Wenatchee biggest winner in Ice off-ice saga in WHL

The Ice celebrate a goal in Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

The Winnipeg Ice are no more and the Wenatchee Wild era has begun.

On Friday, the WHL announced that the Winnipeg Ice franchise was sold to David and Lisa White of the Shoot the Puck Foundation. The Shoot the Puck Foundation is a non-profit organization based in California. The franchise has relocated to Wenatchee, which is located in the state of Washington in the United States.

The Whites through the Shoot the Puck Foundation own the junior A Wenatchee Wild franchise that had played in the British Columbia Hockey League since 2015. The Wild won the Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions in the 2017-18 campaign and the Doyle Cup as the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Pacific region champion.

The Wild appeared in the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament in 2018 known at the time as the Royal Bank Cup, which was held at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, B.C. Wenatchee posted a 2-2 record in round robin play and fell in a tournament semifinal 2-1 to the Wellington Dukes from Ontario.

Wenatchee was the only U.S. centre to have a team playing in the BCHL.

With the purchase of the Ice WHL franchise, the Whites own what was once Winnipeg’s membership in the major junior circuit. A relocation of a franchise was executed without the use of any moving trucks.

Zach Benson in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 13.

The Wild as an entity will be promoted up from junior A to major junior. As part of the WHL, they will play in the U.S. Division that will now have six teams.

The division will provide the Wild instantly with four in-state rivals in the Everett Silvertips, the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans. The Portland Winterhawks, who have been one of the circuit’s elite clubs for the past 14 seasons, round out the U.S. Division.

The Wild hockey operations and business staff that is already in place will now operate the club in the WHL. The hockey operations staff is under the direction of general manager Bliss Littler, and Chris Clark is the club’s head coach and assistant general manager. After the announcement that Wenatchee was in the WHL was made, the Wild on Friday put up job postings for a full-time athletic trainer and a full-time equipment manager.

Wenatchee will play out of the Town Toyota Centre that has a seating capacity of 4,300.

The Ice roster and protected list is transferred to the Wild. The fate of the Wild’s BCHL franchise is still to be determined outside of the fact the BCHL said it won’t operate in 2023-24.

As for the players that were part of the Wild’s junior A roster, BCHL commissioner Steve Cocker told Castanet on Friday there won’t be a dispersal draft and the players are now free agents.

Matthew Savoie in action for the Ice in the WHL final in May 12.

As of June 1, the BCHL began governing its teams outside of Hockey Canada’s system. With the departure of Wenatchee, the BCHL has 17 teams all operating in British Columbia. It hasn’t been addressed if the BCHL’s decision to leave Hockey Canada’s system played a part in the Wild owners electing to leave that circuit for the WHL.

While the community of Wenatchee was the biggest winner in this development, it wasn’t a positive development on a tonne of other fronts. If you check out social media on Friday and Saturday, you can find a boatload of disappointment and hurt feelings over the sale of the Ice franchise.

In the 2010s, the WHL pursued a vision of having a team in each capital city in Western Canada. That vision was realized when the Ice franchise under the ownership of 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Incorporated headed up by Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell began playing at the 1,600 seat Wayne Fleming Arena on the University of Manitoba campus at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Fettes served as the Ice’s governor, and Cockell was the club’s president, general manager and alternate governor.

The Ice franchise had been relocated from Cranbrook, B.C., where the club was known as the Kootenay Ice. The Ice franchise was sold to Fettes and Cockell on April 27, 2017 by the Chynoweth family.

Carson Lambos in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Fettes and Cockell moved the Ice to Winnipeg with the promise they would be able to build a new arena for the team to play in that was up to WHL standards.

The Ice put out a statement by Fettes on Friday and part of that statement regarding building a new arena said, “Unfortunately, we were just never able to get the project on solid footing due to the changing landscape (during and post-pandemic). Simply put, we ran out of time.”

While there has been criticism Fettes and Cockell took the WHL for a ride, it is possible to say it was true the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world causing massive shutdowns in March of 2020 caused any efforts to build a WHL sized arena that would seat 4,500 to 5,000 spectators to go up in flames.

If anyone has seen the news cycle, stories on economic inflation dominate it, so anyone who lives in reality knows the chances of getting the funding together to build a new WHL size rink in Winnipeg were remote. It is safe to say Fettes and Cockell don’t have those types of assets in the bank to build a rink on their own.

Still, how the WHL’s situation played out in Winnipeg will invite heaps of criticism, and the criticism is deserved. The WHL does come out of this saga sporting a look that it got suckered.

Gregg Drinnan, who is still the all-time dean of WHL sportswriters, took a deep dive on his Taking Note blog of the many levels of how ugly the Ice saga is, and that piece can be found by clicking right here. He could probably wrote a longer piece than he did, and that is crazy to think about.

HC James Patrick mans the Ice bench in the WHL final on May 12.

While the Ice were a mess off-ice with their arena situation, the Ice’s on ice product was far from a mess. In fact, the Ice were one of the WHL’s best teams on ice in the four seasons they played in Winnipeg posting a 166-49-6-2 mark in regular season play.

In 2021-22, the Ice topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 mark and advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in five games to the eventual league champion Edmonton Oil Kings. This past season, the Ice again topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Thunderbirds.

If you were able to travel to Winnipeg, you would have found out the Ice developed a following. On the coverage priority of the local sports media, the Ice were buried well behind the NHL’s Jets, the CFL’s Blue Bombers and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

While the majority of the attention was on those three professional teams, it is a disservice to say the Ice had no fans in Winnipeg. They had a fan following, and that fan following got burned.

Ice head coach James Patrick is one of top first class hockey guys you will find in hockey. He is now living in his hometown without a team to coach. If the Jets do decide to go in the direction of a total rebuild, Patrick would be a perfect candidate for a potential future new head coach in a start over scenario.

Fans watch the Ice play in Winnipeg in the WHL final on May 12.

The Ice had good people on their hockey operations and business staff, and now they will all be out of work.

The Ice players will still have a chance to play in the WHL, but now they have to adjust to a new community.

The community of Cranbrook, which was home to the Ice from 1998 to 2019, still feels burned by the WHL. The Ice were successful for most of their years in Cranbrook having won WHL championships in 2000, 2002 and 2011 and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 2002.

During the Ice’s final season in Cranbrook in 2018-19, they finished last in average attendance in the WHL averaging 2,214 spectators per game for their 34 regular season home dates, but there were people there who still felt the team could turn around and experience brighter days again in that community.

In October and November of 2015, there was a local based group in Cranbrook that talked to Chynoweth family about possibly purchasing the Ice, but nothing came out of those talks. It is likely failure of that attempt to purchase the team and keep it in Cranbrook hurt some in the community there.

Jeff Chynoweth, who oversaw the Ice’s operations, and his family began trying to sell the Ice in 2011 and the team stayed for sale until the deal was reached with Fettes and Cockell in April of 2017. It should be noted that Cranbrook is a tourist industry town and the Chynoweth family was faced with the constant task of reintroducing the game to new fans during the Ice’s time in that centre.

Daniel Hauser in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Life also changed for the Chynoweth family with the passing of patriarch Ed Chynoweth in April of 2008. Ed played an instrumental role as a builder in the history of the WHL. Ed’s passing and the unique challenges to marketing the team in Cranbrook had Jeff and his family looking to get out of the WHL ownership game.

Still, there were a lot of Ice supporters in Cranbrook who hold ill will toward Jeff Chynoweth over when his family sold the Ice.

Along with that, the City of Cranbrook has a lawsuit against the Winnipeg Ice and the WHL that is still before the courts regarding the arena deal the Ice had with the B.C. centre that was to run through to June of 2023.

On a sentimental front, other group that lost out in this saga are the alums of the Ice franchise. The alums especially the ones that played for the Ice during their days in Cranbrook often have great memories of the B.C. centre.

It is common for alums of other WHL clubs to return to their former teams when they are older and have families for visits. Those visits often include alums getting pictures taken with their families in their old dressing room stalls during the summer months. There are Ice alums that lament they can’t partake in doing something like that.

On top of that, the Ice franchise identity will now cease to exist on the WHL landscape. While the Wenatchee owns the Ice WHL franchise, the Wild team identity will continue to be used, and it will go on as continuation from that club’s junior A days in the BCHL.

In the end, the WHL’s experiment with the Ice in Winnipeg failed. Had True North Sports and Entertainment the parent company that owns the Jets and Moose had interest in owning a WHL franchise, the major junior circuit might still be in the Manitoba capital.

The Ice salute their fans after Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

Overall, at least the franchise transfer was done at this early juncture of the off-season, so all parties that have a stake in what is going on know where they stand. From an “it is what it is” perspective, the ugly is there.

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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Ice top guns freeze out Blades

Winnipeg takes 2-0 lead in Eastern Conference final

Connor McClennon had a hat trick and an assist on Saturday.

The Winnipeg Ice top line felt the need for speed and the need for goals.

The forward unit of right-winger Connor McClennon, centre Matthew Savoie and left-winger Zach Benson delivered an abundance of both in Game 2 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series on Saturday afternoon against visiting the Saskatoon Blades. The Ice trio combined for five goals and five assists to power their host squad to a 6-2 victory before an appreciative gathering of 1,720 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

McClennon had a hat trick and an assist, while both Savoie and Benson each had a goal and two assists.

With the win, the Ice take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. Games 3 and 4 are set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Before the Ice stars took flight, the Blades came with a good initial push at the start of the first period. The visitor’s early momentum was assisted by the face Ice standout centre Conor Geekie was given a minor penalty for tripping at the 4:07 mark of the opening frame.

On the ensuing power play, Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser turned away two dangerous chances coming from a midrange shot from the left slot by Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky and a point blank shot from the front of the Winnipeg net by centre Jayden Wiens.

Matthew Savoie had a goal and two assists on Saturday.

Right as the power play expired, the Ice turned the game’s momentum around. First, Ice defenceman Karter Prosofsky dumped Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov with a big hit.

A short time after that hit, Ice star offensive-defenceman Carson Lambos had the puck in his own zone and hit McClennon with a stretch pass at centre ice. McClennon jetted into the Saskatoon zone down the right wing and snapped home a shot just above the right faceoff dot to give the hosts a 1-0 edge. The goal came on Winnipeg’s first shot of the contest.

After the Ice went ahead on the scoreboard, the Blades had a chance to pull even off a good rush by Lisowsky. On a rush down the left wing into the Winnipeg zone, Lisowsky made a toe drag move around an Ice defenceman and snipped a shot on goal that was turned away by Hauser.

With 2:29 remaining in the first, McClennon scored his second of the contest to put the Ice up 2-0 with the Winnipeg side working on the power play. Ice star offensive-defenceman Ben Zloty had the puck above the right faceoff circle and fed a pass down to McClennon, who was left all alone by the left post of the Saskatoon net. McClennon made no mistake potting his second of the contest into an open cage to give his squad a two-goal edge.

The Ice power-play goal ended a run for the Blades where they had killed 12 straight power-play chances by their opposition.

Zach Benson (#9) had a goal and two assists for the Ice.

When the opening 20 minutes came to a close, the Blades held a 10-9 edge in shots on goal, but the Ice held a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.

At the 3:25 mark of the second, the Ice’s topped line lived out the cliché that you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. McClennon put the puck into the right corner of the Saskatoon zone on what seemed like a harmless dump in.

Blades netminder Austin Elliott started to skate behind his net in anticipation of playing the puck. The puck took a wicked curl off the boards and shot out across the face of the Saskatoon goal straight to a forechecking Benson. Benson dumped the puck into an empty Blades net to push the hosts lead out to 3-0.

With 7:31 remaining in the second, the Ice received a goal from outside their top forward line. Geekie had the puck just inside his own blue-line and hit standout centre Owen Pederson, who turned 21-years-old in late March, with a stretch pass just before the Saskatoon blue-line.

The Blades were caught on a line change, which allowed Pederson to streak into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. Pederson snuck a nifty backhand shot between the legs of Elliott for his third goal of the post-season to give the Ice a 4-0 lead.

Justin Lies scored for the Blades.

Just 68 seconds into the third, McClennon completed his hat trick to put the Ice ahead 5-0 on a play that almost resembled his power-play goal earlier in the contest. Ice defenceman Graham Sward had the puck at the right point and he fed a smart pass down to McClennon, who was again alone at the left post of the Saskatoon goal.

McClennon calmly potted his hat trick goal into an empty cage to give the hosts a five-goal edge. The tally was also the 10^th of the post-season for McClennon.

The Blades broke through for the first time in the series on the scoreboard shortly after the midway point of the third period where gritty left-winger Justin Lies seemingly turned into Blades all-time great Bernie Federko for a rush. Lies got the puck in the centre ice zone, jetting down the right wing, deked out and zipped around Lambos to get in alone on the Winnipeg net and slipped home a shot between the legs of Hauser to cut the Ice lead to 5-1.

With 5:21 remaining in the third, the Blades struck on the power play to trim the Ice advantage to 5-2. Wiens knocked home a puck about a foot in the air off the ice surface at the right side of the Winnipeg net to pull the Blades to within three. The opportunity Wiens cashed in on came from a rebound off a shot taken by Blades star centre Trevor Wong.

The officials checked out the tally on a video review and confirmed the goal was a good one.

The Blades were hoping to build on the two-goal surge and pulled Elliott for an extra attacker with 4:38 remaining in the third.

Jayden Wiens scored for the Blades on Saturday.

The Ice sealed the final outcome with 3:33 remaining in the third with an empty-net goal from Savoie that rounded out the 6-2 final.

Hauser made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who have won five straight post-season games. Elliott turned away 27-of-32 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades were without 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 18-year-old rearguard Ben Saunderson on Saturday as they were both injured in the team’s second game Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Red Deer Rebels. They have yet to suit up for the Blades in their series with the Ice.

Black ace Morgan Tastad, who turned 17-years-old in January, dressed for his second career WHL post-season contest on Saturday and second straight game to allow the Blades to have six defencemen.

Tastad played most of the 2022-23 campaign with the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team. In 41 regular season appearances with the Contacts, Tastad had three goals and 24 assists.

Saskatoon elected to dress left-winger Mikhail Volotovskii in place of centre Jordan Keller with the hopes of getting a spark offensively.

Trevor Wong had an assist for the Blades on Saturday.

The Ice’s biggest scratch was 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson. Winnipeg elected to dress 17-year-old rookie rearguard Ashton Cumby for his third career post-season contest.

The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice. 

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Blades overcame a 2-0 deficit in a first round series against Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats and a 3-0 deficit in an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Rebels to win those sets in respective Game 7s.

The Ice are pleased to have a 2-0 series lead.

Looking ahead, the Blades can’t be counted out, but the Ice’s skill and depth in skill will be tough to overcome.

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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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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    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.

Conference championship not meant to be for Huskies

Bisons sweep Canada West title series with Game 2 win

 

Canada West finals loss sinks in for Kaitlin Willoughby, right, and the Huskies.

  WINNIPEG, Man. - For a moment, it looked like Kaitlin Willoughby was going to do it again.

    Just when all hope seemed lost for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, the star fifth-year captain hit high gear.

    On Saturday night before a raucous crowd of 860 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena, the host University of Manitoba Bisons surged out a 3-0 lead in the second period in Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West conference championship series with the Huskies. The Huskies needed to win to force a deciding Game 3 on Sunday.

    With 4:45 to play in the second, Willoughby drove into the Bisons zone on an individual rush and scored to cut the host side’s lead to 3-1.

Captain Kaitlin Willoughby scored twice for the Huskies.

    Just 78 seconds into the third, Willoughby drove home a shot from the half-wall on right side boards to further trim the Bisons lead to 3-2. It appeared the Prince Albert, Sask., product was going lift her team to victory with another stellar playoff performance.

    Inside of the final five minutes of the third, the hosts halted the comeback attempt by the visitors.

    With 4:56 to play in the frame, Bisons third-year centre Jordyn Zacharias cut across the front of the U of S net and tucked a key insurance goal to give U of M a 4-2 lead. Fourth-year centre Courtlyn Oswald scored into an empty net with 72 seconds to play in the third to round out a 5-2 victory for the Bisons.

    The win allowed the Bisons sweep the Canada West championship series 2-0 and give U of M its third conference title in women’s hockey and first since the 2010-11 campaign.

Jordyn Zacharias celebrates her third period goal for the Bisons.

    “I said to the girls if we’re still down by two goals and there is four minutes left, we are not giving up,” said Willoughby. “I said we’re not quitters, and we are going to play hard the whole game no matter what.

    “I’m really proud of our team, because I know that is what we did.”

    Both teams had already locked up berths to the U Sports nationals to be held March 15 to 18 in London, Ont., by the University of Western Ontario Mustangs by making it to the Canada West championship series. With that in mind, the Bisons and Huskies preferred to head to nationals as conference champions.

    The Huskies were looking to win the school’s second Canada West women’s hockey title in team history.

    After the loss to the Bisons on Saturday, a real sombre atmosphere hung over the Huskies dressing room area.

    Willoughby scored the Canada West championship winning goal for the Huskies as a rookie in their 2-1 double overtime victory over the University of Regina Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 in March of 2014. 

Natasha Kostenko, left, scored in the Bisons second-period surge.

    She dealt with a mix of emotions following Saturday’s loss to the Bisons.

    “Just being in my fifth year, it makes it hard, because I know I am not going to be here in this position again,” said Willoughby. “I wanted to finish it off strong with a Canada West championship.

    “At the same time, this is the beauty of it. We know we can go to nationals here, and we know we have a second shot. I think this is honestly going to fuel us, because we know how much it hurts and we don’t want to feel this way again at nationals.”

    In Saturday’s game, the two sides played through a tight checking opening frame. Despite zipping up and down the ice, the scoring chances by either side were limited.

Lauren Taraschuk, left, turns away a shot playing goal for the Bisons.

    The Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, surged out to a 3-0 lead in the second period. Fifth-year left-winger Charity Price tucked home a goal at the right side of the Huskies net to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    Fifth-year left-winger Alanna Sharman followed that tally up with a breakaway goal, and fourth-year right-winger Natasha Kostenko completed the Bisons goal gusher scoring with 7:23 remaining in the second.

    When Willoughby scored her first goal of the game, her tally ended a playoff shutout streak for Bisons netminder Lauren Taraschuk that lasted 259 minutes and 30 seconds. Taraschuk, who was the rookie-of-the-year for the Canada West Conference, made 18 stops to back the Bisons to victory.

Kaitlin Willoughby passes the puck up ice on a rush for the Huskies.

    “It was just really focusing on doing my part,” said Taraschuk, whose Bisons topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-5-1 record. “We worked so hard for this all year, and I’m just doing what I can to help my team out.”

    After the Huskies closed to within 3-2, Taraschuk was pumped her team stayed composed to score twice more to seal victory. The 18-year-old puck stopper was elated to experience the thrill of winning a Canada West title so early in her U Sports career.

    “There are absolutely no words to describe this feeling,” said Taraschuk. “We laid it all out there.”

    “It is an absolute family. We love each other.

Netminder Jessica Vance clears the puck away from the Huskies net.

    “We stuck together through thick and thin all season. We’re really proud of each and every one of us.”

    Jessica Vance, who was Canada West’s player-of-the-year, turned away 22-of-26 shots fired her way to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook liked how his side battled in the setback.

    “It is not the end result that hurts,” said Kook, whose team is rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “You compete in a game like that, and you just keep pushing.

    “The game got decided way at the end of the game here. You are pushing and pushing.

    “All of sudden, it is taken away from you at the end of the game. They are just processing that right now.”

The Bisons celebrate their Canada West title win.

    Kook said making it to the conference finals was still a big accomplishment noting that this was only the third time the Huskies women’s hockey program has advanced this far in the post-season. The veteran bench boss said time will come when the players will reflect fondly on what happened.

    “I know they are not going to appreciate it right now,” said Kook, whose Huskies finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 19-7-2 mark. “The program really appreciates the work that they did.

    “Our alumni are going to be proud of the things they did. I think it is going to take tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday to process, “Hey, this is pretty good. We’re top two in a very tough conference.”

The disappointed Huskies will now regroup for nationals.

    “At some point, it is going to get there. Maybe not tonight. That was the message.”

    While the Huskies weren’t able to bring the Canada West championship trophy - the Catherwood Cup - back to Saskatoon, Willoughby plans to do everything she can to help her team conclude the 2017-18 campaign on a high note at nationals.

    “We are just going to reset on Monday,” said Willoughby. “We are going to go back to practice, and we are going to work our asses off.

    “We are going to hopefully come out on top in two weeks.”

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

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Huskies take gut punch in controversial Game 1 finish

Bisons claim Canada West finals opener 1-0 in overtime

The Bisons celebrate an overtime winning goal from Caitlin Fyten.

    WINNIPEG, Man. - Kaitlin Willoughby was still trying to process a stunning loss for her University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    With 8.6 seconds remaining in overtime, captain Caitlin Fyten of the University of Manitoba Bisons drove home the winning goal to deliver her team to a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the Canada West championship series at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Fyten’s goal on Friday night was surrounded by hectic action played in front of 640 spectators.

    Huskies right-winger Bailee Bourassa was knocked to the ice by one of the Bisons skaters and the U of S players on the ice were calling for an interference penalty. Willoughby, who is the Huskies star fifth-year captain, skated over to the officials to talk to them about another concern.

Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby talks to the officials after the game.

    She thought the officials blew the whistle early causing the Huskies players to stop on the play. When the dust settled post-game, Willoughby was still dumbfounded by what happened.

    “I thought that our player got interfered with, but whatever,” said Willoughby. “The ref didn’t see that, but that is how it goes.

    “But after, I thought I heard the ref blow the whistle, so that was what I was asking him about after the game. He said he did blow the whistle, but it was still a good goal if it goes in.”

    The overtime goal moved the Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, into position to sweep the short best-of-three series. U of M will try to close out the set in Game 2 at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena. If necessary, Game 3 will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday also at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

Caitlin Fyten had the overtime winner for the Bisons.

    “I think I just need a few minutes to like just let it sink in,” said Willoughby. “(It is) definitely not the ending that we wanted.

    “Obviously, we don’t want to be losing the first game. That is how it goes. Sometimes, hockey plays don’t go your way, and we just have to come back tomorrow.”

    As she has done throughout her playoff career, Willoughby did have a couple of chances in clutch time to make the outcome of Friday’s game a different one. In the third, she shot a puck using a defender as a screen on a dangerous rush only to be denied by the glove had of Bisons netminder Lauren Taraschuk, who is the Canada West rookie-of-the-year.

    Late in the third, Willoughby tried to fire a smart shot between Taraschuk’s legs, but the puck stopper turned aside that chance with a stick save.

    Taraschuk turned away 25 shots to pick up her second straight playoff overtime shutout win in goal for the Bisons.

Kaitlin Willoughby was denied on two good third period chances.

    In the Huskies end, netminder Jessica Vance, who is the Canada West player-of-the-year, was doing her best to steal the win making 32 saves overall in the setback.

    For the host side, Fyten played the role of hero. The fifth-year defender was solid at both ends of the ice, and her strong play was especially evident in overtime.

    Before she scored her winner, Fyten came up with a key shot block on Huskies rookie centre Chloe Smith on a three-on-one U of S rush. That shot block set the stage for Fyten to score her winning goal.

    “I’m happy for the captain,” said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel. “She played a solid game.

    “She was just so good against their top line today. She just found a way shooting pucks to the net and getting some traffic, which we were trying to do the whole game.

    “We had a lot of good looks today. We just finally found one.”

    Vance’s play was key in keeping the contest scoreless through the first period, where the Huskies were outshot 12-5. The sophomore goalies turned away a handful of backdoor setups.

Netminder Jessica Vance turned away 32 shots in Friday’s playoff setback.

    When the Bisons were working on a power play in the third period, centre Courtlyn Oswald was denied down low by Vance after receiving the puck on a sweet setup from the point.

    The Bisons thought they went ahead 1-0 with 9:26 to play in the third, but the goal was waved off when the officials said one of the U of M players contacted Vance in the crease.

    Bisons head coach Jon Rempel gave credit to Vance for her play, and he also gave props to his team for playing a sound game.

    “You know she (Vance) is going to stop most of the pucks that she sees,” said Rempel. “We had some good looks today. I think we had three goalposts and a disallowed goal, so we were there.

    “I thought we did some good things. I thought we controlled the puck. I thought we controlled the play for almost the whole game.

Netminder Lauren Taraschuk turned away 25 shots in goal for the Bisons. 

    “We didn’t give them much at our net. Most of their stuff came from the outside.”

    Willoughby said her team can’t dwell on how Friday’s game ended. She took solace in the fact she knows her team can play better.

    “I think we just have to make sure we come ready to play in the first period,” said Willoughby, whose Huskies are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “We know we are a better team than we were today.

    “We just have to come ready to play in the first period. It is do or die now.”

The Huskies look stunned after their Game 1 loss.

    NOTE – The Huskies didn’t have head coach Steve Kook behind the bench for Friday’s game. Under an old U Sports rule, Kook was serving a one-game suspension for the fact his players left their bench at the end of their 2-1 Canada West semifinal series clinching win over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds last Saturday at the Rutherford Rink before the referee gave them permission to do so when another penalty had been called on the U of S side. Kook was given a game misconduct, when that happened.

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

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Huskies 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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