Powerless power play costs Huskies

Bisons goalie Rachel Dyck holds off the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team needed to be a little more opportunistic on Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    In a Canadian Interuniversity Sport clash against the University of Manitoba Bisons, the Huskies had a number chances to pull out victory, as the visitors made some frequent trips to the penalty box. The hosts had six chances to score on the power play, which included a stretch of playing with a two man advantage for almost two minutes, but they failed to score on any of those opportunities.

    The Bisons, on the other hand, cashed in on three of their four power-play chances to pull out a 3-1 victory.

    The Huskies did get out to a quick start going ahead 1-0 just 2:23 into the first period on a goal from veteran offensive defender Julia Flinton.

    After that tally, the Bisons countered with a big push back causing the Huskies to take a couple of obstruction type penalties. Third-year forward Karissa Kirkup netted goals on both of those chances to put the Bisons ahead 2-1.

    While the visitors held the edge in territorial play over the first 20-minutes, Huskies fourth-year forward Lauren Zary rang a shot off the crossbar of the Bisons goal late in the opening frame. Had her shot been an inch lower, the Huskies, who are rated eighth in the CIS top ten rankings, would have exited the first period with an even score.

    The second period proved to be very frustrating for the Dogs. They went on the power play on five different occasions in that stanza and outshot the Bisons 12-3.

    Bisons goaltender Rachel Dyck was the difference making a number of tough saves to preserve her side’s lead. The Huskies had lots of good puck movement working on the power play, but they couldn’t finish any of their chances.

Lauren Zary was one of many Huskies who had bad luck around the net.

    In the third, the Huskies continued to pepper Dyck with shots, but the host side’s momentum started to fizzle with about seven minutes to play in the frame. The Bisons started to clamp down defensively and prevent the hosts from getting a shot on goal during that stretch.

    With 1:49 to play in the frame, third year Huskies forward Kori Herner was set to the penalty box for a bodychecking infraction, and the Bisons sealed victory, when sophomore forward Alanna Sharman scored an empty-net power-play goal with 42 seconds to play.

    Cassidy Hendricks turned away 18 of the 20 shots taking the loss in the Huskies (8-4-2) goal. Dyck made 30 stops to earn the win in goal for the Bisons (8-5-1).

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday when they travel to Calgary to take on the Mount Royal University Cougars (7-6-1). Those matches will be the final two contests for the Dogs before they head into their semester break.

Youth powers Huskies men’s team to another win

Rookie forward Kohl Bauml has been key to the Huskies success.

    The youth movement just keeps on delivering for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team this season.

    In a back-and-forth match on Saturday in Winnipeg, the Huskies, who are rated third in the CIS top ten rankings, downed the host U of Manitoba Bisons 4-3 in CIS action to improve their Canada West conference leading record to 12-2.

    The Huskies went ahead 1-0, fell behind 2-1, rallied to go up 4-2 and held on for a 4-3 final.

Second-year forward Cameron Blair put the Huskies up 1-0, but the Bisons exited the opening 20 minutes with a 2-1 edge on singles coming from the sticks of Jesse Paradis and Rene Hunter.

    The Dogs went ahead 3-2 in the second as rookie forward Kohl Bauml scored on the power play, and sophomore forward Parker Thomas added an even-strength tally.

    Rookie forward Levi Cable picked up a much needed insurance goal in the third to put the Huskies up 4-2. Shaq Merasty scored with 1:44 to play in third for the Bisons, but the hosts couldn’t find the equalizer.

    Second-year netminder Jordon Cooke made 26 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies. Justin Paulic turned away 32 shots to take the loss in goal for the Bisons (5-7-2).

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday when they host the Mount Royal University Cougars (8-4-2) at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Rutherford Rink. The Cougars are riding a four-game winning streak.

    Those clashes will be the last outings for the Huskies before they depart on their semester break.

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