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| Abby Shirley jets up the ice for the Huskies. |
The 18-year-old rookie right-winger with the University of
Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team netted her first career U Sports
regular season goal on a play that looked rather unassuming. Early in the third
period of Saturday’s clash against the visiting University of Lethbridge
Pronghorns at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Shirley fired a shot from a bad
angle along the left boards in the offensive zone, and the puck found its way
past netminder Alicia Anderson.
The goal gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead and held up as the game
winner in a 3-1 victory.
“I was actually
going to go for a line change, but then the puck game right in front of me,”
said Shirley. “I was like I might as well get it on net. It slipped in somehow.
“It was a good way
to get my first one I guess.”
Shirley admitted to
being startled when she saw the red light go on behind the Pronghorns goal.
“I actually didn’t
even know it went in,” said Shirley. “I don’t know what was going through my
mind, and then I just threw my hands up in the air.
“It is just a
feeling I guess.”
Shirley, who stands
5-foot-5, has seen a bit of everything in her first campaign with the Huskies.
The Delisle, Sask., product has been in and out of the Huskies lineup appearing
in 13 of the team’s 18 regular season games to date collecting one goal, two
assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. Those types of
experiences are often common for rookies at the U Sports level.
When she has played,
Shirley has mainly been a defensive forward, but she has had her opportunity to
play all sorts of different roles. One of her assignments that isn’t common for
a rookie forward has been playing the point on the power play.
“I was quite nervous
actually,” said Shirley about the power play duty. “Then, I got into the groove
a bit with lots of practice, and it felt pretty good.”
Huskies head coach
Steve Kook said Shirley’s confidence has improved as the season has gone on,
and that was noticeable in Saturday’s win over the Pronghorns.
 |
| Abby Shirley reacts to scoring her first goal with the Huskies. |
Kook said Shirley
has some natural talents she can rely on as her career with the Huskies
progresses.
“First year is
pretty good here,” said Kook. “We will see how she handles getting a little bit
more playing time in the second and third year.
“Her natural ability
is to be able to shoot the puck even though she is just pint sized. Her natural
ability is to see open ice, and that is why we have her on the top end on our
power play.”
Shirley came to the
Huskies after a solid career with the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA team.
She played three seasons for the Stars from 2014 to 2017 collecting 31 goals
and 32 assists in 77 career regular season games. The speedy winger played a
key part in helping the Stars win Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League
championships and appear in the Esso Cup national championship tournament in
2015 and 2016.
Last season with the
Stars, she had a breakout campaign netting 14 goals and 18 assists in 25
regular season games. Shirley quickly noticed all the players at the university
level were stronger and bigger, so that created an obvious adjustment.
“It is a lot
different,” said Shirley. “You don’t have as much time.
“It is a lot more
just pucks to the net and shots other than just like having time with it and
trying to make nice plays. It is just really like quick plays.”
Shirley said one of
her easier adjustments was fitting in with her teammates, when she got over
some initial moments of being star struck. She went through times of just being
in awe of star fifth-year captain Kaitlin Willoughby.
 |
| Abby Shirley (#27) was all smiles after scoring for the Huskies. |
“She is such a good
offensive player. Her hands are unbelievable, and I look up to her for sure.
“We’re like a
family. I’m really close with everyone, and I just love them.”
While she knows she
has been more of a defensive forward so far this season, Shirley would like to
have a few other goal celebrations as the campaign progresses.
“It feels really
good actually just knowing that like you are helping out the team,” she said.
The Huskies (11-6-1)
return to action on Friday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the
University of Manitoba Bisons (13-4-1).
North Stars captain commits to Huskies men’s
team
Young, who stands
5-foot-11 and weighs 200 pounds, has been a standout for the Stars since
joining the junior A club on a full-time basis at the start of the 2014-15
campaign. In 145 regular season career games with the Stars, Young has 73 goals
and 138 assists.
The 20-year-old
leads the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in scoring this season with 22
goals and 43 assists in 33 appearances. The Frenchman Butte, Sask., product
helped the Stars with the SJHL championship last season.
“We are thrilled to
have Layne join our program,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph in a release. “He understands that we place a significant value on elite junior A players
from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
“They all are
extremely dedicated to getting better, and Layne knows he will have to earn his
way here. He is hardworking with a boat load of skill and drive.”
Young will enter the
College of Agriculture to study in Ag-Business.
“I saw a lot of
positives joining the Huskies,” said Young in a release. “The University of
Saskatchewan has a great agriculture program as well as a new rink that will
help make the Huskies continue to be a top program in Canada.”
Young refers to the
brand new Merlis Belsher Place that is being constructed at the U of S and is
scheduled to open for Young’s rookie campaign.
The Huskies (14-3-1),
who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, return to action on
Friday, when they host the U of Manitoba Bisons (11-5-2), who are rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, at 7 p.m. at the
Rutherford Rink.
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comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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