Canadian Football Hall of Famer and SMU Huskies legend Chris Flynn to have his jersey retired

Chris Flynn’s No.1 jersey to be retired.

For the first time in the 217 year history of Saint Mary’s University, a jersey will be retired for all-time to celebrate and honour a Saint Mary’s Huskies and Canadian university football legend, Chris Flynn.

“To be the first player to have their jersey retired by Saint Mary’s University, the place where I have made so many memories, is truly an honour,” said Flynn. “I am incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish as a team during my time at Saint Mary’s. Looking back, I want to thank all my teammates, coaches, trainers, students, and professors, really the whole Huskies community, for their support. We wouldn’t be celebrating this today without you.”

Originally from Buckingham, Quebec, Flynn played football for Saint Mary’s University from 1987 to 1990. During his time with the Huskies, he led the team to two Vanier Cup games as quarterback. He was an integral part of the resurgence of the team in the late 80s and early 90s, which is reflected in the accolades he received from his peers and university sport. The only player to win the Hec Crighton Trophy three times as the most valuable player in Canadian university football, Flynn was a three-time All Canadian with the Saint Mary's Huskies.

“To be the first player to have their jersey retired by Saint Mary’s University, the place where I have made so many memories, is truly an honour. ”

— Chris Flynn

Chris Flynn with the Hec Crighton Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in Canadian university football. Chris would win the trophy a record setting three times.

Following his time at Saint Mary’s, Flynn went on to play professionally in both Canada and Europe. In 2011, Flynn became the first-ever Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) player to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He was also voted the #1 CIS player of the past 50 years of Canadian university football by Sportsnet.ca.

“Chris Flynn was a transformational player for the Huskies, whose name is synonymous with university sport success,” said Scott Gray, Saint Mary’s director of Athletics and Recreation. “Chris was a leader for our team and someone who raised the bar for quarterback play in Canada. We are proud to call him a Husky and to honour his legacy.”

Saint Mary’s University is proud to celebrate and honour the achievements of Chris Flynn and retire his No. 1 football jersey forever at this year’s homecoming, October 2-6, 2019.

The Dauphinee Centre construction on track

A rendering of The Dauphinee Centre.

Excitement is building as work continues on The Dauphinee Centre, the new arena at Saint Mary’s that will feature an NHL-sized ice surface and accommodate more than 1200 fans.

With the arena design 95% complete and construction progressing well, the $14.8 million facility is on track to open in time for the 2019 hockey season. This fall, neighbours can expect to see the large, precast concrete walls (about 85 pieces in total) go up on the build site. Work is now underway on the foundations to support the walls and on the underground water and electrical services. 

When completed, the centre will feature an upper-level warming room with an attached fan room overlooking the ice surface, a pedway link to the Homburg Centre for Health & Wellness, and men’s and women’s varsity dressing rooms that are equal to the best junior hockey facilities in the country. These enhancements to the project were made possible by a generous gift of $2 million from local entrepreneurs Glen and Nancy Holmes, parents of two current Saint Mary’s students. Glen and Nancy Holmes are the owners of Pseudio, Samuel & Co and Envy.

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See updates on the progress of the Dauphinee Centre.

Huskies earn first win of the season with 20-13 victory over StFX

The Saint Mary's Huskies picked up the first victory of the AUS football season with a 20-13 win over the StFX X-Men Friday night at Huskies Stadium on a balmy summer evening in front of over 1300 fans.

The turning point in the victory came late in the fourth quarter when Huskies quarterback Kaleb Scott (Mount Albert, ON) punched in a one-yard touchdown to give them a 17-13 edge. The play came after a Brian Hope (Port Coquitlan, BC) field goal was negated due to a StFX illegal substitution call. Had the field goal stood the game would have been knotted at 13-13. 

With the momentum, the Huskies added a late field goal for the 20-13 win. 

Scott was 18 for 28 with 208 total offensive yards, despite throwing three interceptions in the game. 

Freshman running back Jonathan Cimankinda (Ottawa, ON), the Subway Player of the Game, picked up 105 rushing yards on 21 carries for Saint Mary's.

The home team opened the scoring on their first drive of the game off a 36-yard field goal from Brian Hope (Port Coquitlan, BC) in what was the only scoring in the first quarter. Scott connected with Cimankinda on several carries to move the ball up field.

The X-Men had a chance to even the score early in the second quarter but Kieran Burnham's (Cambridge, ON) 42-yard field goal attempt went wide. 

Hope added a second field goal with just over four minutes left in the opening half, this time from 33 yards out. 

The X-Men got on the board at 13:14 of the second quarter to cut the SMU lead to 6-3 when Burnham connected from 15 yards out. StFX quarterback Bailey Wasdal (Calgary, AB) found receiver Greg McDonald (Halifax, NS) for a 31-yard pass to gain field position. 

The first half scoring rounded out with a Huskies rouge off a missed 26-yard field goal attempt from Hope with under a minute to play as SMU took a 7-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Wasdal found McDonald again in the third quarter for a 29-yard catch that set the X-Men up for 1stand goal from the one-yard line. Running back Jordan Socholotiuk (Waterford, ON) punched it in for StFX's first major score of the season. An Ethan Mastin (Chilliwack, BC) interception kicked off the drive for the X-Men.

The Huskies evened the score with just over a minute left in the third quarter as Hope booted his third field goal of the night, a 25 yarder that tied the game at 10-10.

StFX regained the lead three minutes into the fourth quarter on a 35-yard Burnham field goal.

The Scott touchdown with 6:42 left on the clock was the Huskies only one of the game. He scored after the X-Men strung together three consecutive penalties that set up Saint Mary's at 1stand goal.

Hope's fourth field goal of the game gave the Huskies the 20-13 edge with 1:31 left in the game. This one came from 10 yards out after a long Huskies possession wasted a lot of time off the game clock.

Saint Mary's had 383 total offensive yards to the X-Men's 213. Penalties also cost the X-Men in the game as they had 15 for 110 penalized yards to the Huskies 9 for 60.

Rick LeMoignan (Edmonton, AB) had 5 catches for 68 yards for the Huskies, while Liam O'Brien (Parksville, BC) was 5 for 68.

For the X-Men, Greg McDonald (4-91) and Kaion Julien-Grant (4-45) were the favorite targets for Wasdal who ended up going 15 for 23 for 181 total yards in his first AUS regular season game. Socholotiuk was held to 39 yards on the ground on 16 carries. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Gordon Whyte (Toronto, ON) led all X-Men with 9.5 tackles, while defensive back Cole Virtanen (Nanaimo, BC) had two interceptions in the game.

Brad Herbst (Ottawa, ON) led the Huskies defense with 5.5 tackles as the SMU defense sacked Wasdal three times in the game for a total loss of 25 yards. 

Both teams are back in action next weekend. The Huskies travel to Lennoxville, QC to face Bishops on Saturday, while the X-Men will host Acadia on Friday night in their home opener.

Recap courtesy StFX Sports Information

Saint Mary's unveils the details of The Dauphinee Centre

June 18, 2018

Saint Mary’s University celebrated the philanthropy behind the new on-campus arena and unveiled its design, renderings and name, today, June 18.

The facility will be named The Dauphinee Centre, in honour of the late Bob Dauphinee, a Saint Mary’s alumnus and community champion, who donated $2 million for an arena through his estate.

“Saint Mary’s University has a proud and successful hockey tradition that will continue for generations to come in The Dauphinee Centre,” said Saint Mary’s President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “This new arena will contribute to the continued success of our varsity men’s and women’s hockey teams, providing our athletes and coaches with a new home to continue their tradition of excellence.”

The Dauphinee Centre will feature an NHL-sized ice surface with seating and sightlines designed to enhance the fan experience. The centre will have seating for 850 fans with ample standing room that brings the capacity to more than 1200 people.  The building is fully-accessible with an elevator between floors and six accessible changing rooms for visiting teams, community-based recreational sports groups and summer camps.

The centre will also feature an upper-level warming room with an attached fan room overlooking the ice surface, a pedway link to the Homburg Centre for Health & Wellness, and men’s and women’s varsity dressing rooms that are equal to the best junior hockey facilities in the country. These enhancements to the project were made possible by a generous gift of $2 million from local entrepreneurs Glen and Nancy Holmes, parents of two current Saint Mary’s students. Glen and Nancy Holmes are the owners of Pseudio, Samuel & Co and Envy.

“Glen and Nancy Holmes have been true partners in the vision for this facility,” said President Summerby-Murray. “Their tremendous gift has elevated the entire project, and we are incredibly grateful to them for their vision, leadership and passionate support of Saint Mary’s, the Halifax community and this project.”

If you would like to make a gift to the arena project, please click here.

The new arena will continue Saint Mary’s tradition of hockey excellence and community engagement and is being constructed on the same site as the former arena. The overall cost of the project is approximately $14.8 million, and the centre is scheduled to open in time for the 2019 varsity hockey season.

“For 50 years, the Saint Mary’s Alumni Arena served as a community gathering space. A place where students who are new to Canada experience what it’s like to strap on skates for the first time and where young children learn to love skating and Canada’s game,” said President Summerby-Murray.

“Today, we look forward to the next 50 years. A time when students, friends and families will create new memories in The Dauphinee Centre, a new facility designed to meet the needs of our university, and the greater Halifax community, for years to come.” 

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See updates on the progress of the Dauphinee Centre.

Celebrating 20 years of excellence: The Saint Mary's Huskies Super Auction

The Huskies will descend on the new Halifax Convention Centre on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Saint Mary’s University Huskies Super Auction.

For 20 years, Huskies enthusiasts, fans, friends and family have supported athletic excellence at Saint Mary’s University. The auction is an important tradition at Saint Mary’s, a tradition that helps Saint Mary’s high-performance student-athletes to excel at their sport of choice and in their academic endeavours.

Join us this Wednesday for our @smuhuskies 20th Anniversary Super Auction. #dowhatyoudo #gohuskies pic.twitter.com/JqR2T7oXkp

— Rob Summerby-Murray (@smuprez) March 26, 2018

“The fact that we are celebrating the 20th year of this event is in itself a testimony to its success through the widespread support the auction receives from our community at large,” said Dr. John S. Fitzpatrick, Q.C., BA’81, and former Chair and Vice-Chair of the Saint Mary’s University Board of Governors. “Our student-athletes derive a great benefit from this amazing event.  Not only does it provide financial support to our athletes, but it also provides them with an opportunity to meet many of our alumni.  We are proud of all of our student-athletes, particularly those Academic All Canadian Athletes who somehow find the time to compete at a very high level and also achieve academic excellence.”

Over the years, the super auction has seen a variety of great items up for auction. From replica Don Cherry suits to custom-made SMU Huskies fireplaces, the best way to find out what’s up for auction is to attend.

“I am coming for the first time now as our family company, Minuteman Press, is now a sponsor of my old stomping grounds. We printed the tickets for the event and other items for the evening,” said super auction newcomer, Chantal Maheux-Webster, BComm'04, General Manager of Minutemen Press. “Being an alumna and after working with the university to help with their printing and signage needs, I became more familiar with the event and what a great event it is. I questioned ‘why I have missed it all these years?’, I am looking forward to it.”

There a still a few tickets left, so don’t miss your opportunity to support our Huskies and have a chance to take home a variety of fantastic items. Click here for more information and to get your tickets.