Saturday and the University of Calgary Dinos (5-2) fall at home to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (2-5).

    While there are a lot of implications for the Huskies based on the result of Saturday’s game with the Golden Bears, Whiting admits it will be somewhat unique on a personal level reflecting of the fifth-year introductions.

    “I wouldn’t say (it is) different, but maybe just a little more special,” said Whiting, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 225 pounds. “At the end of the day, it is just another game, a must win, and that is how we’re going into it with that mentality.”

    Whiting sits second on the Huskies with 37.5 total tackles this season behind super-rookie Ramsey Derbas, who is having a breakout campaign with 43 total tackles. On the Huskies career list for most total tackles, Whiting sits third with 206 total tackles.

Ben Whiting, left, gives congrats to Nixen Voll after an interception.

    When he graduated from Marion M. Graham, Whiting decided to join the Huskies because he wanted to play in his hometown and due to the fact his grandfather, Don Brock, played for the Huskies from 1959 to 1961.

    Whiting’s older brother, Sam, played for the Huskies men’s soccer team. Ben would later be joined on the football team by his younger brother Tom, who is in his third year with the Huskies.

    Ben and Tom have been starting together for the past two seasons.

    “That is pretty cool,” said Ben Whiting. “Honestly, there are not a lot of people that can say that they can do that at this level.

    “I’m willing to bet that we are the highest chemistry of any linebacker corps in Canada, so that is pretty cool. It is something special for sure, but I don’t think I am going to be able to fully appreciate it until maybe I am done with football. It is super awesome lining up with him every day.”

Ben Whiting (#4) enjoys play beside brother Tom Whiting (#47).

    Huskies head coach Scott Flory admitted he likely wouldn’t be able to say enough when it came to talking about how much Ben Whiting has meant to the program.

    “That is pretty hard to summarize in a few words,” said Flory. “Ben (Whiting), he is a consummate leader.

    “He is an outstanding football player. He is an outstanding young man. He has meant a lot to this program.

    “He is going to make the most of his time left here with the program.”

    During Flory’s first season as head coach in 2017, the Huskies linebacker group was fairly depleted for much of the season due to injury. Whiting missed a pair of contests during that campaign.

    When Whiting returned from injury, the level of playoff the Huskies defence went up quite a bit. It seemed like Whiting was always around the ball.

Ben Whiting (#4) breaks up a passing play against the Bisons.

    “I think that just shows the quality of a person and a player he is, because he makes everyone around him better,” said Flory. “He elevates play of guys around him.

    “That is the true mark of a leader and an outstanding player.”

    Whiting said he is able to get to the ball due to football smarts. He said he isn’t the fastest guy or the strongest guy on the field, so he has to rely on his ability to read and anticipate plays.

    During his time with the Huskies, Whiting said the obvious biggest highlight was the playoff run last year, where the team won the Canada West title with a 43-18 victory over the Dinos to make a U Sports semifinal bowl game. 

Ben Whiting (#4) tackles a Bisons quarterback.

    The Huskies were eliminated from the post-season falling in the Mitchell Bowl 47-24 to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs in London, Ont.

    “Again, it is kind of one of those things that you can’t really appreciate fully until the moment is over and done with,” said Whiting. “We just took each game one at a time and put our best foot forward and we were able to string a little win streak there and make a playoff push at the end.”

    After dropping a 38-37 heartbreaker to the Thunderbirds last Saturday in Vancouver, B.C., Whiting would like to see the Huskies build momentum to the upcoming playoffs with a win over the Golden Bears this coming Saturday.

    The Golden Bears claimed the previous meeting between the two sides 19-17 on Sept. 21 in Edmonton, Alta. A win this coming Saturday would ensure Whiting would play at least one more home game.

Ben Whiting (#4) has relished taking the field with the Huskies.

    “It is no secret we tend to play a lot better at home,” said Whiting. “Any home game we can get, we’re definitely going to be playing our best for it.

    “We want to play at Griffiths Stadium every game.”

    Flory said this Saturday’s game against the Golden Bears is a big bounce back opportunity for his team, and he believes squad will have a good outing.

    “You have to win your home games,” said Flory. “We’ve got to be able to do that at home here in front of our home crowd.

    “That is a good football team in University of Alberta coming in here, and we have to be able to respond especially after last week. It will be a good football game, and I know our guys will be prepared and be ready to play.”

Hypothetically, females who could join WHL coaching ranks?

Emily Clark surrounded by her fans at the SaskTel Centre in 2018.

    When the Moose Jaw Warriors hired Olivia Howe to be a coaching assistant on Oct. 11, the imagination began to wonder who else could join coaching staffs in the WHL from the female hockey ranks.

    Howe, who is a 25-year-old product from Moose Jaw, was an inspired hire by her hometown WHL club.

    She ripped up the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League for four seasons from 2008 to 2012 as a skilled forward with the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox. She became the circuit’s all-time leading scorer piling up 107 goals and 100 assists for 207 points in 106 regular season games.

    Howe helped the Hounds win the Esso Cup in 2011 as Canadian national female midget AAA hockey champions.

    She also attended Hockey Canada’s female under-18 selection camps in 2010 and 2011.

    Following her time with the Hounds, Howe, who stands 5-foot-10, joined the NCAA women’s ranks and became a star with the Clarkson University Golden Knights for four seasons from 2012 to 2016. She appeared in 152 overall games posting 42 goals and 58 assists.

    She helped the Golden Knights win their first NCAA title in 2014.

Emily Clark waves to the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    After graduating from Clarkson, Howe returned to Wilcox to become an assistant coach with the Notre Dame Hounds team that played in the Junior Women’s Hockey League. She has scouted the women’s game for Neutral Zone, which is a hockey scouting news site that identifies and ranks prospects for the NCAA and U Sports.

    It is conceivable that the Warriors four WHL rivals in Saskatchewan could each one day bring a female on to their coaching staffs. The following are one possible hypothetical for each club.

    In Saskatoon, the Blades could bring on board hometown hero Emily Clark, whenever she decides to hang up her skates. Clark’s power forward style of play mirrors that of famous Blades alum Wendel Clark. Believe it or not, the Emily and Wendel are not related.

    Emily Clark was a star for her hometown female midget AAA team in the Saskatoon Stars. She just finished up a four-year career in the NCAA ranks winning a national championship with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team.

    In 147 career games with the Badgers, Clark piled up 70 goals, 76 assists and a plus-135 rating in the plus-minus department. She is a veteran with Canada’s senior national women’s team, so it would likely be some time before she decides where life will take her after her hockey playing days are done.

    Once again, this is a hypothetical scenario. Clark does have a great relationship with the Blades, so it is possible to imagine she could work for the franchise as a coach one day.

    Up in “Hockey Town North,” one name quickly jumps to mind for a female possibly joining the coaching staff of the team of Mike Modano and Dave Manson, the franchise where honour still matters and the defending WHL champions – the Prince Albert Raiders.

Kaitlin Willoughby skates with the Huskies in 2017.

    The name of that player would be Kaitlin Willoughby, who is the most popular female player to come out of the “Gateway to the North” via Canwood, Sask.

    Willoughby moved to Prince Albert when she played for the female midget AAA Northern Bears and her family later relocated to that centre.

    She went on to star for the University of Saskatchewan women’s hockey team becoming the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the program piling up 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games. Out of Willoughby’s 50 goals, 10 of her tallies were game winners.

    She played a key role helping the Huskies win their only Canada West title to date in 2014 and appear at U Sports nationals in 2014 and 2018.

    Willoughby played for Canada’s women’s hockey team at the Winter Universiade in 2017 and this past March helping the Canadian side will silver medals at each event. Last season, she helped the Calgary Inferno win the Clarkson Cup as champions of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which ended up folding this past spring.

    Willoughby gets bonus points for her actions in the final moments of the Huskies 2-0 sweep of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in February of 2018.

    In the Huskies 2-1 Game 2 series clinching win in their final outing at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Willoughby, who was the Huskies captain, found herself heading to the penalty box with 35 second remaining in the third. She took a roughing penalty for going after a Thunderbirds player that hit Huskies netminder Jessica Vance.

Kaitlin Willoughby is involved in this post-game scrum in 2018.

    When the buzzer sounded to end the game, the Thunderbirds again hit Vance. Willoughby raced out of the penalty box, threw her stick away into the right corner of her defensive zone, barrelled into the middle of a scrum and confronted Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer.

    The whole Huskies team came off their bench and assembled like a gang behind their leader in Willoughby as she went after the Thunderbirds forward. The whole scene was a very Prince Albert Raiders mirror type image, where a message was sent to the opposing team to let them know a bell had to be answered if anything underhanded happens on the ice.

    Currently, Willoughby is still playing with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association barnstorming tour that is hitting various centres across North America.

    She is a nurse, so it is unlikely she would give up that secure career to join the coaching ranks of the WHL.

    In Swift Current, Taylor Lind would be the perfect choice to one day end up on the coaching staff of the WHL’s Broncos. Lind is in her first season playing for the NCAA’s St. Cloud State University Huskies women’s team, so it will likely be a while yet before she hangs up the skates.

Taylor Lind in action for the Wildcats in 2018.

    Lind, who is from Shaunavon, Sask., had a phenomenal run in the female midget AAA ranks with the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats. Playing in 83 regular season games, Lind set career team records in goals (93), assists (77) and points (170).

    She is the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League. Lind is still 17-years-old and still had a year of midget eligibility remaining to take a run at the SFMAAAHL’s all-time scoring record held by Howe.

    She graduated from high school a year early and elected to join the NCAA ranks.

    Lind is a special player who can do it all, so she will likely be playing the game for some time to come. She is a popular hero in Swift Current as that centre’s female version of Joe Sakic. Lind would be a natural addition to join the Broncos coaching staff one day.

    For the Regina Pats, they could bring on board Brandy West-McMaster, who is one of the game’s pioneers as an original member of the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team. West-McMaster played for the Cougars in their first five campaigns of existence as a U Sports team from 1998 to 2003.

    She is still the program’s all-time leading scorer piling up 80 goals and 53 assists for 133 points in 66 career regular season games. West-McMaster was the U Sports player of the year in women’s hockey in the 2000-01 campaign, when the Cougars won their only Canada West Conference title to date.

Brandy West-McMaster in action for the Cougars in 2000.

    The Cougars advanced to the U Sports national championship game falling 4-3 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

    After her playing days concluded, West-McMaster has coached at various levels of the women’s game including being an associate coach with Wilfred Laurier University, an assistant coach for the Notre Dame Hounds female midget AAA team that won the Esso Cup national title in 2011 and an assistant coach with the Cougars.

    She is currently an assistant coach with the SFMAAAHL’s Regina Rebels.

    With all that said, it would be hard to bring West-McMaster to the WHL, because she is an instructor at the U of Regina and can be found coaching her two daughters, Bailey and Keeley, as they come up the minor hockey ranks.

    In a hypothetical world, West-McMaster has the grace and class suited for a royal franchise like the Pats, who are the world’s oldest major junior team. Her experience would be a big asset as well.

    On top of looking at Saskatchewan’s WHL adding a hypothetical female coach, I have to make one more bonus selection for a WHL club outside of the “Land of the Living Skies.”

    If you could pry her away from her teaching career in Calgary, Alta., Jenna Cunningham would be cool addition to the coaching staff of her hometown Medicine Hat Tigers.

    Cunningham was the highly athletic skilled forward who could score goals at will. The style of game she played suits the on-ice philosophy of the high flying finesse-style Tigers, who transition up and down the ice with great speed and score piles of goals with pretty passing plays.

    Cunningham, who is a member of the Medicine Hat’s Sports Wall of Fame, played with the now defunct Medicine Hat Encana Hawks female midget AAA team that advanced to the semifinal round of the Mac’s Tournament, when the female division debuted in the 2004-05 campaign.

    She had a star career with the Dartmouth University Big Green women’s hockey team piling up 63 goals and 62 assists for 125 points in 113 games from 2006 to 2010.

    Cunningham was an original member of the Inferno, when they were officially formed before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. She appeared in 108 career regular season games with the Inferno piling up 40 goals and 28 assists.

    When the Inferno won their first Clarkson Cup in 2016, captain Brianne Jenner made sure that Cunningham was the first teammate she passed the championship trophy to. The move recognized Cunningham’s dedication to the team and female hockey.
    As I said, all of those are hypothetical placements, but sometimes, it is cool to dream of what could be.

    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.

Slobodzian back in Hockey Canada groove with Summer Showcase invite

Stars grad looks to earn time with national development team

Willow Slobodzian takes part in a skating session in Saskatoon.

  Willow Slobodzian will never take an invite to a Hockey Canada camp lightly.
    The 19-year-old defender, who is a graduate of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team, is one of 45 players slated to skate at the National Women’s Development Team Selection Camp, which runs Aug. 2 to 11 in Calgary, Alta.
    Athletes at this camp are playing for the chance to compete against the United States in a three-game series from Aug. 14 to 17 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

    The development team selection camp is part of Team Canada Summer Showcase that features more than 240 of Canada’s top men’s and women’s players. 
    Camp action is already underway on the men’s side.

Willow Slobodzian has played two seasons with the NCAA’s Big Red.

    Slobodzian was a member of Canada’s under-18 women’s team in the 2017-18 campaign, and she helped Canada win bronze at the under-18 women’s worlds in Dmitrov, Russia, in January of 2018.
    Last summer, she didn’t receive invites to any of Hockey Canada’s summer camps, so the Clavet, Sask., product is pumped to be going back this year.

    “I’m excited,” said Slobodzian, who stands 5-foot-7. “To say I am not a little nervous, I would be lying.

    “I wasn’t there last year, so it will fun definitely to go play with some old teammates and some teammates that I currently have. Overall, it will be a great time. I’m just really excited.”

    Slobodzian is coming off a successful sophomore campaign with the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team, where she appeared in all of her squad’s 36 games posting four goals, eight assists and a plus-22 rating in the plus-minus department.

Willow Slobodzian played for Canada’s under-18 women’s team.

    Cornell, which is located in Ithaca, N.Y., advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Frozen Four women’s hockey championship tournament in Hamden, Connecticut.
    The Big Red fell 2-0 in a semifinal match to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

    Slobodzian plays on a deep defensive unit at Cornell that includes Jamie Bourbonnais and Micah Zandee-Hart, who have both skated with Canada’s senior national women’s team. Both are eligible to return for their senior years with the Big Red.

    Bourbonnais will be at national development team selection camp along with Big Red forwards Grace Graham and Kristin O’Neill, who will both be seniors next season. O’Neill has skated with Canada’s senior national team as well.

    While Slobodzian enjoys the fact she will see some familiar faces at the national development team selection camp, she is focusing on her mental game heading into that event.
    “I think what is important for me personally is just going in there believing in myself and knowing that I was invited for a reason and that I belong there,” said Slobodzian. “I’ve prepared myself all summer, and whatever happens, happens.

Willow Slobodzian played in the NCAA’s Frozen Four.

    “It is very controllable. It is up to me to see how I do. I know if I put my mind to it I can do as well as I can.”

    Slobodzian said it has helped her game playing in a Cornell team that has a deep defensive unit and is well coach. She said her hockey smarts have improved during her two seasons with the Big Red.

    “Working with Jaime (Bourbonnais) and Micah (Zandee-Hart) and all the other girls, we all push each other in practices,” said Slobodzian. “We all push each other during games as well.

    “It is just amazing. We push each other, and we are always getting better. It is great to work with them, because everyone has like high goals in mind.”

    Slobodzian will also see some familiar faces from her midget AAA days. The list of invites includes her former Stars teammates in sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley, who are both skilled forwards and regulars in Hockey Canada’s system.
    Sophie had a huge freshmen campaign helping the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team win the NCAA championship. She appeared in 41 games posting 20 goals, 18 assists and a plus-36 rating and was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference rookie of the year.

Willow Slobodzian had a memorable sophomore season with the Big Red.

    Grace captained the Stars last season. In her final midget AAA campaign, she led the Stars in scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists in 25 regular season games.

    Grace helped the Stars win their fourth Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title in the last five years. The Stars appeared in the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament in each of those seasons.

    Slobodzian is looking forward to seeing the Shirley sisters again.

    “It will be awesome,” said Slobodzian, who helped the Stars win SFMAAAHL titles in 2015 and 2016. “It will feel like old times I think.

    “I love those girls. We have great friendships. It will make the camp that much more fun and enjoyable.

    “Being on the ice with them too, I’ll definitely enjoy it. They are great players. It is fun to play with them.”

    Brooke Hobson, who is a former captain with the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team, rounds out the Saskatchewan representation at the national development camp. 

Willow Slobodzian in action with the Stars in 2016.

    Hobson posted six goals, 22 assists and a plus-27 rating in 38 games helping the Northeastern University Huskies women’s team advance to a quarter-final match in the NCAA championship tournament.
    The Big Red downed the Huskies 3-2 in overtime in that quarter-final encounter in Boston, Mass. Slobodzian had an assist in that encounter.

    She enjoyed her sophomore campaign with the Big Red.

    “The season was unreal,” said Slobodzian. “It was so much fun.

    “Being able to go as far as we did was an amazing experience. Throughout the whole season, our team just got better and better and came closer together. It was just a really great year overall.

    “I loved it.”

    In 2017-18, Slobodzian joined the Big Red for her freshman campaign, while she was still eligible to play a 17-year-old season in the midget AAA ranks. Slobodzian appeared in 25 games with the Big Red that season posting three goals, five assists and a plus-13 rating.

    She said she entered her second season with the Big Red with more confidence, because she felt more comfortable balancing the rigours of school as an arts and sciences major and hockey.

Willow Slobodzian, sitting, enjoys the Stars SFMAAAHL title win in 2016.

    Looking towards her junior season after Hockey Canada activities wrap up, Slobodzian believes special things can be in store for her Big Red squad.

    “Returning for my junior year, personally I want to see our team start right we ended off as a great close group and continue to move on from there and not have to take any steps backwards with the incoming freshmen and losing some seniors,” said Slobodzian, who was the Stars captain in 2016-17. “I really hope that we can just start off where we left.

    “To not go as far as we did last year would be a huge disappointment, because I know we have a very special group of girls that can do the same thing we did last year even if not more. I’m really excited. I’m hoping for the best for our team.”

Lind, Messier highlight invites to under-18 women’s camp

Taylor Lind is the SFMAAAHL’s second all-time leading scorer.

    Two of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s all-time bests will be featured at Hockey Canada’s National Women’s under-18 Selection Camp.

    Now graduated Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats captain Taylor Lind and now graduated Saskatoon Stars star offensive-defender Ashley Messier are among the 44 players slated skate at the under-18 camp from Aug. 2 to 11 in Calgary, Alta. The under-18 camp is part of the Team Canada Summer Showcase that is going on right now with men’s camps.

    The players at the under-18 women’s camp are competing for the chance to go up against the United States in a three-game series from Aug. 14 to 17 in Lake Placid, N.Y.

    Last season with the Wildcats, Lind topped the SFMAAAHL in scoring for the second time in three years posting 29 goals and 31 assists for 60 points appearing in all of her team’s 28 regular season games.

    The skilled centre is the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL posting 93 goals and 77 assists for 170 points in 83 career regular season games.

    The Shaunavon, Sask., product is eligible to return to the Wildcats to play her 17-year-old season in the midget AAA ranks. Lind will be moving up to the NCAA ranks in the fall suiting up for the St. Cloud State University Huskies women’s hockey team in St. Cloud, Minn.

    The star forward originally committed to play for the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri, but after the Lions head coach was released by the team, Lind entered the transfer portal and joined St. Cloud State.

Ashley Messier was a stellar offensive-defender for the Stars.

    Messier, who is from Wilcox, Sask., had another stellar campaign playing on the Stars blue-line last season appearing in all of her team’s 28 regular season games setting new career highs in goals (five), assists (27) and points (32). For her efforts, Messier captured the SFMAAAHL’s Colleen Sostorics Top Defenceman award and helped the Stars win the SFMAAAHL title and advance to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament.

    In three campaigns with the Stars, Messier has appeared in 84 regular season games posting 11 goals and 58 assists.

    Last year, Messier went to camp with the United States under-18 women’s team and played against Canada in a three-game exhibition series.

    Messier is eligible to return for her 17-year-old season in the midget AAA ranks but will play for the Selects Girls Hockey Academy at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, N.Y., for her Grade 12 year. She has committed to play for the Cornell University Big Red women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks starting in the 2020-21 campaign.

    Rounding out the Saskatchewan invites for the under-18 camp is feisty defender Brooklyn Stevely. Stevely had a solid campaign last season for the Regina Rebels. She appeared in all of her team’s 28 regular season games collecting one goal and 15 assists.

    Stevely helped the Rebels advance to the SFMAAAHL championship series and was named a first team SFMAAAHL all-star.

    She is eligible to return to the midget AAA ranks for her 17-year-old season but has elected to play for the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy women’s prep team in Kelowna, B.C.

Bohlken, Bourassa join U Sports all-stars at Summer Showcase

Leah Bohlken had a breakout season for the Huskies.

    Two of the top players from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team will have a chance to further cement a place on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    Defender Leah Bohlken and forward Bailee Bourassa are among the 21 players who will suit up for the U Sports women’s all-star team as part of activities involving the selection camp for Canada’s National Women’s Development team.

    The U Sports team will take part in training camp activities and take part in a series of five exhibition games from Aug. 2 to 11 in Calgary, Alta. The five exhibition games include one contest against France, two against Japan and two against Canadian national development team hopefuls.

    Last year, the U Sports squad won three out of four exhibition games including two contests against Canadian national development team hopefuls.

    Last season in her fourth year with the Huskies, Bohlken had a breakout campaign appearing in 27 regular season games posting career highs in goals (nine), assists (seven) and points (16). The Moose Jaw, Sask., product posted plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

    Bohlken was a first team Canada West all-star.

    Last March, Bohlken helped Canada’s women’s team win a silver medal at the FISU Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Canada fell in a 2-0 heartbreaker in the gold medal final to the host Russian side.

    Bourassa completed her third year with the Huskies appearing in 27 regular season games posting career highs in goals (five), assists (11) and points (16). The Weyburn, Sask., product posted a plus-one rating.

Bailee Bourassa had a career season with the Huskies.

    Before joining the Huskies, Bourassa played for her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings female midget AAA team. She scored the winning goal in the championship game to allow the Gold Wings to down the Edmonton Thunder 2-1 in the 2014 Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament in Stoney Creek, Ont.

    Also suiting up for the U Sports squad is Saskatoon product Hannah Koroll, who plays for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds women’s hockey team. Koroll, who is an alum of the Prince Albert Northern Bears female midget AAA team, completed her rookie season with the Thunderbirds appearing in 28 regular season games posting two goals, five assists and a plus-one rating.

    Regina product Miranda Hatt rounds out the Saskatchewan born players on the U Sports team. Hatt finished her rookie season with the Saint Mary’s University Huskies appearing in 25 regular season games posting four goals, 14 assists and a plus-six rating.

    The U Sports squad is led by forward Alex Poznikoff of the University of Alberta Pandas. Poznikoff was named the U Sports player of the year last season and topped the Canada West Conference in scoring with 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points in 27 regular season games.

    Poznikoff had a plus-34 rating and helped the Pandas win their 13^th Canada West title.

    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.

Last hurrah for special SFMAAAHL grad class

Allison Hayhurst has been the heart and soul of the Prairie Fire.

    This might be one of the most bittersweet playoffs in the history of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League due to the final hurrahs that will take place.

    As the SFMAAAHL post-season kicked into motion on Thursday night, the players from arguably one of the circuit’s most special grad classes are skating their final handful of games in their midget AAA careers. While these grads will be moving on after their various teams conclude their playoff runs, these games provide a great chance to see and salute a fantastic group of individuals.

    These playoffs feature five of the league’s top nine all-time leading scorers in regular season play. It is highly likely the SFMAAAHL won’t see something like this again during the rest of its history, or it will be a very long time before something like this happens again.

Taylor Lind left her mark as one of the SFMAAAHL’s all-time bests.

    The SFMAAAHL’s graduating class this season includes a well-respected defender who will likely be the last to hit a lofty games played total.

    The graduating class includes Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats star captain Taylor Lind.

    Lind finished her regular season career as the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play. She piled up 93 goals and 77 assists for 170 points in 83 regular season games. The Shaunavon, Sask., product is the Wildcats all-time leader in career regular season goals, assists and points.

    For the second time in three seasons, Lind won the SFMAAAHL scoring title posting 29 goals and 31 assists for 60 points this season. Her assist and point totals are career highs.

    Next season, Lind is slated to the join the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri, in the NCAA ranks. She has one season of midget AAA eligibility remaining but is set to graduate high school a year early.

Grace Shirley has come through in many clutch moments for the Stars.

    If she did play another season, odds were good that she could have overtaken Olivia Howe as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. Howe piled up 107 goals and 100 assists in 106 regular season games played with the Notre Dame Hounds from 2008 to 2012.

    A trio of stars from the Saskatoon Stars make up the special grad class.

    Captain Grace Shirley finished up as the third all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL in regular season play. She collected 97 goals and 69 assists for 166 points in 107 regular season games. She is the Stars all-time leader in career regular season goals and points.
    Anna Leschyshyn concluded regular season play as the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. 

Anna Leschyshyn piled up 152 career regular season points.

    She recorded 72 goals and 80 assists for 152 points in 115 regular season games. Leschyshyn is just the fifth player in the history of the SFMAAAHL to record 80 or more career regular season assists.

    Joelle Fiala closes regular season play as the eighth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. She posted 47 goals and 83 assists for 130 points in 112 regular season games. She is the Stars all-time leader in career regular season assists.

    Shirley, Leschyshyn and Fiala have been key contributors in the Stars success over the last four seasons, which included appearing at the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament in 2016 and winning a silver medal at the Esso Cup last season. They will try to make the Stars march to the Esso Cup for the fourth time in five seasons.
    Prince Albert Northern Bears captain Abby Soyko finished as the ninth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. 

Joelle Fiala is the Stars all-time leader in career assists.

    She posted 65 goals and 63 assists for 128 points in 136 regular season games played for the Bears over five seasons. Soyko is the Bears all-time leader in regular season games played, goals and points and shares the team career regular season assists record with former Bears captain Kaitlin Willoughby.

    Willoughby, who plays professionally with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, recorded 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points playing in 96 career regular season games with the Bears from 2008 to 2013. At the moment, Willoughby is the captain of Canada’s women’s hockey team competing at the FISU Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

    The valedictorian of the class might be defender Allison Hayhurst from the Melville Prairie Fire.

Hayhurst became the third person in the history of the SFMAAAHL to play in 139 career regular season games. The other two players to hit that mark are both former Prairie Fire defenders.
    Karli Reeve suited up for 139 regular season games playing for the Prairie Fire from 2007 to 2011 collecting seven goals and 23 assists. Erin Armstrong, who was one of Hayhurst’s former teammates, played in all 140 of the Prairie Fire’s regular season games from 2013 to 2018 collecting six goals and 18 assists.

Abby Soyko pushed the Bears to new heights in her career.

    Hayhurst became a player who was sound at both ends of the ice. While being great defensively, the Wapella product had 22 goals and 47 assists for 69 points in her 139 career regular season games. She quarterbacked the power play for the Prairie Fire and was “the franchise” of that team.

    As the rules will be changed next season to further limit underage players from playing in the midget AAA ranks, Hayhurst might be the last player to play in 139 career regular season games. She will depart to the U Sports ranks next season playing for the Nipissing University Lakers women’s hockey team.

    The exploits of this grad class is special. Together, they ensured and are continuing to ensure in the post-season that the SFMAAAHL had an amazing and unique campaign in 2018-19. It is a campaign the likes of which the SFMAAAHL will never see again.

    NOTES – All three of the SFMAAAHL’s best-of-five quarter-final series began on Thursday. In Prince Albert, the visiting Hounds slipped past the host Northern Bears 3-2, the host Wildcats in Swift Current downed the visiting Battlefords Sharks 6-2 and the host Regina Rebels blanked the Prairie Fire 5-0. The Stars have a bye into a best-of-five semifinal series.

Hilltops’ “Sarge” named Sask Sport’s coach of the year

Tom Sargeant was named Sask Sport’s coach of the year.

    The Canadian Junior Football League’s coach of the year award has eluded Tom Sargeant since 2003, but Sask Sport named him tops in the province for a second time.

    On Wednesday, Sargeant, who is the legendary head coach of the Saskatoon Hilltops, was named the coach of the year by Sask Sports. The honour is given by Sask Sport to an outstanding coach in province’s amateur sport scene each year.

    This marks the second time Sargeant was named the coach of the year by Sask Sport. He took that same honour after the Hilltops CJFL championship campaign in 2012.

    In 2018, Sargeant led the Hilltops through what will go down as one of their most storied seasons in team history. On November 17, 2018, Sargeant guided the Hilltops to a 58-21 victory in the CJFL’s championship game – the Canadian Bowl – at Saskatoon Minor Football field.

    The win allowed the Hilltops to complete a perfect 11-0 season and become the first club ever to win five straight CJFL titles and eight CJFL championships over a nine year period.

    The 11-0 campaign marked the fourth time in team history the Hilltops posted a perfect season. The 2018 Hilltops had the distinction of only trailing on the scoreboard for a combined 81 seconds over the whole campaign.

    The championship win mark the 21^st time the Hilltops captured the CJFL title. During his career with the Hilltops, Sargeant has 12 national championship rings as the Hilltops head coach, two as an assistant coach with the team and one as a player. His first championship ring as a player was earned way back in 1985.

    Besides holding down the duties as Hilltops head coach, Sargeant has been the Hilltops offensive coordinator in each of the past two seasons.

    Sargeant was deserving of the Sask Sport coach of the year award, and the honour is that much greater considering how many outstanding coaches there are in Saskatchewan across all amateur sports.

    Sargeant was the coach of the year for the Prairie Football Conference in 2018. He was named the CJFL coach of the year in 2000 and 2003.

Blades alum Holtby second fastest to 250 NHL wins

    Saskatoon Blades alum Braden Holtby hit an impressive milestone in his NHL career.

    On Wednesday, Holtby made 27 saves to back his defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Flyer in Philadelphia. The 29-year-old product of Lloydminster, Sask., earned his 250^th career NHL regular season victory that night.

    He hit that mark in his 409^th game making him the second fastest player in the history of the NHL to reach that milestone. Legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden was the only netminder to reach 250 fasters hitting that milestone in his 381^st game.

    In his 409 NHL regular season games all with the Capitals, Holtby has posted a 250-105-39 record, a 2.47 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and 34 shutouts.

    So far this season, Holtby has record a 25-16-4 record, a 2.94 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts.

    During his time in the WHL, Holtby played for the Blades from 2006 to 2009 posting an 82-75-15 record, a 2.87 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and seven shutouts. He was selected by the Capitals in the fourth round and 93^rd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

    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.

Shirley passes Parker to become Stars all-time top scorer

Grace Shirley became the Stars all-time leading scorer on Sunday.

    It seemed fitting that Grace Shirley became the successor to capture one of the Saskatoon Stars biggest individual records that was held by a friend and former teammate.

    On Sunday, Shirley picked up three assists to become the Stars all-time leader in career regular season points as they downed the Notre Dame Hounds 7-3 in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League game at Merlis Belsher Place. With the three helpers, Shirley, who is the Stars captain, has 93 goals and 68 assists for 161 points in 105 carer regular season games. Her goal total is also a Stars career regular season record.

    She passed Mackenna Parker, who was the Stars captain last season, as the team’s leader in career points. Parker recorded 82 goals and 76 assists for 158 points playing 104 career regular season games for the Stars from 2014 to 2018. She is now a freshman with the Boston University Terriers women’s hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks.

    Shirley and Parker are the third and fourth respective all-time leading scorers in the history of the SFMAAAHL.

    Shirley picked up her record breaking point assisting on the Stars first goal, which was scored by 15-year-old sophomore forward Calli Arnold. The captain proceeded to pick up assists on the Stars third and fourth tallies as they built a 4-0 lead after the first period.

Kaitlin Jockims had three points for the Stars on Sunday.

    The Stars built a 6-1 advantage after the second period and cruised to victory from there.
    Kaitlin Jockims and Alison Olorenshaw each had a pair of goals and an assist for the Stars. Anna Leschyshyn had a goal and two assists for Saskatoon, while Arnold had a pair of goals.

    Claire Nimegeers, Brynn Maclean and Lyndsey Janes replied with singles for the Hounds.

    Arden Kliewer turned away 11 of 12 shots starting and picking up the win in goal for the Stars. Kaitlyn Cadrain turned away five-of-seven shots playing the third period in relief.

    Rayanne Mckenzie turned away 16-of-22 shots starting in goal for the Hounds. She was pulled late in the second period after the Stars sixth goal.

    Kaitlyn Ross turned away 19-of-20 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

    With the win, the Stars improved their record to 25-1 and were already assured of finishing first in the SFMAAAHL before Sunday’s game. The Hounds fell to 11-11-3 to sit fifth in the SFMAAAHL.

Besides Shirley’s record, Stars 17-year-old centre Joelle Fiala hit a milestone in the win. She picked up an assist on the Stars sixth goal.

    With that helper, Fiala equaled former Stars captain Lauren Zary for the Stars record in career regular season assists at 82.

    Fiala has 45 goals and 82 assists for 127 points in 110 career regular season games with the Stars. Zary recorded 44 goals and 82 assists for 126 points in 103 career regular season games played with the Stars from 2008 to 2012.

    Following her career with the Stars, Zary moved on to play with the Brown University Bears women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.

Joelle Fiala has equaled the Stars record for career assists.

    Fiala and Zary are the eighth and ninth all-time leading scorers respectively in the history of the SFMAAAHL.

    Leschyshyn is also closing in on both Fiala and Zary for the Stars career assists record. In 113 career regular season games, Leschyshyn has 71 goals and 78 assists for 149 points to sit as the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL.

    The Stars and Hounds will go at it again twice more. They will face each other this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox and on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Duncan McNeill Arena.

    Saskatoon concludes its regular season with those two contests.

    Following those games, the Hounds conclude their regular season on Feb. 20 by traveling to Regina to take on the Rebels at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.

Fontaine, Lind deliver Wildcats double OT comeback win

Tobi Fontaine scored for the Wildcats on Sunday.

    A couple of key players came up big to allow the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats to win an overtime thriller on Sunday.

    Hosting the Melville Prairie Fire at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex, the Wildcats fell behind 1-0 in the first period thanks to a short-handed goal scored by Prairie Fire sophomore 15-year-old forward Jordyn Bear. The tally was Bear’s 10^th goal of the season.

    The Wildcats evened things up at 1-1 with 7:04 remaining in the second period on a goal coming from veteran 17-year-old defender Tobi Fontaine.

    In a three-on-three double overtime period, Wildcats star captain Taylor Lind scored the winner with 72 seconds remaining in the frame.

    Amaya Giraudier stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wildcats. Cheyenne Jamieson turned away 36 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Prairie Fire.

    The Wildcats are 9-1 since returning from the Christmas break. Their one loss was a 5-2 setback to the Prairie Fire on Saturday in Swift Current.

    The Wildcats sit fourth in the SFMAAAHL with a 15-10-1 record. The Prairie Fire sit sixth in the SFMAAAHL with a 9-15-2 mark.

    The Wildcats close their regular season hosting the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings in a pair of games at 7:45 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. this coming Saturday and Sunday respectively at the Fairview Arena.

    The Prairie Fire conclude their regular season hosting the Battlefords Sharks in a pair of games at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. this coming Saturday and Sunday respectively at the Horizon Credit Union Centre.

Five top 10 all-time SFMAAAHL scorers still active

Taylor Lind is the SFMAAAHL’s second all-time leading scorer.

    The Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League has hit a unique moment that might never come again in the history of the circuit.

    As the SFMAAAHL regular season nears an end, five the league’s top 10 all-time leading scorers in regular season play are still active. All five members of that group are slated to graduate from their teams after the current campaign.

    The next time a player will come along to break into the top 10 of the SFMAAAHL’s career points list is uncertain.

    At the moment, Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats star captain Taylor Lind is the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. In 81 career regular season games, she has 88 goals and 76 assists for 164 points.

    Lind does have one year of midget eligibility remaining, but she is slated finish high school a year early and will join the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team next season in St. Charles, Missouri, and play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks.

    Saskatoon Stars captain Grace Shirley sits third in SFMAAAHL career scoring. She has 93 goals and 68 assists for 161 points in 105 career regular season games.

    Anna Leschyshyn, who is another Stars forward, sits fifth on the SFMAAAHL’s career scoring list. She has 71 goals and 78 assists for 149 points in 113 career regular season games.

    Joelle Fiala, who is a star centre with the Stars, sits eighth on the SFMAAAHL’s career scoring list. She has 45 goals and 82 assists for 127 points in 110 career regular season games.

    Prince Albert Northern Bears captain Abby Soyko occupies the 10^th spot on the SFMAAAHL’s career scoring list. She has 62 goals and 61 assists for 123 points in 134 career regular season games.

    Olivia Howe is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. Playing for the Notre Dame Hounds from 2008 to 2012, Howe appeared in 106 regular season games piling up 107 goals and 100 assists.

    The Hounds won the Esso Cup as national champions in the 2010-11 campaign with Howe.

    Following her time with the Hounds, Howe played four season with the Clarkson University Golden Knights women’s hockey team and helped them win their first NCAA title in the 2013-14 campaign.

    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.