Madness starts early for Huskies

Matthew Forbes slams down a huge basket for the Huskies.

    One elimination game down, and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team hopes to experience a lot more do-or-die matches in March.
    The Huskies didn't take the easy road in claiming a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series 2-1 against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack. In all three games, U of S fell behind by sizable margins, but managed two successful comebacks to stay alive in the post-season. In a series deciding Game 3 on Sunday at the Physical Activity Complex, the Wolfpack led the host Huskies 39-29 at one point in the second quarter.
    The visitor's led was cut to 43-42 at halftime after Huskies guard Evan Ostertag hit a three at the buzzer. The hosts took a 61-57 lead after the third quarter and rolled in the fourth quarter to an 84-71 victory. The win was capped by a monster dunk by Huskies post Matthew Forbes inside of the contest's final minute.
    Thanks to that win, the Huskies will have the rare privilege of host the men's Canada West Final Four tournament this coming Friday and Saturday at the Physical Activity Complex. The opening match at 6 p.m. on Friday sees the U of Victoria Vikes, who were 15-5 in the regular season, take on the Abbotsford, B.C., based University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, who were 17-3 in the regular season. At 8 p.m., the U of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who were 14-6 in the regular season, face the Huskies, who were 15-5 in the regular season.
    The Huskies host the final four, because they topped the Conference's Pioneer Division. The Cascades topped the Explorer Division.
    Before the Huskies could think about hosting the final four, they had to down a determined Wolfpack side. Games 1 and 2 were held at St. Joseph High School due to the fact the U of Saskatchewan was hosting the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men's Volleyball Championship tournament. The atmosphere at the packed high school gym was raucous on both nights.
    In Game 1 last Friday, the Wolfpack, who were 11-9 in the regular season, jumped out to a 27-19 lead after the first quarter and held a 49-43 edge at halftime. The Huskies dominated the second half and rolled to a 96-82 victory. Veteran post Matthew Forbes led the way for the Huskies with 20 points, while second-year forward Shane Osayande came off the bench and hit all seven of his shot attempts to finish second in team scoring with 14 points.

Dadrian Collins drives the lane for the Huskies at St. Joseph High School.

    In Game 2 last Saturday, the Huskies faithful packed the gym at St. Joseph High School hoping the first half scare the Kamloops, B.C., based Wolfpack gave the U of S side would only happen for one game. It didn't.
    The Wolfpack stormed out to a 16-0 lead and held a 40-25 edge at halftime. The Huskies rallied in the second half and closed to within 71-69 late in the game. The visitors scored to go up 73-69 and closed out an 81-75 victory to tie the series 1-1.
    Andrew Henry and Dadrian Collins led the Huskies with 12 points each in the Game 2 setback.
    Game 3 back at the PAC wasn't an easy one for the Huskies to pull out. Wolfpack fifth-year guard Brett Rouault went off for a game-high 33 points mostly due to hitting 7-of-10 shots from three-point range.
    Forbes countered topping the Huskies with 30 points to help the hosts get their series clinching 84-71 win.
    Going forward in the post-season, the Huskies would like to have some better starts, but they should have some confidence knowing the can pull out big comeback victories if they need to.
    Now, they face was is essentially another elimination game. The two teams that make the final of the Canada West Final Four advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final Eight championship tournament hosted by Ryerson University in Toronto.
    The winners of the semifinal games of the Canada West Final Four this coming Friday will ensure they will play in the final weekend of the 2014-15 campaign. Being at home for basically a do-or-die match, you have to like the Huskies chances of advancing, even if they do fall behind once again.

Huskies women's hoopsters hit the road

Kabree Howard dishes the ball for the Huskies.

    The Huskies women's basketball team will be on the road for the duration of their playoff run.
    They had a chance of hosting the women's Canada West Final Four tournament had the U of Regina Cougars upset the UBC Thunderbirds in a best-of-three quarter-final series in Vancouver. 
    The favoured Thunderbirds prevailed. UBC took Game 1 on Friday 75-59 and Game 2 on Saturday 68-63.
    As a result, the women's Canada West Final Four opens on Friday in Vancouver. The Huskies, who were 17-3 in the regular season, face the U of Victoria Vikes, who were 13-7 in the regular season. 
    The Thunderbirds, who were 17-3 in the regular season, take on the U of Alberta Pandas, who were 16-4 in the regular season, in the other semifinal.
    The Huskies enter the final four having won 15 straight games combined in the regular season and playoffs.

Men's CIS volleyball championships a hit

The Huskies salute their home crowd after their last regular season game.

    Huskie Athletics should get all sorts of high praise for host an outstanding Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men's Volleyball Championship tournament.
    There had to be a bit of fear with regards to how well attended the event would be at the Physical Activity Complex if the host Huskies weren't able to advance to the semifinal round. The Huskies did not qualify for the Canada West playoffs finishing the regular season with a 12-12 record and were seeded eighth in the eight-team event.
    They played hard in the quarter-final round but committed too many errors in being swept away by the top seeded McMaster University Marauders by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-18. Officially attendance was 2,223 at the PAC, which seats 2,500. Those that were there said it was hard to find a seat, and spectators filled the standing space that rung round the track at the top of the stands.
    With the Huskies knocked to the consolation side, attendance stayed fairly strong. A total of 1,841 spectators attended Friday's semifinal round and 2,127 were out for the medal round games on Saturday. Those numbers have to be considered huge successes.
    Overall, this year's CIS Men's Volleyball Championship tournament was viewed as being extremely well run.
    In the title game, U of Alberta Golden Bears repeated as champs sweeping the Trinity Western University Spartans 25-19, 25-17 and 25-15. McMaster swept Dalhousie University 3-0 in the bronze medal game.
    The host Huskies downed Universite de Laval 3-1 in a consolation semifinal match and took the consolation final 3-1 over York University to finish fifth.
    Once again, Canada West showed it is the powerhouse conference in men's volleyball, as its three entries finished in the top five of the CIS tournament. That powerhouse showing takes a whole new light considering the Huskies just missed making the Canada West Conference playoffs and were still fifth at nationals.
    Canada West Conference teams have claimed 20 of the last 21 championships in CIS men's volleyball.

Stars advance to final four

Courtney Cormack, left, and Danielle Nogier celebrate a goal.

    The Saskatoon Stars will enjoy a little bit of time off before they resume their quest to earn a provincial title.
    On Sunday, the Stars completed a 3-0 sweep of their best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League quarter-final series over the Notre Dame Hounds. Saskatoon took Game 1 in Wilcox 7-2 on Thursday, and Games 2 and 3 at the Agriplace Arena by respective scores of 9-5 and 10-0 on Saturday and Sunday.
    Those results weren't much of a surprise as the Stars finished first in the league at 25-3, while the Hounds were last in the eight-team circuit at 4-22-2.
    The Stars top forwards Nara Elia and Sophia Shirley each had six goals and six assists in the series. Their linemate Julia Rongve had three goals and six assists. Forward Courtney Cormack have five goals and an assist in the three games.
    Saskatoon's opponent for the semifinal round is still to be determined as two quarter-final series were still ongoing after Sunday. The post-season road will definitely become more challenging from here on out for the Stars, who won the female title in the Mac's Midget AAA Tournament on Jan. 1.
    As they progress through the playoffs, they will pick up more and more attention in the Saskatoon area as a number of other local teams see their campaigns come to an end.
    At the moment, the Stars are still one of the best kept secrets in the Bridge City. By the end of March, they will likely have an increased profile.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.   

Thud: Huskies limp into nationals as hosts

Jordan Nowakowski of the Huskies tips home a point.

   It was not the way the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's volleyball team envisioned heading to nationals as hosts.
   Sitting with a 12-8 record going into their final four regular season games, the Huskies appeared to be sitting as a lock to make the playoffs in the always tough Canada West playoffs. Four losses later, the Huskies are sitting on the outside looking in as far as the Canada West post-season is concerned.
   When you are hosting a Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament, at a minimum you want to qualify for the playoffs in your conference. You never want to go in through the back door thanks to having the host berth.
   Consistency has been a struggle for the Huskies all season. They have the ability to beat the best teams in Canada. Back on Jan. 9, the Dogs looked impressive downing the 19-5 Brandon University Bobcats 3-1.
   The Huskies are also not good enough to pull out wins, if they are not firing on all cylinders. If you aren't at your best in the Canada West conference, you will lose. That is the bottom line.
   The season-ending skid for the U of S started in Langley, B.C. The Huskies dropped two games to the Trinity West University Spartans. The Spartans finished second overall in Canada West with a 20-4 record, so those games would be a big measuring stick test for the Huskies.
   Trinity Western took the first encounter 3-1. In the second match on Jan. 31, the Huskies took the first two sets. The Spartans rallied for a 3-2 victory.
   Those results shouldn't have caused any worry, as the Spartans are an elite club. It appeared the Huskies were close to playoff form.
   Finishing the campaign with a pair of losses at the Physical Activity Complex at the U of S to the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack was particularly disappointing.
   On Friday, the Wolfpack, who were playing for their post-season lives, swept the Huskies 3-0 by scores of 30-28, 27-25 and 28-26. All of those sets were marathons, but the Huskies weren't able to summon up the will to pull any of those frames out.
   With both clubs sitting with 12-11 records, Saturday's encounter became for all intents and purposes a playoff game. It was also a spectacularly played match that gave local fans a glimpse of what they could expect when the U of S hosts the CIS championship tournament from Feb. 26-28.
   The Wolfpack took the first set 26-24, but the Huskies rebounded claiming the second and third sets 27-25 and 25-15. The victory in the second set had to be very encouraging as the Huskies found a way to pull out a close frame.
   The urgency on the Wolfpack's side increased. They took the fourth set 25-20 to set up a fifth and deciding set. The final set was a marathon, which saw the Huskies survive a handful of match points before falling 19-17.

Troy Wiebe sets for the Huskies.

   Thompson Rivers' players stormed off their bench running in circles and hugging each other after the 3-2 victory. The players from the school located in Kamloops, B.C., improved to 13-11 and made the Canada West playoffs thanks to an impressive eight-game winning streak. The Wolfpack should be given top marks for their run and will likely be a problem opponent in the post-season.
   The mood surrounding the Huskies, who finished at 12-12, was one of huge disappointment. They will have the next couple of weekends off before returning to action at nationals likely as the eighth seed in the eight-team event.
   On the plus side, the Huskies will be well rested. Also, there isn't a lot of scrutiny around CIS volleyball. The Huskies aren't going to face a whole pile of criticism like the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL did when they were swept out of the first run of the playoffs as Memorial Cup hosts in 2013.
   When it comes time to play the CIS men's volleyball championships, the fact the Huskies missed the post-season won't be on the mind of the players and staff on the team or the fans that come out to support them.
   With strong fifth-year outside hitters like Paul Thomson and Matthew Busse, the Huskies are always a threat to go on a run of winning it all with a series of upset victories. Zak Rempel and Troy Wiebe both provide strength at the setter position, and the Huskies have enough talent at the other positions to get the job done.
   On the other side, teams that advance through their conference playoffs to quality for nationals are more battled hardened. Post-season victories also have the ability to bond teams that much closer together.
   Besides having to face battle hardened opponents, the Huskies head to nationals on the downer of four straight setbacks. The combination of those two facts doesn't inspire confidence.

Roll ends at two for Huskies women's hockey team

Huskies forward Marley Ervine scoots past a Pronghorns defender. 

   The U of S Huskies women's hockey team's first roll of the second semester was a short one lasting two games.
   On Friday night in Lethbridge, the Huskies won their second in a row rallying from a 2-1 deficit to pull out a 3-2 victory over the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, who dwell in the basement of the Canada West Conference.
   Captain Paige Anakaer picked up the Huskies first goal, while Kandace Cook and Marley Ervine scored power-play goals in the third to pull out the victory. Ervine netted the winner at the 8:24 mark of the third, and Cook's equalizer was her team-leading 10^th tally of the season. Cassidy Hendricks made 47 saves to earn the win in goal.
   Delaney Duchek and Chelsea Minor replied with singles for the Pronghorns. Crystal Patterson made 32 saves taking the loss in goal.
   The two teams combined for 28 minutes in penalties in the third period of Friday's contest.
   On Saturday, the host Pronghorns downed the Huskies 2-1. Sadie Lenstra gave the Pronghorns a 1-0 lead in the second period, but fifth-year veteran Chelsey Sundby netted a short-handed marker for the Huskies to even the score at 1-1 early in the third. Cora Place picked up the winner for the U of L with 2:07 to play in the third.
   Patterson made 45 stops to earn the win in goal for the Pronghorns (5-21). Hendricks turned away 36 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies.
   The Huskies still sit fifth in the eight-team Canada West Conference with a 13-10-3 record. Since returning from the Christmas Break, the Huskies have won two out of 10 contests.
   The losses have piled up due to the team's struggles offensively. The Huskies 52 goals scored during the regular season is fewest among the six teams heading to the playoffs in Canada West.
   The Dogs have been playing with 17 skaters, which is one short of the full complement of 18. They are short staffed due to an injury to forward Rachel Johnson and forward Chelsea Wilson leaving the club due to family reasons. The Huskies are also without star defender Julia Flinton, who is playing for Canada in the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.
   As the intensity of the opposition has increased and the battles to win games have become that much tougher, one has to wonder how much the Huskies miss their captain from a season ago in Cami Wooster. She was a unique talent who brought a lengthy list of positives to the game including a natural offensive ability you either had or didn't have. That ability would allow her to score on a one-on-three rush.
   You just don't replace that type of player, whose absence is more noticeable when it becomes that much harder to win games. She could put the team on her back and make things happen. Everybody also loved her in that dressing room, so that makes Wooster's absence an even bigger void.
   As the regular season and post-season concludes, Wooster's graduation might ultimately be too much for the Huskies to overcome in the present time.
   The Huskies close the regular season with a home-and-home series against their provincial rivals the U of Regina Cougars, who sit sixth overall in Canada West with a 14-10-2 record. The Dogs sit two points ahead of the Cougars in the standings due to winning nine contests in regulation to better the six wins posted by the Cougars. Regulation wins in women's hockey are worth three points in the standings.
   The two teams meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina and this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

   If you have any feedback about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.