HUSKIES SWEEP GOLDEN BEARS TO CLAIM CWUAA TITLE
The 2016 Canada West playoffs ended last weekend as the University of Saskatchewan Huskies swept the University of Alberta Golden Bears to claim the 16th CWUAA title in program history. The Huskies will look for a national title March 17th-20th as they enter the 2016 CIS University Cup as CWUAA champions. The Golden Bears, as CWUAA runner-ups, also earn a berth to the big dance.
The Huskies had 14 WHL graduates help propel them to 4-0 (Game 1) and 3-2 (Game 2) wins over the perennially dominant Golden Bears in the CWUAA Final. Saskatchewan will be looking for its first national title since 1983 in Halifax, while Alberta and its 22 WHL grads have a chance to make it three straight University Cup wins.
Following the game, the Huskies honoured the memory of a former teammate in WHL graduate Cody Smuk by inviting his family and fiancée onto the ice to join the celebration. Smuk, 26, passed away after a year-long battle with cancer last June.
Both semi-finals and the 2016 CIS University Cup Final will air live on Sportsnet and TVA Sports on March 19th and 20th, respectively.
WHL Grads Earn CWUAA Awards
Prior to the CWUAA Final, the conference handed out its annual awards, and WHL graduates swept every category.
Former Kelowna Rocket Jordon Cooke was named both the CWUAA’s Goaltener of the Year and Outstanding Player. Cooke posted a .921 save percentage and 19-5-0 record – both tops in Canada West. Cooke was the driving force behind Saskatchewan’s turnaround season, as the Huskies finished 21 points better in the standings compared to a year ago. Also, his 19 wins set a new program single-season program record for victories.
Cooke is the first goaltender in more than two decades to win the conference outstanding player award, and is looking to become the first netminder since UQTR’s Luc Belanger in 1998-99 to win the Sullivan Trophy as CIS men’s hockey top player.
Former Everett Silvertip Kohl Bauml was named conference’s rookie of the year after leading Canada West in rookie scoring with 33 points (12G-21A) in 28 games.
Bauml finished fourth in overall league scoring and was the driving force behind Saskatchewan’s first-year phenom line, which also featured WHL grads Levi Cable (28 points) and Andrew Johnson (26 points), who finished second and third in the rookie scoring race respectively. Bauml becomes the first Huskie to lead Canada West in rookie scoring since Jimmy Bubnick tallied 24 points in 2012-13.
Fifth-year Golden Bear Jordan Rowley was named the conference’s top defencemen after leading the conference in defencemen scoring with 24 points in 25 games.
2015-16 marked the third consecutive season that Rowley finished inside the top three in defencemen scoring, as the former Prince Albert Raider wrapped up his five-year Canada West career with 91 points in 127 regular season games.
Kootenay ICE and Medicine Hat Tigers grad Elgin Pearce earned the CWUAA award for sportsmanship and ability, leading his team in scoring in 2015-16 with 27 points, while taking just 14 penalty minutes in 28 games played.
This season marked the second consecutive UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy win for Pearce, who ranked third last season in conference goal scoring (17). For his Canada West career, Pearce has registered 63 points in 66 regular season games.
After a brief stint with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, goaltender Dylan Tait joined the University of Lethbridge and has now earned the prestigious Randy Gregg Award for hockey, academics and community service in his fifth season. Tait achieved the best statistical season of his five-year Canada West career in 2015-16, finishing with a 6-9-1 record and third in the league in save percentage (0.918) and total saves (512).
The veteran netminder accomplished this career season after making an improbable comeback from cancer treatment, after being diagnosed with testicular cancer last season.
In the classroom, Tait boasts a 3.70 cumulative GPA while pursuing a combined degree in Kinesiology and Psychology and has been an academic All-Canadian during his first four seasons with the Pronghorns. He continued his academic excellence during last year despite going through six rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, which spanned more than half of the academic year.
Tait volunteers extensively with the Jr. Horns program and minor hockey teams in Lethbridge, while also working tirelessly to raise cancer awareness.
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