AUS Recap: Huskies Ties Series With Dramatic Comeback, Axemen Qualify for AUS Championships

Lucas Bloodoff had a goal and an assist to lead the Huskies in a pivotal win over X.

by Bill McLean

Huskies Ties Series With Dramatic Comeback

The Saint Mary's Huskies overcame a 3-0 deficit tonight at the Forum to defeat the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men and even the best of five AUS semi final series at one game a piece

Lucas Bloodoff, Mike Danton, Chris Mackinnon, and David Macdonald scored for the Huskies in the final thirty minutes to propel Saint Mary's to victory and give the defending CIS champions home ice advantage for the remainder of the series.

Game 3 in this intriguing series will be Tuesday night from the Forum at 7:00.

Acadia Takes Care of Business, Moves on To AUS Championships

Despite losing 10 of 12 games in 2011 before this weekend, the Acadia Axemen are off to the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships.

Acadia swept the Memorial Seahawks in two games to garner eight points in the standings and earn a trip to the Metro Centre as the number four seed. The Axemen will play the UNB Varsity Reds on Friday night at 6:00 in the quarter finals. At 8:00 approximate will be the highly anticipated match up of the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men versus Joey Haywood and the Saint Mary's Huskies.

Both games on friday can be seen on sportstream.ca, the offiicial webcaster of the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships.

Sportstream.ca is the official webcaster of Saint Mary's athletics and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

AUS Sunday; X-Women Look for Perfection on Senior's Day at the DMA

The Tigers will honour 5th year Senior Laura Shearer today at the DMA.

(Photo Credit: Nick Pearce)

by Bill McLean

Women's Hockey

Saint Francis Xavier (23-0) at Dalhousie (10-13)

This should be a Senior's Sunday doozy from the DMA. There are playoff implications on the line for the Tigers as they are battling for the third seed at AUS championships. It won't make a huge difference for who they match up with in the quarter finals but it would put them in line to play Moncton in the Semis as opposed to these juggernaut X-Women on their home ice in Antigonish.

St FX will walk in to Dalhousie undefeated on the season and looking for one for win to achieve regular season perfection. Yesterday the dynamic duo of Janelle Parent (43 points) and Alex Normore (41 points) combined for three goals to lead the X-Women to a dominating 3-0 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies on Senior's day at Alumni Arena.

Dalhousie will be honouring 5th year senior and team captain, Laura Shearer, along with the high scoring Jocelyn Leblanc, and solid veterans Robyn Nicholson, Robin Mullen, and Alyssa Hennigar. These seniors have been the core of the Tigers team for several years and they'll be hyped for a huge upset of the X-Women to make their last game at the DMA a memorable one.

Game time is 2:00 and will be webcast on ssncanada with Bill McLean and Steve Betts.


Mount Allison (9-13) at St.Thomas (10-13)

Two teams that have clinched playoff spots but are battling for positioning. Each can finish anywhere from third to sixth in the standings, and like the Tigers they'll both be pressing to get the third spot to avoid St FX until the Championship game. The Mounties have alot of size while STU answers with alot of team speed. The Mounties have lost 6 of their last 7 games while the Tommies are 3-2 in their last five.

Men's Hockey: Semi Finals

#3 Saint Francis Xavier at #2 Saint Mary's (X leads 1-0 in Best of Five)

The X-Men drew first blood on Thursday night in Antigonish behind three point performances from Chris Hulit and Jason Bast. The X-Men's 5-3 victory would not have been possible without the stellar play of Joey Perricone who turned away 22 pucks by the Huskies who out shot the X-Men 25-17. This combination of Hulit and Perricone is turning into a winning formula for St FX and has the team two wins away from going to nationals.
The defending CIS champion Huskies will be desperate for a win tonight at the Forum to get back on equal footing. Dating back to last season, St FX has now won 4 straight semi final games versus defending CIS champs. Last year they swept UNB in three games one year after the Reds won the national title.
If the Huskies are to break through with a win they'll need to capitalize more on the power play (X had 22 PIM on Thursday compared to 6 for SMU) and get better goaltending from Neil Conway.
Game time from the Forum is 7:00.




Women's Basketball

Memorial (11-8, 30 points) at Acadia (11-8, 30 points)
Come Friday night in St.John's these two teams will be tired of seeing each other. Today's game is a battle for 4th place but meaningless for playoff positioning as the teams will play each other in the quarter finals next weekend. Yesterday the Axewomen got 24 points from Stephanie Chapman to beat the Seahawks 83-68. But...”beware of the Seahawks on Sunday!” Memorial is 7-2 this season on Sunday, with several of those wins coming after being blown out the night before.

Men's Basketball

Memorial (3-19, 8 pts) at Acadia (6-13, 18 pts)
Coming in to this weekend set versus the Seahawks, Steve Bauer and the Axemen knew it was a simple scenario; win both games and plan your trip to Halifax for AUS championships, or lose one game and stay home in Wolfville. Acadia took care of business last night with a decisive 86-65 victory behind 27 points from Alex McLaughlin, and a double/double (25 pts, 13 rebs) from Owen Klassen. If Acadia wins today they'll be the fourth seed next weekend at the Metro Centre and play the UNB Varsity Reds in the quarter finals on Friday night. If they lose, the UPEI Panthers will qualify as the sixth seed. Needless to say, there are alot of Memorial Seahawks fans today in Charlottetown.

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Sporstream will have live coverage of all five games from the Metro Centre. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

Huskies on Haligonia; Seniors Day at Alumni as Huskies Host Undefeated X-Women

Jillian MacIsaac will be busy today vs. the nationally ranked X-Women.

(photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

by Bill McLean

The defending AUS champion Saint Mary's Huskies will be looking to hand the Saint Francis Xavier X-Women their first loss of the season on Senior's Day at the Alumni Arena.

The X-Women are the third ranked team in the country with a record of 22 wins and no losses. Led by the high scoring duo of Janelle Parent (40 pts) and Alex Normore (38 pts), St FX has outscored their AUS opponents 106-32.

The X-Women's biggest strength may be on the blue line where they have an outstanding balance of size and skill. Diminutive captain Suzanne Fenerty has 20 pts this season and Marilynn Hay and 6'4” Jenna Downey provide alot of stability on the back end.

The Huskies have clinched a playoff spot and can still finish anywhere from third to sixth in the standings as the season comes to a close this weekend. Saint Mary's is 7-5 in 2011 after a rough start before the break.

Lauren McCusker, Kyla Thurston, and Courtney Schriver have combined for 68 points to lead the Huskies scoring attack. Goaltender Jillian MacIssac has played in all 23 games this season and has a solid Goals Against Average of 3.13.

Before the opening face off the team will be paying tribute to their seniors playing their last game at Alumni Arena. The list of seniors includes 5th year standouts Seyara Shwetz from Waskateneau, Alberta and local Halifax product Schriver.

Game time from Alumni is 2:00 and it will be webcast on sportstream.ca. Bill McLean will have the call.


Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_ and check us out on facebook.

AUS Friday Night; Playoff Implications Abound in Women's and Men's Basketball

Mike Danton and the Huskies begin their CIS title defence tonight in Antigonish vs. the X-Men

(photo credit: Richard Lafortune)

by Bill McLean

Men's Hockey Semi Finals

#2 Saint Mary's at #3 Saint Francis Xavier

Easily the most exciting playoff match up in the country gets started tonight in Antigonish. Most pundits are picking the best of five series to go the distance and some think the X-Men are primed for an upset. St FX swept the four games from the defending national champions during the regular season and have the physicality and depth needed to bring down the Huskies. Leading scorer Chris Hulit is playing as good as anyone in the conference, Spencer McAvoy leads a big, talented defensive core, and Joey Perricone is arguably the best goaltender in the conference.
The Huskies respond with all the usual suspects ready to go, a deep and talented roster, and that characteristic Huskies swagger. The Huskies are built for the playoffs and feature size and skill at every position. After a January slide that saw the champs reeling with five straight losses, the Huskies finished the regular season with five straight wins including a 3-1 drubbing of the top ranked Varsity Reds at the Forum. Veterans Andrew Hotham (37 pts) and Cam Fergus (32 pts) are leading the way while Chris Mackinnon and Kyle Wharton have proven to be outstanding additions.
Expect this series to be full of drama, intrigue, physicality, speed....and to go the distance.

Women's Hockey

Mount Allison (9-13) at Moncton (15-7)

Both teams have clinched playoff berths, Le Aigles Bleus are locked in at the two spot and will have a first round bye at the AUS championships, while the Mounties are still battling for seeding. Dalhousie, St.Thomas, Saint Mary's, and Mount Allison are all separated by only 3 points heading into the final weekend. The only question is can any of those four teams actually come close to beating X or Moncton in the semi finals.

Women's Basketball

UNB (14-4, 40 pts) at St.FX (12-6, 34 pts)
Outstanding match up of two teams with championship aspirations and hitting stride right at the perfect time. St FX, CBU, and UNB are all in contention for the top two spots and a first round bye at AUS championships. Despite leading CBU by four points and X by six, the Reds will need to win at least one game this weekend to secure a bye. The Capers and X-Women both have a four point game with Carly Clarke's rebuilding UPEI Panthers this weekend so you can add four points to their standings total already. Therefore if the Reds get swept by X and CBU this weekend, they'll finish third and have to play a first round game in St. John's. Don't think UNB coach Jeff Speedy isn't aware of this and expect him to have Amanda Sharpe and the Corby sisters fired up. X responds with the most athletic, deepest team in the conference that will try to blitzkrieg the Reds in the first quarter with their full court pressure and running offensive game. Should be a dandy!

UPEI (0-18) at Cape Breton (14-4, 36 pts)
With a first round bye in his sights, don't expect Fabian Mackenzie to take it easy on the Panthers tonight in Sydney. Even with a guaranteed four point win tonight, if X beats UNB in Antigonish, the Capers will have to beat UNB tomorrow night to secure a pass to Semi Final Saturday at AUS Championships. The Panthers have the unfortunate chore of finishing their season on the road playing two teams battling for byes, but Carly Clarke's troops have shown remarkable progress this season and appear on the verge of becoming competitive again after Clarke overhauled the program two years ago.

Men's Basketball

UNB (8-10, 20 pts) at CBU (17-1, 46 pts)
The Capers finish the season with a weekend set of pivotal home games ripe with playoff implications.....for their opponents. As for the champs they have first place in the AUS wrapped up and can use the weekend to fine tune for semi final Saturday at the Metro Centre on March 5th. As for UNB, an upset in Sydney would give them four points in the standings and their first playoff game in the Brent Baker era. The Reds can still make the playoffs even with a pair of weekend losses if one of the following happens; UPEI loses both their games at X and CBU or SMU loses to Dal or Acadia drops one game to MUN. However UNB would definitely want to finish fourth or fifth and avoid a first round match up with the X-Men.

UPEI (7-11, 18 pts) at St FX (13-5, 34 pts)
For the story of this game basically see above and substitute X for CBU and UPEI for UNB. The X-Men are locked in as the third seed at AUS Championships and are basically trying to work on chemistry and getting healthy. The Panthers are desperate for a win tonight versus the X-Men or tomorrow night at Cape Breton. Amongst other scenarios, if Acadia sweeps the last place Seahawks in Wolfville, and UPEI loses both their games, the Panthers will be out of the playoffs. Basically if the Panthers can pull off a shocker tonight or tomorrow, their in. If they don't, they'll have to cheer for Memorial to pull of a shocker at Acadia.


Here are the standings and tiebreakers for the AUS as we approach final weekend.

1. Cape Breton (clinched bye)
2. Dalhousie (clinched bye)
3. Saint Francis Xavier (clinched third place)
4. UNB 20 pts ( at CBU (4) at X (4) )
5. SMU 20 pts (at Dal )
6. UPEI 18 pts (at CBU (4) at X (4) )
7. Acadia 14 pts ( 2 games vs MUN (8) )
8. MUN (out of playoffs)

In case of last place tie;
UNB has tiebreaker on SMU
UPEI has tiebreaker on Acadia

Confused? Should be a wacky final weekend. My prediction is this:

4. Acadia – 22 pts
5. UNB -20 pts.
6. SMU – 20 pts.
7. UPEI – 18 pts (out of playoffs)

That would make Friday's matchups at AUS Championships the following;

#4 Acadia vs # 5UNB
#3 St FX vs #6 SMU

The X-Men vs Joey Haywood could be alot of fun! But don't count out a resilient group of Panthers from winning a game this weekend, and remember the Axemen are 1-10 in their last 11 and could easily lose a game at home to Memorial.

It will be interesting drama to say the least.

Sportstream.ca is the official webcaster of the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

AUS Gameday; Huskies Travel to Wolfville for Critical Games vs Acadia

Owen Klassen's Axemen are in the driver's seat for a playoff berth as the AUS regular season winds down.

by Bill McLean

Saint Mary's (8-10, 18 pts) at Acadia (9-8, 17 pts)

Both teams have clinched playoff spots and are essentially battling for fifth or sixth place. If the season ended today the Huskies would have to play the X-Women in the AUS quarter finals. while Acadia would have to play the host team Memorial, so it's essentially pick your poison.

Pundits and fans still are not sure if these teams have underachieved or if they just are not as good as the top four. Certainly on paper they each have considerable assets. The Huskies feature the nation's leading scorer in Justine Colley and a solid starting lineup consisting of Susanne Canvin and Robbi Daley. Meanwhile the Axewomen have the Duinker sisters, Abby and Emma leading the way along with outstanding rookies in Kristy Moore and Ariel Smith. Throw in the plucky point guard Stephanie Chapman, who literally stole a victory away from Dalhousie last month, and the Axewomen seem to have the pieces for a championship run.

The problem for both teams has been a considerable lack of depth off the bench, and a lack of quickness on the perimeter. They match up very well against each other, but against teams like X, UNB, and CBU which feature quick and athletic guards, both teams struggle to defend.

Both teams are very capable of making an impact at AUS playoffs. The Axewomen are the hotter team coming in, having gone 8-4 in their last 12 games. The Huskies have only played three games this month due to the Canada Games taking over the Tower and had lost four of five before beating the Tigers by 20 last week.

The Huskies beat Acadia in the season opener at the Tower 92-86, but Acadia has won the last two meetings, 71-50 in Wolfville and 68-65 back at Saint Mary's.

Saint Mary's (6-12, 18 pts) at Acadia (5-12, 14 pts)

One look at the standings and you would think this would be a desperate game for the Axemen considering they trail the Huskies and UPEI by four points for the last playoff spot.

Upon closer examination it's the Huskies that could really use a win if they are to make the AUS playoffs. After tonight, Acadia has a weekend set in Wolfville versus the last place Memorial Seahawks with eight points in the standings up for grabs. Assuming (and certainly it's not a safe assumption considering the play of the Axemen in 2011) that Acadia gets those eight points on the final weekend, you can basically look at the bottom half of the standings like this before tonight's game;

4. Acadia 22 pts Games remaining: vs. SMU (2)
5. UNB 20 pts Games remaining: at CBU (4) at X (4)
6. SMU 18 pts Games remaining: at Acadia (2) at Dal (2)
7. UPEI 18 pts Games remaining: at CBU (4) at X (4)

Hard to believe isn't it? As bad as Acadia has been they are in the driver's seat for the #4 seed at AUS playoffs.

The Huskies hold the tiebreaker with UPEI, so if both teams finish with 18 points, SMU would qualify as the sixth seed and the Panthers would be out. Essentially, barring a major upset by Memorial over the weekend, the Panthers have to go in to Antigonish or Sydney and come out with a win.

No easy task.

Tonight's game features the nation's leading scorer Joey Haywood versus arguably the best inside/outside player in the conference, Acadia's Owen Klassen. Haywood is in the race for AUS MVP while a strong finish by the Axemen could secure Klassen a spot as a First Team All Star.

Acadia broke a nine game losing skid on Sunday with a buzzer beating tip in by Alex Mclaughlin vs. Dalhousie. The Huskies have lost five in a row including two heart breakers at the Tower to the X-Men and Capers when Saint Mary's seemed to have each game in hand.

The Axemen have had the Huskies number this season beating them 97-90 in the season opener at the Tower and 91-81 in Wolfville. The Huskies got a measure of revenge last month with a 96-80 win in Halifax.


Game Notes
Joey Haywood is leading the nation in scoring with an average of 29 ppg. I had an interview earlier this month with Joey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxRqWfHOru0) ..... Tory Fassett is in the running for an AUS Second team all star spot, averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds......Owen Klassen is averaging 18 pts and 10 rebs this season for the Axemen......Anthony Sears averages 17 ppg for Acadia......The Axemen victory over Dal on Sunday was by virtue of a spirited fourth quarter comeback. Owen Klassen's three pointer came up short but Alex McLaughlin was there with a very difficult tip in to win it at the buzzer.....Acadia is the lowest scoring team in the conference while the Huskies are second to last in points allowed per game.

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

AUS Profile: Kerri Smit of the Saint Mary's Huskies

The 2010/11 AUS MVP digs up some personal info with Armaan Ahluwalia.


Current Team: Saint Mary’s Huskies
Height: 184cm
Date of Birth: June 18th 1989
Where you are from: Shubenacadie, NS
Where you played High School Volleyball: Hants East Rural High
Favourite Player: Annie Levesque
Favourite Team: My own Huskies
Player you model your game after: Annie Levesque, Emily Cordonier
How old were you when you started playing: Grade 9 Club Season (15yrs)
Why Volleyball: I excelled at it the most, enjoyed it the most. Plus there’s no running involved.
Pre Game Rituals: Visualization, Listening to my Pump-Up play list, then sitting on the bench until it’s time to start warming up.
Whats the most listened song on your IPod: Shut It Down -Drake ft. The Dream
Dream Lineup, with you in it: Annie Levesque(libero), Ashley Creighton(Middle), Jennifer Hinze(Middle), Tess Edwards(Setter), Kyla Richey(Right Side), Me(Power), Liz Cordonier(Power)
Hobbies: Sports, Reading, Piano, Farming
Best Skill: Hitting
Area of your game that needs work: Blocking and passing mainly, but everything can definitely improve
Favourite Coach and why: Huskies Coaching Staff & Olivier Trudel(Montreal), they have taught me much of what I know and always keep it interesting
What are your goals Short and Long term:
Short – Win AUS 2011
Long – Probably to start on Team Canada and play pro in Europe
Favourite Movies: The Ugly Truth, No Strings Attached, Without a Paddle, The Proposal
Role Model: Dad, Susan Vanderkooy
Goals for the year: Win AUS 2011, win MVP of the league
Most famous person in your cell phone: Darcy Brown of the Hamilton Tigercats
One Crazy thing about you: I don’t buy any clothes full price – Value Village is my favorite store
Favourite Food: Chips – any flavor
Dream Vacation Destination: Anywhere down south with the girls, All-inclusive!
In your free time you are: Reading, listening to music, relaxing, hanging out with friends
IPhone or Blackberry: Iphone for the game Apps!








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











Sportstream.ca is the home of the Saint Mary's Huskies and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championship. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

V-Reds Have Statement Game Against CBU

Senior Amanda Sharpe Will Be Honored today at the Pit in Fredericton.

by Christopher Cameron

As the UNB women’s basketball team entered the LB Gym for their final regular season game of the season, it was also the final game for the program in the gym after 70 years before moving to the new Richard J. Currie Center next season.
Up against a tough opponent in the Cape Breton Capers in a statement game concerning who is the top dog in women’s basketball for the AUS, the hometown UNB Varsity Reds opened the scoring on a 6-0 run with Amanda Sharpe sinking the first two baskets.
CBU tightened the score with their own 4-0 run, before both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter with UNB taking a lead out of the first 20-16.
After an even start both teams kept the offence coming in the second quarter with the Varsity Reds coming out on top at the end of the second quarter 40-27 after a handful of runs, including a 9-0 run to end the half.
Unlike last week where the Varsity Reds came out of both halftime breaks on fire, in the third quarter it was the Capers time to bounce back and close in on the hot UNB squad. With little offence coming from UNB it was all CBU’s Jahlica Kimon on offence.
There were no big runs for the Capers, but by the end of the quarter UNB’s lead had been chipped away at from the 13 points to only five points going into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was more offence power from Kimon and Kari Everett of CBU as they kept creeping closer to UNB closing to within two at 66-64 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.
Both teams traded baskets with UNB eventually getting two back-to-back to put a final “lock” on the win. CBU would get to within two again with just under five seconds left, but that is as close as they would get as the Varsity Reds took the game 71-68.
Leading the Varsity Reds in scoring was Sharpe, with 23 points, but that was no easy task being matched up against the 6’2” Haywood. Sharpe gave credit to her team getting her the ball to put herself in a good position.
“It was my teammates,” she said. “I’ve said it so much. I don’t know how they get me the ball sometimes. I’m really undersized compared to Cape Breton’s posts. They (teammates) do such a great job getting me the ball as soon as I’m open.”
“I don’t think I’ve played against someone that has blocked me that much so lots of props to her. They are really good defenders so I had to use all my moves tonight.”
This was also Sharpe’s last game to be played in the LB Gym with a Varsity Reds jersey and although that is a big moment in itself she says getting the win is just as huge.
“It is bittersweet that this is the last time I will play here and it’s kind of cool to go out here with the pit,” she said. “It was a great win and we’re going to use this great energy to get us through playoffs.”
With this win the Varsity Reds have now jumped four points ahead of Cape Breton, but UNB head coach Jeff Speedy is not too concerned as to if his team finishes first or second, so long as they get the bye.
“I would like to finish first or second to be honest with you ‘cause that gets you a first round bye through the playoffs,” said Speedy. “Our league doesn’t give you a banner for winning the league in conference play. They only give you a banner in March. It would be like to finish in first or second and this win gives us a chance to do that.”
This weekend was also huge for UNB, welcoming back to the lineup Megan Corby. Speedy couldn’t say enough about how important it is to have her healthy and on the court.
“Oh my gosh. She is one of the best point guards in the country,” he said. “She does so many things that a lot of people don’t even notice. Our confidence goes through the roof when she’s back there.”
“The two-headed monster we have with Leah and Megan playing the point is pretty hard to stop. If either one of them is hurt it puts so much pressure on the other to have a perfect game. Leah had a great weekend last weekend, but I’d sooner go to battle with both of them.”
Next weekend UNB will travel to Antigonish and Sydney for their final games of the regular season.

Christopher Cameron is the Sports Editor for the Brunswickan in Fredericton. Follow him on twitter @ccam1988.

AUS Sunday; Seniors Day at The Pit, Volleyball Championships Take Center Stage

Sander Ratsep and the Tigers look to avoid an AUS Championship sweep at the hands of UNB.

by Bill McLean

AUS Women’s Volleyball Championship in Sydney

#2 UNB vs. #1 Saint Mary’s

Both teams cruised to semi finals wins as the Huskies eliminated the X-Women in straight sets and the Reds sent Dalhousie back to Halifax with a four set victory. Both teams are stacked with senior talent, AUS all stars, impact first year players, and height. Both teams have athleticism at certain positions but are not necessarily that dynamic. The match could simply come down to the Huskies having AUS MVP Kerri Smit on their side. When she’s on point, Smit can simply takeover a match and lead the Huskies to victory. The match up in the middle of Celina Abba and Tessa Felix will be outstanding, and the play of the Huskies setter Jane Pegg could be the X-Factor for SMU.
Prediction: Take the defending champs to go back to back. Final score: 3-1.

AUS Men’s Volleyball Championship at Dalhousie- Game 2
#1 UNB vs. #2 Dalhousie

The Tigers are one loss away from having their consecutive championship streak halted at a mind boggling 24. The Reds have a lot of seniors who have been taking their lumps from the Tigers for years and are looking to finish their careers as winners. Dalhousie is stacked with seniors who don’t want their careers to end being “the team” that broke the streak. The match up in the middle with Max Burt and Jacob Kilpatrick is about as intense as it gets, and Sander Ratsep looked unstoppable at times in Game 1. On Friday night in Fredericton the Pit was packed for the Reds five set victory, hopefully Tigers Nation will respond and “pack the ‘Plex”. This is a can’t miss game for volleyball fans, UNB /Dal alumni, and anyone who loves sport and the passion it can create. The game is at 3:00 on ssncanada if you can’t make it to the Dalplex.

Women’s Basketball

Dalhousie (4-14, 14 pts) at Acadia (8-8, 22 pts)

After a convincing loss to Acadia last night, the Tigers are officially eliminated and now looking forward to next year when former Axewomen Keisha Brown joins a talented core of guards/forwards in Courtney Thompson, Anna Von Maltzahn, and Trish Mcneil. Acadia is looking to build on playoff positioning by jumping past Saint Mary’s into fifth place. The Axewomen are getting hot at the right time, now 7-4 since the Holiday break.

Saint Francis Xavier (12-5, 34 pts) at Memorial (10-7, 28 pts)

After beating MUN 61-58 last night the X-Women are now 6-1 in their last seven games and have a bye on the brain, trailing CBU by only 2 points. But…..beware the Seahawks on Sunday. Memorial is 6-2 this season in the second game of the weekend set and always seem to play with a lot more energy and focus on Sunday.

Cape Breton (14-4, 36 pts) at UNB (14-4, 40 pts)

This is another huge 4 point game in the standings today on Senior Sunday in the Pit. Not only will the Reds be honoring Leah Corby and Amanda Sharpe, but it will be the last women’s basketball game played at the old barn on the bottom of the hill. The Reds beat CBU 71-68 yesterday and with a win today can move 8 points ahead in the standings and secure first place in the conference. Don’t think for a second that Fabian Mackenzie and Kari Everitt have any plans of playing nice house guest. This is the type of scenario that the champs love and they’ll be out to spoil the party.

Men’s Basketball

Dalhousie (13-5, 42 pts) at Acadia (4-12, 12 pts)

As mentioned yesterday, Acadia is still in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth with a very favorable schedule that includes a two game set vs. MUN in Wolfville with 8 points up for grabs. But at some point the Axemen have to win a game to get started. Steve Bauer’s troops have now lost nine in a row and fell behind 25-13 to Dalhousie yesterday after the first quarter. The Tigers are locked in as the number 2 seed in the AUS playoffs but seem hell bent on playing sharp, focused basketball to finish out the stretch so Acadia will need their best performance of the season if they are to snap this losing streak.

Saint Francis Xavier (12-5, 32 pts) at Memorial (3-14, 8pts)

The X-Men are locked in as the three seed at AUS playoffs but are looking to establish momentum and chemistry coming down the stretch. There are whispers among AUS pundits that Will Silver could be a first team AUS all star this year and Terry Thomas has become the most dynamic rookie in the conference. Thomas scored 26 points yesterday on 12-15 shooting.

Sportstream is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_ and check us out facebook.

UNB Draws First Blood in AUS Championship

UNB is one win away from stopping the Tigers consecutive AUS Championship streak at 24.

by Christopher Cameron

After sweeping Dalhousie at home last weekend to grab home court advantage, the UNB Varsity Reds faced a completely different team last night.

The first set was indicative of this as both teams were back and forth with the team’s being tied 12 times throughout the set, with UNB edging out Dal for a 26-24 win.

In the second set it was a completely different story as Dalhousie showed why they have won the last 24 AUS men’s volleyball titles, not giving UNB any lead in the set, winning it 25-21 after the Varsity Reds made a late push to close the gap.

Another set went to Dal as UNB continued to struggle to regain momentum, dropping the third set 25-22.

The pit was packed, but after the crowd helped push UNB over the edge in the first set, the approximately 1000 fans were silent after watching their team fall two straight sets. After the match Varsity Reds head coach Dan McMorran said that just cause his team has home court advantage they cannot rely on the fans to win a match for them.

“If you look at the second and third sets, we came back to within one a couple times in each of those sets, getting the crowd somewhat back into it,” said McMorran. “Sure it helps and it’s nice, but then again we let the pressure off. We took our foot off the gas again making unforced errors and Dal came back and jumped all over it.”

The Varsity Reds were able to pull out the set. Although they got down early, they bounced back tying it up 16-16 midway through the set. The team’s traded points until at 19-19 UNB opened up at three point lead and never looked back winning 25-20 and pushing the match to a fifth set.
The Tigers opened the final set with the first point followed by UNB grabbing three straight to lead 3-1 early. After Dal bounced back with a point of their own, the Varsity Reds went on another tear and going into the switch were up 8-5.

A comeback from Dal made for an exciting finish as they closed the gap, eventually tying the match at 12-12 on a service ace by Max Burt. UNB then shut down what momentum the Tigers had, scoring the next three points to win 15-12 and take game one of the best of three.

Looking at the match McMorran discussed how his team was lucky to get out of the day with the win after some not so stellar play.

“We have to play better ball all the way around,” he said. “Like you mentioned, Julio didn’t serve like he did the other day, he got some big kills for us down the stretch, but we as a team did not perform like we did last weekend.”

Winning on the road will be no easy task, but he knows his squad can do it.

“We’ve been there before. Three years ago we went down there and won the first match of the AUS playoffs in Halifax,” said McMorran. “I think our guys know we need to lay it all out on the line. It’s not guaranteed we’re going to win down there. There’s no Cinderella story here, just cause people think it’s our year.”

“It’s not our year unless we prove it on the court.”

Christopher Cameron is the sports editor for The Brunswickan student newspaper in Fredericton. Follow him on twitter @ccam1988.

AUS Saturday: Huskies look to return to AUS Title Game; Potential Championship Previews in Women's Basketball

AUS MVP Kerri Smit will be looking to lead the Huskies to another AUS Championship game.

(photo credit: Nick Pearce http://www.123photo.com/)

by Bill McLean

AUS Women's Volleyball Championships in Sydney- Semi Final Saturday

#1 Saint Mary's Huskies vs. #4 Saint Francis Xavier X-Women

The X-Women held off a feisty Moncton team in the early going last night to cruise to a 3-1 quarter finals victory. They'll have a much tougher time today against the defending champs featuring the AUS MVP in Kerri Smit. The Huskies finished 10 points ahead of X in the standings and are loaded with veteran talent in Smit, Ali Beaver, Keisha Muisse, Liz Cozulich, and Amy Crider. The addition of second team all stars Jane Pegg and Tessa Felix has helped to seperate the Huskies from a conference that has been a log jam for several seasons. The X-Women counter with first team all star Katherine Ryan, second team all star Catherine Thornton, and Rookie of the Year Jessica Roberts.

#2 UNB Varsity Reds vs. #3 Dalhousie Tigers

Outstanding match up of height and experience vs youth and athleticism. The Varsity Reds feature a roster with five players over six feet tall including fifth years seniors Jillian Blanchard and Erica Hay. The Tigers may have the most dynamic outside hitting team in the conference and have depth at every position but not one player past three years of eligibility. The critical match up could be Kirstie Shepherd vs Celina Abba in the middle. Both players have explosive jumping ability and show alot of emotion on the court.

Men's Hockey - Quarter Finals

Game 2- #3 St FX X-Men vs #6 Dalhousie

The X-Men dominated the Tigers on Thursday night in Antigonish 4-0, but it could have been much worse had Tigers netminder Bobby Nadeau not turned away 35 shots. If the Tigers are to have a chance in their first home playoff game in nearly a decade they'll have to stay out of the penalty box and muster more than the 14 shots they had in game 1. This game is on ssncanada on the web and Eastlink on TV.

Game 2- #4 Acadia vs. #5 UPEI

Match up of two teams that struggled near the end of the regular season. The high scoring Panthers were shut out by the defensive minded Axemen 1-0 last night in Wolfville. Kristopher Westblom made 25 saves for Acadia for the shutout.

Women's Basketball

Dalhousie (4-13, 14 pts) vs. Acadia (7-8, 20 pts)

The last stand for the Tigers. With an Acadia win the Axewomen will secure the final playoff spot and eliminate Dalhousie. Tigers are 1-8 in their last 9 games, Acadia is 6-4 in their last 10.

Cape Breton (14-3, 36 pts) vs UNB (13-4, 36 pts)

Possibly an AUS championship preview. Both teams are athletic, high scoring, and love to push the tempo. The Capers athletic backcourt of Jahlica Kirnon and Tanira McClurkin vs the Corby sisters of UNB will be alot of fun while the match up of the UNB's dynamic duo of Claire Colbourne and Amanda Sharpe vs. 5th year senior Keri Everitt will go a long way in determining the victor. The X-factor could be the play of Denisha Haywood for the Capers. When motivated, she is a game changer on both ends of the floor.

Saint Francis Xavier (11-5, 32 pts) vs Memorial (10-6, 28 pts)

Another potential AUS championship preview. These two teams split in Antigonish a month ago but it's a lot harder for a road team to win in St. John's than the Oland Centre. The X-Women attack in waves while the Seahawks counter with high scoring gunner Grace Fishbein and outstanding post play by the duo of Alex Forsey and Jennifer Parsons.

Men's Basketball

Acadia (4-11, 12 pts) vs. Dalhousie (12-5, 40 pts)

Tigers have secured a bye and still have an outside chance at first place, but are essentially just trying to stay sharp and focused. Despite being in seventh place and six points out of a playoff spot, the struggling Axemen are still in the drivers seat for a sixth seed. They have a pair of four point games vs Memorial at home to finish the season and a home game vs the Huskies, one of the teams they are trying to track down. The bad news? Acadia has lost eight straight games. They don't need to beat the Tigers today to stay alive but a positive performance would go a long way in rebuilding confidence.

Cape Breton (16-1, 42 pts) vs. UNB (8-9, 20 pts)

The Capers are 1 win and 1 Tigers loss away from securing first place. What does this mean? The team that finished first will avoid a highly probable semi final match up with the Saint Francis Xavier X-men. The Reds are the feel good story of the AUS, making huge strides in Brent Baker's third year of rebuilding the program. On the verge of securing a playoff berth, look for UNB to give the champs all they can handle in the Pit.

Saint Francis Xavier (11-5, 30 pts) vs. Memorial (3-13, 8 pts)

The X-Men are probably the most feared team in the conference but have yet to meet their potential. Built for a national championship, the X-Men have struggled to find consistency all season. While Dalhousie and Cape Breton hope they don't figure things out, this weekend trip to St.John's could be just what Coach K needs to get all his troops on the right page and focused on a championship run.

Women's Hockey

Saint Mary's (9-13) vs. Mount Allison (9-12)

Huskies took care of business vs. the Panthers last night while the Mounties nearly pulled off the shocker of the year, losing to the undefeated X-Women 3-2 in OT.

St.Thomas (9-13) vs. Dalhousie (10-12)

Tommies have beaten the Tigers two out of three times this year. Could be a critical game in determining third place for AUS championships. The Tigers are coming off a heartbreaking loss last night to Moncton.

Saint Francis Xavier (21-0) vs. UPEI (3-19)

The X-Women nearly saw their undefeated season come to an end last night in Sackville. They'll be looking to get back in form vs. the last place Panthers. This one may not be pretty to watch.

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies, Halifax Rainmen, Metro Marauders, and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_ and check us out on facebook!

AUS Friday Night; Tigers and Varsity Reds Set For An Epic Battle in Fredericton

Jacob Kilpatrick has an AUS title in his sights after being named MVP this week.

(photo by Rob Blanchard)

by Bill McLean

AUS Men's Volleyball Championships Game 1- Dalhousie Tigers at UNB Varsity Reds

The champs are in tough against AUS MVP Jacob Kilkpatrick and the Reds at The Pit in Fredericton. The Tigers haven't been underdogs since Sander Ratsep's first year and are in serious trouble of having their consecutive championship streak of 24 snapped.

The match up in the middle of 6'8" Max Burt versus 6'9" Kilkpatrick will be stellar and could determine the outcome of the series. Game 2 goes in Halifax on sunday.

AUS Women' Volleyball Championships- Quarter Finals

#6 Cape Breton vs. #3 Dalhousie- Rick Scott's deep and athletic Tigers should have no problem with a re-building Capers team that only made the playoffs by virtue of hosting.

#4 St Francis Xavier vs #5 Moncton- The teams split their season series... an intriguing match up of the X-Women's height and les Aigles Bleus athleticism.

AUS Men's Hockey Quarter Final - #5 UPEI vs. #4 Acadia

Not often you have a conference quarter final featuring two teams that have been in the national rankings. Most AUS pundits are split on this series featuring the high scoring Panthers and the hard working, "steady Eddy" Axemen. Matt Carter leads a gifted UPEI group of forwards against an Acadia team that leads the conference in power play scoring.

Women's Hockey

Dalhousie (10-8-3) vs. Moncton (14-5-2) - Great match up of Jocelyn Leblanc vs. Marieve Provost. Provost is the CIS all time leading scorer, Leblanc will try to lead the offensively inept Tigers to a pivotal road win as the playoffs approach.

Saint Francis Xavier (20-0) vs. Mount Allison (9-10-1) - The X-Women have become an AUS juggernaut and should have no problem with a hard working Mounties team looking to pull the upset of the year.

Saint Mary's (8-11-1) vs. UPEI (3-14-4) - The defending champion Huskies had won 5 of 7 after christmas but have come back to earth with a three game losing streak. They'll have a good chance of getting back on track vs. the last place Panthers who have lost 11 of their last 12 and have been eliminated from playoff contention. With a win and a Mounties loss the Huskies could move to 5th place.

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies, Metro Marauders, Halifax Rainmen, and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_ and check us out on facebook.

Sportstream Athlete Profile: Simon Farine of the Dalhousie Tigers

Simon Farine is a leading candidate for AUS Most Valuable Player this season.

by Armaan Ahluwalia

Simon Farine is dominating AUS basketball, the 5th year player at Dalhousie has the Tigers playing some of their best basketball late in the season. Farine is a solid player who has been crucial for the Tigers this year and In the Stands wanted to ask this AUS all-star a few questions.

Current Team: Dal Tigers

Height: 6’2″

Date of Birth: March 21, 1987

Where you are from: Toronto, ON

Position: Guard

Where you played High School/Club: Northern Secondary School

Favourite Player: Steve Nash

Favourite Team: Toronto Raptors

Player you model your game after: Combination of a couple: Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Derek Rose

How old were you when you started playing: 10

Why Basketball: I played a lot of sports growing up but always enjoyed basketball the most.

What is it like being a student-athlete at Dal: Its very enjoyable. I am able to balance basketball and school work.

Pre Game Rituals: Eat a banana right before every game .

Whats the most listened song on your IPod: CSNY – Suite Judy Blue Eyes

Why is the AUS so tough: Its filled with great players and the game is more open letting the players have more freedom than other areas of the country.

Best Player in the World: Lebron James

Dream Lineup, with you in it: Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Lebron James, Blake Griffin and myself.

Hobbies: Following all sports.

Best Skill: Being a playmaker

Area of your game that needs work: Everything

Favourite Coach and why: I have had a bunch of great coaches. John Campbell has coached me through my favourite and best years of my basketball career to date. And my father coached and taught me a lot of extremely valuable things and how to be tough.

How was it playing in the States: It was a good experience but the basketball and the school was not what I was hoping for and I wasn’t happy there.

What are your goals Short and Long term: Short Term are to win Nationals and graduate this year, while my long term goals are to play basketball professionally.

Favourite Movie: Gladiator

Role Model: My Parents

Most famous person in your cell phone: Taylor Prichard

One Crazy thing about you: I enjoy random bits of knowledge, including names of obscure actors.

Favourite Food: Sushi

Dream Vacation Destination: Spain

In your free time you are: Hanging out with friends.

IPhone or Blackberry: Blackberry

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

Sportstream is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies, Halifax Rainmen, Metro Marauders, and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_ and join our Facebook page.

Silver and Bronze for NB on Day 3 of Canada Games

Andrew Brideau and Evan Brideau show their silver and bronze medal with Canada Games Mascots Sammi & Anni

by Joel MacDougall

It was successful day at the 2011 Canada Games for New Brunswick speed skating. Not only did their 3000 meter male relay team qualify for the finals on Thursday, but they put two athletes on the podium of the Men’s 500m event.

At first it seemed like Andrew Evans would be the only Maritime on the podium with gold medal winner Alexandre St-Jean from Quebec, as the tight race finished with Maxime Gauthier of Quebec in third place. Following the race however Gauthier was disqualified for a violation during the race, bumping Evan Brideau, aged 17, up into the bronze medal. Watch the full race below along with some of Evans and Brideau’s post-race celebration in front of very pro-New Brunswick crowd at the St. Margaret’s Bay Centre.

Evans and Brideau kept the momentum rolling as they later joined their teammates for the Men’s 3000m Semi Finals. New Brunswick qualified for the finals by easily winning their race and will be joined by fellow Semi Final winners Quebec and Ontario. The team from Alberta also draws into the final on account of posting the next fastest time.

Other events on the day saw Courtney Shmyr of BC take hoe the gold in the Ladies 500m event. Quebec picked up another pair of medals by Cynthia Mascitto and Elisabeth Albert winning silver and bronze respectfully.

The top Nova Scotians were Elisabeth-Anne Roy (25th) and Tara Gowan (27th). Nova Scotia had no male competitors in short track speed skating.

In other news of interest from Day 3, Nova Scotia put in a valiant effort, but came out on the losing side of 5-4 shootout game against strong team from Quebec.

Joel MacDougall lives in Halifax and is the anchor of www.route19.wordpress.com. Follow Joel on twitter @jmdougall.

Varsity Reds Sweep Double Headers

Leah Corby scored 37 points in a two game set vs. the UPEI Panthers.

by Christopher Cameron

Entering the weekend just back of first place CBU, the Varsity Reds women’s basketball team got the job done at home, sweeping the UPEI Panthers with 90-66 and 98-78 wins.

With Megan Corby out of the line up, UNB showed they had the depth needed to pick up the wins, although UPEI did not make it easy.

In their second game of the doubleheader UPEI kicked off the game on an 8-0 run, with UNB bouncing back with some stellar play from Melissa Foster to close the gap.

A back and forth end of the first quarter saw UNB come out on top 30-21 in a high scoring first quarter.

The second quarter was more back and forth play as UNB struggled offensively and the Panthers found their stride of offense, opening up the quarter on a 5-0 run, dropping 20 points in the quarter. UPEI closed the gap to two points after the first half, with UNB barely taking a lead into the locker room 43-41.

After halftime a fiery Varsity Reds team came out of the locker room jumping out to a 10-0 run to kick off the quarter. Up 55-41, UNB’s quick start began to fall apart as the Panthers put a 10-0 run of their own together, closing the lead to one point with four minutes left in the quarter.

Leah Corby came through drained a pair of baskets for UNB to open up the Varsity Reds lead again, kicking off an 11-0 run before UPEI hit the final basket of the third, with UNB taking a nine point lead into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter the Varsity Reds edged out UPEI a back and forth quarter to finish the game with a 98-78 win.

Corby was named the player of the game for the Varsity Reds posting 19 points and two steals, while Amy Gough earned the title for UPEI.

Head coach Jeff Speedy was pleased with his teams play in the third and fourth quarters, especially a couple big stretches.

“There were stretches in the third and stretches in the fourth where for a couple minutes at a time we played really great defence, which allowed us to make a run,” said Speedy. “We talked at halftime that we thought we could score a lot, but we we’re going to be able to go on a run until we got some stops and allowed our defence to get us some easy baskets.”

Corby said that their main focus in the second half was defence and getting stops.

“I don’t know what we were doing wrong on defence,” said Corby. “We just tried to really focus in the second half on defence and getting stops because we know we can score, so we just had to get the stops in the defensive end.”

In their first game of the weekend UNB proved relentless in their attack with a strong first quarter, which saw them open up a 24-13 lead.

Their strong offensive pressure continued through the second half, outscoring UPEI 24-17 en route to a 48- 30 lead going into halftime.

After halftime the Varsity Reds came out, not letting up on the gas at all, scoring 24 points for the third straight quarter, taking a commanding 72-44 lead into the final quarter.

Losing their only quarter of the game, UNB saw UPEI outscore them 22-18 in the fourth, but it was a little late for the Panthers as they succumbed to the Varsity Reds offensive power, losing 90-66.

Claire Colborne led the team in scoring with 27 point with three rebounds, with Leah Corby being named the player of the game with 18 points respectively, seven assists, four rebounds, and three steals.

Next weekend UNB is home for their final home game in the LB Gym, taking on CBU Saturday.
Speedy says the team will take off tomorrow and begin to think about CBU on Monday.

“We have to get healthy,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of people with the flu. I’m not going to

think about CBU until sometime on Monday. We’re going to take tomorrow off and start worrying about them on Monday.”

Christopher Cameron is the Sports Editor for The Brunswickan student newspaper at the University of New Brunswick. Follow him on twitter @ccam1988.

Mystics vs Tommies on Sportstream.Ca

The Tommies and the Mystics resume their heated rivalry this Saturday on Sportstream.

by Bill McLean

The Mount Saint Vincent Mystics and St. Thomas Tommies will renew their intense ACAA basketball rivalry this Saturday on sportstream.ca. Live coverage begins at 4:00 with the womens game followed by the men at 6:00 from the Rosaria Centre.

Mark Forward's Mystics came one win from a CCAA womens national championship last season and find themselves in another fight with the Tommies for first place in the conference. St.Thomas and MSVU have won the past two ACAA titles.

The Tommies will enter Saturday's match up undefeated and in first place with a record of 14-0. St. Thomas beat the Mount twice in Fredericton last month by scores of 71-59 and 54-39.

“After losing two up at STU early in the new year it will be extremely important for our confidence to respond in our gym with a win against the only undefeated team in our conference,” said Forward earlier this week. “For the Tommies it will be important for them to show us they can beat us in our own gym considering playoffs are at MSVU this year. It will be a battle.”

On the mens side the nationally ranked Mystics are undefeated and locked and loaded for another championship run. Rick Plato's troops have won five ACAA championships in a row. Coach Plato recently won his five hundredth game as Head Coach of the Mystics.

After winning four ACAA championships in five years from 2000-2004, the Tommies had hit hard times the past several seasons but have re-established themselves as an upper tier team this year with a record of 10-5, good for third place behind the Mount and Holland College.

The Tommies and Mystics have combined to win nineteen of the last twenty ACAA mens basketball championships.

Sportstream's Mavs Gillis will have the call from the Rosaria Student Centre.

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies, Halifax Rainmen, Metro Marauders, and the Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

Title Town Brings Lombardi Home

Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing three touchdowns.

by Armaan Ahluwalia

The 2010/11 season is now finished and it was one to remember for the ages. The Green Bay Packers came out of Superbowl 45 victorious and brought home Vince Lombardi with a score of 31-25. Yes the small town of Green Bay in the State of Wisconsin, nicknamed Titletown is getting another trophy. The Packers became only the 2nd team in the history of the NFL win the Superbowl as the #6 seed and doing so in fashionable style.

They faced some tough opponents on the way to winning the 45th Superbowl. They started out by traveling to the city of brotherly love and beat a very good Philadelphia Eagles team, which many experts were picking to win the Superbowl. After defeating the high flying eagles they traveled to the hostile Georgia Dome to face the Falcons. Matt Ryan and his falcons the #1 seed were very comfortable playing at home due to their almost impeccable record with Ryan at QB. This would soon change as the young QB looked inexperienced and the Packers pounded the Falcons badly. They then made it to the championship game, where they would face the storied franchise #2 seed Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Even with this amazing rivalry which goes back to the early 20′s this was only the 2nd time that these teams met in the post-season. The Packers took care of the Bears with no problem and booked their ticket to the big game in Dallas, Texas.

Superbowl 45: The biggest news story following the game was that Christina Aguilera messed up the National Anthem. Or it was the commercials that did not receive the great credibility from the twitter fiends. But it was not the fact that Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy and the Packers won a title. The game started out slow with the Packers and Steelers trading failed drives to start the game. The Pack finally broke the dead lock with a pass from Rodgers to Jordy Nelson for the score. When the Steelers had the ball they committed one of their first costly turnovers. Nick Collins picked off a pass that was going to Mike Wallace but was no where near him and Collins picked it off easily. He managed to take it to the house for a score to make it a quick 14-0. Going into the half the Packers added more points to their total to make the score 21-10 going into the half.

The 3rd quarter was dominated by the Steelers. They may have not dominated on the score but they dominated on the defensive side of the ball as they finally started getting to Rodgers. They were also to establish a running game which was led by Mendenhall. They managed to put up 7 points on the board to close the lead to 4. Rodgers and company snapped back into the game by driving down the field and putting up another score on a pass to Greg Jennings. That was Jennings 2nd touchdown of the night. The Steelers answered back with a touchdown drive of their own. Roethlisberger threw to Mike Wallace for a score, they went for the 2 point conversion and converted making the Packer lead only 3 points. The Packers knowing what they need to do, went out and did it. They drove down field, taking time off the clock and getting a crucial field goal. The Steelers had one chance to score with a drive, but failed on 4th down and lost the ball and the game.

Injuries were a huge part of this game as both teams lost crucial players through out the game. From the Steelers Emmanuel Sanders hurt his knee when he was slammed down on the tackle. He tried playing the following play, but came off and threw his helmet in frustration. He threw it because he knew it was serious, and he was carted off. The other big injury was McFadden who was pulled out, Nelson managed to score when William Gay was covering him. On the other side, Donald Driver was as he hurt his ankle and was taken out and never came back in. Sam Shields was another one who was injured but came back in the 2nd half after receiving treatment in the locker room. The most important injury during the game was Charles Woodson. He broke his collarbone during the 2nd quarter on a diving play to attempt the interception. At half time Woodson tried to address his teammates and tell them that he would not be able to continue on, but he was filled with emotion and was unable to finish.

What the Steelers did wrong: Turnovers killed the Steelers in this game. That was probably the biggest mistake that the Steelers made during this game and cost them the game. Big Ben made too many bad throws and had 2 INT’s, you rarely win a Superbowl game when you throw 2 INT’s. Also when the Steelers were driving down the field Mendenhall coughed up a huge fumble when the tide seemed to be favouring the Steelers. Their inability to hold onto the ball was crucial and made a big difference as the Packers capitalized on their turnovers. Going deep with Mike Wallace? Although Mike Wallace had 9 catches 89 yards and 1 TD he was not used as much as he should have been. When Sanders went down early, they relied heavily on him for short throws which did not do much. In the past few games they had thrown it deep to Wallace who is electric quick. This lack of going deep, caused little openings over the middle for the intermediate receivers who make their money when the middle is less crowded with the deep threat. Their inexperienced receiving core also made a difference in the end. Troy Polamalu? The defensive player of the year was very quiet. Usually Polamalu causes QB’s headaches trying to avoid him, but in this game he was quiet with only 3 tackles. Thats not really defensive POY play is it? Defensive Pressure anyone? The Steelers managed to get 3 sacks all game but had trouble getting to Rodgers in 3 of the 4 quarters. Rodgers is not a QB you want to have all day to pick you apart, cause he will. Stupid Penalties. The Steelers committed only 6 penalties for 55 yards, but it was the timing of these penalties which killed them. On their final drive the decent return back was cancelled because of a stupid push after the play was over. Silly penalties causes them problems as they continued to shoot themselves in the feet.

What the Packers did right: Aaron Rodgers, what more can I say about Rodgers. 304 yards passing, and 3 TD’s and 0 INT’s. Rodgers continued to pick apart the Steelers all night and remained calm through out as the game got close. Offensive Line. The Packers offensive line was key only allowing 3 sacks all game and giving Rodgers enough time to stand in the pocket. They did let Rodgers get hit a few times through out the game but against the Steelers defense its going to happen. Who needs the starters to win games? The Packers have been faced with injuries all year and this game was nothing different. They lost key players through out the game and plugged in players to go in a preform, and guess what they did. They were in fact key in the victory forcing big plays at key times and that is what wins games. Turnovers. Their ability to force turnovers was key in this game as they continued to force Big Ben into mistakes. Lets face it, if you turn over the ball you just can’t win games, plain and simple. Quick Start. Their quick start against a slow starting Steelers team was the difference. Their 14-0 first quarter start was huge because the Steelers brought the game back and without that they would have been in trouble.

Superbowl 45 will be in the record books as its now passed and the Packers are cemented in history as the Superbowl Champs. The Steelers had a great season, and fell one game short of ultimate glory for a 3rd time in 6 years. The Steelers could have won this game had they not committed so many turnovers, but that is still up for debate. Superbowl MVP went to Rodgers and now is a ‘winner’ and has emerged from the shadows of Brett Favre. Now that the season is done, its time to look forward to the CBA deal getting done or their will not be a season next year. Also coming up is the NFL draft which features some interesting talent.

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

Sportstream.ca is the webcasting home of the Saint Mary's Huskies, Halifax Rainmen, Metro Marauders, and the AUS Men's Basketball Championships. Follow us on twitter @_sportstream_.

Derek vs. The Spread:Super Bowl Picks by the Pros

Steve Betts thinks the Packers edge on Special Teams will lead to victory in the Super Bowl.

by Derek Leblanc

For the last couple of weeks, I have been having a great time breaking the NFL postseason here on haligonia, but now it is time for the big game on Sunday between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. While I may have my complete breakdown of the game, I thought it would be cool to ask other people thoughts for their Super Bowl picks, so me and Bill Mclean went through various contacts we have and were able to get some responses from journalists, broadcasters, musicians, athletics and others to give who should get it done. While we did have a few joke ones, it was great and I would like to thank everyone who helped out.

Gabe Morency (Co Host of Game Time Decisions on Game TV, Host of MMA Meltdown on the Fight Network/Sports Rage on www.morencysports.com)- For now I will say the Packers 34, the Steelers 31. I think it is going to come down to the last couple of minutes and somebody is going to make a big play. Rothlisberger legend will either grow with another drive or he will get picked off by Woodson or something. Someone will be a hero at the end of this game. You can make an argument for the over, the under, the Packers or the Steelers.
Note-Morency made this pick on Tuesday-To Check out his final pick go the morencysports.com on Sunday.

Chad Margulius (www.intheot.com)- Steelers 21-20. Mendenhall will pound the rock and chew up clock keeping Rodgers on the sideline for much of this game. Tomlin will find a way to outcoach McCarthy. And the Steelers like usual will come up with key big turnover at the most crucial part of the game.

TJ Grant (UFC fighter)-Gonna stick with Green Bay. Liked them coming into the season and here they are. It should come down to the last possession either way.
Cory Buckle (K-Rock News Editor, Fort McMurray, Alberta) - I think the Packers and the Steelers will play a fairly close game. Both teams rank very highly defensively. Rogers will step up after a rough game against the Bears and well Big Ben will be "Big" once again. I love his ability to run with the ball. The Steelers can't afford to simply mail it in after the first half if they have the lead. I predict a 23-17 game...Steelers bring home their 7th Championship.

Brodie Sanders (Maritimemmafans.com) - At first a lot of people were not sure about the Steelers making it to the Superbowl, but everyone was positive they would be seeing Green Bay there. Green Bay has seemed conservative in a few of their games and that is certainly no way to beat the Steelers. If Big Ben can find his receivers early on in the game I see no reason why the Steelers won't win by at least 10 and Big Ben will have his third Championship ring. I know a few Packers fans who would love to disagree with me.

Ryan MacDonald (Play by Play for CBU Basketball on caperstv.com/News reader for 101.9 The Giant, Sydney) - Definitely feeling a Pittsburgh win. I have no technical football reason why, other than a pure gut feeling. I'll take 28-21 Steelers. They just seem to be that annoying semi-dynastic sports team that people either love or hate, but always seem to find a way to win.

Troy Areseneault (guitarist Alert the Metic/Wheeler and booking agent for The Seahorse Tavern)-Green Bay.... Rodgers is nothing but class and deserves it!!! 20-14
Gary Whittaker (Host of the Franchise, TEAM 990, Montreal/The Weigh in on www.fightworld.tv)- GB 24 - PIT 17.Both have great D, but Rogers emerges from the shadow of Favre at QB and gets his first SuperBowl championship.

Ross Neilson (Musician)-I don't watch much sports stuff......BUT...I would totally go with the packers cause I love cheese and my bro is a packers fan so maybe he'd stop yammering about them if they win? Final score? Hmmm gonna go with 22-24 green bay.

Charlie A ‘Court (Musician) - I'm in the same boat as Ross but I'll take a stab at prediction. I'm going to say Green Bay comes from behind and scores a basket in the 9th inning to tie it with the Packers. It'll go to a shootout but in the end Packers win 30-Love. I've got a good feeling about this one.

Adam Reid (Actor/TV Host, http://www.adamreidonline.com)-Once in a generation, something happens that people know could possibly happen, don't believe will ever happen, but somehow it does. Most of course are right to be skeptical because after all who wouldn't be skeptical when a 6th ranked NFL team has to win all of its games on the ROAD to make it to the Superbowl. *cough*
Impossible Right....!? Impossible is sometimes misread. It really means, Im Possible. It means that anything is possible. Rogers believes it, the packers believe it, and I believe it.
Packers by 3-7 points at most for the most incredible win of a NFL team EVER in a superbowl and the hurdles they had to overcome to do it.

Ben Mills-(Halifax comedian) - Aaron Rodgers is supernatural in domes in the playoffs. The Superbowl is in a dome. It should be a high scoring affair with numerous deep attacks from both sides and occasional lapses in both secondaries. At the end the super slo-motion capture the obligatory shot of Rodgers staring upward into the confetti with Lombardi trophy in hand and MVP.

Keith Grienke (Owner/Editor www.topmmanews.com)- I have to take the Steelers. Their defense will overwhelm Rodgers and Roethlisberger will do enough and make few enough mistakes to win.

Cyril Lunney (Co-Host Breakfast Television)-Packers by 3

Kevin Northup (Weekend/Evening Announcer at CJLS the Wave, Yarmouth NS) - I think the Packers are going to win. Rodgers is really coming into his own, and Big Ben and the boys need to lose sometime in the Super Bowl... I'll say 28-18.

John Macneil (Colour Commentator for Eastlink Football) - Steelers 31 Packers 20. You can't give Dick Lebeau two weeks to prepare for a big game and not have him come up with a great defensive plan. Plus, Ben Roethlisberger is still trying desperately to prove to his teammates and the public that he is not a liability. My problem is that my heart is with Green Bay.

Steve Sarty, (Saint Mary’s Huskies Athletics Director)-I think it's Packers over the Steelers 28-21. Aaron Rodgers is the game MVP and Donald Driver scores the game winner.

Mavs Gillis (Voice of the Halifax Rainmen and Saint Mary’s Huskies on Sportstream Atlantic)-Steelers 28-24. Steelers have more experience than the Packers at the Super Bowl.
Garreth Macdonald, (CTV News Reporter)-31-24 Steelers. Polamalu has fantastic hair.

John Campbell (Head Coach of Dalhousie Tigers Men’s Basketball)-23-16 Packers. Big Ben throws an interception from the 35 yard line with time winding down.

Steve Sumarah, (Head Coach, Saint Mary’s Huskies football)-Steelers 21-17.Defensive play wins the game

Steve Betts (Sportstream Atlantic contributor and Colour Commentator for Dalhousie Tigers Hockey)- Packers by 10.Packers have better special teams, Pittsburgh due for a bad game.

Bill McLean (Voice of the Dalhousie Tigers, anchor of Sportstream Atlantic, and host of Bill McLean Sports Show on ckdu 88.1) -Packers 28-Steelers 24. Big Ben makes his first critical mistake in a Super Bowl that leads to a win for the Packers.

Avry Lewis McDougall-(Host, The Avry Sports Show, ustreamtv/channel/avryofedmonton)-give me 21-14 for the Packers. It’s going to be a smash mouth game. The Lombardi trophy comes home this year.

People who picked the Steelers to win-9
People who picked the Packers to win-15

Derek Leblanc is a sports writer and broadcaster in Halifax. Derek is a regular contributor to topmmanews.com.

Super Bowl Preview

Mike Tomlin of the Steelers will be coaching in his second Super Bowl.

by Armaan Ahluwalia

This is going to be one memorable Superbowl. With the teams which will be lining up this Sunday in Dallas for the 45th Superbowl, we are in for a treat. Both teams are rightly deserving for making it this far, as their seasons have been special. Superbowl 45 has some of the most storied franchises in NFL history.

Coming from the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the Lombardi trophy a record 6 times. They have also had extreme success as of late making it to the Superbowl 3 times in the last 6 years. The NFC sends the Green Bay Packers who are no stranger to this game as their famous head coach’s name is on the Superbowl Trophy. Winning the Lombardi trophy 3 times and twice in the first years of the Superbowl. These teams do not lack All-stars, Hall of Famers, or Legendary Stadiums. This is a meeting of dominant and storied franchises and where else to meet but in a brand new billion dollar stadium in North Texas.

Pittsburgh Steelers: These steelers are lead by head coach Mike Tomlin and legendary defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. They managed to earn a birth in the big game after defeating the New York Jets in a dominating first half but fell apart barely able to hold on to the game in the final seconds. Don’t let that second half performance fool you, these steelers are legit. Their amazing record through out the season could have been better had Big Ben or Troy Polamalu not been injured.

Offense: Their offense is lead by troubled Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended for the first 4 games of the year. He rebounded to come back and have a great season leading them to the final game. Rashard Mendenhall was a great power running back for them this year as he matches power and speed with a great balance. They have a solid receiving core which is lead by Hines Ward, the speedy Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El, and Emmanuel Sanders. Their offensive line has had troubles all year, but managed to grind out games. They are lead by rookie all-star Maurkice Pouncey who was injured during the Championship game and will not be playing in the Superbowl. This is a huge blow to Steelers as they have had so many injuries this year and this is another crucial one.

Defense: This is one of the best, if not the best defenses in the NFL. These guys carry the stereotypical Pittsburgh tag line ‘the steel curtain’. These guys coached by one of the greatest minds in the game has shown that they are for real. They play hard, physical and smash mouth defense. With so many all-stars and great players on this defense it makes it hard to get any yards against them. Casey Hampton, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, and the list goes on and on. These guys are legit and have shut down so many offenses. LeBeau brings players from all over and creates pressure all around the QB confusing him.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers are lead by coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coach Dom Capers who has lead these Packers back to the postseason and a trip to the Superbowl doing in stylish fashion, beating the #3, #1, and #2 seed in order. Lead by MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers and a stingy defense which doesn’t get much credit these Packers have come out of the shadow that Brett Favre made. This team is on a hot stretch and is dangerous in every aspect of the ball.

Offense: This is clearly one of the best offenses in the league. Their ability to score loads of points, so fast is amazing. Lead by their All-Star QB Aaron Rodgers they lead a deadly attack. Rodgers ability to avoid the pressure as the pocket collapses is unreal. He reads defenses very well and has a cannon for an arm. Their running game was a concern at the beginning of the year as RB Ryan Grant went down early, and they scrambled to find a replacement. They found late round draft pick James Starks who has stepped in and dominated this postseason and has been crucial for the Packers ability to throw the ball successfully. They have Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson catching the balls all day as Rodgers gets it to them. This is arguably the best receiving core in the league. Their offensive line has been solid as they have tried to rebuild it over the past few years and it has showed slowly.

Defense: This defense does not get a lot of credit. Even though they rank very high, they still don’t get the credit they deserve. Regardless, they have some amazing all-stars on the that side of the ball. Their 3-4 defense lead by mastermind Dom Capers has definitely helped. Their D-Line is lead by the freezer, B.J. Raji, who is eating up O-Lines all day. If you make it past the D-Line you have a ferocious Linebacking core which is lead by Clay Matthews, and A.J. Hawk. Their secondary is not too shabby either with Charles Woodson, Nick Collins, and rookie Tramon Williams.

Key Match-ups to watch: When the Packers have the ball. Aaron Rodgers vs. Steelers front 7. Can the front 7 get to Rodgers, and can they tackle him. That will need to be answered for the Steelers to come out with a victory. Also the Green Bay Receivers vs. Steelers DB’s. Green Bay’s Offensive X – Factor is RB James Starks. Pittsburgh’s Defensive X – Factor is Troy Polamalu. When the Steelers have the ball. Steelers O-Line vs. Green Bay front 7. The one tipping point for the Steelers is their offensive line, as they have had problems all year and especially as Big Ben spent a lot of time on the ground. If they Steelers can get a good push against Raji and the blitzing Matthews they should have a good chance. Steelers Offensive X – Factor is Heath Miller. Green Bay’s Defensive X – Factor is Clay Matthews.

Prediction: This game like I said is going to be tough, smash mouth, back and forth and close. These two teams have the chance to win the Superbowl simply because they are great teams with lots of talent. On the offensive side of the ball the Packers have the edge with a slightly more consistent QB, a great WR core and a solid O-line. The Steelers have a great QB who has 2 rings and a good running game and good receivers. The Steelers have the edge with the defense as they have so many all-stars and talent everywhere. The Packers have a great scheme defense with talent everywhere as well. The one thing that is the only huge difference between both teams is that the Steelers have a large chunk of the roster which has done this before, where the Packers only have 2 players who have been to the big game. I am going against the consensus and picking the Steelers. This game could come down to a last minute field goal, making the difference. I like Big Ben to get it done and with a solid defense to shut down Aaron Rodgers.

Pittsburgh 20 – Green Bay 17

Armaan Ahluwali writes for the Dal Gazette and www.1inthestands.wordpress.com. Follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.

Derek vs. The Spread: Superbowl

Big Ben's Super Bowl experience gives Pittsburgh the quarterback edge vs. Green Bay.

by Derek Leblanc

This is the moment that we have all been waiting for. The Green Bay and Pittsburgh Steelers will clash in Dallas on Sunday for the Super Bowl. While I can sit here and bore you with pre game talk I like to get down to business. I decided to break down each position on the field and see who has the upper hand come kickoff time.

Green Bay Packers (-2.5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Quarterbacks
Green Bay-When trying to figure out who has the edge at quarterback going into super bowl 45, it is pretty even. Both team's starters are easily two of the best five quarterback in the league. With Green Bay, what can't you say about Aaron Rodgers that we have not seen in this postseason? He is basically taking this team and has a won three road games which is a feat in itself because the only other two in recent memory that have done it are Eli Manning with the Giants in 08 and the very qb he will face in Ben Roethlisberger who did it in 06. His rating is least in the 120 range in 3 of his 4 playoff games and even thou he had trouble last week against the toughest front 7 in the bears, he was still able to tackle down Brain Urlacher to save him from throwing a pick six. Plus with his scrambling, this will not be Rodgers only super bowl in his career.
Pittsburgh-While he may have his worse playoff showing in his career, Big Ben is clutch in the postseason. Over his career, he has gone 10-2 and has two super bowl rings to show for it and another win would give him a one way ticket to Canton, Ohio. We see what he can do in big pressure situations and is one of the best scramblers in the league but with how banged up his offensive line this season, he needs to be against this defense. Plus with playing teams like the Ravens twice a year, it has made this dude tough and can take a hit. In the one meeting he had against the Ravens, he suffered a broken nose and instead of getting it checked out, he got it popped back in and won the game for the Steelers. Hell he even fell off a motorcycle with no helmet and acted like it was nothing. He will not feel the pressure because of his past experience and with the various styles of receivers the team has, he can beat you in many ways
Advantage-While Rodgers does have the hot hand going into the game, i still have to lead with the Steelers for the better quarterback. Big Ben has gotten the Super Bowls and you should only play to do one thing and that is to hold the Lombardi trophy at season's ends.

Running Backs
Green Bay-While at the start of the season, they were set at the position with Ryan Grant, things can change in a flash. Grant went out the first game on the season against the Eagles and the Packers have had trouble filling the void that he 1200 yards he brought to the team. While they have one of the better fullbacks in the league in John Kuhn, he can only really help with pounding through a defensive line and can't get the big run. For most of the season, Brandon Jackson has been getting most of the carries, he has little success. The last couple of games of the regular season and part of the playoffs, James Starks have been able to give the team the help it needs to have a balance offense. While most people never heard of Starks till week 17, the former university of Buffalo star was the big reason why the team played in the international bowl back in 09. While the Steelers have the 2nd best rush defense of all time in stats, Green Bay will have try and find a way to have some success.
Pittsburgh-While the Steelers have their guy in the backfield with Rashad Mendenhall, people still think the rush is the weakest part of their offense. Mendenhall may not get the big name status like a Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson; he quietly got third in rushing yards this season. If you want to look and see how well he really is, you have to look at his two games against the Jets this season. The Jets were 3rd in rushing yards allowed this season Mendenhall was the only person this year who could get over 100 yards in rushing against them. In week 15, he got 99 yards on 17 carries which was an average of 5.8 yards per carry. In the AFC championship he was basically the only person who could muster any good offense against the Jets going for 121 yards. While Isaac Redman has been good on third down situations for the Steel curtain, Mendenhall will be depended on big time if the Steelers want to win.
Advantage-While both team's rushing attacks were both ranked in the top five, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know the Steelers have the upper hand.

Offensive Line
Green Bay-One year can make a difference and that is the case for the front five of the pack. In 2009, Aaron Rodgers was sacked more than any other quarterback in the league. While it taught Rodgers to scramble better this season, the team picked up there game and were able to make adjustments to make sure the franchise is on the field. While you read this you may think that the o line had trouble because Rodgers had concussions on two separate occasions against the Lions and Redskins. For both times, Rodgers had gone pass the line and ran when he could not fine an open target. While at the start of the year they had problems with false starts, especially in week three at Chicago, they were able to get that jump that they need.
Pittsburgh-While the Steelers had some problems last year when the lost standout Alan Faneca to the Jets via free agency two years ago., they were able to adjust but this season has been hard on the team because of the injuries. Flozell Adams will be looked upon to help lead this time. While he does bring 13 year career with him, his best days are behind him. The also lost rookie center Maurkice Pouncey suffered an ankle injury against the Jets, While he was still a rookie and learning on the job, he was a big help for Florida getting a BCS championship and for Tim Tebow being able to rush for as many yards as he do. While the replacements have been able to work short periods of times to help Mendenhall, it has taken a toll on big ben when in motion.
Advantage-While Adams veteran presence will be a help for the young Steelers. Green Bay has everyone on that line healthy that we know of because we know that players will play through the pain.

Receivers
Green Bay-What helps makes a quarterback great is the weapons that he has to throw to. With Aaron Rodgers, he has more than plenty to choose from. Lead by 12 year veteran Donald Driver, this team was one of the best this year in the air ranking them 5th overall in the regular season. While Driver is getting up there in years, he is showing he is like a fine wine and getting better with age. His number one spot has been taken over by Greg Jennings the last couple of season. He had a career year with new highs or trying in yards, yards per catch, touchdowns and longest receptions, so he will be a handful to for the Steelers secondary. Besides those two, they have some younger guys in James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Plus they still have tight end Donald Lee, while even thou he has been quiet in the playoffs; he can help the core with his blocking.
Pittsburgh-Now I said the Packers and Steelers are similar in a lot of aspects and the receiving core for the Steelers is the same. We have the one veteran who has been getting it done for years in Hines Ward. While Ward’s number were down this season, he is still a value for this organization and can step in when needed. The newer guy in Mike Wallace brings the deep ball threat that hasn’t been seen since Plaxico Burress. He had a great second season finishing 3rd in the AFC with yards and was top for with seven 100 yards games and 21 yards per catch. He will also be a handful this game with the Packers secondary. Also the Steelers still have Antwaan Randle El and another young stud in rookie Emannuel Sanders. At tight end Big Ben still has one of his favourite targets in Heath Miller.
Advantage-While this was a tough matchup to pick, I will have the give the edge to the Packers because there have a better depth chart in my mind the Steelers.

Special Teams
Green Bay-with special teams there are so many elements to look over. With their field goal unit, kicker mason Crosby may not be a top five kicker, he is reliable, He made 22-28 in the regular season, and playing in the Midwest, you know the wind can play a factor. On the kick return thou things are not that good, they were ranked in the bottom in both yards and yards per return, but with their offense, they don’t need that big run on either side of the ball. On the defensive side, punter Tim Masthay does not get to go out much so he will not be expected to play too much in the game.
Pittsburgh-With kicker Shawn Suiisham, he has been good for the most part since joining the team after they released Jeff Reed midway through the season. His career % is 80 over his career, but he has been well travelled throughout his career, so that could be saying something. On the punting, Jeremy Kapinos is not used much so he will probably be quiet in this game as well. On kick returns, they do have Randle El on the punting side and can make big plays any where’s because he played qb while in college. He will be seen on kick returns as well where the Steelers can make a big play or two when needed.
Advantage-While the most pressure for special teams is field goals, I will have to go with the Packers. They can change the game with that one play and either be an Adam Vinatieri or a Scott Norward/Ray Finkle for the movie buffs

Secondary
Green Bay-Whenever you think of the Packers secondary, you have to look at one person and that is Charles Woodson. The Michigan Heisman winner is the heart of defensive core and even got a second wind after a rough final two years in Oakland. He was the defensive player of the year last year and he has made the secondary one of the best in the league. They have Tramon Williams on the other side of the corner who has had big playoffs especially with the final pick against the eagles. In the safety position you have Nick Collins and Charlie Pepreh at safety to prevent the deep threat. Plus they have a future star in Sam Shields who has had a good rookie season and a big game against the Bears with two picks, a sack and a force fumble. He will be a great replacement for when Woodson calls it a career. They have an average of only giving up 212 yards in the playoffs and that is good considering when Matt Ryan and Michael Vick were two of three quarterbacks they faced.
Pittsburgh-The only things I have to say about the Steelers backfield on defense is 214.1 and 122.5. That is the average amount of yards they gave up in the regular season and postseason although the postseason stat of 122.5 was against the Jets and Ravens who don’t have elite quarterbacks. Either way we know what Troy Polamalu can do for the team and so does the associated press because he was named defensive player of the year earlier this week. Also with Ryan Clark, he can help in the deep threat. On the corners we have Bryant McFadden and one of the most underrated players in the league in Ike Taylor. While may not get the number of picks as to an Asante Samuel as an example, he is like a Darrelle Revis in which he is good guarding on one man coverage. They do have some depth as well like William Gay and Anthony Madison.
Advantage-Both teams have solid guys all over the secondary and both teams each have a future hall of famer in Woodson and Polamalu. I will give the edge to the Packers because I like the guys coming off the bench more than the Steelers. Note I do have a small bias because Woodson is Wolverine alum.

Linebackers
Green Bay-While Polamalu may have won defensive player of the year, he only beat Clay Matthews by two votes. Matthews came out big this season with 13.5 sacks in his second season. He has also a big help on the line backing core this year and has taken a leadership role. Before the season, the Packers lost Aaron Kampmann to the jaguars and then in week four they lost Nick Barnett for the season so he come on to do what he can to help the Packers get to Dallas. He still hasn’t done it by himself thou, he still has AJ Hawk and Desmond Bishop with him in the middle Frank Zombo on the outside. The thumbs up does have to do to Dom Capers. While his head coaching career was not the best, he knows how till run a defense and with all the problems they had this season, he will get some bonus money.
Pittsburgh-The line backing core can be a nightmare for the packers and you have to think that the offensive line will be having nightmares about James Harrison. The former defensive player of the year has made a bigger name for himself this season but with mixed emotions. He has received a number of fines this year that totalled over $200 000. While there was a hit or two that deserved it there were plenty that were not. Ever since the Brady rule came in after 2008 season, you can’t play smash mouth football and that is what Harrison does. He easily could have played with Jack Lambert and the Steel curtain defense of 70’s. He will not care this game and he will do what he can to win this game. He will not be alone. He has James Farrior and LaMair Woodley with him that can also do some damage. They do some good secondary guys with Larry Foote and Lawrence Timmons they can come in a special different situations. While they can be a problem for the offensive line they will make sure the Packers running game weaker than it already is.
Advantage-With the way the both teams can hurt you up the middle, Pittsburgh’s guys can have no problem putting someone on a stretcher.

Defensive Line
Green Bay-With the Packers they have a solid front three and can create turnovers when they need to. A prime example was in the NFC championship against the Bears when nose tackle B.J Raji was able to get an interception and score the game winning touchdown to get them to Dallas. They do have some solid guys like Ryan Pickett, Cullen Jenkins on the starting line and have C.J Wilson on the bench if one of the guys would go down. They can have a big game because of the injuries on the Steelers offensive line and have only given up 69 yards a game in the postseason.
Pittsburgh-While the names on the Steelers front three may not be household names in the NFL. They can get the job done. While they may have not gotten the sacks, they sure as hell can stop the run. During the regular season, the Steelers held opponents to fewer than 65 rushing yards per game and only letting Patriots running back Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis gain over 87 yards. There hasn’t been much difference in the playoffs as they have just allowed only just over 52 yards a game. That is impressive when you’re facing the like of the Ravens and the Jets. This front three this season will go down as one with the 2000 Ravens and the 85 Bears for the best run defense of all time. Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel will lead the way and force Aaron Rodgers to throw the ball a lot on Sunday.
Advantage-I don’t even have to explain why the Steelers are better.

Final outcome-While breaking everything down I think we are going to see a tight defensive game. I think the Packers will get some turnovers over a weak Steelers offensive line and win the game 23-20 and cover the spread.

Derek Leblanc lives in Halifax and covers Mixed Martial Arts for Topmmanews.com.