Ervine finds OT magic

Huskies halt Bisons five-game winning streak with 3-2 win

Marley Ervine is all smiles after scoring an OT winner.

    Marley Ervine was in the right place at the right time, when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team needed her the most.

    With the Huskies locked in a 2-2 draw with the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons in a three-versus-three double overtime period, Ervine was sprung in on a breakaway after a turnover near the Bisons blue-line. The feisty fifth-year forward laser beamed a shot past Bisons goalie Rachel Dyck to give the Huskies a 3-2 victory on Friday night at the Rutherford Rink.

    The goal came after Ervine was snakebitten on a number of chances throughout the contest.

    “It felt pretty good,” said Ervine. “I felt like I had a few chances tonight. It was finally nice to see one be successful.

    “I was pretty tired, so I just thought get a quick shot off and maybe have a rebound, if I don’t score on the first one. I just wanted to get the puck on (goal) for sure.”

    The victory ended a five game winning streak for the Bisons (7-5-1) and put a wrap on a three-game skid for the Huskies (8-3-2), who were rated eighth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top ten rankings.

    Momentum swung back and forth during regulation. The visitors jumped ahead 1-0, when fifth-year forward Kayleigh Wiens scored on a wraparound just 1:27 into the second period.

    The Huskies battled back to go ahead 2-1 heading into the second intermission. First, rookie forward Elizabeth Salyn roofed home her first career regular season CIS goal through a screen to tie things up at 1-1.

    About three minutes after that tally, standout forward Kaitlin Willoughby blew past the Bisons defence to score on a breakaway to give the hosts a 2-1 edge.

    In the third, the Bisons found the equalizer with 6:45 to play in the frame, when defender Erica Rieder scored from close in.

Marley Ervine gets set to drive a shot on goal for the Huskies.

    When the contest advanced into overtime, the Huskies held a decided edge in territorial play through a five-minute four-on-four period, and they maintained that advantage in a second five-minute frame with three-on-three play.

    The offensive zone pressure finally resulted in the turnover that created Ervine’s overtime goal. As university teams play only on weekends, the Huskies three-game skid meant they last celebrated victory on Oct. 30 in Edmonton, when they downed the University of Alberta Pandas 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout.

    Ervine was pleased to see her team get back in the win column and also put an end to the Bisons winning streak in the process.

    “It definitely feels nice,” said Ervine. “It is nice to hear the win song in the dressing room for the first time in a long time.

    “Our league is so tight that anyone can beat anyone, so it is nice to see that we can kind of knock a team off their pedestal for a bit here.”

    Cassidy Hendricks turned away 19 shots to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, while Dyck made 24 stops to take the extra time loss for the Bisons.

    Both teams go at it again on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Huskies men’s team eclipses last season’s win total

Josh Roach powers a Huskies victory with a three-point night.

    A three-point night from Josh Roach helped the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to surpass last season’s win total before the current campaign hit its halfway point.

    On Friday night in Winnipeg, Roach had a goal and two assists to help the Huskies double up the host U of Manitoba Bisons 6-3. The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated third in the CIS rankings, to improve to 11-2. Last season, the Huskies posted a 10-15-3 mark.

    Against the Bisons on Friday, the Huskies found themselves locked in 2-2 draw after 20 minutes and a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes. The visitors surged for three goals in the third to round out the contest’s scoring.

    Matthew Spafford, Parker Thomas, Jesse Forsberg, Levi Cable and Jordan Fransoo all netted singles for the Huskies, while Blake Voth turned away 26 shots to earn the win in goal.

    Warren Callis, Shaq Merasty and Brett Stovin, who is a former captain of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, replied with singles for the Bisons (5-6-2). Byron Spriggs turned away 33-of-38 shots to take the loss in goal.

    Both teams face each other again on Saturday in Winnipeg.

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