The Brock Badgers travelled to Edmonton this weekend for the U Sports Championship, where they competed against the best schools in Canada for their eighth consecutive national championship banner. 

The Badgers were the number-one ranked team in the country for much of the season and entered the tournament as the team to beat. They had six athletes who finished in the top three in six of the ten weight classes. They notched two golds, three silvers and one bronze medal, finishing the tournament with 65 team points, which was 14 better than the next team, McMaster Marauders. 

Carlos Vargas finished first in the 68 kg weight class. He faced off against Saskatchewan in the final and added yet another clean sheet to his multiple this season, winning 10-0 on a technical fall. 

His fellow gold medalist Bobby Narwal competed in the 72 kg weight class and also swept the round-robin matches, winning in many different ways such as technical fall and pin fall victories. In the finals, he managed to beat Calgary in a technical fall victory to join Carlos on the podium. 

Other Brock athletes with medals included Max Budgey (silver, 76 kg), Jordan Wylie (silver, 82 kg), Roger Li (silver, 125 kg) and Gabriel Blachette (bronze, 65 kg). 

The rest of the Badgers also competed but did not finish on the podium. These athletes were Mark Summers (fourth, 90 kg), Callum Knox (fifth, 100 kg), Gabriel Sementilli (sixth, 57 kg) and Cho Sherpa (sixth, 61 kg). 

Brock head coach Marty Calder also left Alberta with an award, winning the male team coach of the year in U Sports. 

To learn more about the men’s wrestling team this year visit gobadgers.ca. 

After finishing the season 16-6 and being tied for first place in the OUA Central, the Badgers took on the Queen’s’Gaels in a quarter-final do-or-die matchup on Feb. 25.

The two are very familiar, meeting each other in the OUA Championship game last year where the Badgers won 95-75 to take home the Wilson Cup.

Brock won the tip-off, getting first possession of the game but, unfortunately, a turnaround jumper from Jevon Brown did not fall and Queen’s stormed down the court, scoring the first bucket of the game just a few possessions later. The Badgers struggled early shooting the ball but their defence made up for it. Three minutes into the game, the score was tied at two’s. 

Both teams ramped up the scoring through the next couple of minutes, trading three-pointers to bring it to 10-10 halfway through the first quarter. The rest of the quarter was more of the same; both teams scored at a relatively similar pace with the quarter ending 18-17 for Queens. 

The Gaels came out for the second quarter with more urgency than the Badgers, going on a 7-0 run within the first few minutes of the quarter and stretching their lead to nine, 30-21. The bucket from Kascius Small-Martin ended Queen’s run and got the Badger back within seven with just over half of the quarter to play. 

Queen’s continued to outscore the Badgers for the remainder of the second quarter and went into the half leading 42-36. Badger Jordan Tcheunte shot 50 per cent from the field, netting nine points, three rebounds and two blocks. While Gaels’ Cole Syllas led Queen’s with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists. 

The Badgers needed to pick up the offence if they wanted to get back into the game. But the Gaels’ defence stood tall and kept the Badgers to 19 for the second straight quarter in a row. The Badgers trailed 64-55 with a quarter of play left and their season on the line. 

The Badgers went on an 11-0 run to bring them back within one point with just over five minutes to play, with buckets from Tcheunte, Bujdoso and Caldwell during the huge offensive run, 69-68. 

The two teams continued to trade buckets down the stretch, with Queen’s widening their lead to five points. With one minute left the Badgers were down 78-74 as Bujsoso carried the ball up the court. On an iso play, Bujdoso drove in, spun around and hit the fadeaway jumper to bring the Gaels’ lead down to two with 33 seconds left. 

On the next possession, Queen’s came down the floor trying to kill as much time as possible but an interception by Bujdoso stopped the play. One ref called jump ball, the other called Gaels’ ball and it was decided that it would be Gaels’ ball with 17 seconds left in the game and four seconds on the shot clock. Queen’s inbounded the ball and Michael Kelvin III hit a two-point shot over the Brock defender to put the Gaels back up four, 80-76. 

With 17 seconds left, Bujdoso sprinted down the floor right into the paint, putting in the layup. Brock intentionally fouled on the next play with six seconds left but the Queen’s shooter hit both free throws to extend the lead to four. With six seconds left, the Badgers would add two more points at the buzzer but it was not enough to tie the game as it ended 82-80 for Queen’s. 

The Badgers lost in the quarter-finals in what could’ve been such a promising season. The three top scorers for the Badgers in the 2022-23 season were Isiah Bujdoso (13.88 PPG, 5.13 REB/G & 4 AST/G), Jordan Tcheunte (11.19 PPG, 8.62 REB/G & 2.83 AST/G) and Godsman Kwakwah (11.05 PPG, 3.81 REB/G & 0.62 AST/G). 

To take a deeper look into the Badgers season go to gobadgers.ca and to take a look into the OUA stats look here. 

The more you look into the career of former NFL defensive end Jarred Allen, the more questions you’re left with.

For example, what kind of serious athlete wears the number 69 for their entire career? Certainly not someone who played 11 seasons of strong football in the NFL. Or, who rode a horse onto the U.S Bank Stadium field for his induction into the Minnesota Vikings ring of honour. Probably not one who has multiple All-Pro and Pro-Bowl appearances.

It’s sometime in 2017, presumably, and Allen is asking a lot of questions about his career. He has just finished announcing his retirement on Twitter by posting a video of him—quite literally—riding his horse into the sun (you may notice a theme with the Texas native), and, at 34 he feels a little aimless.

Many athletes struggle to adjust to retirement, especially well-paid, high-profile ones like Allen. At the end of his football career, and feeling listless, Allen needed a solution to his retirement problem and, thanks to a wager with an old friend, he found one: don’t retire.

Sounds simple enough, but for a defensive player on the wrong side of 30, there aren’t many NFL general managers knocking down your door, even if you aren’t concerned about your own well-being at this point in your career.

Allen needed a different sport, preferably low-impact. After watching the movie about the British ski jumper, Eddie the Eagle, Allen also wanted something a little less common. His choice was curling.

At this point you’re probably questioning why you should care, and a valid one considering I also don’t really care about the post-retirement athletic pursuits of NFL players. Except, of course, when they’re good.

Allen, not content with simply finding something to occupy his time, needed a challenge, and thus the bet was born: Jarred Allen was going to win Olympic gold.

The first and largest hurdle for Allen was obvious in that he had never actually curled before. Picking up the stone for the first time later that year, you could be forgiven for laughing at Allen’s elaborate plan to avoid spending time at home.

“I thought curling was going to be a lot easier than it was,” said Allen to the Star Tribune, “But I’m one of those guys who, once I start something, I’m going to see it through.”

Fast forward to February, 2023, and Allen is right in the thick of the U.S.A. National Curling Championships, an event that determines the American representative for the World Championships and an essential step on the way to the Olympics.

According to Allen, “Our goal at nationals is to beat as many teams as we possibly can and see where we land.”

Allen’s team is skipped by Jason Smith, who represented the States at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and also features former LA Rams QB Marc Bulger. The team at one point also featured two other former NFL-ers, Keith Bulluck and Michael Roos.

The tournament couldn’t have started any better for team Smith, taking all of the first three matches. In fact, team Smith actually took down team Shuster in the first game of the tournament. Shuster is the first American to ever win Olympic gold in curling, which he did in 2018, roughly the same time at which Allen began curling.

Unfortunately, 3-0 was as good as they would get, going 0-4 the rest of the way. While they may not have advanced, Allen and his team certainly showed they belonged, and that they could have more to offer in the years coming. And, with the next winter Olympics not until 2026, team Smith has plenty of time to work on their game.  

Continuing a five-game win streak, the Badgers’ women’s volleyball team captured their final two home victories of the regular season over the Queen’s University Gaels this weekend.

A middle-of-the-pack team, Queen’s gave Brock a chance to cement their place in the top of the OUA.

The Badgers got to work early on their goal in a set that saw them flex their hitting prowess. Queen’s kept it close throughout the set, only falling 25-20; however Brock’s 16 kills and .429 hitting percentage simply overpowered the Gaels.

The second set saw much the same for both sides. Posting identical hitting percentages, neither team could gain much of an edge. Neither team were able to go up by more than two until they found themselves knotted at 19.

Three kills, all courtesy of assists from Sarah Rohr and an attack error from Queen’s quickly put Brock in the driver’s seat with only two points separating them from the end of the set. Though the Gaels added two more, Brock put the wraps on set number two as well, claiming it 25-21 in a game that was soon becoming closer than the score.

The third set began just like the other two without either team jumping out to a big lead, at least early on. Queen’s had kept the score close all night thanks to their strong play at the net, and in the third set, it was starting to finally pay dividends on the scoreboard. As the Badgers struggled to deal with the Gaels’ blocking, Queen’s went up 18-12.

Undeterred, the Badgers battled back, tying the score at 20. Brock wouldn’t look back from there and, sealing it on a block from Grace Pyatt, the Badgers took the third and final set 25-22.

Very tight for a 3-0 match, the Badgers only held a 46.0 – 45.0 lead in points over all three sets. Nevertheless, the Badgers led by significant margins in most categories, including kills, assists and digs.

Individually, Madison Chimienti, who continues to sit in U-Sports’ top 35 in kills per set, led the way with a game-leading 13 kills in addition to three blocks. Aleiah Torres (third in the country in digs per set) and Sarah Rohr (fifth in the country in assists per set) continued their huge body of work, putting up 11 digs and 32 assists, respectively.

Before taking the court against the Gaels again on Saturday in their final home game of the regular season, the Badgers honoured their two graduating senior players, Grace Pyatt and Christina Jovetic.

A home-grown talent from Thorold, Pyatt, Applied Gerontology major and Middle has been with the program since 2017-18. In her time with Brock, Pyatt has racked up 487 kills on 0.308 hitting percentage.

Also a Niagara Region local and Middle, Jovetic has been with Brock since 2018-19 where she has 244 kills on a 0.287 hitting percentage.

Though Queen’s jumped out to an early 3-0 first-set lead, that was pretty much the most fight we would see from them on Saturday evening.

The Badgers struggled at the net, committing six errors to only nine kills, but it didn’t really matter. The Gaels were unable to capitalize on any of Brock’s mistakes and, in fact, were much worse, committing 12 errors to 11 kills. Despite a pitiful -0.026 hitting percentage leading to a 25-20 first set loss, this was as close as the Gaels would get.

In fact, building on their poor performance, the Gaels doubled down, posting nine errors and a -0.139 hitting percentage. Though the score was close at times, the Badgers pulled away late, rinsing the Gales 25-16 in the second set.

In the third set, Queen’s posted a positive hitting percentage for the first time in the match, but it was too little too late, losing 25-19 to fall in straight sets to the Badgers.

Brock held considerable leads in every team statistic, and were particularly impressive when it came to service with seven aces. Jovetic had two aces of her own, in addition to seven blocks and an assist. Fellow senior Pyatt had nine kills and five blocks.

Sadie Dick, 24^th in all of U-Sports in kills-per-set, had a game-high ten kills to go along with six blocks. Of course, it goes without saying, Rohr and Torres led the game in assists and digs.

With back-to-back straight-set victories, including one on Saturday’s Seniors Night, Brock moved one game ahead of Western University for the top slot in the OUA. The Badgers’ 16-2 record also leaves them tied for third in the country and the best team outside of western Canada. Their infinitesimal 12 points against is also the fewest in the entire country.

Next Saturday and Sunday, the Badgers wrap-up their regular season against second-last-place Trent University and further lock-in their top seed and home-court advantage going into the playoffs. For the team’s full-schedule and results, find them on gobadgers.ca.

On Feb.11, Brock’s women’s hockey team suited up for a home game against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold that had huge playoff implications. 

With just three games left in the regular season, the Badgers are currently fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot in the OUA West, tied with the Western Mustangs, while TMU holds the fourth playoff spot in the OUA east division. The matchup marks the second and final game between the teams this season as they look to sweep the season series 2-0. 

The Bold had a strong start to the game—winning the opening faceoff and controlling possession for much of the first five minutes. Brock goaltender Kenzie Harmison had to be sharp early, making a left pad save on a two-on-one rush for the Bold. 

Despite Brock’s up-and-down season, Harmison has arguably been the one consistent player on the team. Through 16 games played in the season, she has posted a .933 save percentage and 1.84 goals against average, both are sixth best in the OUA. The Badgers would need a solid game out of Harmison if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive. 

After being on their heels for the first five minutes of the game, the Badgers started to push back, making clean break-out passes and cycling them in the TMU zone. Despite all of the offensive zone time, no high-danger chances came from it. In fact, they were giving up dangerous chances off the rush due to long shifts in the offensive zone that would lead to many of the Badger players being tired. 

The game tightened up defensively as the first period came to end with neither team able to beat the opposition’s goaltender. Harmison managed 13 saves in the first period while TMU goaltender Alexia Stratos had six saves of her own. 

The second period brought more of the same as both teams got their fair share of chances. The best chance of the period came off the rush for the Badgers when Rebekah Feld ripped one off the right post leading to a rebound out in front. But it was cleared away by the TMU defender, not allowing another scoring opportunity. 

The shots for each team in the second period were closer than in the first, though TMU still had the edge offensively in the period, managing seven shots to Brock’s six. 

The Badgers needed to get their offence going to start the third period and that is exactly what they did. A failed clear attempt by the TMU defenseman was picked off by Badger Lauren Diks and quickly passed over to Madeline Nicholson, who made no mistake beating Stratos over the shoulder to take the 1-0 lead early in the third period. 

Brock used the momentum from the first goal to try to get another but Stratos stood strong for TMU, keeping it a 1 goal game. Her best save of the sequence came off of a slot shot from Rebekah Feld that she was able to make a blocker save on. 

All the pressure eventually got to TMU, leading to a Brock powerplay just under half way through the third. Unfortunately, Brock was unable to score on the powerplay and did not get many chances through to the net as TMU defenders did a great job of getting in the lane and blocking shots and cross-seam passes. 

Brock’s powerplay was followed by three TMU power plays but Harmison’s and the Brock penalty killers’ never say die effort killed all six minutes of TMU’s powerplay. The Bold continued to pressure throughout the rest of the game, even pulling their goalie with 1:15 left in the third period. But Brock was able to hang on for the 1-0 victory on the back of Harmison’s first OUA shutout, keeping Brock’s playoff hopes alive. 

The Badgers have two games left in the regular season taking place on Feb. 17 and 18 against the Western University Mustangs (away) and York University Lions (home). 

Tickets to Brock’s last home game at Canada Games Park can be bought here and all other information regarding the team can be found at gobadgers.ca. 

Many of us grew up playing classic Canadian sports such as hockey, soccer, basketball and baseball but what constitutes classic sports in other parts of the world can be  unimaginable to the Canadian mind. 

Here are three sports that Canadians probably have never heard of:

Bossaball

Bossaball was created nearly two decades ago in Spain. The game is played on an inflatable surface with a volleyball-style net in the middle and a ball. The net is three metres high and the game is played in teams of five. Each side also has a trampoline that allows players to gain extra height while trying to hit the ball over the net. 

Similar to volleyball, the objective of the game is to hit the ball over the net with a maximum of five hits. However, there are restrictions on how many times you can hit the ball with a specific part of your body in one possession. For each possession, a team is only able to make contact with the ball once with their hands, twice with their feet and twice with their head. The game is normally played in the best of three sets with each set going up to 25 points. 

The game has grown across Europe in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, with the Netherlands launching the first-ever bossaball major league in 2015. Over the past seven to eight years the league has grown exponentially as every two years World Bossaball Championships are hosted in either Netherlands or Belgium with 8-10 countries competing in the tournament. 

Bossaball has yet to make its way to North America but with other countries in Asia and South America starting to play the game as well, we may see it come overseas in the next couple of years.

Competitive Sleeping

Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. Competitive sleeping was first played in 1998 in the State of California. People gathered together and created a competitive sleep league. Now, many countries have their own league for the sport and the World Sleep Championship (WSC) is a yearly tournament where the best sleeper in the World is crowned.

So you may be wondering how they crown the best sleeper. All competitors are given an Oura ring. An Oura ring is a bracelet that tracks your body day and night. For this specific sport, it is used to track your zen sleep which is the main focus of scoring in the competition along with time and stillness. The longer your body is in a zen sleep the better chance you have at winning. 

In the case of the WSC, the competition is over two weeks long as Sleep Racers will battle it out in a series of round-robin and elimination matchups. After 60-plus hours of sleeping, a winner is crowned with a WSC belt and a cash prize. 

The 2023 event has yet to be announced but with the success of the 2022 competition had to earn sponsorships from Oura, Fitbit, Jamieson and other companies that make sleeping pills despite them being deemed “performance enhancing” and banned from all league play. 

Zorbing

Remember the movie G-Force with the spy hamsters who roll around in their little hamster balls? Well, now you get to be the hamster and roll down a massive hill, or even a mountain. 

Zorbing originated in Rotorua, New Zealand in 1994. The sport or recreational activity consists of people inside a massive plastic ball rolling down a hill. 

People can partake in it recreationally in other countries such as England, Ireland and here in Canada. The sport is comparable to ziplining or rock climbing as it can be done leisurely or at a higher level depending on how adventurous you are. 

In New Zealand, they host tournaments for the sport where people can be seen going down steep hills in a timed event. Whoever has the fastest time without exiting the course/track is deemed the winner of the zorbing tournament. 

Highlight reels for bossaball, competitive sleeping and zorbing can be found at their respective links. 

The Brock men’s basketball team took on the University of Windsor Lancers and Western University Mustangs this weekend on Feb. 10 and 11.

Heading into the matchup against Windsor, the Badgers sat at the top of the OUA with a 15-3 record and 0.833 win percentage. Windsor wasn’t far behind with a great record of their own at 13-5. The Badgers were in for a tough matchup as Windsor was looking to secure first in the OUA west division. 

The first quarter was back and forth as both teams spaced the floor well on offence, taking the smart shots and not forcing anything. Brock’s Isiah Bujdoso continued to dominate like he has all season, scoring back-to-back buckets to give the Badgers the largest lead of the quarter. But just a few possessions later, the game was all tied up at 19 heading into the second quarter. 

Badgers Jevon Brown also had a great first quarter, which he continued into the second scoring the first bucket out of the break. The Badgers continued to battle hard on both sides of the floor but the Lancers offence started to catch fire.

Lancer player Thomas Kennedy was nearly unstoppable, scoring 16 points in the first half on 7-11 shooting and also adding two blocks. Kennedy’s strong play mixed with the support by six of his other teammates who made at least two buckets in the first half gave the Lancers a seven-point lead heading into the second half. 

The Badgers were going to have to improve their shooting percentage in the second half if they wanted to make a comeback, shooting just 34.1 per cent in the first half compared to the Lancers 50 per cent. 

Unfortunately, the Badgers were unable to find a rhythm coming out for the third quarter, leading to a huge run from the Lancers. This time on the back of Najee Brown-Henderson who managed 8 points on their 13-2 run in the quarter. The Badgers trailed 74-48 at the end of the third quarter due to abysmal defence and poor three-point shooting. 

Though this Badgers team is not ranked first in the OUA for nothing as they came out hot in the fourth quarter. The Badger went on a 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the quarter to bring the game back within 15 points. 

Two free throws made by the Windsor guard ended the run but that did not discourage the Badgers as they made it 76-65 with just under five minutes to play in the game. A timeout was called by the Lancers’ head coach to try and get his team’s playback in order, which it did. 

The Lancers came out of the timeout and made three buckets in a row and despite the Badgers doing the same, there would not be enough time left on the clock to make the comeback. 

The Badgers fell to the Lancers 88-75 despite out scoring them in the fourth quarter 27-14. They looked to bounce back the next day against the below .500 Western Mustangs. 

On Feb. 11 the Badgers took on the Mustangs and the game started in similar fashion to the night before as both teams were scoring at the same pace. The quarter ended 23-21 for the Mustangs but the Badgers were getting production from many of their players with four players having four or more points in the quarter. 

The Badgers’ offence remained at the same pace in the second quarter with Western managing a few more buckets, once again outscoring the Badgers, this time 28-20. Western had a 10-point lead heading into the half and coach Willy Maniget was visibly upset with his team after 20 minutes of play. 

In the third quarter, Brock came to play on both sides of the floor scoring 23 points and only allowing Western 18 for their lowest-scoring quarter of the game. Brock’s Jevon Brown continued to be a threat on the offensive side of the floor with seven points in the quarter, adding to his four in the first to half. 

Brock was back within five to start the final quarter, and just like against Windsor, their offence got hot but so did Western’s. Brock was unable to claw back into the game as they lost 95-91. Their first time losing back-to-back all season. 

Despite the loss, Brock’s Daniel Caldwell managed to drop 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Jevon Brown also had a strong game with 19 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block. 

The Badgers are back in action next weekend Feb. 17 and 18 for a home and home against TMU, their final two games of the regular season. Tickets for the Feb. 17 game at the Bob Davis Gymnasium can be found here and for all other information on the Brock Badgers visit gobadgers.ca.

Coming off two important home wins against the York Lions, the Badgers faced a tougher and even more important opponent on Saturday, Feb. 4. Sitting with a 13-2 record, the Badgers were only one game back with a game in hand on this weekend’s matchup with the Waterloo Warriors.

In many ways, this is the definitive matchup of OUA women’s volleyball.

As of Saturday, Waterloo was first, with 28 points with 46 sets for and 15 against. The Badgers are second, with 26 points, 43 sets for and 11 against. Brock is first in the OUA in kills per set, Waterloo is second. Waterloo is first in hitting percentage while Brock is third. Brock puts up an OUA-high 11.79 assists per set, while Waterloo is not far behind at 11.42. Points per set? A dead tie for first between the Badgers and the Warriors at 16.2 apiece.

Gearing up for a playoff run, and looking to build on last years’ OUA title and national championship appearance, this is one of the Badgers’ most important games of the regular season. Before their game, to discuss this matchup, the Badgers’ dominating 2022-23 regular season run, and his path to becoming one of the country’s best volleyball coaches, head coach and reigning U Sports Coach of The Year Steve Delaney sat down to talk about it.

This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Steve Delaney: It’s basically playoff time now. We’ve played Waterloo already and they’re a great team. We’re going into their gym, and they’re also really tough to play against in their gym, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. Like you mentioned, it is definitely a battle for the top of the OUA; whoever wins that match will kind of be in the driver’s seat because, you know, you’re playing a team that’s got the same record as you, that’s a big piece if you’re trying to hold home-court advantage over the playoffs, which we’re trying to do. We did it last year, and it worked out well for us, because we’re also tough to beat at home, so we’re trying to hold on to home court advantage if we can.

Delaney played at the university level with the University of Winnipeg before turning pro in France and Finland, in addition to being a member of the Team Canada Beach Volleyball team. He got his coaching start with Burlington’s Halton Hurricanes, where he won provincial and national medals.

Steve Delaney: I started coaching at the club level with the Halton Hurricanes, around 2016. It was just something that kind of got a hold on me, and I was in the area, and I thought it was kind of time to get back into volleyball and give back. I mean, volleyball has given a lot of opportunities to me. Like, after I was done playing, seriously, professionally, I really, really began to enjoy it even more because of the relationships I’d made and that type of stuff. So, I was happy to give back, to the city of Burlington and working with the Hurricanes, and as I was doing that, I was doing some provincial team stuff, and it came up that the Brock job was available. The former men’s coach and I met at a volleyball event in Ottawa, he was telling me about the opportunity, and I was thinking “this sounds like something I’d like to apply to”, and I did and now I’m here. 5 years later, it’s been a great experience, we’ve put a lot of work in, we’ve made some pretty good progress, we’re just striving to be the best we can.

In 2019-20, Delaney’s Badgers claimed the OUA West Division title and a silver medal at the OUA Championships. Their OUA Final Four appearance since 1991 and Delaney’s first OUA coach of the year, he would go on to win another, in addition to a U-Sports Coach of the Year.

Steve Delaney: First of all, I might get a lot of the credit, but it doesn’t happen without all the athletes on the court. It’s the ones in practice, contributing and getting the job done. It’s not just me, it’s a collective, it’s all together. I think the biggest thing we changed moving forward was, I think the athletes were ready for a change. I think they were open to new ideas and new voices, so I think that definitely helped the situation. When you’re at the bottom of the rankings, the only place to go is up. I think one of the first things I told them at open-gym over the summertime, was “this is not a last place team, I can tell you by the talent in this gym, it’s not a last place team. All we have to do is figure a few things out.

We tried to fix our serve to pass. That was the biggest impact I tried to make, because I saw we were giving away a lot of free points in that area, and now that’s one of our strengths. So, I think by having our serve to pass game on point, that puts us into a position to be competitive in almost any match. Those small things, while I was trying to create a culture where people can feel vulnerable at times but also supported by their team and by their coaches, its not an easy thing when you’re striving to win the OUA all the time, and playing a high-performance sport, its not always the most fun things, there’s always a little hard work involved, but hopefully its really rewarding at the end of the season.

In his five years at Brock, the mark Delaney has left on the program and the school is evident, and much of that is thanks to his approach as a coach and as a leader.

Steve Delaney: My philosophy is more… When people ask that question, I usually say I believe in creating winners on and off the court, turning positive reinforcement into error detection. So what that means is I want you to win in the classroom, and in life, but I want you to win on the court as well, but hopefully I can empower you to do that by being positive, but also being able to help identify some areas to improve through self-reflection and certain types of comments that help you be better. That’s what I try to do for myself, I wasn’t always that way, so as I’ve matured, there’s been a lot more self reflection that pertains to how I can be better, and trying to hopefully pass that on to the girls that I coach, have them learn some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way, so they’re hopefully not making the same errors I made. So that’s pretty much how that works in terms of philosophy.

With the team’s success this season, there has also come a significant amount of individual success for the Badgers. Sadie Dick and Madison Chimienti are eight and eleventh in the OUA in kills per set, while Emily Foest, Laurin Ainsworth and Christina Jovetic all also occupy the top 50. Grace Pyatt, Dick, Ainswoth and Chimienti are first, seventh, twelfth and 22nd in hitting percentage. Sarah Rohr is second in assists, and Aleiah Torres is also second in digs per set. With all the star power, it’s worth asking whether recruiting or development has been more to thank.

Steve Delaney: Recruiting has actually been super hard after we won last year. It’s been harder to try and get people to come to Brock. I think it’s because they know we’re a young team and a lot of them are playing well, so they might not be able to get playing time. Like anything else it’s earned, playing time is earned, respect, from your teammates and your coaching staff, is kind of earned as well, so recruiting is definitely a big piece, but developing once you get here is key. I mean, Sarah Rohr didn’t come in and start right away. She had to earn her way, and she worked really hard, not just in practice, but away from the gym, away from Brock, in the summertime she was playing beach, she was hitting the weights in the gym, and Aleiah [Torres] is one of our strongest athletes in the gym when we go to lift. So those two athletes that you mentioned, I think the work ethic that has helped them progress, in terms of being one of the top players in the OUA in their position, if not Canada.

To continue to make strides in their development as a team, the Badgers flew out to British Columbia over the winter break to train and match up against some of their western competition.

Steve Delaney: The idea was, we have to go out and compete against some of those teams we never see. Some of those teams out West, they’re very good out there. They have very good programs. Multiple schools. Everybody knows that Canada West is a very tough conference so it was great to go compete against them. Some great team bonding moments too. Some hikes, we spent New Years together, played a bunch of games, it was really good to have some team bonding. It was also a sacrifice for everybody because we were all away from our friends and our families who we weren’t seeing over new years, so we kind of worked through that, and it brings you closer in a way, because everyone’s happy to be there, working towards getting better, but at the same time too, we’re also missing home and your loved ones, and we were kind of going through that together. It was a really good trip. We experienced, as I mentioned, some of the most beautiful mountains, and lakes, and hikes and walks that we did. So we had a really really positive experience, and we got to train against UBC, Fraser Valley, and Trinity who are some of the top teams in the country, so if we don’t do that trip, we don’t have that opportunity to train against those teams.

With the season drawing to a close and his team playing well, Delaney won’t be making any major changes down the stretch.

Steve Delaney: There are some tactical things that I usually don’t employ until we get close to playoffs, which is, well, kind of now. It might as well be the playoffs for us. If we want to hold home-court, we pretty much got to win every game. So, its important to do those little tweaks and little things that, in a five set match, the proper tactical change can sway that final set in either direction. So those little things that we’re going to work on, hopefully become big in terms of results.

The Badgers would ultimately come up with a four-set win over the Warriors on Saturday, giving them the best record in the OUA. The Badgers were powered by a strong two-way performance from Chimienti, who had a game-high 15 kills with a team-leading 15 digs, in addition to Rohr who had 48 assists. The Badgers play their last two home games of the regular season next weekend, on Friday Feb.10 and Saturday Feb.11. For their full schedule and results, go to gobadgers.ca.

The women’s basketball team played two home games over the weekend, and with the regular season coming to a close, these were essential.

The Badgers entered the weekend 9-7 having won four of their last six games. Two wins would put them in a tie with Toronto Metropolitan University for second in the OUA Central.

The Badgers’ first game was on Friday against the University of Toronto. One of the five worst teams in the OUA, the Varsity Blues have struggled mightily this year, and having lost their last four, shouldn’t have posed much of a challenge for Brock.

Though U of T would get out to an early 8-2 lead on the strength of two threes, the Badgers suffocated them the rest of the way, emerging from the quarter up 18-8.

In the second quarter, the Badgers piled onto their first quarter advantage, leading by as much as 18. Some continued three-point shooting by the Blues brought them within 15, but the Badgers still held a clear and decisive advantage going into the half.

Nothing much would change for U of T’s fortunes in the third.

Brock quickly stretched out their lead to 19, before U of T once again marginally trimmed this down to 15 with some help from the three ball.

The fourth quarter was where U of T showed their first signs of life, but it was too little too late. U of T was able to outscore the Badgers 13-8 in the quarter, but lost by a final score of 57-47.

Madalyn Weinert once again led the charge for the Badgers, putting up 20 points on 64 per cent shooting, six rebounds, three steals, three assists and a block in only 25 minutes of playing time. Olivia Fiorruci and Noor Bazzi were the other two Badgers to score in double digits, with 10 and 11 respectively.

Back in Bob Davis Gymnasium the next day, the Badgers had a much taller task on their hands with the Guelph Gryphons, who are sixth in the OUA.

Guelph took the initial lead, but they wouldn’t be able to hold onto it. The Gryphons grabbed an early four point lead, but Brock ground away at the difference, before going up by one on an Allison Addy layup with four minutes left in the first.

Up by two, the Badgers were in a solid, if unsatisfying, position heading into the second.

Never able to stretch this lead to more than four, the second quarter repeated the first in a mirrored fashion.

Guelph chipped away at Brock’s small lead before taking a more commanding one of their own when Guelph’s Mackeely Shantz scored eight points in just over a minute to put them up by six.

Shantz is one of the very few players in the OUA who is having a comparable season to Brock’s Weinert. Sitting one slot and 0.3 points per game ahead of Weinert in scoring, the whole night was a head-to-head battle between two of the OUA’s biggest stars.

With Weinert already at 15 points in the game and Shantz at 12, they would not disappoint.

Guelph jumped out to a ten point lead in the third quarter, and though Brock would valiantly whittle down the score, they were ultimately unable to overcome their first-half deficit, losing 70-65.

Though a close, back-and-forth game down to the whistle, Guelph outperformed Brock in a few key areas, like second-chance points, points off turnovers and points in the paint, which spelled the difference.

Weinert had another fantastic double-double performance, with 26 points on 52 per cent shooting, twelve rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block, all while playing the full 40 minutes.

Shantz was no slouch either, scoring 24 on 59 per cent shooting, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Addy, who shot a perfect 5-5 from the field in the first half added 13 points, while Fiorucci’s ten rounded out Brock’s scoring.

Now with a 10-8 record, the Badgers have only four games remaining in the regular season, with their next two being away games against Windsor and Western on Feb. 10 and 11. For the team’s full schedule and results, please go to their page on gobadgers.ca.

Feb. 4 was Seniors’ Day for the Brock men’s hockey team, the annual celebration of the team’s graduating members at one of their final home games of the regular season.

Although you wouldn’t know it by their third-place rank in the OUA, this hockey team has been through a lot.

Like every collegiate team, they had to deal with intense pandemic restrictions and shortened seasons due to COVID-19, but the group also had to sit through several coaching changes, and, last year, battled their way through a bittersweet Cinderella run through the National Championships.

In many ways, Saturday’s event was both a celebration of the team’s perseverance and their impact on the program, and a dedication to their unfinished business.

Though making a run at the National Championship like last season will be difficult to replicate, the Badgers have managed to build on that performance this year.

Brock was not a particularly strong team during the 2021-22 regular season, finishing third in their five-team division and 11th in the OUA overall. While last year’s team struggled to score and to keep their tempers, scoring only 47 goals while registering 233 penalty minutes, the story could not be more different this year.

“It’s not like we’ve got a couple guys who’re doing it all, we’ve got a lot of people contributing to that offence, which is great to see,” said Badger’s head coach, T.J. Manastersky, “I think our discipline has been very strong in one respect… we don’t give up very many goals 5v5, so our goaltending has been strong, our team defence has been strong and I believe we’ve been tough to play against most nights,” said Manastersky

There’s been a lot that has changed for this Badgers squad, and coach Manastersky is the first evidence of that.

Despite their unprecedented playoff run, the Badgers found themselves in need of a new head coach this offseason, and brought in T.J. Manastersky to fill the vacancy.

After graduating with his Masters of science in education, health and physical education, Manastersky’s career got off the ground quickly.

“I started coaching young. I was sort of in my early to mid 20s when I started. I coached in the D1 and D3 levels, and I’ve been a head coach for nine years prior to Brock, so I was on a path, in my mind, to become an NCAA D1 coach.”

However, when the head coaching role opened up at Brock, the chance to coach closer to his childhood home of Oakville was enticing, but this proximity “wasn’t enough” for him to take the job.

“What made me really want it is I thought, if we operate the right way, we do this the right way, we can build a hockey team that’s successful and is a national contender every season,” said Manastersky.

With only three games left in the regular season, it looks like Manastersky might be right.

“It’s a veteran group that believes in itself, so that in and of itself, is really important. Before you can win you have to believe you can, and this group does.”

On Saturday, Feb. 4, with a chance to leapfrog a third-place Lakehead side, there are few games left where winning would have a bigger impact on the Badgers’ place in the standings. Luckily, the Badgers are heating up at just the right time.

“It’s an exciting time of year, three games remaining, won our last five, so you’re feeling good about that – players are feeling good about themselves.”

Leading into the weekend, a number of Badgers are certainly feeling good about themselves and their performance thus far.

Forward Jacob Roach’s 29 points and 19 assists place him fourth in the OUA in the former and sixth in the latter, in addition to being sixth in points per game. One slot ahead of him, at 1.23 points per game, is fellow Badger Adam Berg, whose 14 goals place him fifth in the OUA. Captain Jared Marino’s point-per-game pace also lands him in the OUA’s top 15 in scoring.

Defenseman Zach Taylor is seventh among OUA defensemen in scoring, and is third in goals.

Despite the Badgers operating on more of a goaltending battery system, Mario Peccia is top 15 in save percentage, top ten in goals against average, and third in shutouts.

Even centres Frank Pucci and Tyler Burnie, though hampered by playing fewer games, still sit at eighth and seventh in points per game, respectively.

“It’s easy for me to say as the coach that I think we’re playing a style of game that promotes offence, but I do believe that, and I think the stats speak to that,” said Manastersky.

“It’s the same players who have been here, it’s a veteran group, but they’re scoring more than they ever have before. I think almost every player is having a career year, as far as their offensive production…there’s been a lot of learning and adapting that the players have had to do, and they’ve done a tremendous job of it.”

Novelty and change have been big themes of this year’s iteration of the men’s hockey team. Sure, on the ice and behind the bench there’s a lot that’s new, but off the ice there are some pretty major differences as well.

“There were lots of changes this year.” said Joel Anthony, a Video Production Manager with BrockTV, who has had a keen focus on the men’s hockey team this season.

“They have a new coach, a new home rink and the Steel Blade Classic took place this year for the first time since COVID-19, which was a new event for certain players and a familiar one for others.”

The new home rink, inside the brand-new Canada Games Park, is probably the most noticeable change.

“I’ve been excited to see the rink since my first year,” said Junior defenceman Matthew Barnes, who’s had to wait until his third year for an on-campus home rink and practice facility. Built to accommodate the sporting event of the same name over the summer, the arena is one of the nicer facilities in the OUA.

The other change is the reason why Anthony is so invested with the team: the BrockTV documentary. Titled When It Matters Most, the docu-series highlights the team throughout the season, following the style of other sports documentaries like All or Nothing, or Last Chance U.

“I didn’t anticipate the documentary to delve so deeply into the team,” said Anthony on his role with BrockTV relating to the men’s hockey team.

Imagining a small, less ambitious project, Anthony, along with his partner Neville Madill, got to work on what they expected to be a few interviews and some short episodes. Instead, they’ve created an ongoing, multi-episode series spanning the length of the season.

“TJ was incredibly accommodating and helpful when we first started filming for it, allowing us to capture a variety of original content, granting us access to the locker room during intermissions of games, allowing us to accompany the team to an away game, and letting us film at practice,” said Anthony.

The first two episodes have already dropped while shedding a light on the Badgers’ play this year and giving BrockTV full-access, and so far, Manastersky is impressed with the product.

“Them and the crew are doing an absolutely outstanding job, and for us, as a hockey team, it’s just so special to be able to document your season, for one, but also from a recruiting standpoint, creating exposure for everyone, it’s been awesome,” commented Manastersky on the documentary

For Manastersky, he views a lot of his role as a coach as putting Brock on the map, in hockey and otherwise. Though he admits growing up he didn’t know much about the area, let alone the school, Manastersky has been impressed in his short time at Brock.

“This school, in so many ways, is the best kept secret in Canada,” said the coach.

“I really believe in Brock University. I think that this school is on the rise, it’s up and coming. It really is a young school relative to every other school, the academic majors are really exciting. There’s so much passion in this school.”

Manasterky’s belief in Brock and their hockey program will hopefully provide them with something they’ve lacked in the past: consistency.

“You can tell…he wants to be the cement to this program, and he wants to be here for a while.” said Junior defenseman Johnny Schaefer in the first episode of When It Matters Most.

Manastersky himself feels this way about his role in the program.

“Hopefully now at least there can be some stability in the coaching position year over year.”

Saturday’s game, Brock’s second-last home game of the regular season, was precluded with the recognition of all of the team’s graduating senior players.

The 2023 Badgers senior cohort was a large one, including Tyler Rollo, Christian Girhiny, Jared Marino, Johnny Shaefer, Matthew Barnes, Christian DeDonato, Frankie Pucci, Cole Thiessen, Adam Berg and Justin Brack. Besides featuring many of the team’s highest scorers, Manastersky also views the seniors as his essential leadership core.

“They’ve been through a lot, so that leadership group, those seniors,” said Manastersky. “This Saturday is senior night, so all those guys, they’ve already left their mark on the program. Hopefully they’ve got another chapter or two to write here before they’re done, but they’ve been a huge asset in getting me acclimated to Brock, in helping me and supporting me.”

Though they would fall 4-1 on an empty-net goal, Brock held a significant advantage in both time of possession and shots for much of the game. Roach was stoned on a breakaway chance less than a minute in, and Brock held a near-double shot advantage through the first, but thanks to an uncharacteristic lack of discipline on the part of the Badgers, and some opportunistic scoring from Lakehead, the Thunderwolves grabbed an early lead and sat on it for the remainder of the game.

Brock battled until the final whistle, peppering Lakehead Max Wright netminder with shots. Wright, who had dialed up his game in the third, stood tall, blanking the Badgers for the three-minute stretch where their goalie was pulled.

The lone Badgers goal was scored by Adam Berg, with assists coming from Roach and Burnie.

Now sitting at 34 points through 25 games, the Badgers are third in the OUA West and fourth in OUA overall. With only two games left and three points behind first-place Windsor, claiming the OUA West is still possible, but some chips need to fall their way.

The Badgers’ next game is in Guelph on Friday, Feb. 9 and their last home game is Saturday, Feb. 11 against University of Toronto. For their full schedule and results, go to gobadgers.ca.

Logan Thompson had been playing hockey since before he can remember. Growing up in Calgary he played for the Calgary Bisons and Calgary Buffaloes, triple-A teams in the AMHL.

In his WHL draft-eligible year he was selected 112th overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings. In his first year with Brandon, he played four games before being sent to the AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League) where he played 22 games for the Grand Prairie Storm and posted a .906 save percentage and 3.39 goals against average. Serviceable numbers in a high-scoring junior league.

The next season, Thompson made the Wheat Kings as their backup goaltender. That season was the first he was eligible for the NHL, so being the backup did not help him in terms of his stock in the NHL draft. He played 23 games with a 2.63 GAA and a .898 save percentage, which would not be good enough to warrant a call from an NHL team.

The next two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18) Thompson was the Wheat King’s starter. In 2017-18 Thompson had nearly thirty wins on a team that finished second in the WHL and had a record of 40-6. Unfortunately for Thompson, he did not see a future for himself in pro hockey, and neither did pro teams, so he decided to pursue a degree in sport management at Brock University.

2018 marked the first year and only year that Thompson attended Brock. He played on the Brock men’s hockey team in 2018-19 and helped lead them to a 19-9 record which finished top of their division in the OUA and was a team record in wins for Brock men’s hockey team. Thompson also won OUA rookie of the year, goalie of the year and was named a first-team all-star.

After his season with Brock, he was approached by ECHL club Adirondack Thunder – New Jersey Devils ECHL affiliate – to come to finish the season with them. Thompson spoke on how surprised he was about the offer from a pro hockey club, in an NHL Press Conference leading up to All-Star Weekend “Pro hockey wasn’t even on my mind, I was just a kid having fun. I had school on Monday and Tuesday. I would go home and play video games, drink beer and just be a college student.”

After a discussion with his family and some close friends, Thompson decided to go play out the season in Adirondack. He explained why he made the decision to ditch the degree in an interview done with Jesse Granger of the Athletic, “you have to believe in yourself and bet on yourself. The biggest thing for me was if I didn’t make it, I wanted to at least say I tried. I didn’t want to have any regrets.”

In eight games in the ECHL, he had a 2-4-1 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .918 save percentage. He also managed to get a one-game stint in the AHL with the Birmingham devils that season.

The following season, Thompson remained in the ECHL, this time playing for the South Carolina Stingrays. There, he proved to himself and everyone else that he was indeed a pro hockey player leading the team to the best record in the league, 44-14-3 before the pandemic shut down the season.

His excellent performance in South Carolina led to his first NHL contract offer. The Vegas Golden Knights signed Logan to a two-year entry level contract with an 800,000 AAV. Logan spent the majority of the first year in the AHL where he led the league in save percentage, GAA, as well as advanced goalie stats (goals saved above expected, saves per 60 minutes and saves made in high-danger scoring chances). However, he was called up to back up Robin Lehner after Marc Andre Fleury went down with an injury. Thompson ended up playing eight minutes and 15 seconds in the NHL in a win over the Minnesota Wild. He made two saves on two shots and was registered for the win, his first in the NHL.

In 2021-22 Thompson became a regular backup towards the end of the season and took over the starting role once Lehner went down with an injury. He played 19 regular season games netting a 10-5-3 record. The performance to end the year earned Thompson another NHL contract, this time a three-year, one-way deal, worth 766,667 per year as he was projected to be the backup.

But a nagging injury required Robin Lehner to get surgery before the season started leaving Thompson the front-runner for the starting job in Vegas. He seized the opportunity and gained the full trust of his teammates, coaches and front-office staff.

Thompson played incredibly to start the year and earned the rookie of the month in November with a record of 8-2 with a .909 save percentage and a 2.88 GAA. That incredible goaltending continued down the stretch as Thomspon was eventually named to the NHL all-star game on Jan. 5, the first rookie goalie in NHL history to be named an all-star.

The all-star game took place on Feb. 3 and 4 where Thompson participated in the goalie tandem challenge and played half of the game between the Pacific division all-stars and the central division all-stars, which he lost.

Thompson, though new to the NHL, seems to have found a home in the league for years to come despite his unconventional path to the show.

On Feb. 4 the Brock women’s hockey team took on the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Badgers were looking to win two in a row after their 3-1 win against Western on Feb. 3. It also marked their third and final matchup against Laurier of the regular season, as the Badgers beat them in their first two matchups 2-1 in a shootout and 3-1.

In the first minute of the game, the Badgers had a great opportunity as Rebekah Feld manoeuvred herself through two defenders and centred the puck out front to two Badgers who unfortunately missed the pass due to a good stick by the Laurier defender.

The Badgers used that great first shift as something to build off of. They controlled a lot of the offensive zone time early, working the puck low to high and pinning Laurier in their own end. Kaitlyn Colonna had a great chance at the 15:00 minute mark as she rushed end to end before riffling a shot at the Laurier goaltender who made the save and controlled the rebound.

The rest of the first period was more of the same as the Badgers continued to dominate both sides of the ice, out-shooting their opponent 10-2. But they were unable to solve Acadia Carlson who kept the game scoreless through 20 minutes of play.

The Badgers got off to a great start in the second period getting in on the forecheck leading to their first powerplay of the game just 30 seconds into the period. Brock’s powerplay has improved as of late as they now have a 10.6 per cent conversion rate.

The Badgers controlled the puck in the offensive zone moving it around looking for shooting lanes but could not get the puck through to the net. The pressure led to Laurier taking two more penalties and the Badgers having another full four minutes on the powerplay. But they were unable to convert as Carlson continued to dominate in between the posts.

Just less than ten minutes through the second the Badgers took a penalty that then led to four more penalties being called against them the rest of the period. Laurier got a few good chances but despite Kenzie Harmison not seeing much rubber in the game, she made some big saves. After killing off ten minutes worth of penalties both teams managed to get out of the period without allowing a goal in a period that saw eight minor penalties called in total.

Throughout 40 minutes of play, the shots were 16-9 in favour of Brock. To start the third period both teams were playing conservatively not wanting to give the other an inch of ice.

The game started to open up again at the end with the best chance towards the end of the period. A Badgers three on two rush led to a tough angled shot turned away by the sprawling Acadia Carlson. The goaltender battle continued as Harmison and Carlson both posted shutouts through three periods despite both team’s trading chances down the stretch.

The two teams headed to overtime for the second time this season. Brock once again controlled the start of the overtime period spending much of the first 90 seconds in the Laurier zone.

An attempted clear by Laurier’s defender was picked off by Rebekah Feld who stormed back into the zone on a two-on-zero opportunity with Catriona Cormier. Feld made a nice forehand to backhand move but Carlson made an even better blocker save.

Just a minute later a defensive zone mishap for the Badgers was picked up by the Laurier forward who took it in 1 on 1 against Harmison and beat her with a quick forehand to backhand deke to end the game just less than half way through the overtime.

Laurier avoided the season series sweep and the Badgers failed to win what would’ve been their third back-to-back wins on the season. Kenzie Harmison finished the game with 14 saves on 15 shots while Acadia Carlson posted a 26-save shutout, her fourth shutout of the season.

Brock is back in action next weekend Feb. 11 at Canada Games Park against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Both Brock and TMU are 4-6 in their last ten games and Brock has won the only matchup between the two teams this season, 4-2.

Tickets for that game can be bought here and the game can also be streamed on OUAtv. For information on the women’s hockey team visit gobadgers.ca.

On Feb. 3, the Brock men’s basketball team was back at home for a game against the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues. Heading into the game, Badgers were just one win ahead of U of T in their divisional standings with a record of 13-3, but U of T had two games in hand against them at 12-6.

The game had a slow offensive start as both teams shot a combined two for 11 through the first three minutes. At around the halfway mark of the quarter, the scoring started to pick up as Badger Godsman Kwakwah scored a spin-around jumper, followed up with a Michael Okeke steal, leading to a fast break dunk.

The U of T Varsity Blues answered back with back-to-back threes, both scored by Ryan Rudnick. The quarter continued to be close down the stretch and would finish with a last possession three from Kwakwah to send the Badgers up 23-20 heading into the second quarter.

Badgers started the second quarter the way they ended the first –with a three – but this time from Daniel Caldwell. Though on the next three possessions on the offensive, the Badgers came up short, shooting zero for five and allowing U of T to storm back, taking their first lead of the game 25-23.

But a Kwakwah three ended the Varsity Blues’ run and sparked the Badgers on a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 30-25. Badgers controlled the quarter offensively, outscoring the Varsity Blues 22-18, finishing the quarter 48 per cent from the field and were up 45-38.

Godsman Kwakwah had 15 points and shot four of five from beyond the arc in the first half. While Daniel Caldwell had 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block, with six of his 11 points from three-point range.

Caldwell continued his strong performance, netting Brock’s first bucket of the third quarter. But the Badgers went cold soon after as many trips to the free-throw line resulted in less than 50 per cent shooting.

Just five minutes into the third quarter, the Varsity Blues managed to go on another 7-0 run, making it just a one-possession game. Five of the seven points on the back of Callum Baker, who had been U of T’s go-to player thus far.

The rest of the quarter was back and fourth basketball leading to an eventual buzzer-beater for U of T, moving the score to 54-51 Brock through three quarters. During the break in-between quarters, Badgers coach Willy Manigat was not pleased with his team’s performance thus far, giving them a stern talking-to on the sideline.

Both teams started the quarter missing their first two offensive possessions and it was U of T’s Callum Baker hitting a fadeaway jumper to cut the score to just one point. Brock’s poor free throw shooting continued as Jevon Brown went one for two from the line and on the very next possession U of T tied the game at 55.

U of T played great defence leading to many fast-break opportunities and an eventual five-point lead with half of the fourth quarter to play. Brock’s big players showed up in the last five minutes. Isaiah Bujdoso and Jordan Tchuente each had two baskets in the next three minutes in a back-and-forth sequence of events.

With the score tied 67-67, U of T swung it around the horn and Aleer Aleer-Leek hit a corner three with just 55 seconds left. But the Badgers’ never say die effort led to a Tchuente three on the very next possession tying the game, followed by a stop on defence.

With less than 24 seconds left in the game, the Badgers stormed down the floor with a chance to win it. With just 4.4 seconds left on the clock, Tchuente made a nice dribble move leading to the layup, taking the lead 72-70. U of T got one final chance to tie or win the game with a three, but a deep three attempt was an eventual airball and the Badgers won their seventh in a row, 72-70.

Daniel Caldwell finished the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and added another steal in the second half, making it three on the night. Isaiah Bujdoso and Jordan Tcheunte both had 10 points, with Tcheunte grabbing more rebounds with nine, compared to Bujdoso’s five.

The Badgers are now 14-3 and look to continue their run of impressive basketball against the University of Windsor and Western University on Feb. 10 and 11. Those games can be streamed on OUAtv.

For more information regarding the Brock men’s basketball team visit gobadgers.ca

BOn Jan. 20, BrockTV dropped the first installment of their new docu-series When It Matters Most. Episode One: New Beginnings is the introductory chapter of BrockTV’s partnership with the Badgers men’s hockey team.

Besides the obvious new beginning of a blank season, When It Matters Most shows just how much a turnaround this season is from the last.

Fresh faces on both sides of the bench and a brand-new arena mark a massive change for the hockey program, which is exactly what creators Neville Madill and Joel Antony had in mind.

“For me, I just got my job at BrockTV over the summer, and I only have one more year left, so I felt like I wanted to do something big, I wanted to go all in.” Said Madill, a third-year Sport Management student.

“I wanted to make something I could be proud of and maybe could open doors for me. And I wanted to match it with some passion, with my love for university sport in Canada.”

Madill is the current Brock Sport Management Council President and a producer for BrockTV. Hoping to make his name in the sport industry, When It Matters Most, and BrockTV by extension, gave Madill an exciting opportunity.

Just as much as BrockTV, it was head coach TJ Manastersky who provided Madill with the chance. Though he didn’t create the project, Manastersky actually was responsible for getting the ball rolling.

“I started at the beginning of the year when [Manastersky] reached out to me,” said Madill on his partnership with the coach.

“We didn’t know each other, he was new to Brock this fall, he got hired over the summer, we really just wanted to chat… so he really just brought about this opportunity for me. He was like, ‘Oh we’d like more surrounding the team, we want to let everyone know that the rink is right across the street, its right here on campus’, so he’s giving me this opportunity, but we’re also helping him grow the program.”

In Madill’s eyes, When It Matters Most is a mutually beneficial arrangement for him and Manastersky:

“[Manastersky wants to] build a hockey team that can hopefully be the best in Canada one day, and to hopefully win the National Championship. So I think it goes for both sides where I get to really start my career with this project, and on his side, he’s got a documentary that he can show recruits, show to friends and family, and share with his network.”

It also gives a chance to put some Brock Badgers in the spotlight.

The men’s hockey team has had a strong season thus far, with a 15-7-0 record through 22 games, and have the third-most goals in the OUA. Though their 30 points are good for fourth in a very tightly fought OUA West Division, if they could have stretched even two of their losses into overtime, they would be second in the West and third in the OUA overall.

The team themselves has, unsurprisingly, been instrumental in letting Madill and Antony document their success.

“The whole team, we’ve appreciated the support, letting guys infiltrate their locker room. … we’ve appreciated their support through this opportunity,” said Madill.

It’s also been a banner season of individual performances for the Badgers. Tyler Burnie, Jared Marino, Jacob Roach and Adam Berg are all in the OUA’s top-20 scorers. Berg, who is fifth in points-per-game and tied for seventh in goals, earned an OUA Athlete of the Week honours for Jan. 23 after scoring eight points in two games.

As expected, the players and their personalities are what shine through in the documentary.

“Olivier Deroches and Christian Cote, two players, both from Quebec, the Quebecois-Canadian really shone through in that interview, and we’re going to be putting that one in the fourth episode. Those two personalities are really good,” said Madill, naming some of the team’s prominent personalities.

“Cole Tymkin is a really funny guy in the locker room… and Jared Marino, Captain, he’s just that classic captain. You can just tell that all the guys really like him, but he’s also really intense, he’s a really tenacious leader and really wants that chance to win the Queen’s Cup and make their way to Nationals this year. The guy who’s really captivating is Marino.”

Personality is what’s going to sell the product, but in demonstrating the skill and competition that occurs in the OUA, it might be high time some of these athletes get their due.

“In U Sports, there’s a lot of really good players coming from Major Junior, whether that be the OHL, WHL, QMJHL,” said Madill, “[we’re] really just trying to showcase the talent and try to grow OUA hockey and U Sports hockey because we think they should have a little bit more shine on them.”

The discussion of talent in the OUA has never been more relevant, especially here at Brock. Brock alum Logan Thompson recently became the starting goalie for the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL, in addition to being a potential front-runner for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year award. This all happens less than four years after Thompson started 14 games for the Badgers.

This documentary provides opportunities to different stakeholders to show their mettle, the Badgers as a top team in U Sports, Manastersky as a vision-driven coach, and the skill and personalities of the athletes. Despite this, Madill is most cognizant of the benefits BrockTV has provided for him, and can provide for other Sport Management students.

“Everyone at BrockTV has been amazing in the production. There has been so much support from everyone and we’ve been able to get multiple producers involved, whether that’s with b-roll footage collection, interviews, or narration.”

As more episodes drop in the coming weeks, make sure to follow along on BrockTV’s YouTube page.

After wrapping up two games this weekend, the Badgers are back in action on Friday Feb. 3 and 4, when they play an away game at University of Toronto and a home match against Lakehead.

For their full schedule and results, go to the gobadgers.ca page, and for more information about BrockTV, visit them at their website.

The Brock women’s volleyball team were back in action for a home double-header this weekend.

Looking to rebound from losing two of the past three, the women’s volleyball team got an opportunity against the York University Lions. The Lions on the other hand, sitting around the middle of the pack in the OUA, looked to pick up at least one win to stay above .500.

This would not come easily for the Lions.

Friday’s match started close, with both teams trading early kills. York kept it close throughout the first set, and actually led the Badgers in this regard, 11-10. However, it was York’s attack errors that would spell the end of their commendable run, falling 25-17 in the first set.

Undeterred, the Lions showed great resilience in the second set. The set was a battle of attrition, neither side giving an inch. Neither York nor Brock surrendered more than three consecutive points in the set. York improved on their strong hitting, racking up 13 kills, while cutting down their attack errors from nine to four.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the Badgers’ play at the net also improved, jumping to 19 kills and taking the set 25-27.

This time, there would be no bounce-back from the Lions. Matching seven kills with seven errors, their attack efficiency dropped to zero, while, on 13 kills, Brock’s jumped to .286.

Brock took a dominating third set 25-14, and the match in straight sets.

Less than 24 hours later, the Badgers and Lions would take the court again, York no doubt hoping for a better execution down the stretch.

Though York got out to a quick 6-2 lead, their hold on the set quickly dissipated when Brock tied the score at nine shortly thereafter. With several big pushes, the Badgers came out on top, 25-19.

York offered very little resistance early in the second set. Brock went up first 4-0, then 6-1, eventually stretching their lead as wide as 16-4. Brock pulled off the gas a little, but with York operating in negative attack efficiency, the Badgers still cruised to a 25-14 second-set victory.

Brock looked like they had things all but wrapped up, starting the third set up 8-2. York, with nothing left to lose and plenty left in the tank, battled back to knot the game at 21 before taking their second lead of the day. Trading blows the rest of the way, the Badgers clawed their way to a 25-27 victory off an attack error.

Sadie Dick had an outstanding performance over the weekend, leading both Friday and Saturday’s matches in kills. Madison Chimienti and Emily Foest both also had strong weekends, while, as expected, Sarah Rohr and Aleiah Torres led in assists and digs, respectively.

The Badgers next play on Saturday, Feb. 4 against the Waterloo Warriors. Playing the top-ranked team in the OUA, the Badgers have a chance to leapfrog Waterloo in first with a win this weekend. Their full schedule and results can be found on gobadgers.ca.

It’s Saturday, Jan. 21 and the Brock Badgers women’s basketball team has just come up with a statement 69-62 win.

Perhaps more accurately, the Badgers’ star guard Madalyn Weinert came up with a statement win for Brock. Playing the entire 40 minutes of the game, Weinert had a game-high 34 points on 57 per cent efficiency, a game-high five blocks, nine rebounds (second highest in the game), and an assist and a steal for good measure. In fact, her 20 points in the second half would have been good for the game-high (York’s highest scorer had 19 in the game).

This kind of dominance is not unfamiliar to Weinert this season. Saturday was Weinert’s eighth-straight game scoring in double-digits, a streak dating back to the Badgers’ last game against York in November. That November game is one of only two where Weinert wasn’t in double-digits. It’s also the only one where she didn’t lead the Badgers in scoring.

Weinert’s explosion has been good enough to net her fifth place in the OUA in points, seventh in rebounds, fifth in blocks and twelfth in field goal percentage, in addition to a bevy of awards this year, including three Brock Athlete of the Weeks, and most recently, an OUA Athlete of the Week.

A sophomore Medical Science student and a St. Catherine’s native, Madalyn Weinert has been the driving force behind this Badgers squad, though she’ll never admit it herself.

I got a chance to sit down with one of the top sophomore players in Canada this week to discuss her torrid pace this season, changes in her roles and responsibilities, and life as a Brock student-athlete.

This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Luke Sweeney: I guess to start off, you’re just named Brock athlete of the week and an OUA athlete of the week, so pretty huge deal, especially coming off a big weekend.

Madalyn Weinert: Yeah, it was big and it’s exciting. It’s been a different season than we had last year, so that’s come with its own challenges and its own ups and downs. The team’s quite young this year, and I think how we’ve played and how we’ve shown how we can play against York and Carleton especially is just a testament to how the team is going to thrive in coming years. I’m really excited to continue to work with the same group of girls. I think that’s always a bonus, to be able to stick with a group for multiple years. That’s always beneficial to the team and to incoming girls, to have people to look up to and people to set a precedent.

LS: Well you’re talking about the differences in the team, and that’s kind of something I wanted to ask you about; obviously there’s a lot of turnover in the university basketball setting, so what are some of the biggest team developments you’ve seen since last year, as well as maybe some of your personal developments?

MW: In terms of the team, again we’re young. We lost a lot of senior leadership last year, which has opened the floor for younger girls like myself to be able to step into [those roles]—we’ve all stepped into those different roles in different ways, its all about learning every day. There’s multiple of us who’ve stepped up to try and fill in those roles.

LS: Obviously, from a lot of different perspectives, you’ve been dealing with a lot of increased responsibility this year, so how have you been dealing with that, what’s that been like for you?

MW: So yes there’s been some additional responsibility, but I think it’s just learning to be ok, accepting the uncomfortable positions that you sometimes get put in. Something that you see at the beginning of the year is everyone always wants to have the same role they did last year, and it’s always tough to find that new role and excel in that role. I think that’s something that stuck with me. It’s so much easier to let the team handle it, and let other people deal with it, but when I start to get older and move through the program, there’re more responsibilities put on me, so I think it’s just stepping into a role where the team needs me next. It’s never about what’s best for me, but what’s best for the girls on the team and what’s best for the success of our team.

LS: Yeah, and well, I have to say you’re doing a pretty stand-up job of leading the group. I mean, you’re fifth in the OUA in points per game, you’re shooting 41%, seventh in rebounds, 12th in assist, and even fifth in blocks, which is pretty outstanding because you’re a guard. What’s been the biggest key for you? What’s led to this?

MW: I think it’s just coming together as a team. If they don’t do their job, then I’m not in the position to have those blocks, to record those points, so it’s really been all about coming together as a team which has allowed me to play the role that I need to do on this team. It’s being in the gym every day for practice, for lift, being at Canada Games (Park) for individual practice. It’s all those little things. It’s when we’re able to have those team dinners and team lunches, it’s about bringing everyone together, and that opens up the opportunity for me to play well. If they don’t do their jobs, if they don’t participate and give it all they’ve got, then I don’t get those opportunities either. So, it just comes down to teamwork.

LS: Absolutely. Obviously from what you’ve been saying, there’s quite a lot of stuff that goes into keeping up with the varsity schedule, and I know you’re also a Med Sci student which obviously dictates a lot of work-life balance. So how do you maintain that when you’ve got the work, life but also the varsity sport to balance in there too?

MW: I think it’s just time management. Actually, well, it is just time management. It’s knowing that at night sometimes instead of sitting down to watch TV or scroll on your phone, you need to put in the hour of work. It’s knowing that during the day sometimes you’ve got to go sit in study hall or go sit in the library and not with your friends because you need to get something done. Its planning, focus, and time management.

LS: Yeah, for sure. Again, I see you’re also from St. Catherine’s, which I’m sure is a big reason you’re at Brock, but were there any other things that drew you here?

MW: Yeah so, I was from here, so that was definitely a draw to come to Brock. I’d kind of always wanted to be a doctor, and when my dad spoke with the cardiologist [at St. Catherine’s General], he’d done both his undergrad and his masters here. So, I knew that even if I chose Brock, there wasn’t going to be a disadvantage instead of going to a school that has a med school, so I think that gave me confidence in choosing Brock as well.

LS: What are your favourite things about being a Brock student, an athlete at Brock, and also just an athlete on this team?

MW: One of the things I love about Brock, even though it’s obviously growing, I feel like it’s smaller. I feel like there’s always people I’m saying hi to, and that I can have a conversation with. Oh, and I love how everything’s in the same building, that’s great. And then, as a student-athlete, I love the community that’s being able to be built amongst the athletes, coming out of last year, even with Covid still. I think this year, people have really got to know each other a little bit more, and it’s just fun to see different teams supporting each other.

LS: Down the stretch, what’re you looking for from the team and from yourself?

MW: I’m really excited for the next couple weeks. Playoffs are coming so I think it’s a big push right now, every game matters. I’m super excited to see how we continue to work together, continue to get better every game. And for myself, keep doing what the team needs, anything the team needs is what I want to be focused on.

Weinert picked up right where she left off, leading the Badgers to a road win over Nipissing off the strength of a near-triple-double performance. Weinert had 11 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal, while forward Olivia Fiorucci led the game in points with 15.

This weekend, the Weinert and the Badgers begin a two-game homestand at Bob Davis Gymnasium where they’ll take on University of Toronto on Friday, and Guelph on Saturday. Their full schedule and results can be found on their gobadgers.ca page.

On Jan. 27, the Brock women’s hockey team took on the Toronto Metropolitan University, also known as the TMU Bold, for their first regular season matchup in just over three years.

The last time the teams met on Feb. 1, 2020, TMU got the better of the Badgers, beating them 2-1 in a shootout and outshooting them 37-26. Six Badgers from that roster three years ago remain on the team, including Mishayla Christensen, Kaitlyn Colonna, Rebekah Feld, Lauren Diks, Mikayla Flanagan and Paige Cohoon.

The game was played at 11 a.m at Mattamy Athletic Centre, which might be familiar to some as the old Maple Leaf Gardens building. Many of the fans in the crowd were young children from local elementary schools in the area. The two goaltenders in the match may not have the best record, but they have been playing unbelievable hockey for their respective teams this season.

Brock goaltender Kenzie Harmison got the start, and despite the poor 3-7 record, she currently has a 2.19 GAA, and a .926 save percentage. That is good enough for fifth in the OUA in save percentage for goalies that have played 10 or more games this season.

TMU goalie Alexie Stratos had played just five games heading into the matchup against Brock, but has been solid between the pipes, boasting a 2.46 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Those numbers may not be as great as Harmisons’, but they have been good enough for the best of the three goalies on TMU’s roster.

Brock kicked off the game with their fastest start this season, scoring just nine seconds into the game. A rush into the zone, followed by a cross-seam pass by Allison Stevenson right to Catriona Cormier, who put it into the open cage. With the Badgers leading 1-0, all students in the crowd were loving the hot start, despite it coming from the away Brock Badgers.

The next ten minutes of the game were back and forth as both Brock and TMU had 5 shots each, not allowing many high-danger chances. Though multiple failed zone exits by the Badgers led to a shot from the point by TMU defender Megan Breen and a rebound out front to Brooke Michaud was put past the blocker of Harmison to tie the game 1-1.

The remainder of the period would see some tight checking and chances off the cycle in both ends of the ice, but neither team was able to beat the opponent’s goaltender. After just twenty minutes of play, the shots were 14-10 in favour of TMU.

To start the second period, both teams could not establish any offensive zone time as much of the first five minutes was consistent dump-and-change hockey. It was not until the 11:01 mark of the period that the floodgates reopened. The Badgers Paige Cohoon put one past Stratos on the powerplay off of a massive scramble in front of the net. Stratos was furious with the call as she thought she was pushed into her net along with the puck, but the goal stood after the refs got together to discuss the play.

The TMU players were angry, and it showed. Soon after they had a powerplay of their own that they inevitably tied the game on. A pass from the slot, down low to Erika Crouse, who tipped it over the right pad of Harmison. 2-2 with just under five minutes to play in the second period and the young crowd going wild for the Bold.

Brock answered back soon after scoring their third go-ahead goal of the game. This time it was Mishayla Christensen who beat Stratos with a slap shot from the high slot. The period would finish 3-2 and the Badgers had just twenty minutes to play to secure their first victory over TMU in three years.

The Badgers would do just that, allowing only five shots on goal and playing very low-event hockey. An empty netter scored by Madison Cronkwright extended the Brock lead to 4-2 with just over ten seconds left as they cruised to their fifth road win of the season.

The Badgers are currently 8-13 with five more games left in the regular season, making it possible for them to finish .500. Their next matchup is against Western University on Feb. 3. That matchup and all future games can be streamed on OUAtv and tickets to the Feb. 4 game at Canada Games Park can be purchased here.

All information regarding the Badgers can be found at gobadgers.ca.

The NHL All-Star weekend is just around the corner and this time it is set to take place on Feb. 3 and 4 in South Florida. Feb. 3 will feature the skills competition while Feb. 4 will see the return of the four-team three-on-three style tournament.

Although there may not be as much excitement surrounding the NHL All-Star weekend as in previous years, that has not been due to a lack of effort from the NHL. This year saw a new voting system put into place where fans were able to vote for any two skaters and one goalie from each division that they wanted to see at the All-Star game—on top of the already selected one player from each team by league staff.

The last time fans were able to vote for any player in the league was back in 2016 when all fans from across the league came together and voted Arizona Coyotes goon John Scott captain of the Pacific division All-Star team. This year, no one “un-deserving” was voted in by the fans.

The Feb. 3 All-Star competition will feature many of the same events from previous All-Star weekends, such as the fastest skater, hardest shot, accuracy shooting and the breakaway challenge, which returned last year. This year it will highlight former Canadian goaltender and Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo, who used to play for the Florida Panthers. He will take the ice to face some shots from today’s greatest to see how many in a row he can stop, if any at all.

Similar to last year, the competition will feature a couple of Florida-specific competitions: The NHL pitch and puck on a golf course, the NHL Splash shot on the beach and the NHL Tendy Tandem.

The NHL pitch and puck on a golf course will be a combination of golf and hockey shots on a par 4 hole. Whichever player can complete the hole in the least amount of shots will win the competition.

The NHL Splash shot will take place on a beach but has yet to be announced what the actual competition will be.

The NHL Tendy Tandem will be a competition that will feature two goalies competing at the same time; one shooting pucks at a hole/target and one goalie stopping as many shots as possible in the timeframe announced later by the NHL.

Feb. 4 will feature three three-on-three style hockey games, each containing two ten-minute halves. The semi-finals will feature the two Eastern Conference divisions (Atlantic and Metropolitan) and the two Western Conference divisions (Pacific and Central) facing off against each other. The winner of the East and the winner of the West will then square off in a third and final game. The winning team gets a one million dollar cash prize to split between all players.

The All-Star game can be watched on TSN channels, TSN.ca and the TSN app. To view, the NHL All-Star teams visit NHL.com.