Blades so close, yet so far

Saskatoon blanked 2-0 by Warriors in winnable game

A loose pick sits behind Warriors goalie Zach Sawchenko.

    If the Saskatoon Blades ultimately miss the playoffs, they might look back and regret the final outcomes in games like Sunday’s at the SaskTel Centre.

    Playing their third game in three nights and fourth game in five nights, the Blades dropped a 2-0 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a match where the hosts actually showed some really good jump before a gathering of 3,844 spectators. The Blades played well enough to win, and it seemed they came inches away from obtaining victory.

    The game’s story was pictured in one moment in the second period, when the Blades were working on their second power play of the contest. A point shot from Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek squeezed through the pads of Warriors star goalie Zach Sawchenko and came to rest in the crease of the Moose Jaw goal about a foot in front of the goal-line.

The Warriors celebrate a goal from Luka Burzan.

    The puck sat there loose for what seemed like three seconds, and all the players on the ice stopped what they were doing obviously thinking Sawchenko could see the puck. The referee behind the goal-line was in perfect position to see the puck was loose, so no one blew the whistle. Finally, the players started to move, and Sawchenko had the presence to fall backwards, cover the puck and get a stoppage.

    During that sequence, there were Blades fans sitting behind the Moose Jaw net frantically screaming that the puck was loose hoping someone from the host side would react to those screams. For the fans that saw the loose puck, it had to be a time of agony where they were thinking why one of the Blades players couldn’t shove that puck in.

    It seemed all night the Blades were just inches away from being able to score and get in the game.

Sawchenko was forced to make 29 saves for his third shutout of the season.

    Brock Hamm was solid making 20 stops in the Blades net, and he likely deserved a better fate than getting saddled with another loss to his record. Actually, Hamm has lost his last five starts, but played well enough to be on the winning side in most of those games.

Defenceman Libor Hajek controls the puck at the point for the Blades.

    The power play was a sore spot for the Blades on Sunday, because they failed to score on five opportunities with the man advantage. That was the area where it was obvious the Blades haven’t had a full practice in a while to work out kinks due to the volume of games on their schedule.

    When they tried to transition to the offensive zone or set up in the offensive zone, the Blades looked disorganized. There were times when they would accidently get in each other’s way and even run into each other.

    The Warriors, who improved to 38-17-7-1, made good on a couple of timely opportunities. Just past the midway point of the first period, Warriors rookie centre Luka Burzan put his side up 1-0 scoring from the front of the Blades goal on a good individual effort.

Centre Justin Almeida gets set to blast home a goal for the Warriors.

    With 9:50 to play in the third, sophomore centre Justin Almeida blasted home the Warriors second goal with a shot from the slot to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

    For the last three minutes of the third, the Blades played with Hamm pulled from their net for an extra attacker and had a power play thrown in during that stretch, but still couldn’t put the puck in the Warriors net. The Warriors were pinned in their own zone for lengthy periods of that stretch.

    To add more insult to the situation, the injury bug, which has been awful to the Blades all season, decided to take another bite out of the Saskatoon roster. With 4:10 to play in the second, Russian import defenceman Mark Rubinchik was on the receiving end from a knee-on-knee hit from Warriors 18-year-old centre Noah Gregor.

    Gregor received a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. The major penalty call will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Blades lost Mark Rubinchik to a knee-on-knee hit.

    Rubinchik was helped by the trainers, but he did skate off under his own power. He ultimately left the game and wasn’t on the Saskatoon bench for most of the third period.

    Blades winger Mason McCarty also received a double minor for high sticking in the third period, and the league will automatically review that play for a possible suspension.

    When everything added up, the Blades fell to 24-31-6-2 and sit two points behind the Calgary Hitmen (24-28-8-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Hitmen have a game in hand.

    The Blades now have four days off to regroup before hosting the Kootenay Ice (13-38-8-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. With nine games remaining on their schedule, the Blades are down to their last gasp stretch to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

    They need to keep up their effort and find a way to make more of the little inches fall in their favour to avoid once again being on the outside looking in as far as the post-season is concerned.

Huskies season ends in Game 3 heartbreaker

Defender Alyssa Dobler scored the Huskies only goal on Sunday.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team came up one agonizing win short of returning to the U Sports championship tournament for the first time since 2014.

    On Sunday in Vancouver, the Huskies battled the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a series deciding Game 3 in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Haneet Parhar and Kelly Murray.

    With 2:32 to play in the opening frame, the Huskies cut the gap to 2-1 thanks to a goal from fifth-year defender Alyssa Dobler. In a series where goals came at a premium, the Huskies couldn’t find the equalizer.

    Nicole Saxvik scored into an empty net with five seconds to play to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 victory in the game and a 2-1 victory in the series.

    Fifth-year star netminder Cassidy Hendricks stopped 19-of-21 shots playing her final career game in goal for the Huskies. Amelia Boughn turned away 21 shots earning the win in the Thunderbirds goal.
    Besides graduating Dobler and Hendricks, captain Lauren Zary and forward Rachel Johnson also played their final games for U of S in Sunday’s loss.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    With the series win, the Thunderbirds advance to host a best-of-three Canada West championship series against the U of Alberta Pandas. The first game of that series is this coming Friday in Vancouver.

    The Pandas were 21-4-3 during the regular season and rated sixth in the U Sports top 10 rankings. Both the Thunderbirds and Pandas earned berths in the U Sports women’s hockey championship tournament, which runs March 16-19 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

Cassidy Hendricks turned away 19 shots in her final game with the Huskies.

    The Huskies were ultimately done in on two fronts. On one front, they had to rely too much on star forward Kaitlin Willoughby coming through with superhuman games offensively, which is a lot to ask of any player on a night in and night out basis. She was held pointless in the three-game series with the Thunderbirds, and the Huskies only mustered two goals in the entire set.
    U of S’s struggles on the power play also rose to the surface. During the regular season, the Huskies power play ranked second last in the Canada West conference cashing in on only 14-of-132 power-play chances for a 10.6 per cent clip.

    In the Game 3 loss to the Thunderbirds, the Huskies failed to score on six power-play chances, which included four opportunities in the first period. They were also 0-for-12 on the power play in the three game series with the Thunderbirds and 1-for-22 in five post-season games for a 4.5 per cent success rate.

    Despite those deficiencies, the Huskies came up one win short of going to the U Sports championship tournament and had a solid season under first-year interim head coach Robin Ulrich, who performed admirably in her role. She showed she deserves to be a full-time head coach at the university level.

    If the Huskies had another high-end forward that was at Willoughby’s level and a consistent offensive-defender to quarterback the power play, they would likely be advancing in the post-season.     They might be able to recruit those pieces or developing them in one of the returnees next season.

Still, the Huskies took strides forward and are ahead of where they were the past two seasons. That is the big thing that can’t be forgotten in the 2016-17 campaign.

Stars sweep away rebuilding Gold Wings

Julia Rongve had five points on Saturday.

    The Saskatoon Stars returned to the final four of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League after sweeping away the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 3-0 in a best-of-five opening round series.

    The Stars closed out the series on Saturday at the Agriplace Arena downing the Gold Wings 16-0 in Game 3 of their opening round series. Traditionally, the Gold Wings are one of the stronger programs in the SFMAAAHL, but they are going through a rebuilding cycle.
    Stars veteran forward Julia Rongve, who is in her 17-year-old season, led the way offensively with a hat trick and two assists.

    Jayda Sachs, Brooke Hausermann and Joelle Fiala each scored twice for the Stars. Chance Sperling, Anna Leschyshyn, Jordyn Holmes, Kaitlin Jockims, Mackenna Parker, Abby DeCorby and Grace Shirley all had singles for Saskatoon.

    Jordan Ivanco turned away all 12 shots she faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Stars. Myah Battersby turned away 36-of-48 shots starting in goal for the Gold Wings. Meagan Perkins stopped 17-of-21 shots finishing the game in relief.

    The Stars, who were 25-2-1 in the regular season, are looking to win their third straight SFMAAAHL championship and advance to the Esso Cup national championship tournament for a third straight year.

    Saskatoon along with the Prince Albert Northern Bears, who swept away the Battlefords Sharks, are waiting to see who will be their opponents for their respective best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series.

    In the other two best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series that are still ongoing, the Melville Prairie Fire lead the Notre Dame Hounds 2-1, and the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats had a 2-1 edge on the Regina Rebels.

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

Stars close regular season with record

Parker records highest goal total since Clark/Harris

Stars F Mackenna Parker set career highs with goals (24) and points (44).

    The Saskatoon Stars seem to just keep shooting for the stars, when it comes to collecting achievements.

    On Sunday at the Agriplace Arena, the Stars closed the regular season with a 4-1 victory over the Regina Rebels, improved to 25-2-1 and set a new team record for points in the regular season standings at 76. The Stars earned the 76 points by winning all their games in regulation and acquiring a point from an overtime loss. In the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, three points are awarded in the standings for regulation wins.

    The previous team record for points in the regular season standings was 74 set in the 2014-15 campaign, when the Stars posted a 25-3 mark. The Stars earned 72 points by winning 24 games in regulation and two points for an extra time victory.

Grace Shirley had a goal for the Stars on Sunday.

    Greg Slobodzian, who is in his third season as Stars head coach, said he always tries to focus on helping his players become better people, increase their confidence while also concentrating on the process of getting better on the ice. The bench boss said his team doesn’t shoot for lofty records but added it is sweet when they do happen.

    “Those little things are nice rewards for sure,” said Slobodzian, whose Stars won their last 14 straight regular season games. “That is not why we do it, but any time you can get rewarded for the work these girls put in, it means something.

    “All those little extras it is like that is why we work so hard in practice, and that is why our dryland was the way it was. It is a nice feather in the cap type thing.”

    Besides the team record, Stars 16-year-old forward Mackenna Parker also hit some impressive milestones.
    She scored once on Sunday to finish with career highs in goals (24) and points (44). Her 24 goals are the highest for a Stars player in a season since Emily Clark, who is now a member of Canada’s senior national team, and Kennedy Harris, who is a checking centre with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, both scored 26 goals for the Stars in the 2011-12 campaign.

Stars F Mackenna Parker is stopped by Rebels G Katheryn Neigum.

    Parker’s point total is the highest for a Stars player since Clark recorded 60 points also in the 2011-12 season.

    “It is amazing, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates too,” said Parker. “It is not just me that puts the work in.

    “It is amazing to hear that my hard work is paying off.”

    Parker, who is completing her third full season with the Stars, was pleased to hear her squad also set a new team record for most points collected in the regular season standings.

    “The dressing room was pumped,” said Parker. “It is a great feeling just to know that our hard work has paid off.

    “Definitely being a third-year now, it is amazing to see how we have developed throughout the years and how much we are getting better. It is an amazing feeling, and everyone is so excited about it.”

Joelle Fiala breaks down the wing for the Stars.

    In the win over the Rebels, the Stars came out firing and a blowout could have been possible had it not been for the stellar goaltending of 17-year-old veteran Katheryn Neigum in the Regina net. Neigum turned away 41 of 44 shots fired her way.

    Grace Shirley gave the Stars a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Rebels forward Ally Kosteniuk replied with a single to tie things up at 1-1 before the first intermission rolled around.

    Parker picked up the only goal in the second to put the hosts up 2-1. Rookie forward Kaitlin Jockims increased the Stars edge to 3-1 with a tally that came just before the midway point of the third period.

    The Rebels had a goal disallowed with 1:20 to play in the third, and Joelle Fiala sealed the final outcome for the Stars with an empty-net tally with 20.6 seconds to play.

Defender Dana Wood looks for a shooting lane for the Stars.

    Rookie goalie Arden Kliewer made 15 stops to pick up the win in the Saskatoon net.

    The Rebels fell to 17-8-3 with the loss and finished fourth in the SFMAAAHL standings.

    When Slobodzian became the Stars head coach before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, he expected to go through a three-year process before his players hit stride. The Stars always seemed to run ahead of schedule.

    “We went to nationals the first two,” said Slobodzian. “This year, we are tough to play against, really tough.”

    Having finished first in the SFMAAAHL for the third year in a row, the Stars will attempt to win a third straight league title and also advance to the Esso Cup national championship tournament for a third straight year.
    This year’s Esso Cup runs April 23-29 in Morden, Man.

Goalie Arden Kliewer enjoys Sunday’s win with her Stars teammates.

    The Stars take their first step on the playoff road by taking on the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings (0-28) in a best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series. All eight teams in the SFMAAAHL move on to the post-season.

    Game 1 of the series between the Stars and Gold Wings is set for Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena. Game 2 is Friday in Weyburn. Game 3 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

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

2016 Esso Cup in Weyburn rates as "good"

Tourney faces challenges common in Canadian amateur sport

Brooklyn Gemmill raises the Esso Cup for the Ice Cats.

    WEYBURN, Sask. – In a lot of ways, a community like Weyburn is the perfect place to hold a tournament like the Esso Cup, but that doesn’t mean the event will be void of difficulties.

    On Saturday, the national female midget AAA hockey championship tournament wrapped up with the Brantford Ice Cats romping to a 10-3 victory in the gold medal game against the Express du Richelieu. The championship game shown before a national audience on TSN didn’t do justice to how close the on ice competition was between the six teams in attendance.

    The four clubs that made the playoff round all sported 3-2 records. Out of the 19 games played over seven days, nine were decided by one goal and six had two-goal spreads.

    In preliminary round play, the Express downed the Ice Cats 5-4 in a match that required a tiebreaking shootout. All six contests over the final two days of preliminary round play were decided by one goal, which showed how the competitive level was cracked upwards when it got to crunch time.

Floriane Dion (#7) tries to hold off Nicole Kelly (#17).

    The event was filled with compelling contests that were made for television, but unfortunately didn’t get any national air time. The 2016 Esso Cup isn’t the first national amateur sport tournament this has happened to, and it won’t be the last.

    Away from the game action itself, the community of Weyburn did have a sense of excitement about the tourney. In midsize large cities like Saskatoon and Regina and definitely in big centres like Calgary, the Esso Cup would be lost among a maze of other events be it sports or entertainment. In a centre like Weyburn that is just shy of a population figure of 11,000, the Esso Cup was a big deal.

    As soon as an out of towner goes to check into a hotel, a staff member would automatically ask out of curiosity if you were there for hockey.

    When you arrived at Crescent Point Place, the staffers from Hockey Canada and the tournament committee were cordial and inviting. It felt like everything ran smoothly. You pretty much wanted to be at the rink.

    Unfortunately when you looked into the stands, the great organization and friendly atmosphere didn’t translate into butts in the seats except for when the host Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings took the ice.

    That right there also shows a pitfall of amateur sport in Canada. In order for a big national championship tournament to be termed a great success or a spectacular success, it often revolves around the performance of the host team. That shows a weakness in the culture of sports in Canada.

Captain Bailee Bourassa and the Gold Wings are loved in Weyburn.

    If sport in Canada was strong culturally, national championship events like the Esso Cup would be a sellout regardless if a home team was present or not. However, the presence of a host team is what local committees need to sell sponsorships, advertising and ticket packages.

    In some years, even the prestigious Memorial Cup tournament, which crowns the champion of major junior hockey, isn’t immune to that fact.

    With that said, you don’t have to be in Weyburn long to find out there is a lot of love for the Gold Wings. There are signs up in various parts of the town showing support for the club and the local Boston Pizza outlet has auctioned off autographed Gold Wings jerseys for the odd fundraiser. You could even bid for a cool looking Gold Wings mini fridge at the Esso Cup’s silent auction.

    The players are always out and about rocking their team jackets. Captain Bailee Bourassa is also like a little celebrity, and that likely started from the fact she scored the winning goal that delivered the Gold Wings a 2-1 Esso Cup championship victory over the Edmonton Thunder in 2014 out in Stoney Creek, Ont.

Madi Solie is well-known in Weyburn.

    Players like Madi Solie, Elise Endicott, Maeve McGauley, Jensen Hammer and goaltender Chantal Burke are all well-known in town.

    The Gold Wings had a solid 18-9-1 regular season record in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, and they fell in an SFMAAAHL semifinal series to the Saskatoon Stars. The Stars went on to win league and Western regional titles to qualify for the Esso Cup.

    Had the Gold Wings made the Esso Cup’s playoff round and found a way to qualify for the tournament final, TSN’s audience would have likely seen a raucous crowd for the championship game. The hosts lost three straight two-goal decisions to open the tournament before rallying to win two straight extra time games to finish at 2-3. The Gold Wings showed a lot of heart marching on after Bourassa broke her arm in their second tournament game and was lost for the rest of the event.

    In a perfect world, the championship game would have been close and compelling like the majority of the tournament was. After 20 minutes, it appeared the title game would be intriguing after Emilie Lavoie scored twice to give the Express a 2-1 lead. The Ice Cats had a slim 9-7 edge in shots on goal.

    No one could have seen the blowout that was about to develop and blowouts will happen in sports even in contests between teams are supposed to be closely matched. The Ice Cats exploded for five goals in the second period to take a 6-2 advantage. The lead would grow to 9-2 by the 7:03 mark of the third before the final 10-3 outcome was cemented.

    Nicole Kelly, Kayla Bailey and Brooklyn Gemmill all had two-goal nights for the Ice Cats, while Paige Rynne, Lauren Martin, Taylor Trussler and Chenelle Caron-Godon had singles. Emma Verbruggen made 16 stops to earn the win in goal.

Chenelle Caron-Godon (#5) had the final goal in the Ice Cats Esso Cup win.

    Eloise Dube had the third period goal for the Express. Carolanne Franc-Brown and Marithe Levesque split time in goal with Franc-Brown originally drawing the start. Franc-Brown turned away 8-of-12 shots fired her way, while Levesque stopped 21-of-27 shots she faced.

    When the dust settled, the Ice Cats had to be credited for establishing a new tournament record for goals in a championship game at 10 and for showing off impressive offensive skill.

    On the media front, the Esso Cup was largely ignored. The biggest media presence came from Hockey Canada’s staff itself, which created the video, still pictures and written content for the organization’s website. There was no national media presence to cover the title game.

    There seemed to be no out of province media members at the event, but there were some local outlets from surrounding areas that stopped in and did the odd feature.

    The lack of media was likely great for the staffers that produced the website for Hockey Canada, because they had the run of doing whatever they wanted for features. What one forgets is that only people interested in the sport of hockey or the Esso Cup itself would check out the Hockey Canada site.

The Ice Cats take a victory lap with the Esso Cup.

    Other media outlets help bring the event’s story to people that might not otherwise take an interest and create a casual follower for a short time. With Canada’s mainstream media owned by a handful of big companies, anything sports related that is not the NHL, UFC, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Blue Jays or Toronto Raptors are out of luck.

    Weyburn put together a good Esso Cup, and the effort was there to make things great and even spectacular. The uncontrollable forces kept the event from having a more lofty status.

    It would be nice if major amateur sport championship tournaments in Canada could have everything fall in place more often to allow them to reach their potential. Unfortunately, that likely won’t happen any time soon.

Ice Cats' Kelly cleans up on awards

Nicole Kelly won three Esso Cup awards.

    Besides winning the Esso Cup, Ice Cats standout Nicole Kelly cleaned up on the tournament’s major awards.

    The Esso Cup tournament awards were handed out Friday before the start of the playoff round. Kelly took home honours as the tournament’s top forward, most valuable player and top scorer. The underage standout,  who turned 15 in February, netted nine goals and six assists in seven tournament games. In the Esso Cup championship game, Kelly had two assists to go along with her two goals.

    Ice Cats rearguard Paige Cohoon picked up honours as the tournament’s top defender. Kate Lloyd of the De Winton, Alta., based Rocky Mountain Raiders was named the top goaltender, and winger Leonie Philbert of the Express took home honours as the top goaltender.

    Besides handing out those honours, Gold Wings grad Toni Ross was named the winner of the Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award for her leadership and commitment to the game. Ross recently wrapped up her post-secondary career playing goal for the University of Regina Cougars women’s team.

    Ross was a first team Canada West all-star this past season with the Cougars, and she was also an academic all-Canadian. The Verwood, Sask., product posted a 17-6-1 record, a 1.93 goals against average, a .929 save percentage and three shutouts with the Cougars this past season.

    She coaches at goaltender instruction academies in Regina and the Cougars Cubs’ hockey program. Ross is also active with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Big Sisters program in Regina.

Paige Cohoon was named the top defender at the Esso Cup.

    Besides the awards, the officials that worked the tournament semifinal game on Friday between the Raiders and Express have to be commended for making a tough clutch and correct call in overtime. With the teams locked in a 3-3 tie, the Raiders looked like they netted the winning goal, when centre Breanne Trotter’s dump in from outside the blue-line went into the Express net.

    Referee Michelle Stapleton and linesmen Jessa Drury and Andrea Kosloski had a conference correctly called the goal back due to a delayed offside call. It would have been easy to have let the goal stand as the Raiders were celebrating and one of the Express players made a quiet protest.

    When the game resumed, the Express pulled out a 4-3 victory after a tiebreaking shootout.

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

Leschyshyn delivers for Stars

Saskatoon opens Esso Cup with 2-0 win over Weyburn

Anna Leschyshyn, centre, celebrates scoring for the Stars.

    WEYBURN, Sask. - Anna Leschyshyn is making an ever increasing number of plays when the Saskatoon Stars need them the most.

    In their opening match at the Esso Cup female midget AAA hockey championship tournament on Sunday, the Stars were firing everything including the kitchen sink at Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings goaltender Chantal Burke. With 26.6 seconds to play in the second period, Leschyshyn gathered a rebound during a net scramble and fired the puck five-hole on Burke for a power-play goal while being taken down on the ice.

    Leschyshyn’s goal gave the Stars a 1-0 lead over the Gold Wings, who are the tournament’s host team. Saskatoon added another goal late in the third to skate away with a 2-0 victory at Crescent Point Place.

    “I didn’t really know it went in,” said Leschyshyn. “I was just kind of getting pucks to the net and trying to bang in the rebound and it went in. I was just really excited.”

Anna Leschyshyn (#7) is stopped by goalie Chantal Burke.

    Standing 5-foot-10, you almost forget that Leschyshyn is only 14-years-old. Her smooth skating ability, strong stickhandling and good touch around the net makes her a threat to score every time she is on the ice.

    In 28 regular season games for the Stars, Leschyshyn netted 15 goals and 11 assists to finished third in team scoring in her first full season in the midget AAA ranks. She added another six goals and four assists in 11 games in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs.

    Back on March 26, Leschyshyn potted the equalizer that forced overtime in the Stars 4-3 SFMAAAHL championship series clinching victory against the Diamond Energy Wildcats in Swift Current.

Anna Leschyshyn charges up ice on a rush for the Stars.

    Leschyshyn came through in another key moment in the Stars series clinching win in their Western regional playdown series back on April 2 against the Yellowhead Chiefs in Shoal Lake, Man. The Stars trailed that contest 1-0 until Leschyshyn netted the equalizer 18 seconds into the third period to spark a 3-1 come-from-behind victory.

    Against the Gold Wings on Sunday, Leschyshyn said her side never got discouraged, when Burke kept making save after save. Burke finished the contest turning away 38 shots.

    “We just had to keep getting pucks to the net,” said Leschyshyn. “She (Burke) gives up a lot of rebounds.

    “We just have to crash the net and put those rebounds in.”

    Despite Leschyshyn’s goal, the Gold Wings did push back in the third. Stars standout goaltender Emma Johnson came up with a big 22-save effort to record her fifth shutout of the post-season.

Saskatoon netted a key insurance goal at the 16:50 mark of the third, when Joelle Fiala and Grace Shirley combined to set up Abby Shirley off a hard rush into the offensive zone.

    While the Stars had the majority of the scoring chances, the Gold Wings had a number of opportunities of their own to steal victory. Gold Wings star left-winger Bailee Bourassa, who has committed to joining the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team in the fall, was robbed by Johnson on three different breakaway chances, which included two short-handed opportunities in the second period.

Emma Johnson makes one of her 22 stops for the Stars.

    Leschyshyn potted the winner shortly after Bourassa was turned away on her second short-handed breakaway chance.

    When the dust settled, Leschyshyn said her team was pleased with their tournament opening victory noting the experience of playing at last year’s Esso Cup in Red Deer, where the Stars won a bronze medal, was a big help as well.

    “We are really happy to get the tournament started off with a good win,” said Leschyshyn. “I think we knew what was coming.

    “We had to get the first win out of the way and have a good start to the first game.”

    The Stars return to action on Monday, when they face the Express du Richelieu from Quebec at 3:30 p.m. The host Gold Wings take on the Brantford Ice Cats from Ontario at 7 p.m. All Esso Cup games are being played at Crescent Point Place.

    In other Esso Cup action from Sunday, the Express downed the Bedford, N.S., based Metro Boston Pizza 1-0, and the De Winton, Alta., based Rocky Mountain Raiders slipped past the Ice Cats 2-1.

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

Esso Cup = unfinished business for Stars

Saskatoon shoots for gold at female midget AAA nationals

Joelle Fiala (#27) celebrates scoring a goal for the Stars.

    The heartbreak from a year ago was always in the back of the minds of the Saskatoon Stars.

    In the 2014-15 campaign, the Stars enjoyed a season that came out of a dream. They won the championship at the prestigious Mac’s tournament in Calgary for a second time, captured their first Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship and made their first visit to the Esso Cup national championship tournament. At Esso Cup, they fell 2-1 to the host Red Deer Chiefs in a semifinal match after a tiebreaking shootout.

    Saskatoon proceeded to down the Portage la Prairie based Central Plains Capitals 5-1 in the bronze medal match to complete the campaign with a 45-5 overall record.

    For the 14 players that returned from last season, the memory of the semifinal loss still stings. On March 26, the Stars won their second SFMAAAHL title downing the Diamond Energy Wildcats 4-3 in overtime in Swift Current in Game 4 of the best-of-five league championship series. After that win, Stars captain Danielle Nogier said that her team had its sights on making a trip to Weyburn for this year’s Esso Cup.

Mackenna Parker (#11) led the Stars in scoring.

    “It just fuels our fire winning this, and we are just ready to move forward and go back and get some redemption at the Esso Cup,” said Nogier.

    Unlike a year ago, the province of Quebec decided to send a team to this year’s Esso Cup, which meant the Stars had to travel to Shoal Lake, Man., for a best-of-three Western regional series against the Yellowhead Chiefs. On April 2, they swept that series capped by a 3-1 victory in Game 2.

    With a berth now locked up at the Esso Cup in Weyburn, Stars goaltender Emma Johnson echoed her captain’s statement after the series victory over the Chiefs.

    “I think we want a bit of redemption,” said Johnson. “Last year, we didn’t like the way that we went out losing in a shootout, so it is nice to go back and have a chance to set things right.”

Defender Willow Slobodzian is one of the Stars most dynamic players.

    The fact that the Stars players are talking about redemption is a good thing, because it shows they really believed in their hearts they should have won it all.

    In the overall big picture, the semifinal loss didn’t dampen the story that was the 2014-15 campaign. The Stars in 2013-14 were a respectable 13-11-4 and were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Swift Current. No one could have seen the special season that was to follow.

    Going into this season, the Stars lost their two best players, when 16-year-old forwards Sophie Shirley and Nara Elia elected to join the Notre Dame Hounds club that plays of the Junior Women’s Hockey League. Both are a couple of the best midget aged players in Canada. Shirley would also become a member of Canada’s under-18 team, and she went to a camp with the senior national team.

    Had both or even one of those two players returned, there would have been high expectations for the Stars to return to Esso Cup. With Shirley and Elia no longer in the fold, there were question marks regarding the Stars chances to make it that far. The SFMAAAHL had a number of strong teams, so winning a league title was viewed as a difficult task.

Emma Johnson has been a force in goal for the Stars.

    The Stars still put together an impressive 42-9 overall record to date including action at the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament in Wilcox, Sask., and the Futures Hockey Winter Classic tournament in Winnipeg. They topped the SFMAAAHL regular season standings with a 24-4 mark.

    The remaining players stepped up for Saskatoon. Mackenna Parker, who is a 15-year-old sophomore forward, finished second in SFMAAAHL scoring netting 14 goals and 21 assists in 25 games. Grace Shirley, who is Sophie’s younger sister, finished second in team scoring with 18 goals and 14 assists in 28 games.
    Anna Leschyshyn and Joelle Fiala took flight as 14-year-old rookie forwards. Leschyshyn potted 14 goals and 11 assists in 28 games, while Fiala had six goals and 14 assists in 28 games.

    Offensive defender Willow Slobodzian, who turned 16 in January, still controlled things at the back end leading all Stars rearguards in scoring with three goals and 12 assists.

    The rest of the team’s scoring was spread out through the lineup.

Danielle Nogier aims to lead the Stars to a national title.

    In goal, Johnson was stellar in her 16-year-old campaign posting a 13-4 record, a 1.47 goals against average, a .942 save percentage and three shutouts in the regular season. In the post-season, she showed she was still in money goalie form, especially in the sweep at the Western regional in Shoal Lake stopping 52-of-54 shots fired her way. Many of those stops were of the game-saving variety.

    During the season, the Stars had to show perseverance. They suffered setbacks in the SFMAAAHL semifinal and championship rounds, but didn’t allow those losses to derail their run. In the SFMAAAHL title clinching game, they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to pull out a 4-3 victory.

    In the series clinching game at the Western regional, they were down 1-0 after 40 minutes, but found a way to pull out a 3-1 win backed by a 32- save performance by Johnson in goal.

    Saskatoon opens Esso Cup on Sunday taking on a familiar foe in the host Southern Range Gold Wings at 7 p.m. local time at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn. The Stars eliminated the Gold Wings from the SFMAAAHL playoffs in the semifinal round taking a best-of-five series 3-1. Including action in the regular season, post-season and tournament play, the Stars won six of nine matches with the Gold Wings, who were 18-9-1 in the regular season.

    Captain Bailee Bourassa is a huge offensive threat leading the Gold Wings in scoring with 21 goals and nine assists in 26 games. Defender Madison Solie, who stands 6-feet tall, controlled things on the back end and topped all Gold Wings rearguards in scoring with four goals and 16 assists in 25 games.

Grace Shirley was the Stars second leading scorer as a 14-year-old rookie.

    Saskatoon product Chantal Burke is more than capable of stealing a game in net for the Gold Wings posting a 14-8 record, a 1.58 goals against average, a .935 save percentage and four shutouts in the regular season.

    The six-team field at Esso Cup will play each other once in preliminary round play. The top four teams advance to semifinal matches that are slated for Friday, April 22. The bronze and gold medal games are set for Saturday, April 23.

    The Stars are the only team returning to Esso Cup from a year ago. If they maintain their grit, a national championship might come their way.

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

Hockey Huskies to experience March Madness

Jordon Cooke was named the CIS's goalie of the year.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team will have a different experience at the University Cup compared to their past visits to the national championship tournament.

    The Huskies last appeared at the University Cup as the host team in 2014. That year, the University Cup ran under its long time traditional six-team format. The competing teams were played in two pools of three and the first place team in each pool advanced to the title game after round robin competition within the pool.

    That format often at times could be confusing to follow. If a team lost its first game by a goal, that club still had a chance to make the final. You had to hope the team that beat you lost its next game, and you usually had to win your last round-robin game in blowout fashion to make the title contest.

    It often took a university’s best math ace to figure out the goal spread that was needed in that final contest to advance.

    Last year, the University Cup converted over to a final-eight format that is often used for various other sports in Canadian Interuniversity Sport and down in the United States in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. That means the eight-team field plays single elimination games through a quarter-final, semifinal and championship final rounds.

    The Huskies were eliminated in the first round of the Canada West playoffs last season, so they weren’t part of the University Cup tournament.

    This year they will get their first taste of a hockey style March Madness at nationals hosted in Halifax, N.S.

    U of S is the second seed and will face the seventh seeded Carleton University Ravens in one quarter-final match on Thursday.

    The Huskies, who are making their 17^th appearance at nationals, topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 record and claimed the Canada West championships with four straight post-season wins. The Ravens were 20-8 in the regular season, have gone 5-2 in the post-season so far and won a bronze medal in the Ontario University Athletics conference playoffs.

Kohl Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team.

    An elite-eight tournament is easy to follow, because every team knows you win you move on, or you lose and you have no chance to make the final. If you fall in the semifinal round, you can still play for a bronze medal.

    Most players on the Huskies have limited experience playing in this type of tournament. As their roster is made up players main from the major junior ranks and also members of the junior A ranks, those players are more used to best-of-seven series. The best-of-three series that are played in conference playoffs usually feel like the post-season on speed.

    Single elimination leads to a possibility of a hot goaltender or a strange goal creating an upset. In extra time, the joy of victory becomes that much more heightened, while the agony of defeat is that much more training. The drama also increases, if a game’s finish comes during that stage.

    For now, the Huskies, or any of the other seven competing teams, can’t look past their quarter-final games.

    If the Huskies prevail on Thursday, they will advance to one of Saturday’s semifinals to face the winner of the quarter-final match between the third seeded St. Francis Xavier University X-Men and the sixth seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears. U of A has won the last two University Cups.

    The University Cup final is set for Sunday (5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).

    Before the quarter-final round starts, a couple of Huskies picked up individual honours on Wednesday. Jordon Cooke was named the CIS goaltender of the year and a first team all-Canadian all-star. Forward Kohl Bauml was named to the CIS all-rookie team.

Flinton collects all-Canadian honour

Julia Flinton was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

    Julia Flinton collected one last accolade to further cap her five-year career with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The Williams Lake, B.C., product was named a first team all-Canadian all-star at the CIS women’s hockey awards night held on Wednesday in Calgary, where the CIS women’s tournament will run Thursday to Sunday.

    Flinton led all CIS defenders in scoring netting four goals and 22 assists in 28 games. She also posted a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department.

    During her career, Flinton was named a Canada West first team all-star twice, a Canada West second team all-star once, and she made the tournament all-star team at the 2014 CIS championship tournament, where the Huskies won a bronze medal. She was also a member of Canada’s FISU games team in 2015.

    Flinton leaves the Huskies as their all-time career leader in assists with 66 helpers and their fourth all-time leading scorer with 80 points in 131 games. Besides having a spectacular finesse game, Flinton was also tough and departs the Huskies as their all-time career leader in penalty minutes with 176 thanks to taking the odd infraction for bodychecking.

Hoop Dogs aim to capture elusive national crown

Laura Dally received all-star honours.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team hopes this year’s trip to nationals will finally be a golden one.

    The Huskies are making their eighth trip in the last nine years to the CIS championship tournament. In the previous seven visits, they made the championship final once falling 63-49 to the University of Windsor Lancers in 2011. That started a run of five straight CIS titles for the Lancers, who did not qualify for this year’s national championship tournament that will be held in Fredericton, N.B.

    U of S is seeded second in the elite-eight tourney and faces the seventh seeded U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in a quarter-final match on Thursday. The Huskies topped the Canada West standings with an 18-2 record and captured their third conference championship in six years winning four straight post-season games. They downed the U of Regina Cougars 73-62 in the Canada West final.

    The Gee-Gees topped the OUA standings with a 17-2 record, but fell in the conference title game to the Ryerson University Rams 66-60.

    If the Huskies win their quarter-final, they will advance to a semifinal contest on Saturday to take on the winner of the match between the third seeded Saint Mary’s University Huskies and the sixth seeded U of Alberta Pandas.

    The CIS final is set for Sunday (12 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet 360).

    On Wednesday, fifth-year Huskies guard Laura Dally was named a first team all-Canadian all-star.

Stars return to SFMAAAHL final

Joelle Fiala had a goal and an assist on Tuesday for the Stars.

    The Saskatoon Stars will try to keep the Fedoruk Cup in Saskatoon.

    Saskatoon returned to the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series for a second straight year after knocking off the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 2-0 in Weyburn on Tuesday. The Stars claimed the best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the two clubs 3-1.

    Joelle Fiala and Grace Shirley accounted for all of Saskatoon’s offence in the series clincher each picking up a goal and an assist. Emma Johnson made 26 saves to earn her sixth career SFMAAAHL playoff shutout.

    Chantal Burke turned away 21 shots taking the loss in goal for Weyburn.

    The Stars will face the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in the best-of-five league championship series. The dates of the games are still to be announced.

    The Wildcats semifinal series with the Prince Albert A & W Bears went to a deciding fifth game on Wednesday in Swift Current. The hosts prevailed 2-1 in double overtime against the visiting Bears thanks to a breakaway winner by Josee Casavant.

    The Bears thought they netted the winner in the first overtime, but the goal was waved off.

    Saskatoon claimed last year’s SFMAAAHL title sweeping a best-of-five series with the Bears 3-0.

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Puck luck shines Stars way

Stars forward Jordyn Gerlitz hugs overtime hero Mackenna Parker (#11).

    The Saskatoon Stars won’t complain if a break or two falls their way.

    On Sunday night at the Agriplace Arena, the Stars cashed in on a Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings giveaway to pull out a 3-2 double overtime victory in Game 3 of a best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series between the two clubs.

    At the 3:58 mark of a second overtime period, a Gold Wings defender coughed the puck up to Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn. Leschyshyn got the puck to linemate Julia Rongve, who fed a beauty pass across the face of the Weyburn goal to Mackenna Parker. Parker tapped home her sixth goal of the post-season to win the contest for the defending SFMAAAHL champs.

    The victory allows the Stars to take a 2-1 lead in the series. They will try to wrap the series up in Game 4 on Tuesday in Weyburn.

    Saskatoon entered play Sunday looking to bounce back from a 1-0 double overtime setback on Friday in Weyburn. In Sunday’s encounter, the Stars came out with a lot of early pressure.

    They broke through on the scoreboard with three minutes to play in the first period, when 14-year-old forward Joelle Fiala wired a shot through a screen to the top corner of the Weyburn goal.

Stars goalie Emma Johnson robs Gold Wings forward Bailee Bourassa.

    Just 77 seconds later, Saskatoon went ahead 2-0 on what appeared to be a phantom goal. Offensive defender Willow Slobodzian fired a shot on net that disturbed the water bottle that sat on top of the Weyburn goal.

    It appeared the shot grazed the top of the bottle, but the officials said the puck went into the net after a lengthy conference discussion.

    The lead evaporated in the second period, when Weyburn forward Bailee Bourassa netted a couple of tallies late in the frame to force a 2-2 tie. Bourassa, who has committed to play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team next season, wired home the equalizer from the slot through a screen, while her squad was on the power play.

    Late in the third, a break went Weyburn’s way to allow the game to get to overtime. With the Stars pressing for the go-ahead goal during a net scramble around the Weyburn net, Bourassa covered the puck up with her hand in the crease to freeze play. A penalty shot should have been awarded, but the officials whistled the play dead for an offensive zone faceoff.

Mackenna Parker circles in the offensive zone for the Stars.

    In the first overtime period, Bourassa had a huge chance to win the game for the visitors, but she was robbed in close by Stars netminder Emma Johnson. Saskatoon then took the contest with Parker’s tally in the second extra session.

    Johnson made 27 stops to earn the win in goal for the Stars. Chantal Burke turned away 40 shots in another stellar effort in goal for Weyburn.

    In the other SFMAAAHL best-of-five semifinal series, the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats dumped the Prince Albert A & W Bears 6-0 in Game 3 on Saturday in Swift Current. The Wildcats lead that series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Monday in Prince Albert.

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Stars clip Wings in Game 1

The Stars celebrate a third period goal from Jordyn Holmes, right.

    A tougher opponent proved to be no problem at all for the Saskatoon Stars.

    The Stars opened their best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series with a 5-0 victory over the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings at the Agriplace Arena on Monday night.

    In the quarter-final round, the Stars swept a best-of-five series 3-0 against the Battlefords Sharks, who were 3-23-2 during the regular season. The Stars outscored the Sharks 28-3 in that series.

    Weyburn finished fourth overall in the SFMAAAHL regular season with an 18-9-1 record, and the Gold Wings are still expected to give the Stars, who topped the league regular season standings with a 24-4 record, a tough test. The Gold Wings also host the Esso Cup national championship tournament in April.

    In Monday’s series opener, the Stars jumped ahead 1-0 at the 11:14 mark of the first period on what appeared to be a lucky break goal by Rayna Jacobson. The officials weren’t sure Jacobson poked the puck in the net during a scrum of sticks around the Weyburn goal, but they awarded a tally after a conference discussion.

    With 61 seconds to play in the first, Julia Rongve put the Stars up 2-0 on a wraparound, where the puck just trickled out from under Gold Wings goalie Chantel Burke into the net.

Mackenna Parker potted the Stars third goal in their win on Monday.

    Mackenna Parker, who was the second leading scorer in the SFMAAAHL, put the Stars up 3-0 early in the second. Abby Shirley converted a fancy passing play from linemates Grace Shirley and Joelle Fiala to give the Stars a 4-0 edge heading into the second intermission.

    Jordyn Holmes added Saskatoon’s final goal late in the third.

    Emma Johnson made 14 stops to earn her fifth career shutout in SFMAAAHL post-season play for Saskatoon. Chantal Burke turned away 40 shots taking the loss in goal for Weyburn.

    The Stars and Gold Wings will go at it again in Game 2 of the series on Friday in Weyburn. Game 3 is set for Sunday at 4:45 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena. If necessary, Game 4 is set for Tuesday, March 15 in Weyburn and Game 5 would be on Wednesday, March 16 at the Agriplace Arena at a time to be determined.

    Saskatoon won three of the four games against Weyburn in the regular season.

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