Huskies set to face familiar rival Laval in 57th Vanier Cup

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies had one goal in mind when the season began in August: to win the Vanier Cup.
After falling to the Western Mustangs 27-21 in the national championship game a year ago, the Huskies met every goal they set for themselves this season and are now one sleep away from playing in the 57th Vanier Cup in London, Ont. on Saturday.
"This is kind of the final step that our program has to make -- that's winning a Vanier Cup" quarterback Mason Nyhus said Friday before the team's final practice.
"So I think our sole focus and goal is winning on Saturday this year."
The Huskies' laser-sharp focus has been on display all year. The team has a combined 10-1 this season, with their only loss being a 35-29 loss to British Columbia in the second-last game of the regular season.
However, standing in the Huskies' way is a familiar foe, the Laval Rouge Et Or.
Saskatchewan and Laval have faced each other four times in elimination playoff games. All games finished with close scores. After a loss in 1999, there was a string of three straight meetings between 2004 and 2006 with Saskatchewan winning a national semifinal in 2005.
The Huskies hosted the Vanier Cup in 2006 at Griffiths Stadium, and the game is more remembered for the bone-chilling temperatures than it is for compelling action.
With the temperature hovering near -30 C with the windchill, Laval ended up winning 13-8 for Saskatchewan's third consecutive loss at a Vanier Cup.
Laval has since gone on to win six more Vanier Cups.
Though none of the current Huskies players have faced Laval, the respect for the championship juggernaut runs deep.
"Just the fact that you get to play against another national powerhouse like Laval who's been one of the top programs in the country since the start, it's really exciting for you to say when you're done playing football, 'Yeah, I got to play against the University of Laval in the Vanier Cup,'" defensive back Charlie Ringland said.
Looking to tinker with the preparation routine from last year, head Scott Flory decided to fly home with the team after its 36-19 win over the St. FX X-Men in last weekend's Uteck Bowl.
This allowed the team additional practices, video sessions, and the comforts of home before chartering a plane to London Wednesday afternoon.
A year ago, Flory and the team decided to stay at a Montreal hotel for eight days instead of returning to the prairies between games.
"We felt it was incredibly productive actually being back in those first few days of practice back at Griffiths and then also from a coaching standpoint and game planning and all that stuff," Flory said.
With all that extra preparation being done at home, Flory isn't putting any extra pressure on his players. He wants them to go out and play like they always do.
"Don't think, just do. Just play. Sometimes the worst thing athletes can do is think -- and we're not here to think," he said. "That's why we train. That's what we prepare for. We just want them just to play. We get it's not just another game, it's a Vanier Cup."
The game will also feature the two finalists for the Hec Crighton Trophy as the MVP of Canadian university football: Nyhus and Laval receiver Kevin Mital.
Mital ended up winning the award Thursday after compiling 58 catches for 751 yards and 12 touchdowns.
With the hours running out on Nyhus' Huskies career, the fifth-year quarterback is doing his best to soak up the experience of gameday one final time.
"'I've got two more days here in my university career, so I'm just grateful for everything," Nyhus said. "Trying to focus on the football game and just trying to get ready to win a Vanier Cup, so yeah, I'm feeling good."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

'Shadows of children': For the youngest hostages, life moves forward in whispers
After seven weeks held hostage in the tunnels of Gaza, they are finally free to laugh and chat and play. But some of the children who have come back from captivity are still reluctant to raise their voices above a whisper.
A pregnant Texas woman asked a court for permission to get an abortion, despite a ban. What's next?
Kate Cox, a mother of two in Texas, became pregnant again in August but soon after learned devastating news: Her baby has a fatal condition and is likely to either be stillborn or die shortly after birth.
Extremely rare white alligator is born at a Florida reptile park
An extremely rare white leucistic alligator has been born at a Florida reptile park. The 19.2-inch (49 cm) female slithered out of its shell and into the history books as one of a few known leucistic alligators, Gatorland Orlando said Thursday.
Minnesota grocery store clerk dies after customer impales him with a golf club, police say
A Minneapolis store clerk died after a customer beat him and impaled him with a golf club, police said. The 66-year-old clerk was attacked Friday at the Oak Grove Grocery, a small neighborhood store in a residential area near downtown Minneapolis. A 44-year-old suspect is jailed on suspicion of murder.
A Soviet-era statue of a Red Army commander taken down in Kyiv
City workers in Kyiv on Saturday dismantled an equestrian statue of a Red Army commander, the latest Soviet monument to be removed in the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.
Ibrahim Ali found guilty of killing 13-year-old girl in B.C.
A jury has found Ibrahim Ali guilty of killing a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a Burnaby, B.C., park in 2017.
Protests at UN climate talks, from ceasefire calls to detainees, see 'shocking level of censorship'
Activists designated Saturday a day of protest at the COP28 summit in Dubai. But the rules of the game in the tightly controlled United Arab Emirates meant sharp restrictions on what demonstrators could say, where they could walk and what their signs could portray.
Bill 15: Quebec health reform passes after gov't invokes closure
After sitting through the night, early Saturday morning, members of the Quebec legislature finally passed Bill 15 to reform the health-care network, voting 75 to 27.
Marathon Conservative carbon tax filibuster ends after nearly 30 consecutive hours of House votes
The Conservative-prompted filibuster in the House of Commons ended Friday night, after MPs spent nearly 30 hours voting non-stop on the government's spending plans.