BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – Teams from across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern Ontario have been preparing all year for this exact week. The four-day Telus Cup Western Regional tournament begins Thursday in the Queen City with the Regina Pat Canadians, Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors, Winnipeg Bruins and Thunder Bay Kings battling for the title – […]

BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – The Regina Pat Canadians and Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors have played each other five times this year, with each contest a one-goal game. As the teams prepare for Game 2 of the U18 AAA provincial final on Monday night in the Band City, a deeper dive on the rosters gives […]

BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – Knock on wood: the Regina Pat Canadians are rolling through the playoffs with precision and efficiency. The statistics show the Pat Cs have won six straight in sweeping their first and second-round opponents. But behind those scores, the story is even more impressive. Rest and days-off: the Pat Cs had […]

BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – In the span of one hour in two different cities in two different leagues, the semi-final round of the SMAAAHL playoffs became clear late Sunday night In Swift Current, Brendan Jones and Gunner Moore combined to score four unanswered goals to lead the visiting Bears to a convincing 6-2 victory […]

BY Jonathan Huntington SASKATOON – Top five thoughts after the opening weekend of the SMAAAHL playoffs… The biggest storyline is developing in the WHL – not the SMAAAHL. The status of Maddox Schultz – the 15-year-old phenom for the Regina Pats and the Regina Pat Canadians – is unknown after he was injured Saturday night […]

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 […]