AUS-ome Hockey

The Huskies were national champions in 2010, the third CIS title in four years for the AUS in Men's Hockey. (photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

by Joel MacDougall

It boasts the defending National Champions, the # 1 ranked team for most of last year and and five teams that have been ranked in the Top Ten this year, and its teams have just recently finished a successful Hoiliday exhibition season. The Atlantic University Sport Conference has become the powerhouse of university hockey in the country.

The UNB Varisty Reds have been the class of CIS Hockey for the past few seasons. They were a favourite to claim the National Championship last year, and third title in four years, before they were upset by St. FX X-Men in the playoffs. This parity or ability of practically any team (sorry STU, not yet) to win on any given night is a trademark of the toughest conference in university hockey.

Last year, following the upset of the V-Reds, it was the Saint Mary’s Huskies that went on to capture the National Championship. The fourth National Championship in seven years for the AUS.

This season has seen the favourites take their usual spots at the top of the conference. UNB leads the way with an 11-4-0 record, while Saint Mary’s is right behind them with a 10-4-1 mark.

But the comfort zone between them and the next set of teams has all but been erased.

Despite not being able to regain the #1 spot in the country (yet), UNB has defeated the top ranked Alberta Golden Bears and the McGill Redmen, who have flip-flopped with the V-Reds for #2 all year.

Coming off the National Championship last year, Saint Mary’s has continued its strong play and has remained firmly in the middle of the Top Ten National rankings all year, moving up or down on occassion.

The UPEI Panthers have come out in the first half and posted a 9-4-2 record to sit third in the conference. Not even mentioned in the early season national rankings, UPEI has held a permanent spot in the Top Ten since November.

ST. FX was ranked fourth in the country prior to the season, but streaky play has seen them lose that spot in the Top Ten. They held on to the National ranking early on, thanks in large part to a four game winning streak to start the year. The X-Men tumbled out of the Top Ten by dropping the next six straight. That was followed by a three-game winning streak and splitting the final two games before the Holiday break.

Over the break, the X-Men defeated the #3 ranked McGill Redmen in men’s hockey to capture the fifth annual Keating Cup Challenge in Antigonish. The X-Men proved last year that they can knock off the top teams, it just seems a matter of being hot at the right time, or improving their consistency.

The Dalhousie Tigers came into the year looking to take a leap forward in their competitive level. Early on the Tigers struggled to string together succesful outings and couldn’t score enough. Dal seemed to find their stride late in November though, posting a 4-1 record in their last five games, including victories over nationally ranked UNB, Saint Mary’s and UPEI. See? Any team, any night.

The story is much the same for the Acadia Axemen, who have posted a solid 7-6-2 record so far. That may not seem overly impressive, but it has them only six points back of UNB and includes a couple big wins. The weekend before the break saw the Axemen defeat both the V-Reds and UPEI, proving once again that on any given night…yadda yadda yadda.

UNB will host this year’s National Championship tournament March 24 – 27, and that will allow for a second AUS representative. Now, I suppose the smart money is on Saint Mary’s and UPEI to battle for that spot, but it seems like it could come down to who gets hot at the right time. Just as St. FX ousted UNB last year, could it be Acadia or Dal that does the same this year?

Regardless, the second half of the AUS hockey schedule proves to be hard fought as teams position themselves for the playoffs. Currently only six points seperates sixth from first.

Joel MacDougall lives in Halifax and writes about all sports local and abroad. Follow him on twitter @jmdougall and check out his blog, www.route19.wordpress.com.

Moosehead's Terenzio is QMJHL First Star

Anthonu Terenzio made a case this past week to be the Herd's number one Goaltender

by Joel MacDougall

Goaltender Anthony Terenzio and forwards Brandon Hynes and Jean-Gabriel Pageau were named today the TELUS three stars of the week for the period extending from December 13 to 19.

Anthony Terenzio is the first star of the week. The Halifax Moosehead’s backstop collected three wins in three games with stellar performances in Moncton and in Acadie-Bathurst. He also earned another win at home versus the Titan on Saturday. He finished the week with a 0.86 goals-against-average and .971 save percentage by stopping 68 of the 70 shots he faced. Terenzio earned a star in the two games that he started.

Terenzio, a sixth round pick in this year’s QMJHL draft, came into the year as the back-up to the incumbent, Mathieu Corbeil (4th Rd Columbus, 2010). After some early season struggles by Corbeil, as well some heath issues, Terenzio has been getting a few more opportunities to play. His numbers have improved since the start of the year, culminating in the a hot week in December.

It would certainly not hurt the Mooseheads to have a bit of goaltender controversy, provided it is prompted by the stellar play of Terenzio. One goalie pushing the other can help win games.

Victoriaville Tigers right-winger Brandon Hynes is the second star of the week. The forward registered 4 goals and 3 helpers for a total of 7 points while posting an exceptional +7 rating in two wins against the Huskies and the Foreurs. He was also named the second star of the game last Saturday in Rouyn-Noranda.

Finally, Gatineau Olympiques forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the third star following a stretch in which the Olympiques collected an impressive three wins. He recorded 4 goals and 4 assists for a total of 8 points. Pageau also managed to maintain a +6 rating. Last week, he won the Olympiques’ mid-season offensive player award.

Joel MacDougall lives in Halifax. Check out his blog www.route19.wordpress.com and follow hime on twitter @jmdougall.

Fielder of Dreams Could Be Reality for Jays

Haligonia Sport's contributor Joel MacDougall thinks the Jays should plan to make a bid for Prince Fielder in 2012.

by Joel MacDougall

This year’s offseason has seen the Toronto Bluejays make some moves on the periphery. Trading away your opening day starter is never insignificant, but neither does it rank up there with the acquisitions of Crawford and Gonzalez in Boston or Cliff Lee spurrning the Yankees to join, quite arugably, one of the greatest rotations of all time in Philadelphia.

The Jays apparently showed considerable interest in the young Royals hurler Zack Grienke. The 27-year-old former Cy Young award winner would have immediately strenghtened the Jays starting rotation. More importantly though, Grienke could have provided top-end depth into the future. Ultimately the price in terms of prospects may have been to high.

Despite the fact that the Jays will be able to field a young team that showed promise last season and hopes to build on that, they are probably won’t be a serious playoff contender until 2012. General manager Alex Anthopolous, has expressed the opinion that the team is likely one big piece away, and I believe that piece could be found next off-season.

Since taking over the club last offseason, Anthopolous has made it a priority to build the team from the farm system up. Gone are the days of the quick fix, and signing high-priced, veteran free agents to try and compete despite young depth. Now the theory is to build a solid team through the draft and acquiring young, controllable players. As the core develops, money can be spent on free agents if it is beleived to push the already solid young core over the top.

So far, the plan seems to be moving along smoothly. Anthopolous has made some shrewd moves to turn organizational weaknesses into strengths. It all began with the Halladay deal, which saw the Jays acquire high-end prospects SP Kyle Drabek, C Travis D’Arnaud, and 1B Brett Wallace. Wallace was later shipped to Houston for OF Anthony Gose, whom the Astros had acquired from the Phillies and the Jays had apparently coveted in the Halladay deal.

The future at shortstop in Toronto had been in question for years, but was addressed by Anthopolous’ aggressive pursuit of Cuban prospect, Adeiny Hechavarria. The Jays were able to sign the standout Cuban depsite competing against the Evil Empire of the New York Yankees. They also came close, but were ultimately outbid by the Reds on Cuban pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman.

A less earth-shaking signing on a short-term solution at shortstop, has since provided further promise at the position. Alex Gonzalez was signed last offseason to provide solid defense and the occassional base hit, until a longer-term solution like Hechavarria was ready down the road. But after a great start to the year Gonzalez became something of a hot commodity for playoff contenders looking for an upgrade. Gonzalez was sent, along with a couple minor league pitchers, to Atlanta for Yunel Escobar, who had been underperforming, but seemed to find new life as a Blue Jay.

The Jays biggest strength right now is a talented, young pitching staff. The 2011 opening day rotation has the first four spots penciled in as Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Brett Cecil, and likely the aforemention Kyle Drabek is ready to make the jump. Morrow was acquired from the Mariniers in another smart move by Anthopolous. Despite amazing stuff Morrow was never given a consistent role in Seattle, but once he took the hill every fifth day in Toronto, his promise quickly became reality.

This strength allowed the Jays to move Shaun Marcum, the veteran of a young staff, for another top prospect, Brett Lawrie, who could help fill an infield position or be moved to the outfield. He most recently played secondbase in the Brewers system. Though some question his defensive ability to remain in the infield, he could move to fill the Jays hole at third, or facilitate Aaron Hill moving there.

So looking ahead, where do the Blue Jays major holes lie? The pitching staff is young, but very talented and not far from reaching full potential. Pacific Coast League MVP, J.P. Arencibia looks ready for consistent playing time in the bigs mentored by Jose Molina. Escobar and Hill form a solid middle infield, with good offensive ability provided Hill regains his form. The outfield will be manned by Vernon Wells and Travis Snider and possibly Homerun champ Jose Bautista and DH Adam Lind. Bautista could see time at thirdbase depending on where the greater need exists and Lind is going to be given a chance to fill the void at firstbase. These temporary solutions are indications of where the holes are: the corner infield.

This year will be preparation though. Romero will offically take the role of ace. Morrow will see if the leaps he made last year continue with a consistent role. Escobar and Hill will have a full year together in the field and need to produce with the bat as well. Snider has another year of experience and could be that much closer to realizing his full potential. Ultimately, I think the Jays will fall just shy of the postseason to the Redsox and Yankees, despite a competitive year with a lot of positives.

What is one the one piece that they could acquire next offseason to push them over the top?

Prince Fielder.

A free agent after this year, it would be a miracle if the Scott Boras client didn’t test the free agent waters. He will certainly garner interest and the money will be high. But there is one thing that might help keep the salary within the Jays range; AL East divisional rivals, and perennial big-money free agent spenders Boston and New York have already locked up high-priced first basemen, and will not likely be involved.

Anthopolous has said that ownership is willing to spend, but it is a matter of getting the team to a point where it is worthwhile to do so. With no real blue-chip prospects for the position in the minors, it would make sense that if they were going to spend on any position (other than pitching) it would be first base.

Of course, Albert Pujols is also a free agent, but if he isn’t re-signed by St. Louis I will be shocked and I doubt that Toronto would be able to land him. I actually refuse to even consider the option as I feel it will only lead to disappointment.

Joel MacDougall lives in Halifax and writes about all sports. Check out his website www.route19.wordpress.com and follow him on twitter @jmdougall

Rainmen Working Out Kinks In Preseason

Fan favourite Eric Crookshank will be the sixth man this season for the Rainmen

by Peter Clarke

THE GIST OF IT

Halifax has seen its first glimpse of the 2011 Halifax Rainmen and they surprised a lot of people, newcomers and devoted fans alike.

Halifax’s basketball team held two pre-season home-openers at the Metro Centre this week.

Thursday night saw an unprecedented number of fans thanks to all the free tickets given away in a move to spark interest in the team as they faced off against their new Maritime rivals, the Saint John Mill Rats who moved here from Manchester, New Hampshire.

Friday evening brought the Quebec Kebs to town to play in front of a much smaller crowd, which is to be expected for preseason.

The Rainmen are a very different group this season after an almost complete roster overhaul. The holdouts are Devin Norris, Desmond Ferguson and Eric Crookshank but more on that later.

Rainmen owner Andre Levingston has added some talented players to fill the gaps in this seasons roster and give the Rainmen multiple options on the floor.

WHO DID IT

At the power forward spot, Levingston added 6’7” Josh Dollard. He’s a skilled big man that gives Halifax some much-needed fines in the paint and he has showed he can step out of the paint and knock down the mid-to-long range jumpers too.

At point guard, the Rainmen acquired a 5’7” sparkplug in Tajuan Porter whose speed and ultra-smooth stroke from the three-point line are going to make him tough to defend, despite his size. Porter is the University of Oregon’s all-time best three-point shooter and set a Pac-10 season record for it as a freshman in 2006-07.

One interesting dynamic for the Rainmen this year is fan-favourite Eric Crookshank, who brings his explosive energy of the bench. Number 20 looks like he could thrive in this role. In the game versus Saint John, Crookshank came into the game with six minutes left in the first quarter and he immediately changed the game with a high energy put-back and big-time assist in transition. The Rainmen will likely rely on his energy all season to help fill the scoring gaps and to pull down rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

It’s pre-season so a little rust is to be expected right? Even the Miami Heat took until December to show that they can win.

In their loss to Saint John on Thursday, it really came down to the fourth quarter where the wheels fell off the wagon.

The boys were trying to do it all themselves and it resulted in a lot of isolation plays that ended up in bricks and misses. Their transition game looked a little sloppy too and they just couldn’t seem to find the right spots on the break.

That trend carried into Friday night as they committed 17 turnovers in the first half alone. They really turned it around, though, in the fourth against Quebec. They were sharing the ball and getting players in their right spots. That energy and teamwork is what won the game for the Rainmen – that and a sizzling hot fourth quarter by guards Mike Mercer and Tajuan Porter.

With all that in mind, this Rainmen squad has really only been together for a matter of days but you can see that they are starting to learn a little about each other. Expect smoother offense and better team play in January when they kick off their season.

HECKLER’S ROW BURN OF THE WEEK

“Hey Cordell, one more demotion and you’ll be back in high school!” – Addressed to Quebec Kebs forward Cordell Jeanty

Peter Clarke lives in Halifax and is a Journalism graduate from Kings University. Check out his website at www.rainmen.kingsjournalism.com

Rainmen Gameday; The PBL Maritime Rivalry Begins Tonight on Haligonia

Eric "Air Canada" Crookshank is back as the face of the Rainmen franchise.

The Halifax Rainmen kick off their 2010/2011 PBL season with a highly anticipated exhibition game tonight at the Metro Centre vs. the Saint John Millrats.

The game will be webcast on haligonia.ca, the webcasting home of the Rainmen.

The Millrats moved to the "port city" in New Brunswick from Manchester, New Hampshire. The details of the planned move were first revealed by Haligonia Sports' Mavs Gillis at the 2010 PBL All Star Weekend in Halifax this past March.

Gillis is back as the play by play voice of the Rainmen and he'll be joined by a rotation of colour commentators including Bill McLean, Ryan Dickie, and Dan Burrsey.

Romy Aquino is also back at the broadcast table and will be live blogging and messaging with fans throughout the webcast.

Rainmen returnees include the high flying Eric Crookshank and "moneyball" Desmond Ferguson. Halifax's Les Berry is back for his third season as Head Coach of the Rainmen.

Gametime tonight is 7:00 on haligonia.ca. Mavs, Bill, and Dan will have the call. The game is the first of back to back exhibitions as the Rainmen host the Quebec Kebs tomorrow night, which will also be shown on haligonia.ca.

Comments or questions? Email us at sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports.

AUS Men's Basketball Power Rankings; Where They Stand at The Break

Paris Carter and the Capers are looking like favourites to win their second straight AUS Championship

by Bill McLean

1. Cape Breton Capers

Oh we forgot…the champs are pretty good. The Capers bizarre absence from the national rankings momentarily put fans outside of Sydney at ease, but Jim Charter’s dynamic group of athletes quickly squashed any thoughts that CBU would not be a powerhouse again this season.

Led by the best starting lineup in the conference, the Capers have rolled to a 7-0 record which includes home wins over the X-Men and Saint Mary’s. The ever intimidating Phillip Nkrumah is averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds a game, and as a team the Capers have outscored opponents by an average of 13 points per contest.

The Capers are once again doing it with full court defense, leading the conference in steals (tied with X) and turnover margin. CBU is also leading the AUS in three-point shooting with 10 field goals from beyond the arc per game.

Cape Breton will face a huge challenge when the second half of the season begins with a weekend trip to Dalhousie.

2. Dalhousie Tigers

John Campbell’s upgraded Tigers already have a significant win under their belts after beating X 59-52 in Antigonish. They’ve comfortably taken care of business at home over Acadia and UPEI and got a double digit road win over an improved UNB. The only negative was a 92-86 loss at the Tower vs. a Saint Mary’s team desperate for their first win of the season.

The Tigers are much more athletic this year with the additions of Juleous Grant and Alex Arthur, and the return of combo guard Stephen Lopez from injury. Post player Joe Schow has been playing with ferocious abandon while former Acadia Axemen, Peter Leighton, is shooting over fifty percent from the three point line.

The Tigers are playing the best half court defense in the conference and have finally added a transition attack. Throw in the addition of former UNB Head Coach Tom Gillespie to the coaching staff and the Tigers are looking very much like legitimate contenders for their second AUS championship in three years.

3. Saint Francis Xavier X-Men

The coaches across the country seem to have a lot of respect for this X-Men team despite losses to Cape Breton and Dalhousie; X is the conferences highest ranked team sitting at number five.

The first term has been a battle for Coach K as his team has yet to find their distinctive swagger. Christian Upshaw has averaged nearly 20 points a game and the rest of the starters are on pace to put up their usual numbers, but the losses of Jordan Hope, Terrence Taylor, and Will Donkoh has taken away from the traditional depth of the team.

Expect the X-Men to get healthy over the holidays and come back in January focused and ready for another championship run.

4. Acadia Axemen

The Axemen are probably the easiest team in the conference to get a handle on, and there may not be much of a ceiling for improvement, but with the talented trio of Anthony Sears, Owen Classen, and Justin Boutlier, Acadia should have a relatively easy time making AUS playoffs again.

Sears is a high scoring athletic guard averaging 19 points per game, and Klassen is one of the best inside/outside players in the conference. Newcomer Sinclair Brown has added some toughness down low and Thomas Filgiano has been a steady force from outside coming off the bench.

Acadia doesn’t have the horses to win a championship but could provide a quarter finals upset at the playoffs. The last two years they’ve lost opening round heartbreakers to Dalhousie.

5. Saint Mary’s Huskies

The Huskies have relied heavily on the outstanding play of Joey Haywood while they wait for the newcomers to get settled in and establish some cohesiveness with the returnees.

Haywood is the nation’s leading scorer averaging 27 points a game while shooting an astonishing 58 percent from the field. Tony Fassett is developing into a nice sidekick for Haywood averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds a game and Demittri Harris has been a streaky offensive force from outside.

The Huskies have never been known as a great defensive team but are especially woeful this year, surrendering an abysmal 95 points a game.

Ross Quackenbush’s teams are infamous for playing their best basketball in late February and March so expect this team to continue to gel and be in the mix for an AUS championship.

6. UNB Varsity Reds

Brent Baker is in his third year of trying to turn around the Varsity Reds and appears to be making strides. They matched their victory total from last season with a three game winning streak in early November, only to suffer three double digit losses to finish the term.

Gone is the outstanding guard Mike Anderson (the pride of Grand Bay, New Brunswick is now playing for the Saint John Millrats), but the Reds have been getting balanced scoring from William Mcfee (14.5ppg), Daniel Quirion (12ppg), Andrew Wright (11.5ppg), and Alex DesRoches (11ppg).

The Reds are shooting just under 40 percent from the floor and have struggled with rebounding and foul shooting. However they are the second best defensive team in the conference surrendering only 76 points per game, and they do not commit many turnovers.

Expect the Reds to be in the hunt for the sixth playoff spot, which would be a huge step in Baker’s rebuilding process.

7. UPEI Panthers

Looks like another year of mediocrity for Mathew Davies and the Panthers. UPEI has been a fixture in the quarter finals at AUS championships under Davies, but may be on the outside looking in this season.

If they are to make it to Halifax it will be on the shoulders of Manock Lual. The explosive post player is averaging 21 points and 8 rebounds a game. Lual is shooting over 60 percent from the field and is a fierce competitor, but there’s just not a lot of support. Jonathon Cooper is averaging 15 points per game but shooting a paltry 33 percent, and the team is last in three point shooting.

The athletic Panthers can create havoc in the full court and they lead the conference in blocked shots (24), but they also turn the ball over too much and suffer from a lack of depth.

There is considerable room for improvement however and the Panthers should be in the running for the last playoff spot well into late February.

8. Memorial Seahawks

By virtue of a win over Saint Mary’s in Newfoundland the Seahawks are actually in seventh place in the conference. However I’m ranking PEI ahead of Memorial based on greater potential to improve second term.

The Seahawks have an outstanding trio of scorers in Mark Woodland, Jason Shepherd and Robbie Habib, and some decent secondary scoring from Will Bradbury, Mike Helsby, and Justin Alliman.

But the AUS is a physical conference and when you’re leading rebounder (Alliman) is averaging just over five boards a game, chances are good you won’t be booking a flight to Halifax in March.

The Seahawks struggle to defend giving up nearly 95 points per game. However , they are leading the conference in free throw shooting percentage (77%), and they always play tough in St.John’s.

Expect them to grind out a few more wins at home and be in playoff contention with a slight possibility of getting the sixth spot.

Agree or disagree? Think these rankings are a crock?! Email us at sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports and listen to Bill McLean Sports Show every Tuesday morning at 10:30 on ckdu.ca/88.1 FM in the HRM.

Bill McLean Sports Show on Facebook; Dec.7

Troy Ryan's Metro Marauders are undefeated in December with a record of 3-0.

(photo credit: Michael Fines)

This past Tuesday’s Bill McLean Sports Show on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax featured two of the top hockey coaches in the area: Pete Belliveau and Troy Ryan

Pete Belliveau- Head Coach of the Dalhousie Tigers Men’s Hockey Team
Coach Belliveau stops by at the start of the show to talk about his Tigers, the new “Cardiac Kids” of the AUS who have won five games this year in overtime. Coach gives us an update on some key additions to the Tigers coming in January, and discusses the process of turning around the Tigers in the highly competitive AUS

Troy Ryan- Head Coach of the Metro Marauders
Coach Ryan talks to Bill and Henry about 45 minutes into the show. Topics include the Marauder’s December winning streak, the challenges of the MHL’s bizarre scheduling, and the organizations marketing plan moving forward.

In the last half hour Bill, Henry, and Derek Leblanc talk about the Mooseheads and whether or not young athletes should be criticized by the media for poor performance.

All this plus lots of NFL talk, Henry chimes in about the World Cup bid controversy, and even a little NHL and Blue Jays discussion.

Check it out on the Haligonia Sports page on Facebook.

Comments or questions? Email us at sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports.

McDaniels Has Mile High Membership Terminated

Josh McDaniels was ousted last week as Head Coach of the Denver Broncos

by Armaan Ahluwalia

Well it was almost certain that things in Denver were not going to be the same at
the end of the season. Did you think that change would come this soon? To be honest I personally thought that Pat Bowlen would keep Josh McDaniel’s till the end of the year, but things have changed.

Surprised? I was to, my first initial reaction was woah did that just happen? Now I have not been the biggest supporter of the hiring of Josh McDaniel’s but this one caught me off guard.

Well maybe the terrible 3-9 record speaks for itself.

Denver has typically been a strong team for the last few years with the Shanahan era leading the way. The last few years, not so much since McDaniel’s started as head coach the Broncos went 11-17. Not to mention he started off 6-0. That means that he has gone 5-17 in his last 22 games.

Well maybe he wasn’t ready for the head coaching reigns at such a young age. I mean he was only 32 years old when he got the job. I mean some of the guys in the locker room on the team were older than him at that point.

I think that he is a good play caller. He has some talent, look what he did with young QB Matt Cassel in New England. While in Denver his game plans were never awful they just never seemed to work the way he intended. This is a problem in the NFL as teams pick up on holes in the game plan and mistakes.

Now lets look at the other end of the spectrum. He should have never been given the job in the first place and the Broncos should have never let Mike Shanahan go. He basically destroyed a good team which was already set in place.

First of all the first rule of being a head coach is to not shop your pro-bowl QB around for trades without telling him. Second of all you don’t make the mistake of not talking to your QB and turning it into a soap opera for the whole NFL to see. Another thing that McDaniel’s never got right was dealing with players. Brandon Marshall is a prime example of that. He disgruntled the pro-bowl receiver and he demanded a one way ticket out of town. Starting to catch a trend here with good players?

Then there were the draft choices. In 2009 he traded away a first overall pick in 2010 for a second round pick in 2009. What!! Why would you do that? A first round pick holds so much value to teams who are looking to rebuild. Okay so this player must have been really good then? No, he drafted Alphonso Smith. An okay player hardly worth a first overall pick in the NFL, he was way too slow and not tall enough to be a number one corner in the league. Then there was this year’s drafting. We had a solid position sitting rather high, we moved back accumulated some more picks, that fine you can’t find a player you like move back and pick up some more picks. Then we take Tim Tebow the all-star QB who cant really throw at the NFL level with the first overall pick. Wait don’t we already have Kyle Orton on the roster, as well as Brady Quinn who we traded Peyton Hillis for. (On a side not Peyton Hillis is tearing it up this year with 10 + TD’s already) Nope we draft a QB who is not going to be ready for at least 3 years.

In the time that McDaniel’s has been here some things have improved. The defence which was terrible got better due to Mike Nolan who was only here for one year before jumping ship. Yea that was about it, not a whole lot to take from this.

Then there was some bad things, the trading of all-star players, bad drafting, poor game plans, not getting any younger talent on the defensive side of the ball, and an offence which was ranked 2nd in the league prior to him being named offensive coach now has trouble getting it going on offence.

The Broncos now hand over the job to interim head coach Eric Studesville. They are looking around for a replacement for McDaniels as Studesville is not in their future plans. Rumours of a possible head coach are Gary Kubiak who played for the Broncos and coached there for many years. Don’t be surprised if the Texans release him at year’s end that Bowlen will be giving him a call. He has a lot of close ties with Bowlen. Other possible but long shots for coaching could be Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, or Bill Cowher.

Well it seems that almost all of Bill Belichicks protégées never really succeed outside of the New England confines, and Im sure Bill is keeping track of that. It always seemed like McDaniel’s was trying to be like Bill, which is fine but you need to have a track record to back yourself up and to have a certain amount of players to do it with. With that I wish you the very best Josh McDaniels, thanks for dropping by for a few years and turning this
franchise upside down.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer for the Dalhousie Gazette and the sportsblog www.1inthestands.wordpress.com. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.

Bill McLean Sports Show on Facebook

Tiger's Coach Lesley Jordan was looking for answers after Saturday's officiating debacle vs Mount Allison
(photo credit: Richard Lafortune)


A replay of Bill McLean Sports Show from Tuesday morning on ckdu 88.1 FM is now posted on the Haligonia Sports Facebook group. Henry Whitfield and Steve Betts joined Bill in studio and some of the topics included:

Dalhousie Tigers Mens Hockey- The Cardiac Kids have won 5 overtime games this season and are coming off a weekend where they beat two nationally ranked teams at the DMA.

Dalhousie Tigers Womens Hockey- The Tigers were assessed 12 minor penalties in a loss to Mount Allison. The Mounties were given 1. Tigers fans, players, and coaches were not happy.

Toronto Marlies Fight on Kids Day- Bill weighs in with some heavy opinion on the Marlies fight fest with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Kids Day at the arena which leads to a debate about the role of fighting in hockey.


Citadel High School Football Team- The guys discuss the news of a post championship party at Citadel High that got out of control. Who's to blame? Is it a big deal?


Lebron James Drops the Shoulder on Head Coach- The King puts his shoulder into his Head Coach as he walks by on route to the bench.


Halifax Mooseheads- 7-1?! Plus a preview of the Moose visiting the banished Garrett Clarke this week.


Calgary loses Vanier- Take that Eric and Blake!


All this and much more, just go to Facebook and type in Haligonia Sports in the search box.

Comments or questions? Email us at sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports.

Marauders Annual Auction Tonight

Photo Credit: Michael Fines

The Metro Marauders are holding their annual auction tonight at Bubba Rays. Details are below.

Wednesday, December 1 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Location Bubba Rays Sports Bar
5650 Spring Garden Road
Halifax, NS


The Metro Marauders (Maritime Hockey League) will be holding their annual auction this Wednesday December 1st at Bubba Rays Sports Bar 5650 Spring Garden Rd.

If anyone has any auction items that they would like to donate to this event please feel free to contact either Julie Marston julie.marston@metromarauders.com 902.223.0800 or Troy Ryan troy.ryan@metromarauders.com 902.880.3690

The evening will be open to the public and we would really appreciate you support. If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to contact either one of us. Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.

Laval Dominates Vanier Cup

Sebastien Levesque ran for 168 yards to lead the Rouge et Or to another Vanier Cup.

by Armaan Ahluwalia

Defence wins championships and that point was proven at the 46th Vanier Cup at
PEPS Stadium at Laval.

The Laval Rouge et Or defeated the Calgary Dino’s by a score of 29-2.

The Rouge et Or started out with a bang scoring 17 points in the first quarter and shutting
out the Dino’s throughout the game. They started out with two quick touchdowns on their first few drives and took control of the game from there.

The Dino’s did not manage to score any offensive points in the game as their lone score
came on a conceded safety by Laval in the 2nd quarter.

Sebastien Levesque had a monster game for the Rouge et Or and in doing so was named the player of the game. He ran the ball 30 times for 168 yards and one TD. He scored the touchdown on the first offensive drive for Laval. It was a 40 yard run on the score; this helped Laval set the tempo for the game. He also was injured many times during the game, but kept coming back into the game and giving out hard hits to the defenders.

Calgary was never able to get anything going on the offensive side all game. They had too many dropped catches as their star receivers were unable to handle the slippery ball. The crowd noise and snow where the external factors which made a difference and gave Laval the upper hand over a shaky Calgary team.

Erik Glavic had a terrible game as he was never able to get anything going. This marks the end of the amazing career of Glavic as the 2 time Hec Creighton trophy winner ends his career unable to win the Vanier Cup.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer for the Dal Gazette and www.1inthestands.wordpress.com. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.

Breault Breaks Out Versus Panthers

Benjamin Breault was stellar on Friday night in leading the Tigers to victory over UPEI

By Bill McLean

Tiger’s fans have been waiting all season for Benjamin Breault to break out this season with a brilliant offensive performance.

On Friday night at the Memorial Arena vs. the UPEI Panthers, they were rewarded for their patience.

Breault fired two goals and added an assist in leading his Dalhousie Tigers to a 6-5 overtime victory over the Panthers. It was the Tigers fifth overtime victory this season in six games that have gone to the extra session.

Daniel Bartek tipped in a blast from the point by Brett Plouffe to give the Tigers their seventh win of the season, putting the team over the .500 mark for the first time this year. Dalhousie has now won three straight games after a dismal mid week performance vs. Saint Francis Xavier last Wednesday.

Second year goaltender Bobby Nadeau made forty saves for Dalhousie. Brad McConnell notched his eighth goal of the season in the first period while Benoit Gervais and Francois Gauthier rounded out the Tigers scoring.

The Tigers squandered leads of 4-2 and 5-4 on route to victory over the gritty Panthers who entered the contest ranked fifth in the country.

The Tigers won’t have much time to celebrate; Tomorrow night the mighty UNB Varsity Reds come to the town. The Reds are the first place team in the conference and ranked third nationally. UNB lost to Acadia on Friday night 3-2 in Wolfville.

Game time from the DMA is 7:30. The game will be webcast on ssncanada.ca. Joel MacDougall and Bill McLean will have the call.

Email comments or questions to sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports and on facebook.

The Raptors Are On Fire, But Is This A Mirage?

Andrea Bargnani is the new face of the Raptors franchise.

by Armaan Ahluwalia

The Toronto Raptors are starting to get things going after a pathetic start to the 10/11 season. The Raptors started the season with a 2-9 record before going on a 4 game win streak.

The unexpected play of Andrea Bargnani has been amazing for the Raptors. He received a lot of criticism during the offseason when Bosh left saying that he has not lived up to his #1 pick standards and is not a leader.

Well he has silenced half of those comments; his play has been great as he is scoring close to 24 points a night. Without Bosh Bargnani has become a threat to many teams and has showed the “Dirk” like play using his height to his advantage. Whether he has become a leader remains to be decided, I think he likes to “lead by example”. This is a fine way but sometimes its good to have a verbal leader on the court.

Well leading by example has been done by no other than Reggie Evans. Evans has become born again in TO and will look to keep up with his great performances. He recently had 22 rebounds in a dominant victory over the 76ers. His ability to fight for the ball on rebounds has been key for the Raptors who have started to depend on his great ability. Evans has been huge and will continue to dominate with his aggressive rebounding

One player who has been quiet but still good is DeMar DeRozen. The second year player from USC has been good this year. He has seen an increase in his minutes of play and in turn has raised his points per game as well. Look for DeRozen to contribute solid minutes to the Raptors as they get better game by game.

Let’s be honest, no one expected the Raptors to win many games this year at all. With the departure of Chris Bosh to South Beach the team lacked star talent. Bosh was the star player and the franchise, when he left there was nothing left. Bryan Colangelo took a lot of harsh criticism for letting the superstar go, and getting nothing in return for it.

After leaving Phoenix a few years ago, Colangelo has seen little success in Canada’s biggest city. His consistent want to add European players has turned out badly. Now don’t misread me and think I hate European players that is not true, just the ones that Colangelo has brought in have had minimal effects.


The one exception being Calderon who has been good at best when he is healthy. Then there was this offseason where he was unable to land any big trades. They all prematurely broke and were then unsuccessful.

There have been some positive results as the Raptors went out and pursued straight up athletes. This has shown with their energy on the court and relentless way to grind out games. People expected this as the youthful additions were a breath of fresh air in TO. This being said, with young guys you usually don’t get very good basketball players with skill. This has also shown this year with their lack of wins and large amounts of losses.

The additions of Leandro Barbosa was a good piece to add as the speedy Brazilian was itching to start somewhere in the league. The Drafting of Ed Davis from UNC will be a good pick down the road as an injury has put him out until now where he will begin training with the D-League team to get his stamina up to par. Solomon Alabi was the other drafted player coming out of Florida State, this guy is big standing at 7’1 this guy is a down the road prospect who could become something useful to the Raps. Joey Dorsey the 2nd year player is also new this year and will see minimal minutes this season. Also new to the team Linas Kleiza who played with Denver for a few seasons had a good FIBA Championship and has already he will be strong for the team this year. Julian Wright came over from New Orleans and has had a minimal effect as he will be a bench sub at best.

Recently added to the team this year was Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless who come from New Orleans from a 5 player swap.


This is a cap move as Peja’s contract is set to expire at the end of the year and Bayless is a young player who could be helpful down the road. In this trade the Raptors got rid of inconsistent guard Jarrett Jack and Chris Andersen. Jack was good but Colangelo felt Calderon and Barbosa would be good enough.

This Raptors team is full of athletes and height. Their roster’s smallest player is listed at 6-3 and their tallest is at 7-1. With some young players this team could be one that many will not want to play down the stretch. This team holds some promise but making the playoffs will be a stretch.

The next few games for the Raptors are as follows: @Boston, Atlanta, Washington, OKC, New York, @Indiana, @New York, Denver, @Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, LA Lakers, Detroit which takes them to the Christmas Break. I expect the Raptors to get to 7-6 in that time period. Don’t be surprised if the Raptors come out and beat some of these teams and go 10-3, it is stretch but it could happen.

Who knows where the Raptors season will go, whether they will make the playoffs or not. One thing is for sure it’s taken quite a bit of work to get them where they are. Is Bryan Colangelo doing a good job? Well the results have been far and few for sure. So where is the recent success coming from? Well let’s not forget Jay Triano, the coach has had very little to work with and still manages to make results happen. It seems like the Raptors are heading in the right direction. The one problem with the Franchise is that they are never able to keep players north of the border for longer than a season. This is their main problem keeping their core players together to build chemistry. If they can do this the Raptors will have no problem becoming a success in this league.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer with the Dal Gazette and www.1inthestands.wordpress.com. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.

Huskies on Haligonia; Battle of Elite Point Guards at the Tower

It’s a battle of two of the best point guards in the country on Tuesday night at the Tower as Joey Haywood and the Huskies host Simon Farine and the Dalhousie Tigers.

The Huskies are looking for their first win of the season after stumbling out of the gates to an 0-4 record, while the Tigers will be looking to remain undefeated with a 4th straight victory.

Game time is 8:00 and will be webcast on www.live.haligonia.ca. Mavs Gillis and Bill McLean will have the call from the Tower.

Meet the Tigers

Record: 3-0, 10 points for second place.
Head Coach: John Campbell

Players to Watch:

#4 Simon Farine- Perennial AUS first team all star averaged over 20 points per game last season.

#21 Joe Schow – Has averaged a double-double for the Tigers since transferring from Calgary two seasons ago. Leads the Tigers in scoring in 2010 with 16 ppg

#22 Juleous Grant – North Preston native transferred this past year from Northern Oklahoma. Athletic and excellent three point shooter.

Tigers Notes:

Tigers are coming off a 59-52 victory in Antigonish over the X-Men…..Combo guard Stephen Lopez is back after a season off due to injury…...Long time starter in the post Sandy Veit is back for his fifth season…..Head Coach John Campbell’s coaching staff consists of the legendary Dave Nutbrown, the former Head Coach of Acadia, and Tom Gillespie, the former Head Coach at UNB…..Peter Leighton is playing his final season of eligibility with the Tigers. Leighton played his first four years at Acadia and played a pivotal role in the Axemen’s victory over Carleton at the 2008 CIS championships….the Tigers are leading the AUS in scoring defense, allowing a stingy 62 ppg. The Tigers are last in scoring offense with 72 ppg…..Another significant newcomer for the Tigers is Alex Arthur. The versatile swingman is averaging 7 ppg so far this season.

Ladies and Gentlemen…….Your Saint Mary’s Huskies!

Record: 0-4, last place.
Head Coach: Ross Quackenbush

Players to Watch:

Joey Haywood- The nation’s leading scorer, averaging 28 ppg on 54 percent shooting from the field.

Tory Fassett- Newcomer is averaging 16 ppg and 7 rpg in the post.

Demittri Harris – Athletic guard is averaging 11 ppg so far this season.

Huskies Notes:

The last time the Huskies were on haligonia they lost a back and forth affair with the Acadia Axemen, 97-90 at the Tower. Joey Haywood scored 30 points on 12 of 18 shooting…..Huskies are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Cape Breton Capers 10 days ago in Sydney…..Harry Ezenibe has become a presence in the post for Saint Mary’s averaging 10 points and 6 rebounds a game……the Huskies are second in the conference in scoring offense with 89 ppg. They are last in defense allowing a whopping 97 ppg…..the Huskies lost to their chief rivals, the Saint FX X-Men earlier this month in Antigonish, 97-84……post player Simon Marr has struggled early on, averaging only 3 points and 4 rebounds a game….the Huskies will wrap up the first term with a weekend trip to Memorial to play two games vs. the Seahawks.

Tip time from the Tower is 8:00. Webcast on www.live.haligonia.ca will begin at 7:55 approx., join Mavs and Bill for all the action!

Email comments or question to sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports.

Huskies on Haligonia; Huskies and Tigers Renew Rivalry

Justine Colley is averaging 22 points per game this year for the Huskies

Justine Colley and the Saint Mary’s Huskies host the Dalhousie Tigers Tuesday night at the Tower. The rebuilding Tigers have been gutted by graduation the last couple of years while the Huskies have reloaded with the additions of Suzanne Canvin and Meaghan Seaward.

Anna Stammberger’s youthful Tigers are coming off a 68-38 drubbing at the hands of the Saint Francis Xavier X-Women in Antigonish, while the Huskies have been off for ten days after splitting two games on a weekend trip to Cape Breton.

Game time from the Tower is 6:00 and will be webcast on www.live.haligonia.ca. Mavs Gillis and Bill McLean will have the call.

Meet the Tigers

Record: 1-2, tied for 4th place with 4 points (victory vs. UPEI was a 4 point game)
Head Coach: Anna Stammberger (2nd Season)

Key Players:

#4 Anna Von Maltzahn – A key defensive player who averages 9 ppg (points per game).

#10 Brooke Sullivan- The versatile veteran averages nearly 11 ppg and 8 rpg (rebounds per game)

#7 Tia Geratowski – A post player who transferred from GPRC in Alberta, she’s averaged 10 ppg and 6 rpg but has struggled to stay out of foul trouble.

#5 Courtney Thompson- High energy rookie point guard leads the Tigers in scoring with 11 ppg.

Tigers Notes:

Stammberger’s Tigers have been devastated the last two years from graduation of former AUS all stars and long time starters. After 2009 the Tigers lost Kelly Donald, Kate Mcneil, and Jenna Kaye. This past year they said goodbye to Leah and Laurie Girdwood, April Scott, and Cailin Crosby. Alex Legge is still involved with the program as an Assistant Coach while she continues to rehab a knee injury……The Tigers got their first victory of the season on November 14th vs. the UPEI Panthers…..Dalhousie made only 9 field goals and committed 34 turnovers in their loss to St FX over the weekend…..former Auburn High School star Stephanie Hiltz transferred to Dalhousie from Saint FX and is coming off the bench for the Tigers…..Keisha Brown has transferred from Acadia to Dalhousie and will play for the Tigers next year. Brown is the younger sister of Alise, the former Saint Mary’s standout. Keisha averaged nearly 12 points per game in 2 seasons at Acadia.

Ladies and Gentleman…your Saint Mary’s Huskies!

Record: 2-2, tied for 4th place with 4 points.
Head Coach: Scott Munro (3rd season)

Key Players:

Justine Colley – The super sophomore is averaging 22 ppg, which includes a 43 point outburst vs. Acadia.

Susanne Canvin – The former UPEI Panther has not disappointed averaging 15 points and 13 rebounds a game.

Robbi Daley – Kelsey’s younger sister is coming into her own, averaging 13 ppg.

Meaghan Seaward – The former Memorial Seahawk has taken over down low for Laure Pitfield, averaging 9 points and 4 rebounds a game.

Huskies Notes:

The last time the Huskies were on haligonia.ca was the season opener vs. Acadia. Saint Mary’s defeated the Axewomen 92-86 in the 4th highest scoring women’s game in CIS history. The Huskies came back from a 51-38 halftime deficit……The Huskies are coming off a tough split with the Capers in CBU. SMU beat the Capers 78-73 in double overtime to get a win that not many teams achieve in Sydney…..the Huskies are lacking depth this season. The highest scoring player off the bench is Jorunn Matthiessen with 2.3 ppg…..dual sport athlete Haley Fox is back in uniform for the Huskies. The daughter of local legend Mickey Fox is playing for Scott Munro fresh off her outstanding season in the backfield for the Huskies soccer team…..so far this season the Huskies have been outscored by their AUS opponents (298-286) and have committed more turnovers (81-60)….the Huskies have outscored opponents 102-67 in the third quarter.

Tuesday’s tip time from the Tower is 6:00. The game will be webcast on http://www.live.haligonia.ca/!

Email comments or questions to sports@haligonia.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports

Tigers Answer Critics With Victory in Antigonish

Simon Farine leads a revamped Tigers team poised for a championship run.

by Bill McLean

The big question for John Campbell and his Dalhousie Tigers heading into the 2010 AUS basketball season was whether they could be competitive with the Cape Breton Capers and Saint Francis Xavier X-Men.

After this past weekend’s trip to Antigonish, Tigers fans and conference pundits have their answer.

Led by another stellar performance from Joe Schow, the Tigers beat the X-Men 59-52 and immediately vanquished the naysayers who claimed they weren’t athletic enough to compete with the big boys in the AUS.

Certainly there was cause for skepticism. Last year the Tigers were 0-7 vs. the Capers and X-Men and lost every game by double digits, including a 76-60 whipping by CBU in the AUS Semi Finals.

But the return of combo guard Stephen Lopez and the recruitment of swingmen Juleous Grant and Alex Arthur has given the Tigers a much needed boost in athleticism, allowing them to match up with X and CBU in a full court game. Add to the mix the dynamic defensive specialist Will Yenge, and the Tigers are positioned to run with any team in the country.

Back for his final season is perennial first team all star Simon Farine who averaged over 20 points per game last year, along with fifth year senior Sandy Veit who has been a solid starter throughout his career at the post position.

But it’s been the play of Veit’s partner post player and senior, Schow that has propelled the Tigers to a 3-0 record to begin the season.

The “Stormin’ Mormon” has averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds a game and been a physical force down low for a Tigers team that has suffered from a lack of toughness inside throughout

John Campbell’s era as Head Coach. In a victory over UPEI last weekend, Schow put the team on his back and provided the emotional spark the team needed to pull away in the second half.
Campbell has even upgraded his coaching staff with the addition of former UNB Varsity Reds Head Coach, Tom Gillespie. Sitting alongside the legendary Dave Nutbrown, the Tigers have basically three head coaches at the helm.

Three point specialist and former Acadia Axemen Peter Leighton has come on board for his final season of eligibility and should fit in very nicely for the departed Andrew Sullivan by knocking down open shots created by the dribble penetration from Farine.

In the ever competitive AUS featuring arguably the best guard play in the country, Tiger’s fans shouldn’t get too excited too soon. However the Tigers would appear to have all the pieces in place for a championship run in 2011.

Bill McLean Sports Show can be heard every Tuesday morning at 10:30 on CKDU 88.1 FM, ckdu.ca. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports and check us out of Facebook.

Dinos too Much for SMU; Calgary Returns to the Vanier Cup

Calgary beat the Huskies in a CIS Semi Final for the second straight year

The Calgary Dino’s are going back to the Vanier Cup for the second year in a row. The Calgary Dino’s defeated the St. Mary’s Huskies by a score of 35-8.

The game started off very slow as the score at half was 8-0 for the Dino’s. Many people felt that the Huskies would be blown out fast and early in this game. That was not that case as the Huskies started the game strong with first downs on offense and stopping the Dino’s with their defence.


The game was going well until starting Quarterback Micah Brown left the game due to injury. He was replaced by 2nd year quarterback Marc Blewett. Brown returned later on the game but the effect was minimal.

Marc Blewett came in to the game and his production was minimal. He threw two interceptions in the game which were deep in Calgary’s end. #16 Michael Lau also had two interceptions on the day for the Dino’s.

The Dino’s offense was slow until they started going to the Wildcat offense which was made famous by the Miami Dolphins. The Dino’s were led by Steven Lumbala who had over 100 yards rushing and one touchdown.

The Huskies lone touchdown was scored by running back Craig Leger. It
came on a throw from quarterback Micah Brown. It happened to be too little too late as the 4th quarter was winding down.

Huskies fans are all too familiar with the Calgary Dino’s and their players. They played them last year in the Uteck Bowl and came up just short losing 38-14.

Blake Nill the head coach of the Dino’s used to be the head coach of the Huskies. After leaving the Huskies Nill brought along with him the Hec Creighton quarterback Eric Glavic who helped led the Dino’s over the Huskies for the second straight year.

This now ends the Huskies season as they managed going with six wins in a row before losing to the Dino’s at a very cold McMahon stadium in Calgary.

The Huskies season is all but over now as a few players will make the journey to Laval for the awards ceremony. Jahmeek Taylor is one of the Huskies who are up for an award. Taylor was the AUS MVP this year and will be up for the Hec Creighton award.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer with the Dalhousie Gazette. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian and check out his blog, www.1inthestand.blogspot.com.

Mitchell Bowl Preview; Huskies vs. Dinos Part 2

The Huskies will be out for revenge against their newest arch rivals, Eric Glavic and the Dinos

by Armaan Ahluwalia

Its finally here, the Mitchell bowl is this Saturday and we have one great match up ready to go.

The St. Mary’s Huskies will travel to McMahon stadium to take on the Canada West champions, the Calgary Dino’s.

Both teams know each other fairly well as they met last year in a game which the Dino’s easily took.

This year’s teams are not that different as both teams have many returning starters from last year. The Calgary Dino’s starting quarterback Eric Glavic knows this team very well as before becoming a Dino he was a Husky. Now Calgary head coach Blake Nill recruited Glavic to come play for him as his pivot out west. Glavic has had success out in West as Calgary almost won the Vanier Cup last year but came up short in the final part of the game.

Saying that this Huskies team has faced a lot of obstacles this year would be an understatement. Starting the year 0-3, losing their starting quarterback, starting Micah Brown who had never played a Canadian football game the list of problems goes on. With saying that they had their fare share of problems, head coach Steve Sumarah rallied his team and has gone with 6 straight wins heading into Saturday’s matchup.

The Huskies will also have AUS all-star receiver and punt returner Jahmeek Taylor back in the line up. Taylor will be coming back from a one game disciplinary suspension for which the team has not spoken much about. In the AUS championship final game Ahmed Borhot took charge of that team and had a spectacular game showing that they have another solid receiver on the team.

This game will be heavily ridden on how the St. Mary’s defence performs. The Huskies are used to playing in the AUS where the average sizes of the offensive lineman are not as large as out west.

This matchup will be the key to the game, because if the Huskies can’t get past the bulky Dino’s offensive line they will not be able to stop that 3 back system that the Dino’s posses with Walter, Lumbala, and Woodson. Not to mention they have a Hec Creighton winner as their quarterback in Eric Glavic. With all these factors in favour of the Dino’s the Huskies will have to buckle down and slow down the run, but they may have to pick their poison with the run or the pass.

On the other side of the ball the Huskies will rely on Micah Brown who is getting better with each snap he takes. In his last game against a weaker Acadia team he managed to throw well and not make silly turnovers. This will be important as the Huskies will need to control the clock and not give the ball back to the Dino’s and Glavic. The Huskies need to come out and establish a running game and mange the clock if they are to have any chance against the bigger Dino’s.

Saturday’s game will be one of intensity as both coaches’ are very intense when it comes to big time games. It will be interesting to see how St. Mary’s will match up against a just as big team in the Calgary Dino’s. With all of their fire power I like the Calgary Dino’s in this one by a score of 36-25 over the St. Mary’s Huskies

The game will be aired live on TSN on saturday. Check tsn.ca for times.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer for the Dal Gazette. Follow Armaan on twitter @therealbrindian and check out his blog, www.1inthestands.wordpress.com.

Calgary Dinos Roll vs. Alberta, Will Host the Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl

Eric Glavic will host his former team in round two of the Dinos Vs. Huskies next weekend

This game was close for only so long. The Calgary Dino’s were hungry for the victory and it showed. They came out and to simply put it, destroyed the Alberta Golden Bears in every aspect.

Calgary came out of the gates with a very aggressive offence attack as the Dino’s busted off a huge drive with long runs and settled for a field goal to start it off.

The Dino’s defense was then able to shut down the Bears offence all game as they were unable to score an offensive touchdown or field goal.


The rushing game was key all day as the Dino’s kept pounding the ball with Anthony Woodson and Matt Walter with each 79 yards and 1 Touchdown on the ground.

Anthony Parker had a great day with help on the kickoff returns and 2 TD’s through the air.

The Alberta Golden Bears who had a magnificent comeback victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies had nothing left in the tank. They came out looking flat and slow. They were out hustled and were slowly beat down by the consistent Dino’s attack. Mid way through the 2nd quarter there was just a drop off in the intensity shown by the Bears.

5th year Quarterback Eric Glavic had a field day going 14-18 for 270 yards and 4 TD’s. Glavic will be facing his old team again for the second year in a row as the Calgary Dino’s will face off against the St. Mary’s Huskies next week.

Armaan Ahluwalia writes for the Dal Gazette and the blogsite, www.1inthestands.wordpress.com. Follow Armaan on twitter @therealbrindian

Loney Bowl Saturday in Halifax; Huskies Look to Defend AUS Crown Without Jahmeek Taylor

Huskies Quarterback Micah Brown will play in his first Loney Bowl this weekend.

(photo credit: Joe Chrmala)

by Bill McLean

As a wacky season of AUS football draws to a conclusion this Saturday at Huskies Stadium, leave it to the Huskies to provide one more bizarre twist to what has become the most challenging season of Head Coach Steve Sumarah’s regime.

Monty Mosher of the Chronicle Herald reported tonight that three Huskies players have been suspended by Sumarah, including the conference’s Most Outstanding Player, Jahmeek Taylor.

Taylor has been the impetus behind the Huskies revival after a disastrous September, electrifying fans and media with breathtaking kick returns and accumulating 1439 all purpose yards in the process.

Just as pundits and observers were safely penciling in the Huskies to go to the Mitchell Bowl, the suspension of Taylor now leaves many of questions still unanswered in this crazy season of AUS football.

Can Acadia stay within three touchdowns of this unstoppable juggernaut that the Huskies have become? Can the Huskies beat anyone outside the AUS? How did Jeff Cummins get four regular season wins and a Loney Bowl appearance out of this Axemen team? Has Steve Sumarah righted the good ship Husky and does he have his team on pace for a grueling battle on the plains of

Alberta or Saskatchewan in the Mitchell Bowl?

All shall be revealed in the next ten days, beginning on Saturday with what has become an annual ritual of the fall varsity season in Halifax; the Loney Bowl at the Stadium.

The Axemen come in to the game hot off the heels of an overtime semi-final victory over the Mount Allison Mounties on a mud soaked turf in Sackville. The Axemen persevered vs. Gary Ross, Jake Hotchkiss, an undeterred Mounties home crowd, and a terrentual down pour that turned the playing field into a scene from some cheesy Hollywood football movie from the eighties.

The Axemen have been underestimated all year long by media and fans alike, but now stand only one victory away from an AUS championship.

The only problem is that the one victory would mean beating the Huskies in Halifax, which would seem akin to the chances of Mavs Gillis playing Point Guard for the Halifax Rainmen.

Since a brutal September on and off the field, Saint Mary’s has won five games in a row vs. AUS opponents, outscoring their divisional foes 193-45.

After losing 17-7 in the season opener in Wolfville, the Huskies have outscored Acadia 66-10 in two meetings since.

Not only has Saint Mary’s established themselves as the favorite to win the AUS championship, they’ve gone on a five week run that would rival the Huskies teams of the Blake Nill era.

Sumarah has reminded Huskies fans why he was the 2009 CIS Coach of the Year by systematically making one critical adjustment at a time, propelling the Huskies from the nation’s most disappointing team to a Vanier Cup contender.

QB Micah Brown has become the conferences best game manager and Craig Legere was the leading rusher in the AUS. The Huskies defense has overwhelmed opponents with speed and athleticism, and placekicker Brett Lauther has come out of nowhere to give Saint Mary’s a very suitable replacement for the departed Justin Palardy.

If Acadia is to have a chance they’ll need to withstand the initial charge of the Huskies in the first quarter. Saint Mary’s will come out of the tunnel looking to put the game away early and intimidate with their superior athleticism. If the Axemen can withstand this initial onslaught,

Jeff Cummin's hard working group of overachievers may just pull out the upset.

The weather on Saturday afternoon in the South End of Halifax is expected to be unseasonably warm, with sunny skies throughout the day. Not good news for Acadia if you believe in the assertion that poor weather games benefit the less talented team.

Game time at Huskies Stadium is 1:00. If you can’t make it to the stadium, Eastlink will be carrying the game.

Predictions from the Haligonia Sports Team

Mavs Gillis, voice of the Huskies on Haligonia webcasts: SMU 32 Acadia 21
Steve Betts, on field MC of the Huskies at the Stadium: SMU 36 Acadia 14
Henry Whitfield, the future of Bill McLean Sports Show on ckdu 88.1 FM: SMU 24 Acadia 10
Bill McLean, voice of the Dalhousie Tigers on ssncanada.ca: SMU 35 Acadia 8
Armaan Ahluwalia, writer for the Dalhousie Gazette, SMU 38 Acadia 13

Haligonia Sports is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary’s Huskies, Metro Marauders, and Halifax Rainmen. Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports

Loney Bowl Preview; Axemen Vs. Huskies

Jahmeek Taylor and the Huskies are poised for a trip to the Mitchell Bowl next weekend

by Armaan Ahluwalia (Twitter: @therealbrindian)

It is finally here, the AUS championship is set to take place between Acadia Axe Men
and the St. Mary’s Huskies. This week eight rematch will have the Axe Men travelling to the extremely hostile Huskies Stadium. The tales of these two teams have been very different as both have taken very different roads to the final.

The St. Mary’s Huskies have got back to the final again, but it was not the way they planned. The Huskies were the odds on favourites to go undefeated this season against a very weak AUS field. The season did not start off well for the Huskies. With an early 17-7 loss to the Axe Men and a crushing 45-10 defeat at the hands of Laval. Things were not starting well for the Huskies as they managed to go 0-3 to start the 2010 season.

Then there was the removal of Quarterback Jack Creighton who decided to not play football anymore. Steve Sumarah then gave the reigns to new Quarterback Micah Brown. Brown came in and looked a little shaky but managed to help get the Huskies back on track
winning the next five games easily. They managed to outscore their five opponents by a total of 193 to 39 in that five game stretch.

This dominant form from the Huskies has been amazing and has really shown how much better they are then the rest of the conference. With the help of AUS all stars: Dan Schutte (DT), Jeff Hecht (LB), Mark Holden (DB), Fraser Vrenjak (CB), Adam Baboulas (T), Jahmeek Taylor (WR & Returner), Kevin Walsh (WR), and Craig Leger (RB) they have destroyed the teams.

The Acadia Axe Men have taken a different road to the finals. They started their campaign off with a surprising victory over the Huskies. They then lost to Bishops on the road, but came back the following week with a victory over the X-men to start the season 2-1. Things were looking good as Quarterback Kyle Graves was in form and rolling. Things after that great start, turned for the worse. They managed to go 2-3 and finish in 3rd place just behind the Mount Allison Mounties.

They went into Mount Allison for the AUS semi final game and came out of Mount Allison with a win in the thick mud. They managed to do it in overtime with a 22-14 victory. With the help of AUS all stars: Jake Thomas (DT), Adrian Saturley (DE), Tom Labenski (LB), Cameron Wade (DB), and Wade Conrad (G) they have managed to grind out games. This team on paper is not one to be concerned with but come game day they manage to show up and fight it out.

This Saturday the Loney Bowl will be a tough fought matchup between the Huskies and the Axe Men. The Huskies fire power on offence and defence will be on display against a weaker Acadia team. If Micah Brown can control the run game and not turn the ball over, the Huskies will roll to a victory. Acadia will need to come out with a strong front seven to stop the run making Micah Brown beat them with his arm. The Huskies overall power will be too much for the gritty Acadia Axe Men. Look for this game to be a blow out with the Huskies dominating the Offense, Defence and Special teams. The Huskies have too many offensive weapons and a strong defence which will be too much for the Axe Men.

Prediction: St. Mary’s 38 Acadia 13

Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer with the Dalhousie Gazette. Visit his blog www.1inthestands.wordpress.com and follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.

Marauders Gameday; Metros Welcome the Champs on Haligonia

Alex Newman leads the MJL with a 2.09 Goals Against Average (photo credit: Michael Fines)

After a red hot start in September which saw them win their first five games and dominate the scoring leader’s category, the Metro Marauders have struggled mightily in October and early November, posting a record of 5-8-2 in their last 15 games.

The Metros hope to get a big confidence boost today with win at the Dartmouth Sportsplex vs. the Meek Division leading Woodstock Slammers.

It won’t be easy. The Slammers are the defending MHL champs and will enter the ‘plex today with a lot of swagger, having 15 of their first 18 games this season.

This Sunday afternoon tilt begins at 1:00 and will be shown on www.live.haligonia.ca! Haligonia Sports’ Bill McLean and Dave Green of TZone Vibration Therapy will have the call from the Sportsplex.

Meet the Woodstock Slammers (http://www.slammershockey.ca/)


2010/11 Record: 15-2-0-1, 31 points, good for first place in the Meek Division. The Slammers beat Metro 3-1 in Woodstock on September 22nd in the first meeting between these teams.

Head Coach: Jason Tatarnic

Players to Watch

#27 Alex Beaton: The Halifax native is averaging over 2 points a game and has 35 points on the season.
#26 Andrew Langan: The diminutive center has 29 points this season.

#3 Doug Jessey: High scoring defenseman has 17 points this season.

Interesting Factoids: The Slammers are ranked 4th in CJHL Top 20 Rankings. They will be without the services of high scoring forward Nick Huard who is out west playing with Canada East at the Junior A Challenge.

Marauders Notes

Wayne Bedecki and Justin Belanger lead the team in scoring with 23 points each but their production has dropped off considerably. The duo were battling for the league lead through September but are now well outside the top 10…..Dylan King is the team’s leading scoring defenseman with 21 points (19 assists)……Alex Newman leads the MJL in goaltending with a sparkling 2.09 Goals Against Average. Newman has split time with Stefan Dumaresque who has a GAA of 4.04…….The Marauders enter the game in second place in the Bent Division with a record of 10-8-1-1, good for 22 points. The Weeks Crushers are in first with 24 points…..the Marauders website is up and running. Go to www.metromarauders.com. Head Coach Troy Ryan will not be behind the bench today, he is Penticton, B.C. coaching the Canada East Team at the Junior A challenge.

Picks To Click: Bill: Stuart Lenehan; Dave: Andrew Wigginton.

Game time from the Sportsplex is 1:00. Catch all the action on www.live.haligonia.ca!

Follow us on twitter @haligoniasports, email us at sports@haligonia.ca. Check us out on facebook, search word Haligonia Sports.

Huskies Back in the AUS Championships; Tough Road Awaits Jhonattan Cordoba and SMU

Second Team AUS Keeper Adam Miller and the Huskies are primed for a championship run this weekend in Moncton.

This season has been far better for the Huskies than last. The Huskies have posted a record of 8-2-3. That record was enough to earn them 2nd place in the AUS. The AUS playoffs are set up so that the top 6 teams make it into the next round. The top 2 teams, which this season are St. Fx and SMU receive a bye into the next round.

The Huskies have a solid team this year as they have managed to score 28 goals. This is mainly due to the emergence of Jhonattan Cordoba.

Cordoba has managed to net 9 goals this year all being crucial in their wins. His elusive speed makes it difficult for defenders to mark him, and his consistent play makes him a nomination for the AUS player of the year.

They also have managed to get other players to step up and score, a major problem last year as they had only one main scorer. This season Elvir Gigolaj (6), Shawn Kodejs (4), Peter Garonis(2), Shane Rajaraman(2), Nils Webber(2), and Ian Coke(2) have all managed to score.

The emergence of second team AUS All Star Adam Miller has given a lot of security for the Huskies on the back end. Miller only gave up 9 goals in 13 games this season.

There are a few players who have been consistent performers as the starting line-up game in and game has been remarkably steady. 10 players have played or started in 10 of the games this season, and 5 of those players have played and started every game. That kind of consistency in the line-up has been one of the keys to the success of the team.

Based on how quarter final Friday in Moncton plays out, the Huskies could possibly face Dalhousie, Cape Breton, or UNB. More than likey, it will be the third seeded Tigers.

This year Dal has played SMU twice and both games were very different. In their first encounter at Huskies stadium, the Huskies beat the Tigers down. The score was 6-1 for the Huskies. Cordoba had picked apart the Dal defence as they were not ready for his skill and speed. A very shaky Dal defence with injuries did not help, and their lack of ability to shut down a faster Huskies team showed.

The second meeting between the teams was a more gritty game. The Tigers took the rematch 2-0. Dalhousie came out with a plan to shut down Cordoba as Nathan Rodgers shadowed the elusive striker all night and did a good job. SMU and Cordoba were held off the score sheet and ended up losing the game. Dal just used Ben Ur and the wind in the second half to just keep pounding the ball deep and it finally opened up.

If they are to play again for a 3rd time, it is sure to be an excellent game as it will be for all the marbles. SMU is undefeated in the last 5 games going (3-0-2). Dalhousie is undefeated in the last 5 games as well (3-0-2). This Dal team in the last 9 games has gone (5-1-3) with their only loss coming against long throwins against St. Fx. With Dal finding its stride now and Tyler Lewars on the score sheet this could be a tough match.

SMU will have to rely on Cordoba to take a lot of pressure and open up other areas on the field for other players. Dal did lose Nathan Rodgers to injury and it will be interesting to see how they manage without him. I think that this game will go to extra time as both teams have the ability to score and defend very well.

If the Huskies do beat the Tigers they will more than likely play Cape Breton or St. Fx. If they play either of these teams they will be in for a very tough game as both of these teams have given SMU a tough time this year.

Regardless of whether it's vs. the Tigers, Capers, or X-Men, the road to AUS Championship glory will be difficult this weekend in Moncton for the Huskies.

Armaan Ahluwalia is a journalism student at Dalhousie and a writer with the Dal Gazette. Follow Armaan on twitter @therealbrindian and check out his blog, www.1inthestands.wordpress.com.