Aidan Jaager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The University of Calgary Dinos last weekend travelled to Saskatoon and stunned the previously-unbeaten Huskies in the Canada West semifinal. That loss for the country’s No. 1-ranked team ended their 51-game win streak and left the defending U Sports national champions in an unfamiliar position.
Rather than earning an automatic berth to nationals, the Huskies have been waiting to learn on Sunday if they will receive a wild-card entry.
“I think that was a bit of a shock,” said Thomaidis, who for the third season in a row and eighth time in her illustrious career was named Canada West coach of the year.
“It certainly wasn’t our best effort on Saturday and, if anything, I think it just redirected our focus to how hard you have to play to win at this level and how difficult it is. We’ve come back to practice with a bit of a renewed energy … It gives us an opportunity to work on some things and be as best prepared as possible for next week.”
Based on their undefeated 20-0 regular season and No. 1 national ranking, Thomaidis said she is “very confident” that the team will get the wild-card spot.
“This is probably one of the few years, if not the only year, that I’ve been coaching where it is pretty cut and dried. The criteria are out there. You know what they are, and you know exactly where your team sits,” she said.
“Compared to other teams, we’re No. 1 in all the categories. I think there isn’t much of a grey area. It’s pretty black and white.”
At the same time, Thomaidis acknowledged it is “very hard to wait” to see if the team will get the chance to repeat as national champions.
“It’s incredibly difficult to have to just be waiting and not knowing and kind of being in limbo about your opponent you might be playing. So that’s tough too, because you’re not preparing for any specific opponent at that time. You’re just trying to stay sharp and ready.”
She said the team also has some extra incentive to win following the loss.
The Huskies under Thomaidis have won national titles in 2016, 2020 and 2025 — but have yet to go back-to-back. Thomaidis firmly believe this year’s squad, led by Canada West player of the year Gage Grassick, has the tools to pull off that feat.
“This group is used to winning and bringing home banners and to know that we weren’t going to be advancing to play for a Canada West championship was very disappointing,” she said.
“They’re highly motivated to make sure we don’t make the same mistake twice.”
