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| Lauren Zary breaks into the offensive zone on a rush for the Huskies. |
For the majority of her post-secondary hockey career, it
seemed like a dark cloud hung over Lauren Zary in the offensive zone.
Basically, if she didn’t have bad luck, she would have no
luck at all. The speedy forward’s work ethic could never be questioned, but the
on ice drive often didn’t result in points on the scoresheet.
In four seasons of midget AAA hockey from 2008 to 2012, Zary
built a storied career with her hometown Saskatoon Stars. She piled up 44 goals
and 82 assists in 103 career regular season games.
Her shining moment came in the championship contest of 2011
Mac’s Tournament, when she recorded two goals and two assists to help the Stars
claim the tournament title with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Thunder. That
victory marked the first time the Stars captured the prestigious Mac’s title.
After graduating from the Stars and completing her high
school studies at Centennial Collegiate, Zary packed up for Providence, Rhode
Island, to play for the Brown University Bears women’s team in the Division I
ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the fall of 2012. In
two seasons at Brown, Zary notched just two assists in 26 games and seemingly
skated away from hockey.
Returning home to Saskatoon, she enrolled in engineering at
the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 2014 and decided to resume her
hockey career with the Huskies women’s team, who were coming off winning their first
Canada West conference championship. Thanks to a then recently introduced
Canadian Interuniversity Sport eligibility repatriation rule, Zary could join
the Huskies without have to sit out for an entire season.
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| Lauren Zary (#13) battles on a draw for the Huskies. |
During the 2014-15 campaign, Zary, who made the dean’s
honour roll, started to become a bit of a factor in the offensive zone picking
up six goals and eight assists in 28 regular season games. This season, she had
two goals and five assists in the 16 games the Huskies played before the
Christmas break.
When the Huskies opened their second semester schedule on
the weekend, Zary had a breakthrough offensively helping her squad sweep a pair
of games against the visiting University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the
ancient Rutherford Rink.
On Friday night, Zary, who stands 5-foot-5, had a goal and
an assist to help the Huskies double up the Pronghorns 4-2. Kori Herner, Marley
Ervine and Kaitlin Willoughby had singles for the Huskies, while Cassidy
Hendricks made 24 saves to earn the win in goal.
Brett Campbell and Lauren Fredrich responded with singles
for the Pronghorns, while Alicia Anderson turned away 29 of 32 shots in the U
of L net.
On Saturday night, Zary again had a goal and an assist to
help the Huskies slip past the Pronghorns 4-3. Her helper came on the Huskies
first goal, which saw Willoughby wire a shot off the post and in. In the
contest’s third period, Zary scored on the power play, when she flipped a shot
past Pronghorns netminder Jessica Lohues.
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| Lauren Zary, right, celebrates her goal Saturday with her teammates. |
Jocelyn Sabourin, Tricia Van Vaerenbergh and Chelsea Kasprick
replied with singles for the Pronghorns, who fell to 8-9-1. Lohues stopped 30
shots to take the loss in the U of L net.
With the wins, the Huskies, who are rated seventh in the CIS top ten rankings, improve to 11-5-2 to sit second
in the Canada West conference. In the congested Canada West women’s standings,
the Huskies are just two points back of the University of Alberta Pandas for
first place, but are only six points ahead of the Mount Royal University
Cougars, who sit sixth overall.
The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they
take on the University of Calgary Dinos (4-10-4) in Calgary.
For the moment, Zary seems to have found a comfort zone playing
on a line with Willoughby and one of her former Stars teammates in Ervine. If
Zary can remain a factor offensively, the Huskies chances of finishing near the
top of the Canada West standings will increase greatly.
Zary’s work ethic on the ice and in the classroom will
always be there. It would be nice if an extended run of good luck would come
her way too.
Dogs take care of business in Lethbridge
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| John Lawrence fights for a faceoff for the Huskies. |
The Huskies, who are rated fourth in the CIS top ten
rankings, opened the second semester by traveling to Lethbridge to sweep a
series with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The wins allowed the
Huskies, who are 9-0 on the road, to improve their Canada West leading record
to 15-3. They sit five points up on the second place University of Alberta
Golden Bears, who were swept away by the University of Manitoba Bisons in
Winnipeg.
In Lethbridge on Friday night, the Huskies slipped past the
Pronghorns 3-1. Rookie Levi Cable, John Lawrence and Jesse Ross netted singles
for the Huskies, while Jordon Cooke made 37 stops to earn the win in goal. Jay
Merkley replied for the Pronghorns, while cancer survivor Dylan Tait turned
away 39 of 41 shots to earn the win in goal.
On Saturday night, the Huskies found another gear storming
out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and cruising to a 7-2 victory. Lawrence
and fifth-year defenceman Zak Stebner both had a pair of goals for the Huskies,
while Kohl Bauml, Jesse Forsberg and Logan McVeigh each had singles. Cooke
turned away 24 shots to pick up another victory in net.
Zane Jones and Tim Campbell replied with singles for the
Pronghorns. Tait turned away 13 of 16 shot before being pulled at the 14:07
mark of the opening frame. Warren Shymko stopped 23 of 27 shots in relief.
The Pronghorns have lost six in a row to fall to 6-11-1.
The Huskie return to action this coming Friday, when they
host the University of Calgary Dinos (7-8-3) at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.
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