Keyano Huskies Weekend Preview: Women’s Basketball Huskies and Soccer Huskies face tests at home while Volleyball Huskies venture onto road
Women’s Basketball Preview
Game: Friday at 6:00pm vs. CTA West at Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre
Admission: This game is free to attend for all spectators.
Before jumping into the deep end with exhibition matches against other Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) schools, the Huskies will host the Canada Topflight Academy (CTA) West Women’s Basketball team.
“I think just looking for what we’re going to be like,” Head Coach Dwayne Vigilance said. “We’ve been practicing for a long time since we got back from Serbia. It’s nice to play somebody other than ourselves.
“I’m interested to see what the young kids are going to do and where our identity is going to take us.”
The weekend will also feature a second game Saturday morning featuring an all-star team of High School basketball players from the region.
Women's Soccer Preview
Games: Saturday at 2:00pm vs. NAIT Ooks (3-1-0) at Shell Place, Sunday at 12:00pm vs. NAIT Ooks (3-1-0) at Shell Place
Admission: These games are free to attend for all spectators.
LIVESTREAM
The Keyano Huskies Women’s Soccer team will shift into the second half of their regular season with a pair of games against the NAIT Ooks.
After sweeping the first of these two must-win weekends in Lloydminster, Alta., the Huskies have a chance to widen the gap between themselves and third place while trying to close their gap between second and first.
“For both teams, we both realize this is a make-or-break weekend for provincials,” Head Coach Tiffany Fontaine said. “We need to be winning, minimum ties. Everybody knows that going in so mental preparation is very important."
The four-game winning streak, coupled with the offensive surging of Marissa Mestre and Ayla Taller have boosted the team’s confidence, already in a healthy position, to a new height. As much has Fontaine encouraged that, she also wanted to keep her side levelheaded.
“I think there’s excitement of the results, the stats, progress that they’re seeing, people accepting and happy about their new positions because of our success,” she continued. “There’s also a sense of urgency of are we where we need to be for this upcoming weekend. It’s my job to make sure that we’re calm and composed when we go into Saturday.”
Of great intrigue this season has been NAIT’s ability to force low-scoring games, playing in three 1-0 results, winning two and losing one, against opposing Edmonton-area schools while also taking a 16-0 win against the Portage College Voyageurs.
Player to watch: Harleen Singh (Calgary, Alta.)
This may be a bit of an obvious selection, but Singh could accomplish some unique history on the pitch this weekend in Fort McMurray. The striker has 24 goals and 26 assists in her ACAC career to date. The next goal will put her in a handful of ACAC Women’s Soccer elite with at least 25 goals and 25 assists for their career.
Men's Soccer Preview
Games: Saturday at 4:30pm vs. NAIT Ooks (3-1-0) at Shell Place, Sunday at 2:00pm vs. NAIT Ooks (3-1-0) at Shell Place
Admission: These games are free to attend for all spectators.
LIVESTREAM
The North Division heavyweights renew their institutional rivalry again this weekend. While both sides will be eyeing a full six points in the standings, the Ooks will have some extra motivation to spoil a pair of home games for the Huskies after last year’s ACAC Championship match in Edmonton.
“Both teams have a lot of changes; not just us, them as well,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “I think it’s one of those things where school name-wise there’s maybe a bit of a rivalry brewing over the last few years, but when it comes to the players themselves there’s so much change each year that that might be a bit different.
“It comes down to us wanting to secure one of the top two spots this year and this is a massive weekend to do that.”
Outside of the Championship game last October, the regular season series has been heavily dominated by the Ooks, who are 8-1-1 against the Huskies in their previous 10 regular season meetings. The Huskies have the most recent regular season victory however, an inspired 2-0 result in Edmonton in September 2023. Slotboom was already anticipating a close matchup.
“Last weekend was a couple different styles of games,” Slotboom said. “Both might be required again, because it’s going to be a tightly-contested games. I don’t think there’s any big leads or anything like that that are going to take place this weekend.
“It’s going to come back to us stick to the details that we’ve been training on and applying all of it to the best of our ability.”
Player to watch: Hafid Arellano (Lima, Peru)
With two of the top three assist leaders in the conference facing each other in Arellano (5 assists, T-1st) and Peter Jones (4 assists, 3rd), the spotlight will be on both to see who can set up their teammates more effectively this weekend. The next assist for Arellano this season would be a new single-season high for the Peruvian and the most for the Men’s Soccer Huskies in a single season since assists were first recorded in the 2016 outdoor season.
Women’s Volleyball Preview
Games: Saturday and Sunday at Red Deer Polytechnic in Red Deer, Alta.
Saturday at 10:00am vs. Columbia Bible College (PACWEST)
Saturday at 2:00pm vs. SAIT Trojans
Sunday at 2:00pm vs. Red Deer Polytechnic Queens
Sunday at 4:00pm vs. Ambrose University Lions
After starting the preseason in Lloydminster, the Women’s Volleyball Huskies will head down to Red Deer to face four tough opponents this weekend. Less focused on their overall record, Head Coach Tommy Sloan is more focused on the process the team takes to get there and seeing if it improves from last week.
“A little bit of development from last week and seeing if we can take what we identified as areas to improve and put that to work,” Sloan said. “We’ll probably see a little more consistency in lineups from us as well as we prepare for the season.
“We’re playing some really tough opponents so despite that I think our main word is still progress and I think we’re focused on developing, getting better on a week-to-week basis.”
Men’s Volleyball Preview
Games: Saturday and Sunday at Red Deer Polytechnic in Red Deer, Alta.
Saturday at 12:00pm vs. Olds College Broncos
Saturday at 6:00pm vs. NAIT Ooks
Sunday at 12:00pm vs. Red Deer Polytechnic Kings
Sunday at 2:00pm vs. Providence College Pilots (MCAC)
After a three-win weekend in Edmonton, the Men’s Volleyball Huskies will travel a little further to Red Deer for four more exhibition matches, playing a trio of ACAC opponents as well as the host school for the upcoming 2025 CCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship.
“Continuing with the theme that we talked about last week, it’s just competing,” Head Coach Keegan Kuhr said. “Different guys, different looks. I want guys to go out there and compete and see what we can do.
“It’ll be important for us to see what they’re like and I’m sure they’re excited to see what we have as well.”
The Huskies and Ooks will also meet for the first time since the 2024 ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championship game, albeit in exhibition action. Still, with the two sides set to collide at the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre on the opening night of the ACAC Regular Season, Kuhr knows the matchup will provide some useful insight into that approaching matchup.
“They took something away from us that was really important,” he said. “They had a good year last year so I think we’re ready to compete with them at any opportunity.”