Huskies head into big final day
Receiver Kit Hillis is still bothered by what transpired one snowy night last fall in Regina.
Hillis’s University of Saskatchewan Huskies had their entire 2012 season collapse around them with a 31-9 opening-round playoff loss to the host Regina Rams — a game that still sticks in his brain as the 2013 season plays out its final weeks.
He calls it “a painful memory.
“We’ve had good wins against them in my time, but that’s a loss that still sticks out for me — that devastating first-round playoff loss, in Regina,” said Hillis, whose Huskies play the host Rams Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., Mosaic Stadium) in the regular-season finale for both teams. “It’s one that still sort of gnaws at you a bit. I still look back to that game, and the feeling we had when they ended our season. It’s something I don’t forgive them for.”
The Huskies, currently 4-3, clinched a playoff spot last week and can finish either second or third in Canada West depending on what happens with Saturday’s games.
Friday night, first-place Calgary beat the now 4-4 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 34-17.
Saturday, Manitoba — which, like the Huskies, is 4-3 — plays winless Alberta. The Huskies will place second and earn a home playoff game if Manitoba suffers an upset loss; otherwise, they’ll finish third.
The Rams, meanwhile, are 2-5 and won’t make the playoffs.
But Hillis thinks Regina will come out swinging today, with the Huskies reciprocating.
“I don’t think you can look at the Rams as just another game,” he said. “I like to think it’s one of the biggest rivalries in CanWest, and it’s one of those things that no matter where each of you are in the season, it’s not a meaningless game for either team. At the end of the season, you want to beat the Rams. That’s something you want to hang your hat on.”
The Huskies are riding a two-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s game — they lost 33-26 last weekend to Manitoba in a game that saw Hillis catch 10 passes for 134 yards, and 24-12 to Calgary before that.
Losing a third straight game on the cusp of playoffs, says Hillis, would be bad for the Huskies.
“We don’t want to go into playoffs 0-3,” he said. “We’ve got to get the confidence back, and get back to those winning ways.
“You never want to go into playoffs on a losing note. This game couldn’t have come at a better time for us. It can be a big confidenceboost for the offence in terms of seeing how we can execute and how we can put points on the board.”