Finland’s Hovi will always cherish Winnipeg and Bisons

Finland star Venla Hovi will always have a hockey home in Winnipeg.

    Venla Hovi isn’t quite sure why hockey players from Finland and the city of Winnipeg make a great mix, but she appreciates that intangible is there.

    The star left-winger from Finland’s senior national women’s hockey team admitted she was at a point in her life a year after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where she thought her playing days were done. She expected to move on to whatever the next stage of her life would be.

    Hovi talked to a couple of teams and chatted with some different coaches and schools where she wanted to pursue post-secondary studies.

    At that moment, the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team came calling. All of a sudden, Hovi was recharged to be back playing the sport once again.

Venla Hovi starred for three seasons with the Manitoba Bisons.

    “It is such a nice team,” said Hovi, who stands 5-foot-7. “I’ve never honestly played on team like that before, where everybody just gets along so well and supports each other.

    “It was really a blessing for me to experience that too.”

    The 31-year-old is in Saskatoon this week playing with Finland at the 4 Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament currently running at the SaskTel Centre. 
    Finland takes part in Friday’s feature game at 7:30 p.m. against Canada, which will be shown live on TSN. The winner qualifies for Saturday’s gold medal game against the United States. 

    Besides playing for Finland’s senior national women’s team, Hovi is currently an assistant coach with the Bisons and a forward with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.

    When she arrived in the Manitoba capital back in 2015, Hovi said she grew fond of the city quickly.

Venla Hovi helped Finland win two bronze medals at the Winter Olympics.

    “I actually lived in Kitchener (Ontario) when I was 16 for 10 months, so I kind of knew Canada,” said Hovi, who has a goal in two games at the 4 Nations Cup. “I’m an outgoing personality, so it is easy to come here.

    “People are friendly, and it is really not bad. I like different types of people, and it wasn’t that big of a change for me.”

    Little did Hovi know, the first good vibes she felt foreshadowed some special experiences that were to come.

    Hovi starred with the Bisons for three seasons appearing 51 regular season games collecting 21 goals and 29 assists.

    During her rookie season, Hovi had a memorable moment at the ancient Rutherford Rink at the University of Saskatchewan back in February of 2016, when the Bisons faced the host Huskies in a best-of-three first round Canada West playoff series. 

Venla Hovi celebrates a playoff series OT winning goal in 2016.

    In a series deciding Game 3, Hovi scored the winner at the 9:02 mark of a fifth overtime period to deliver the Bisons to a 2-1 victory.

    That contest, which started on Feb. 21, 2016 at 7 p.m. and ended at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2016, is still the longest game ever played in Canada West women’s hockey lasting 139 minutes and two seconds.

    The Bisons advanced to the Canada West championship series falling to the University of British Columbia 2-1 in series deciding Game 3.

    After posting career highs with 10 goals and 15 assists playing 22 regular season games with the Bisons in 2016-17, Hovi had a campaign that came out of a dream last season.

Venla Hovi focuses for overtime action last season.

    She helped Finland win a bronze medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    Following the Winter Olympics, Hovi rejoined the Bisons in time for their playoff run that ended with a U Sports national championship win last March.

    On the way to winning the national crown, Hovi and the Bisons swept the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 2-0 in the best-of-three Canada West championship series.

    In the elite-eight style U Sports national championship tournament held in London, Ont., the Bisons blanked the host University of Western Ontario Mustangs 2-0 in the tournament’s final game.

    “Any kind of thoughts whenever I look back, it was just amazing,” said Hovi. “Especially the last year how I ended it there, it was just a dream come true with the Olympics and the Bisons. I was really happy to experience that.”

    During the playoff run, the Wayne Fleming Arena on the University of Manitoba campus was packed with big crowds. Often, Hovi would take to the ice for a shift, and the crowd would chant her name.

Venla Hovi, right, drives a shot on goal in the Canada West final in March.

    When the Bisons won the national title, they were honoured before a Winnipeg Jets NHL game, visited City Hall and were given Outstanding Achievement Award Medals from the City of Winnipeg and were on the cover of various local publications.

    “It was really fun to see the support,” said Hovi, who helped Finland win bronze at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. “Obviously, hockey is really big there and people are crazy about it.

    “The support for the Jets and the (AHL’s Manitoba) Moose and now they join the women’s team too, so it was obviously fun to have that. Going to the NHL game and getting to be on the ice, just having that recognition was huge for us for sure.”

Venla Hovi (#9) enjoys the spoils of a Canada West title win by the Bisons.

    In the process, Hovi became another hockey player from Finland that became entrenched into the fabric of the community in Winnipeg like Teemu Selanne of the original Jets in the 1990s and Patrik Laine of the current Jets.

    Hovi appreciates the special bond that seems to be created between hockey players from Finland and Winnipeg. She said she still can’t totally put her finger on why that magic is there.

    “I don’t know what it is,” said Hovi. “I feel like there is something Finnish there.

    “People are humble, ready to work hard and it is easy to play there. Everybody loves hockey, so it is kind of like the atmosphere is positive and very supportive. Going there and having that support, it is really easy to get better too.”

Venla Hovi had 50 points in 51 regular season games with the Bisons.

    Following the Bisons playoff run, Hovi was again looking to ride into the sunset as far as her playing career was concerned.
    When the opportunity to play for the Inferno unfolded, Hovi jumped at it.

    Playing in a women’s professional league that is filled with top players from around the world, Hovi has two goals and four assists in her first six games with the Inferno. 
    She has enjoyed the chance to play alongside United States senior national team members in Brianna Decker, Kacey Bellamy and Alex Rigsby along with Canadian senior national team members in Blayre Turnbull, Brianne Jenner, Rebecca Johnston, Katelyn Gosling and Halli Krzyzaniak.

    “I actually think the chance of me not playing might have been even greater than playing,” said Hovi. “I started thinking about it that I’ve never played in a league where you play that hard and play with other U.S. and Team Canada players.

Venla Hovi, left, and Kacey Bellamy are Calgary Inferno teammates.

    “I thought I still have a chance to get better. I feel like that motivated me to still try it out and see how I was going to do there and maybe get a little bit better and help this team out when we play at the worlds in Finland.

    “It is exactly the type of hockey that I love playing. It is very similar to here, where the pace is fast and just going forth and back 100 miles an hour.”

    The next women’s world hockey championship tournament is slated to run April 4 to 14, 2019 in Espoo, Finland. 
    When that event concludes, Hovi isn’t sure what her future will be playing the game at that point.

    She could potentially play for Finland again at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, but she admits she has definitely not looked that far ahead.

    “I’m going day by day,” said Hovi. “This season I basically just thought about enjoying every single day and not worrying about what is going to happen.

Venla Hovi plans on enjoying everything about her current hockey season.

    “I’m definitely at the end of my career, which everybody can, you know, tell. All I am going to do is just enjoy and have fun playing and challenge myself.”

    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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Crippled by illness, Finland holds on to miracle victory

Finland celebrates their victory on Wednesday at the SaskTel Centre.

     Finland head coach Pasi Mustonen was still processing all that has happened to his team at the 4 Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament on the health front.

     Playing with 15 skaters - three short of the full complement of 20 - Finland jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead against Sweden and withstood a furious late third period comeback attempt to pull out a 3-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre. The win at the 4 Nations Cup allowed Finland to even its record at 1-1, while Sweden fell to 0-2.

    Finland pulled out victory despite the fact a flu bug has been dogging the team since falling 6-0 in a pre-tournament game against Canada on Sunday at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.
    The Finns had 15 skaters and two goaltenders dressed, and if they were at full health, they could dress 20 skaters and three goalies under International Ice Hockey Federation rules.

    “We got a virus in Prince Albert together with the Canadian team,” said Mustonen. “We had 14 players that could play today. Eight of them were healthy.

Sweden goalie Maria Omberg stops Finnish winger Emma Nuutinen.

    “The rest of them have been vomiting yesterday or the night before.”

    Mustonen said four players in the team’s management group are ill, six players ill to an average degree and two are ill to an extreme degree. The bench boss bluntly spelled out how grave the situation is for his squad.

    “It was a surprise we could win,” said Mustonen. “We should have not won.

Netminder Jenna Silvonen makes a stop in goal for Finland.

    “Sweden should have beaten us easily. They didn’t. I’m satisfied with that.”

    None of the players from Finland came out for post-game interviews due to the illness situation on the team.

    Finland struck first at the 6:30 mark of the third period on a goal from star left-winger Venla Hovi. The Finns closed the opening frame scoring twice in the final 3:50 with goals coming from the sticks of Riikka Valila and Emma Nuutinen.

     After being outshot 19-8 in the opening frame by Finland, Sweden made a push back in the third period holding a 12-5 edge in shots on goal for that stanza. Finnish netminder Jenna Silvonen held the fort to ensure her side still had a three-goal edge heading into the second intermission.

Emma Nuutinen had the eventual winning goal for Finland.

    That set the stage for a frantic final three minutes of the third period. With 2:44 remaining in the frame, Swedish left-winger Lisa Johansson roofed home a shot to cut Finland’s lead to 3-1. Just 15 seconds after that tally, left-winger Hanna Olsson scored for Sweden to cut Finland’s lead to 3-2.

    Finland appeared to gain some breathing room, when centre Viivi Vainikka scored with 72 seconds to play in the third. Her goal was call off as the officials assessed a too many players on the ice penalty to Finland.

    Frantically, the Finns protected their one-goal edge until the clock expired.

Silvonen made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for Finland. Maria Omberg turned away 28 shots to take the setback in Sweden’s net.

Sweden celebrates their second goal in their comeback attempt.

    “We do our very best,” said Mustonen. “Their spirit is there. I am glad.

    “Their spirit is there. The ladies showed great spirit. They keep on fighting, but there is no energy in their body.”

    Mustonen said he hadn’t seen anything like the flu bug his team is battling over the past 25 years he has been involved in the game of hockey. He said Finland assistant coach Kari Eloranta, who played in the 1980s for the NHL’s Calgary Flames, mentioned he hadn’t see anything like the illness epidemic plaguing Finland’s women’s team in the last 40 years he has been involved in the game.

    Mustonen said he team can play better than they have, if they were healthy, and noted this week might be a write off for his team.

Finland battles to keep the puck in the corner to preserve victory.

    “It is a pity to fly over here full of expectations to play good hockey against the North Americans,” said Mustonen. “All the time, somebody is falling out.”

    Sweden returns to action on Friday taking on the United States at 3 p.m. Finland faces Canada later on that same day at 7:30 p.m. Both games are at the SaskTel Centre.

    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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Playing women’s hockey powers always a learning experience for Finland

Netminder Noora Raty made 44 saves on Tuesday for Finland.

    Venla Hovi doesn’t shy away from the obvious, when it comes to Finland’s women’s national women’s hockey team.

    When her Finnish side plays either the United State or Canada, the veteran winger knows her side is in for a huge challenge. The odds of coming out with a win are heavily weighted in the favour of the two traditional powerhouse nations in women’s hockey.

    With that in mind, Hovi said gaining the experience of playing those two squads is always huge for the players that play for her country’s national team.

    “I think for a lot of players especially who play in the Swedish or in the Finnish league, the pace is obviously not like this,” said Hovi, who stands 5-foot-7. “It is kind of mental game to you know get your system going and knowing that you need to move the puck faster.

Brianna Decker had a goal for the United States.

    “You need to react faster all the time (and) have your head on a swivel to kind of know who is coming behind you. It is just mostly like mentally just preparing at the speed and pace will be faster than usual.”

    In the opening game of the 4 Nations Cup tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre, Finland took on the United States, but it took a while before the predictable result occurred.

    The Finns took a 1-0 lead at the 11:59 mark of the first period on a goal from Hovi’s line. Right-winger Emma Nuutinen came through with the goal, and centre Tanja Niskanen and defender Nelli Laitnen picked up the assists.

    Finland’s lead held up after the first period ended, where the United State held a 9-3 edge in shots on goal.

    In the second, the U.S.A. juggernaut awoke. The States score five times in the second period and cruised to a 5-1 victory.

    Dani Cameranesi, Sydney Brodt, Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes and Brianna Decker all netted singles for the U.S.A.

The United States celebrates one of their second period goals.

    Noora Raty was sensational making 44 saves to take the setback in goal for Finland.

    Maddie Rooney turned away nine shots to pick up the win in goal for the States.

    Hovi, who helped the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team win a U Sports national title last March, said it was a big thing for her side to lead the game for as long as they did. The 31-year-old said you could tell the mood was possible for an upset the longer Finland stayed ahead.

    “Obviously the longer we get to carry it, they will get frustrated,” said Hovi. “They always have chances.

    “They can’t score right off the hop, and the longer we go, there is some frustrations, so it is obviously good for us. We just need to fix our second period. It has been our problem for a while.

    “We need to concentrate on that.”

    On an obvious front, teams like Finland don’t have the depth the United States or Canada does.

Venla Hovi, left, sets a screen in front of the United States goal.

    Hovi has been a standout herself for some time. She helped her country win two bronze medals at the Winter Olympics including 2010 in Vancouver B.C., and last February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    As rookie with the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, Hovi has two goals and four assists in her first six games.

    Overall, she liked her team’s effort on Tuesday. Finland had some absences due to the flu. The Finns were two skaters short of the full complement of 18.

 

Hannah Brandt (#20) of the United States battles a Finnish centre for a draw.

  “It was a good battle,” said Hovi. “We were missing a lot of players.

    “We don’t play with three lines usually, so it was obviously physically harder to. We usually run four lines, but now we’re kind of waiting for some of those players to be able to play.”

    In the setback, she said her side did a lot of positive things.

   “I think we defended really, really hard in the first and the third period (and) blocked the middle,” said Hovi, who is also an assistant coach with the Bisons women’s team this season. “Every time we got the puck, we moved it fast.

    “I thought it was a great team effort. Like I said, we need to fix the second period and be more ready in our D-zone.”

Finnish goalie Noora Raty covers the puck during a net scramble.

    Finland returns to action at the 4 Nations Cup on Wednesday, when they face Sweden at 3 p.m.

The United States faces Canada on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

    The 4 Nations Cup runs in its entirety at the SaskTel Centre with the medal round games being held on Saturday.

    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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Here’s hoping hype of U Sports national champion Bisons doesn’t fade away

Jordyn Zacharias celebrates a goal in the Canada West finals.

    They were played up as the feel good story last February and March in Winnipeg.

    During that time, the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team went on a historic run. They accomplished a lot of firsts.

    The Herd topped the Canada West standings for the first time in team history with a 22-5-1 mark, hosted the best-of-three Canada West Championship Series for the first time in team history sweeping away the U of Saskatchewan Huskies 2-0 and captured the U Sports national title for the first time in team history. 

    In the elite-eight style national championship tournament held in London, Ont., last March, the Bisons blanked the host University of Western Ontario Mustangs 2-0 in the tournament’s final game.

    Over that period of time, the Bisons were given a big push from the media outlets in the Manitoba capital. It seemed like their players were appearing everywhere.

Venla Hovi came from Finland to star for the Bisons.

    The NHL’s Winnipeg Jets were a backer before the Bisons national title win. They showed the Bisons score on the MTS Place scoreboard when the Herd won Game 1 of the Canada West Championship Series 1-0 in overtime over the Huskies.

    After winning the national title, congratulations poured in for the Bisons from various sports teams and groups in Winnipeg. The team was honoured before a Jets game in late March.

    The Bisons visited City Hall and were given Outstanding Achievement Award Medals from the City of Winnipeg.

    They were on the cover of various local publications.

    They were the toast of the town.

    Bisons head coach Jon Rempel, who was named the U Sports coach of the year for the first time in his career, guided a crew on the ice that you had to like. They were approachable and sociable. On an obvious front, they played the game extremely well.

Caitlin Fyten led the Bisons to a national title as captain.

    They had a star winger from Finland in Venla Hovi, and it seems Finnish players always do well in Winnipeg considering the time Teemu Selanne spent with the original NHL Jets and Patrik Laine is enjoying with the current NHL Jets.

    Hovi was complimented with a strong group of forwards in Alanna Sharman, Jordyn Zacharias, Lauryn Keen, Alana Serhan, Sheridan Oswald and Courtlyn Oswald. The defence was anchored by captain Caitlin Fyten and Regina, Sask., product Erica Rieder, who was a second team all-Canadian all-star.

    In goal, rookie Lauren Taraschuk rose to prominence winning Canada West rookie of the year honours and being named to the U Sports all-rookie team.

    Still when a women’s team has success like the Bisons did, it seems their accomplishments disappears too quickly from the minds of the general public.

Lauren Taraschuk rose to star status as a rookie playing goal for the Bisons.

    In 2016, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity released a study regarding the connection between women and sport in Canada. A couple of the facts revolved around media coverage.

    An analysis was done on Canada’s primary national sports networks in English and French in 2014. The study said only four per cent of the coverage on those networks was dedicated to women’s sports and over half of that number was dedicated to coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

    A study was done on the Saturday sports section front pages in two of Canada’s highest circulated national newspapers from June 2008 to May 2010 and June 2013 to May 2015. Over those time frames, 5.1 per cent of the coverage was dedicated to women’s sports.

Erica Rieder was a second team all-Canadian on defence.

    Of course, that study only considered a small sampling size of the print industry.

    It can be argued since that time the coverage of women’s sports in Canada has decreased thanks to massive cuts in the mainstream media, which has often targeted sports departments. Sports coverage seems to get more and more focused on just the NHL, which causes everything else in the sports scene to be out of luck.

    The Bisons national championship victory over the Mustangs wasn’t even broadcast on television.

    Despite those numbers, it would be sweet to see the Bisons women’s hockey team buck that trend and have some staying power. They rocked at the sport Canada as a country loves the most.

    They created excitement for the U of Manitoba campus that hasn’t been seen for some time.
    During the Canada West Championship Series, the Wayne Fleming Arena on the U of Manitoba campus was a smaller version of the Jets home rink atmosphere wise.

Bisons fans created a crazy atmosphere at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

    Overall, Bisons teams have combined to win 44 U Sports national titles, but only five of those have come since the start of the 2003-04 campaign. The national title win by the Bisons women’s hockey team was a first for the school since the 2013-14 campaign, when the Bisons women’s volleyball team won a U Sports national crown.

    The Bisons women’s hockey team will undergo some transition going into next season. In July, assistant coach Sean Fisher was elevated to interim head coach as Rempel received a six-month reassignment of duties to allow for professional development. Rempel had been the head coach of the Bisons women’s hockey team for the past 14 seasons.

Alanna Sharman (#24) is one of the Bisons star forwards.

    The Herd lost Fyten, Serhan, Charity Price, Karissa Kirkup and goalie Rachel Dyck to fifth-year graduation. Hovi, who arguably had the best Twitter account in U Sports, still had a year of eligibility remaining, but she has returned home to Finland, where she has been a member of that country’s senior national women’s team for a number of years.

    Despite those changes, the Bisons women’s hockey team possesses a kick butt street cred in Winnipeg. If any of the players from the Bisons women’s hockey team are seen around town wearing their team gear, they are automatically deemed as cool.

    Winnipeg has some independent media outlets, so here is hoping the ongoing story of the Bisons women’s hockey team doesn’t fade away.

📷 This is how it feels to win a @USPORTSca championship. pic.twitter.com/nBCWsx4jjA

— U of Manitoba Bisons (@umbisons) March 18, 2018

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Huskies will be outlaws in Canada West final

Host Bisons are the feel good story in Winnipeg

Huskies W Kori Herner (#10) breaks in on Bisons F Venla Hovi.

    It might be fitting that the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team will be wearing road black uniforms to start the Canada West finals, because they won’t be considered the good gals.

    When they arrive in Winnipeg, Man., for the best-of-three Canada West championship series, the Huskies will discover the host University of Manitoba Bisons are being trumpeted as the city’s feel good story. It is a deserved story angle considering the Bisons topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-5-1 record and are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

    Including action in the regular season and playoffs, the Bisons have won 11 out of their last 12 games. They just came off winning an emotion best-of-three Canada West semifinal series, where sophomore forward Jordyn Zacharias scored the winning goal at the 13:30 mark of a fourth overtime period to give the Bisons a 1-0 win in a series deciding Game 3 last Sunday against the defending U Sports national champion University of Alberta Pandas.

    The Bisons players have been making the rounds among the media outlets in Winnipeg and working the social media lines to encourage people to come out to the Wayne Fleming Arena for the conference championship series.

Jordyn Zacharias led the Bisons in scoring.

    They are making their 10th appearance in the Canada West finals, but this will be the first time they play host to the series.

    Besides that fact, this will also mark the first time the Bisons and Huskies have gone head-to-head for the conference title.

    Game 1 of the series is set for Friday in Winnipeg, and Games 2 and 3 follow on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
    Both the Huskies and Bisons have berths lock up at the U Sports nationals, which run March 15 to 18 in London, Ont., and are hosted by the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

    Odds are high the Huskies will encounter a NHL Winnipeg Jets style playoff crowd that will attempt to turn the Wayne Fleming Arena into a smaller version of Bell MTS Place.

    The feel good story for the local side in the Manitoba capital should sell, because the Bisons have a pretty likeable team. That should show through, when they appear on camera.

    As is fitting for a Winnipeg-based hockey squad, the Bisons have their own “Finnish Flash” in Venla Hovi. The fourth-year forward just returned from the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, having helped Finland’s women’s hockey team win a bronze medal.

    Due to national team commitments in her home country, Hovi was limited to playing 12 regular season games with the Bisons, but she tallied four goals and eight assists. Zacharias, who was a first-team Canada West all-star, topped the Bisons in scoring with 12 goals and nine assists appearing in all 28 of her team’s regular season games.

Goalie Lauren Taraschuk was the Canada West rookie-of-the-year.

    Fourth-year forward Alanna Sharman, who was a second-team Canada West all-star, was second in Bisons team scoring with three goals and 17 assists appearing in all 28 of her team’s regular season games.

    Fourth-year defender Erica Rieder was the Bisons power-play quarterback recording seven goals and four assists appearing in all 28 of her team’s regular season games while being named a first-team Canada West all-star. On top of her offensive production, Rieder was a plus-13 in the plus-minus department.

    Captain Caitlin Fyten, who is in her fifth and final season with the Bisons, is a calming influence on defence recording three goals, six assists and plus-seven rating in 25 regular season appearances.

    Netminder Lauren Taraschuk, who was named the rookie-of-the-year for Canada West, has taken over the starter’s role in goal for the Bisons in the post-season. She made 12 appearances in the regular season posting a 10-2 record, a 0.71 goals against average, a .961 save percentage and five shutouts.

    The Huskies are also having a memorable season. They finished second in Canada West with a 19-7-2 record and are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. The 19 wins marks a new team record for the Huskies for victories in one regular season.

    In the four head-to-head regular season meetings between the Bisons and Huskies, each side won twice.

Captain Kaitlin Willoughby (#17) led the Huskies in scoring.

    U of S equaled the Canada West record for most shutouts by a team in one regular season at 12 matching the mark accomplished by the Pandas in the 2008-09 campaign.

    Huskies sophomore netminder Jessica Vance was the Canada West MVP and a first-team Canada West all-star posting a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average, a .964 save percentage and nine shutouts.

    She tied for the second most individual shutouts posted in one regular season in the history of the Canada West Conference equaling the nine put up by former Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough in the 2000-01 campaign. Former Pandas goalie Lindsey Post holds the Canada West record for most shutouts in one regular season at 10 set back in the 2014-15 campaign.

    Captain Kaitlin Willoughby was a second-team Canada West all-star, and she had another stellar season topping the Huskies in scoring with nine goals and 10 assists in 26 regular season appearances.

    Sophomore left-winger Emily Upgang finished second in Huskies team scoring netting seven goals and seven assists appearing in all 28 of her team’s regular season games.

    Fifth-year Winnipeg product Kira Bannatyne and third-year Cochrane, Alta., product Emma Nutter finished tied for scoring among Huskies defenders each posting two goals and four assists appearing in all 28 of the Huskies regular season games.

Goalie Jessica Vance was named the Canada West MVP.

    The Huskies enter the Canada West finals having swept the two-time defending Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a heated rivalry series.

    U of S has enough veterans on its roster that experience should help the Huskies deal with an excited crowd that will back the Bisons.

    The Bisons are trying to win their third Canada West title in team history. Their last victory came back in 2011.

    The Huskies are trying to capture their second Canada West title in team history with their first win coming in 2014.

    The Herd will be favoured in this series, but the Huskies are capable of spoiling the championship hopes of the host side. The ingredients are there to possibly make this Canada West championship series a classic.

    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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Marshall’s surprising rise results in first shutout with Huskies

Sophomore goalie had no guarantees arriving at U of S

Goalie Chloe Marshall celebrates a shutout with her teammates.

    Chloe Marshall is enjoying a start that wasn’t supposed to happen with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    A year ago, the Neilburg, Sask., product was tending goal in her rookie post-secondary season with the Northland College Lumberjills women’s hockey team, who are based out of Ashland, Wis. The Lumberjills were playing their inaugural season in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division three ranks and posted a 4-21 overall record.

    After that one campaign, Marshall, who had an .893 save percentage with the Lumberjills, elected to return to her home province and join the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

Chloe Marshall made 25 saves for the the Huskies on Friday night.

    “It was really expensive last year, and I thought financially it would be a better option to be here,” said Marshall, who stands 5-foot-7. “Hockey wise it is better.

    “I just knew it would get me farther academically and athletically.”

    Marshall came to the Huskies without any guarantees. The U of S women’s team had two solid sophomore netminders on their roster in Jasey Book and Jessica Vance, who were expected to be the odds on favourite options to replace graduated star veteran Cassidy Hendricks as the Huskies starting goalie.

    Instead of dwelling on the situation that was, Marshall went to work to prove herself. On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, she picked up her first career U Sports regular season shutout making 25 saves in a 1-0 victory over the U of Manitoba Bisons, who were rated eighth in the U Sports top 10 rankings.
    Including action in the regular season and playoffs, the Bisons had won six straight head-to-head encounters with the Huskies entering Friday’s game.

Goalie Chloe Marshall gets some help protecting the Huskies goal.

    “It is obviously a good confidence boost,” said Marshall. “It doesn’t mean that it is always going to be like that, but it is always a good like motivation to keep pushing and keep trying harder and just never stop.”

    The 19-year-old has won all three of her regular season starts with the Huskies, who improved to 3-1-1, posting a 1.33 goals against average and a .948 save percentage. She won all three of her starts in the pre-season, which included backstopping the Huskies to a 2-1 victory over the defending U Sport champion U of Alberta Pandas on Sept. 9 in a neutral site game in Athabasca, Alta.
    Marshall’s other two pre-season victories were shutouts.

    She admitted the early going with the Huskies has exceeded her expectations.

Defender Leah Bohlken had the Huskies lone goal on Friday.

    “It is definitely a surprise,” said Marshall. “I had a mentality where I didn’t really know what the situation was going to be like, but I just told myself to like fight for your spot and just never stop pushing and hope for the best.”

    The Huskies only goal on Friday came from defender Leah Bohlken at the 3:52 mark of the second period. Bohlken received a giveaway from a Bisons player in the U of M zone and promptly blasted the gift past Bisons rookie netminder Lauren Taraschuk.

    Taraschuk had a stellar outing herself making 20 stops as her team fell to 2-3.

    With the Huskies holding a slim edge, Marshall went to work to protect the lead against a Bisons roster that contains some very dangerous offensive players including forward Venla Hovi, who plays on Finland’s national women’s team.

Rookie Lauren Taraschuk made 20 saves for the Bisons.

    Near the halfway point of the second period, Bisons star fourth-year forward Alanna Sharman, who has averaged over a point a game in her U Sports career, cut through the Huskies skaters on a dangerous rush only to be turned away by Marshall.

    After Sharman’s chance, the Bisons manufactured a breakaway from fifth-year forward Alana Serhan, and she was turned away by Marshall. In the final seconds of the second period, Marshall denied a close in chance from a Bisons player to bailout a teammate who gave the puck away.

    Marshall admitted she gets pumped up when the pressure is on.

    “I love it,” said Marshall. “The more the pressure the better I play almost. I like thrive off of it.”

Huskies netminder Chloe Marshall covers up a loose puck.

    The pressure continued to come in the third, and Marshall made two close in saves late in the frame on Hovi.

    The Huskies puck stopper also had some luck, as the Bisons rang a shot off the post with just over four minutes to play in the third. Hovi also deflected a shot off the crossbar of the Huskies goal inside of the final two minutes of the third, when the visitors were working on a power-play. The Bisons failed to score on four power-play chances.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook couldn’t say enough good things about Marshall’s performance

Chloe Marshall tracks a puck she deflected into the corner.

    “They (the Bisons) started to spring players out of the zone, and we started to watch the puck a little bit,” said Kook. “She (Marshall) saved us there and kept us in the game. It was fantastic for her.”

    Before moving to the post-secondary ranks, Marshall played two seasons with the Battlefords Sharks female midget AAA team from 2014 to 2016.
    She got shelled on a nightly basis, because the Sharks were one of the weaker teams in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

    Over her career with the Sharks, she posted a 6-24 record and managed to put up a respectable 3.27 goals against average, an impressive .914 save percentage and earn one shutout.

    While Marshall stopped a lot of pucks with the Sharks, Kook said his team didn’t keep strong tabs on her.

    “We didn’t really have a chance to watch a lot of her play,” said Kook. “I got some video tape from her coach down in the States.

Chloe Marshall pictured with a shutout game puck.

    “You can only tell so much from videotape. I had a good chance to meet with her in the summer. She was doing some goaltending camps and getting ready for the (Huskies training) camp.

    “That alone impressed me in the fact that she was willing to put that much work in and get herself prepared for the fall not knowing exactly what her role was going to be on this team. She’s earned and deserved what she has gotten so far.”

    For Marshall, she is just enjoyed every day as it comes.
    She said she loves the positive energy her teammates bring to the rink, and she is having fun playing alongside a large number of players she used to face in midget AAA.

    “It is pretty different going from being not enemies but not teammates to being teammates,” said Marshall. “It is kind of cool feeling to get to know other people and finally play with them.”

    The Huskies and Bisons go at it again on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Rutherford.

Stovin, Bisons rally past Huskies men’s team

Kohl Bauml gave the Huskies a third period lead.

    Brett Stovin, a former captain of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, helped back the U of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team to a surprising 4-3 come-from-behind overtime victory over the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    At the Wayne Fleming Arena on Friday night in Winnipeg, the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports top 10 rankings, led the Bison 3-2 late in the third period. The hosts potted the equalizer to tie things up at 3-3 with 15 seconds to play in the third as Stovin combined with Zach Franko to set up Kamerin Nault for a power-play goal.

    At the 3:07 mark of overtime, Stovin set up Franko to net the winner for the Bisons. Stovin finished the contest with three assists. His first helper came in the opening frame, when he set up former Blades teammate Nick Zajac to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead.

    John Lawrence and Josh Roach replied with singles before the opening 20 minutes expired to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead.

    Bisons forward Shawn Bowles scored the only goal in the second period to force a 2-2 tie.

    Just 92 seconds into the third, star centre Kohl Bauml scored to put the Huskies up 3-2, which set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the contest.

    Taran Kozun made 19 stops to take the loss in goal for the Huskies (4-0-1). Byron Spriggs turned away 34 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bisons (2-3).

    The two team go at it again on Saturday night in Winnipeg.

Hilltops players take four major PFC awards

RT Kirk Simonsen, centre, protects Hilltops QB Jordan Walls, right.

    Saskatoon Hilltops players captured four major Prairie Football Conference awards on Friday.

    Right tackle Kirk Simonsen, who is also a fourth-year captain with the Hilltops, was named the PFC’s most outstanding lineman. Star fifth-year running back Logan Fischer took home honours as the most outstanding offensive back running the ball 121 times for 804 yards and scoring 11 rushing touchdowns during the 2017 regular season.

    Riley Pickett, who is in his third year with the Hilltops, was named the most outstanding defensive lineman leading the PFC with nine sacks. The graduate of Saskatoon’s Centennial Collegiate had 15 tackles, eight assisted tackles and one pass knockdown.

    Cody Peters, who is a fourth-year captain with the Hilltops, claimed the award for being the most outstanding defensive linebacker piling up 30 tackles, 12 assisted tackles and pass knockdown this season.

    The Hilltops (8-1) host the PFC final on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field against their provincial rivals the Regina Thunder (6-3).

    Thunder fourth-year veteran Levi Paul took home honours as the PFC’s most outstanding receiver hauling in 41 passes for 575 yards and scoring six touchdowns. The Thunder’s Eric Maximuik was named to the PFC’s all-rookie team on Friday as both a place kicker and punter. Maximuik made 9-of-15 field goal attempts and punted the ball 32 times for an average of 31.3 yards per kick.

    Edmonton Huskies head coach Iain McLean was named the PFC’s coach of the year for a second straight campaign guiding his team to a 7-1 regular season record. 

    Huskies quarterback Brad Launardt was named the PFC’s most outstanding quarterback, most outstanding offensive player of the year and most valuable player. Huskies linebacker Jassen Brown claimed honours as the most outstanding defensive player of the year.

    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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