Huskies This Week2012-02-08

CANADA WEST WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The University of Saskatchewan Huskie wrestling teams look to finish at the top of the pack at the 2012 Canada West Championship.

Saskatchewan's men had a heartbreaking finish as hosts of the annual dual format championship last season finishing in second, just points away from the conference title. The women proved to be strong finishing in third.

Leading the way for the Huskies on the men's side will be reigning champion in the 72-kg weight class Ryan Myrfield. Myrfield won his second Canada West gold medal in 2011 and added another gold at the CIS Championship. In 2009, he was named the CIS Male Rookie of the Year after upsetting a veteran athlete for the gold medal.

To help Myrfield in CIS experience is Landon Squires (90-kg), Dylan Bray (57-kg) and Theo Dow (61-kg). Squires captured a Canada West gold medal in his second season last year, improving on his silver from his rookie season. Bray and Dow each made an impression on the conference in their rookie year capturing silver medals.

Just three three Huskie women's team members have experience at the Canada West Championship level. Both Natasha Kramble (51-kg) and Kathleen Kent (59-kg) finished with gold medals in the conference in 2011, while Koren Pitkethly (55-kg) earned a silver last year. The three each had success on the CIS stage in 2011 with Pitkethly finishing with a silver and Kramble and Kent with bronze medals.

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WOMEN'S HOCKEY LOOK TO SECURE A PLAYOFF SPOT

The University of Saskatchewan Huskie women's hockey team will look to lockdown a spot in the playoffs on the final weekend of the Canada West regular season.

Entering the weekend in fourth place, the Huskies (14-6-2) need to win at least one game against the T-Birds (1-19-2) to ensure a date in the playoffs. Winning twice could put the Huskies in second or third depending on the outcome of the Regina Cougars-Alberta Pandas series. The Pandas sit ahead of the Huskies with one point and two wins would put second place out of reach for Saskatchewan.

The Lethbridge Pronghorns, ahead of the Huskies in the standings due to conference tiebreaking rules, stays stagnate in the final weekend. The Manitoba Bisons could also leapfrog the Huskies, if the Bisons win both games against the Calgary Dinos and Saskatchewan loses both games to UBC. The Calgary Dinos clinched first with two wins over the Huskies last weekend.

The Huskies will honour the seven fifth-year athletes on the squad in a postgame ceremony Saturday. The fifth-year athletes include Kristen Bews, Breanne George, Kelsey Fenton, Vanessa Frederick, Julie Paetsch, Kelsey Tulloch and Sara White.

The UBC Thunderbirds will hit Rutherford Rink Friday and Saturday. Puck drop is 7 p.m. each night at Rutherford Rink. For tickets visit huskies.usask.ca or call 306-966-1111.

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BASKETBALL TEAMS HAVE CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOTS

The men's and women's basketball teams have both clinched berths into the post season.  Each team has three home games left in the regular season, two against Manitoba and one against Regina.

The women need to win two out of their last three games to capture second place in Canada West.  If they manage this they will host quarter-finals. 

The men have secured a home quarter-final series February 24, 25 and 26 and can finish no worse than second in the Prairie Division.  With two more wins they will secure first place. 

Tickets are available for this weekends games against the Bison. Call the Huskie ticket hotline at 966-1111 or go online to huskies.usask.ca.

100 COMMUNITIES CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

With the help of 1,500 Prince Albert students, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies launched the Huskie Centennial Walk on Tuesday.
 
The 2011-12 Huskie season marks one hundred years of Huskie Athletics at the University of Saskatchewan.  To celebrate this milestone, Huskie Athletics is asking Saskatchewan communities to join us in a province-wide initiative with a goal to have 100 Communities Celebrating 100 Years of Huskies!

The Centennial Walk initiative will run from February 1st - March 31st in communities all across Saskatchewan.  To join the celebration, register your community for a Huskie Centennial Walk.  A 'community' can be any school, association, neighborhood, or sports team. Every participating community will also receive a limited edition Huskie Centennial fan package and access to online resources to help execute a successful event.

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TRACK AND FIELD WIN FIVE MEDALS AT BISON CLASSIC

The University of Saskatchewan Huskie track & field team returned home with five medals from the Bison Classic in Winnipeg on the weekend.

Fifth-year Jodi Souter added another gold to her career tally in the 3,000-metres clocking in at 9:49.05, while the 4X200-metre relay team of Morgan Swatsky, Sharai Siemens, Katrin Ritchie and Veronika Smits also snagged gold in a time of 1:39.68.

Elecktra Charles, Julene Friesen, Amanda Banks and Brittany Elliott reached CIS standard in the 4X800-metre relay, winning silver in a time of 9:06.58. Davis Guenther also brought home silver in a time of 2:29.9 in the 1000-metre race.

Lauren Taylor won bronze in high jump clearing 1.60-metres.

Saskatchewan travelled with a shortened roster to the event.

The Huskies will compete at the Queen City Open in Regina next weekend. It will be the last meet before the University of Saskatchewan hosts the Canada West Championship February 24-25 at the Saskatoon Field House.

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AWAY TEAMS UPDATE

The volleyball teams are on the road this weekend to play their last game of the season against the Manitoba Bison.  Both the men's and women's games will be webcast.  You can watch by going to canadawest.tv.

The men's hockey team is heading out west for a weekend series againss the UBC Thunderbirds.  The Huskies have already secured a playoff spot.  With wins in their final four games the men could finish as high as first place.  This would give them a bye through the first round of playoffs.  If the team loses two games the will most likely finish in third or fourth.  This would mean that the team would host quarter finals February 24, 25 and 26.

For full game recaps and stats visit huskies.usask.ca this weekend!

WEEK 19 - TOP 100 MOMENTS

100 memories... 100 moments... 100 Years of Huskie Athletics

Each Monday, Huskie Athletics will release a series of moments with the Top 10 being released at the Huskie Centennial Reunion Banquet March 31. Dig into your memory bank and share your greatest Huskie memories, stories, and photos because We Are All Huskies!

Moment #81 - All In The Family
Moment #85 - The Love Connection
Moment #96 -  Banana Splits

Watch them now!