BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – As of late Sunday night, seven of the eight playoff teams were decided for this year’s run to the Telus Cup West Regional tournament in Regina. After a wild weekend of games, here’s what we know for sure: The Regina Pat Canadians claimed top spot in the regular season and […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – One week remains in the regular season and several pieces to the playoff puzzle are missing. “It’s going to be an interesting week,” quipped Martin Smith, Battlefords Stars head coach, who is underselling how wild the game of musical chairs could be in the next few days. Here are the […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – In every regular season, in every sport – there are a handful of games that stand-out for being memorable. Well, Sunday afternoon at Merlis Belsher Place the SMAAAHL had one of those games. On an afternoon when the Saskatoon Contacts honoured Mr. Mac (Jim McIntyre) for being the heart and […]
A new #1 team… AND the Insiders’ Panel highlights some of the teams that could upset the heavy favourites in the playoffs… BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – Change is the key word to describe the last regular-season Power Rankings before the playoffs start on February 28. For the first time this year, we have a […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – When I was a young sports journalist in Edmonton many, many years ago, I was very fortunate to learn the trade from some of the best reporters in the country. This column is a throwback to those days – as I empty my notebook of interesting facts and tidbits from […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – The majority of the teams in the SMAAAHL only have 11 or 12 games remaining in the regular season. With so many key playoff races underway, here at five thoughts to consider with just five weeks remaining in the regular season. Log jam for the final two playoff spots: Six […]
Playoff dates are now set… Wild week of upsets… Logjam for the final four playoff spots… BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – The playoff battle to win the national championship will start with the SMAAAHL quarter-finals on Feb. 28th. With six weeks remaining in the regular season, dates for all playoff rounds were set this weekend: […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – The all-star team consists of players from three different clubs with the Saskatoon Blazers claiming three spots. The team features one goalie and the five most-impactful players – regardless of position. Skaters: Kade Hughes – Grande Peace Storm: Quite simply, Hughes could take over the play on nearly any shift. His combination […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – If you spend a few minutes in the tunnels under the concourse at Merlis Belsher Place this week during the Saskatchewan Hockey Classic, you quickly realize the different styles of coaching. I asked three head coaches for their answers to two important questions: What is the most important factor in […]
BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – Ryan Keller has the perfect marketing slogan for the Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland: “It’s a very cool experience… it should be on every hockey fan’s bucket list.” The current Saskatoon Contacts head coach played for Team Canada in the 2007 tournament and still has vivid memories from scoring […]
