Dinos killer – Huskies’ Stadnyk does in U of C in double OT

Carson Stadnyk, right, reacts to his double OT winner on Saturday.

    Who else would you expect to do in the University of Calgary Dinos but Carson Stadnyk?

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, Stadnyk and his University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team went into double overtime against the Dinos locked in a 4-4 tie in Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

    Just 77 seconds into the second overtime frame, Stadnyk got the puck in the Dinos zone off a turnover, circled across the front of the U of C net and fired home the winning goal through a screen to give the Huskies a 5-4 victory.

    The goal from the fourth-year right-winger sent the crowd of 1,647 spectators at Merlis into bedlam and allowed the Huskies to sweep the best-of-three series 2-0.

    “We were all getting tired and so were they,” said Stadnyk. “We just got the one extra bounce.

Carson Stadnyk is mobbed by his teammates after his double OT winner.

    “We just couldn’t be more happy right now.”

    With the win, the Huskies advance to the best-of-three Canada West champions series to play the winner of the other best-of-three Canada West semifinal series between the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton, Alta.

    The Thunderbirds and Golden Bears are tied in 1-1 in their best-of-three set with Game 3 slated for Sunday in Edmonton. The Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 23-5 record, while the Thunderbirds finished fifth with a 9-14-4-1 mark.

The celebration continues after Carson Stadnyk’s double OT winner.

    U of S also earns a berth for the fifth straight year to the U Sports elite eight national championship tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. The David Johnston University Cup runs March 12 to 15 in Halifax, N.S.

    Saturday’s game wasn’t the first time Stadnyk broke the hearts of the Dinos in the post-season. When the Huskies and Dinos previously met in the post-season in a Canada West semifinal series in 2018, a series-deciding Game 3 was required.

    With the two squads locked in a 1-1 tie in that Game 3 played at the Huskies former home in the ancient Rutherford Rink, Stadnyk broke the deadlock scoring the game and series winner with 24 seconds remaining in the third period. The Huskies added an empty-net goal to seal a 3-1 victory in that contest.

Merlis Belsher Place was feeling good after Carson Stadnyk’s winner.

    In the latest clash on Saturday, the Huskies held a 4-1 lead at one point in the second period before the Dinos rallied to even things up at 4-4 and force overtime.

    “When we were up by three, they worked their way back and made a comeback,” said Stadnyk, who had an assist to go with his goal. “That was pretty tough on us.

    “We just had to do what we do best. We just had to watch their top players, because they have a lot of good players over there. Our guys who had that responsibility did their job.

    “We just came out lucky, and we are just happy to be moving on.”

Carson Stadnyk had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph was pleased to see Stadnyk net the winner after giving a strong effort on Saturday night. The veteran bench boss was reminded about the 2018 series with the Dinos at game’s end.

    “That was the first thing the guys said it was Stadnyk that got it two years ago,” said Adolph. “He had about four or five great looks tonight that didn’t go in, and I thought Shirls (Collin Shirley) had a couple too.

    “That is the way hockey goes. I am glad we are on the right end of it.”

    As for the rest of the game itself, the Huskies jumped ahead 1-0 at the 3:47 mark of the first period thanks to a gaff by Dinos sophomore defenceman James Shearer. Shearer had the puck behind his own net, and he tried to fire a pass up the centre of the ice.

    He put the puck right on the tape of the stick of Huskies right-winger Jeff Faith, who quickly fired home the gift for the contest’s opening goal.

The Huskies celebrate a first period goal from Jeff Faith (#5).

    At the 9:22 mark of the opening frame, the Dinos evened things up at 1-1, when rookie right-winger Kaden Elder scored on a two-man advantage.

    The Huskies caught a break 50 seconds into the second when Dinos defenceman Jake Kearley received a double minor for spearing.

    At the 2:18 mark of the second, the Huskies scored on the power play to go ahead 2-1, when second-year centre Donovan Neuls fired home a shot from the right slot after receiving a beauty set up pass from linemate Kohl Bauml.

    Shirley, who is a standout left-winger, extended the Huskies advantage to 3-1 tucking home a goal close in at the left side of the Dinos net at the 5:57 mark of the second.

    Just under three minutes later working again in the Dinos zone, Shirley slipped a pass across the face of the U of C goal to rookie centre Jared Dmytriw, who popped a tally to put the host side up 4-1.

Collin Shirley had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    If it appeared the issue was sealed, the Dinos pushed back with goals coming from the sticks of Dane Gibson and Tim Vanstone to cut the Huskies lead to 4-3 heading into the second intermission.

    With 1.7 seconds remaining in the second, a huge scrum developed after one of the Huskies players was dropped with an elbow by one of the Dinos players. The Huskies came out of that with a two-minute power play but were unable to score on that man advantage.

    In the third, Dinos defenceman Ryan Gagnon worked his way in front of the net, and he netted the goal that created a 4-4 tie and forced overtime.

    “Tip your hat to the University of Calgary,” said Adolph. “That is a really good team.

Some of supporters for Huskies D Evan Fiala in the crowd on Saturday.

    “I don’t know that there is anybody that is as physical and greasy as they are. That is a team that is pretty worthy of probably playing in a national championship.”

    In the first overtime period, both sides had solid chances to end the game. Huskies start goaltender Taran Kozun robbed Vanstone with a glove save.

    Huskies fifth-year right winger Levi Cable looked like he would snipe the winner, but Dinos goalie Matthew Greenfield got his glove hand on a piece of Cable’s shot to direct the puck just wide of the goal.

Ryan Gagnon had the equalizer for the Dinos on Saturday.

    Cable was playing in his 173^rd consecutive game for the Huskies on Saturday including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season. He has never missed a game with the Huskies.

    Everything that happened in the contest to that point set the stage for Stadnyk to get the winner in the second overtime.

    Kozun stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Greenfield turned away 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Dinos.
    Saturday’s win was the 13th straight for the Huskies including action in the regular season and post-season.

    The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-2 record, while the Dinos, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, were third in Canada West with an 18-7-3 mark.

Levi Cable (#10) almost had the winner in the first overtime period.

    Adolph thought the series with the Dinos would be a good one and the two teams delivered.

    “There are ice bags everywhere,” said Adolph. “I think both teams were just absolutely punished here.

    “I really respect (Dinos head coach) Mark Howell as a coach, and I really respect the Dinos as a program. I just hope that we always finish on the winning side, because that one could have gone either way tonight.”

    Stadnyk said his team is excited to be returning to U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year. Before that rolls around, Stadnyk would love it if the Huskies could win their first Canada West title since the 2015-16 campaign.

    If the Thunderbirds win against the Golden Bears on Sunday, the Huskies would host the Canada West championship series. If the Golden Bears win on Sunday, the Huskies would travel to Edmonton to play the Canada West final.

The Huskies salute the crowd at Merlis Belsher Place.

    “Hopefully, we get that chance to do it this time around,” said Stadnyk. “Whoever we play going forward, hopefully, we have a good chance.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Nutter hits special first in Huskies seventh straight win

The Huskies celebrate a power-play goal from Emma Nutter.

    Defensive defender Emma Nutter hit a milestone moment scoring one of her rare goals in her U Sports career.

    On Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, Nutter slipped home a point shot through traffic for a power-play goal for her University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team. That goal came at the 10:27 mark of the first period of a U Sports regular season game against the University of Manitoba Bisons to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    The fifth-year veteran’s tally held up to be the game winner in a 3-0 victory for the Huskies in a contest played before 401 spectators.

    The marker was the fifth regular season goal of Nutter’s U Sports career. It was the Cochrane, Alta., product’s first game winning goal in 126 career regular season games.

Emma Nutter scored her first career U Sports game winner on Friday.

    “It feels pretty special,” said Nutter. “It is the first one.

    “It is not that common for me, but I have my team behind me. We had practised that kind of formation on the power play all week. It was working for me then.

    “I was not expecting it, but I was hopeful that would happen.”

    Nutter’s goal pushed the Huskies winning streak to seven games as they improved to 16-6-2-1. They have 49 points to sit third in the Canada West Conference standings coming on 14 regulation wins, two extra time wins and three extra time setbacks.

    In Canada West women’s hockey, teams earn three points in the standings for winning in regulation, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks.

Emma Nutter is best known for playing physical in her own zone.

    The Huskies trail the U of Calgary Dinos by one point for second in the conference. The Dinos dropped a 2-1 double overtime decision to the Mount Royal University Cougars on Friday in Calgary.

    With that result, the Dinos saw their record move to 16-7-1-2. They have 50 points in the standings coming off 15 regulation wins, one extra time win and three extra time setbacks.

    The Huskies have a game in hand on the Dinos that will be made up on Saturday, when the U of S side goes at it again with the Bisons at 5 p.m. at Merlis.

    The U of Alberta Pandas (18-7) top the Canada West standings with 53 points coming on 17 regulation wins and one extra time win.

Emma Nutter is one of eight fifth-year players on the Huskies.

    The Huskies, Dinos and Pandas are guaranteed to finish in the top three of the Canada West standings and the first and second place squads will have byes to host best-of-three Canada West semifinal playoff series.

    With the Huskies having just three regular season games left on their schedule, Nutter said she knows her squad is close to sitting in a position to gain a playoff bye, but she doesn’t try to get caught up in the possible math involving the standings. She just focuses on winning each game as it comes.

    “Without sounding uninterested, I don’t tend to look at the stats a lot,” said Nutter. “I think for me every game is as important as the next.”

    Individually, Nutter has two goals, two assists and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department appearing in all of the Huskies 25 regular season games in the current campaign. Both of her goals this season have come on the power play.

Emma Nutter has scored both her goals this season on the power play.

    She is one of eight fifth-year players who are skating through their final campaign with the Huskies. Rounding out the group of eight is captain Brooklyn Haubrich, forwards Elizabeth Salyn, Shyan Elias, Rachel Lundberg and Courtney Cormack and defenders Leah Bohlken and Morgan Willoughby.
    Willoughby is Nutter’s regular defensive partner.

    “It hasn’t hit me yet, and I don’t know when it will,” said Nutter about the notion she is playing through her final season. “I know that when it does it is going to hit me hard, and that is not going to be fun for me.

    “This whole experience I honestly don’t have any words for it. It has been so rewarding in that I get to play alongside 23 or 24 of my best friends. This team this year I would consider pretty close.

Camryn Drever made 22 saves in a shutout win for the Huskies.

    “The group of eight of us is very close. It is going to be sad, when we part ways. It has been a special year this year for sure.”

    On her power-play goal, Nutter said she just trying to get her point shot on net looking for one of her teammates to get a stick on the puck to deflect it home.

    “I tend to shoot pretty low and on the ice just for either a rebound so someone in front can get it or someone can get a stick on it for sure,” said Nutter, who is best known for overpowering opponents in the defensive zone with her physical play. “We worked with that in practice.

    “(Huskies head coach) Steve (Kook) kind of said to me we want you to be the shooter on that side. I was hitting them in practice.”

Jordyn Holmes scored her first U Sports regular season goal on Friday.

    Nutter’s goal was the highlight of a first period controlled by the Huskies, who outshot the Bisons 10-3 in the frame.

    The Bisons made a push back in the second outshooting the Huskies 9-8, but the Huskies exited the stanza still holding their 1-0 edge.

    With 2:58 remaining in the third, Huskies sophomore centre Kennedy Brown fired home a goal to the top left corner of the Bisons goal while being hooked down to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

    Sophomore right-winger Jordyn Holmes rounded out the scoring with an empty net tally for the Huskies. The tally was the first career U Sports regular season goal for Holmes.

    Camryn Drever stopped 22 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. The sophomore more has three shutouts this season and four in her U Sports regular season career.
    Erin Fargey turned away 25-of-27 shots in goal for the Bisons, who fell to 8-16-1 to remain last in the eight-team Canada West Conference.

The Huskies celebrate their seventh straight win on Friday.

    Nutter was pleased with how Friday’s game went for her side.

    “All things considered, we could have come out a lot stronger, a lot faster and a lot quicker,” said Nutter. “As the game progressed, we put our heads down and went to work.”

    With the post-season just around the corner, Nutter said she wants to help the Huskies win a second Canada West title in team history and help the program capture its first U Sports title.

    She has a firm belief that this will be the year those things will happen for her team.

    “Between the eight of us fifth years and the rest of the team honestly, that has been the goal from day one,” said Nutter. “It always has been every year.

    “It is the same goal and same mindset. I think all the younger girls have bought in. They bought in early (and) that is a good sign.”

McVeigh’s OT winner pushes Huskies win streak to eight

Logan McVeigh scored the double OT winner for the Huskies.

    Logan McVeigh’s overtime heroics ensured the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team stayed on fire.

    On Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man., McVeigh scored at the 2:26 mark of a second overtime period to give the visiting Huskies a 3-2 victory over the host U of Manitoba Bisons in a U Sports regular season contest. The fifth-year centre’s winner in the three-versus-three session allowed the Huskies to improve their winning streak to eight games and stay in the race for first place in the Canada West Conference.

    The Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears both have 40 standings point to sit in the top two spots in Canada West. The Golden Bears (20-5) sit first in the conference over the Huskies (19-4-2) due to winning three out of the four head-to-head regular season meetings between the two sides.

    Both teams have three games remaining in their respective regular season schedules.

    The Mount Royal University Cougars sit third in Canada West with a 17-7-0-2 record.

Taran Kozun made 34 saves in goal for the Huskies on Friday.

    In Friday’s encounter between the Huskies and Bisons, Donovan Neuls and Carson Stadnyk netted singles for the Huskies in regulation. McVeigh picked up an assist on Stadnyk’s goal for a two-point night.

    Sean Christensen and Devon Skoleski replied with singles for the Bisons in regulation.

    Taran Kozun made 34 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Tyler Brown turned away 24 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Bisons (9-12-2-2).

    The Huskies and Bisons face each other again on Saturday in Winnipeg.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Huskies, Willoughby kick aside funks heading into playoffs

Morgan Willoughby had the winning goal for the Huskies.

    Morgan Willoughby was pumped she kicked away a personal funk, while helping the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team beat some recent funks.

    Entering Saturday’s regular season clash against the defending Canada West and U Sports national champion University of Manitoba Bisons at Merlis Belsher Place, the fourth-year defender was still in search of her first goal of the season. The Huskies had also taken their lumps recently losing four out of their last five games heading into Saturday’s contest, which concluded the regular season for both sides.

    With the Huskies taking a 1-0 lead out of the first period, Willoughby got the puck in the offensive zone, skated up the right side wall and fired home a shot through a screen to put the host side up 2-0 at the 9:13 mark of the second period.

    Her goal ultimately held up as the winner as the Huskies skated away with a 2-1 victory before 532 spectators.

Morgan Willoughby guards the defensive zone.

    “I found that I have been getting a lot of offensive chances lately,” said Willoughby, who had a goal and three assists in 24 regular season games with the Huskies this season. “Even yesterday, everyone is like, “Oh, you are going to score Morgan. I know you are.”

    “I just kept it up. I knew it was coming soon, so it was a good time for it to happen.”

    Playing in her 90^th career regular season game with the Huskies, the assistant captain found some veteran poise that resulted in her goal.

    “What I did different that time was I was patient with the puck,” said Willoughby. “I walked around a girl and waited to shoot.

    “I didn’t just fire it without looking, just patience basically.”

    The Huskies got out to a bit of a slow start before hitting another gear with eight minutes remaining in the first period. 

Netminder Jessica Vance stands her ground in the Huskies goal.

    While working on a power play, they broke through on the scoreboard when rookie centre Kennedy Brown banged home a shot from the front of the Bisons goal with 3:36 remaining in the opening frame to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

    After Willoughby gave the Huskies a two-goal edge, Bisons fourth-year centre Jordyn Zacharias netted her 12^th goal of the season with her team working on a power play to cut the U of S lead to 2-1.

    While the Bisons got back into the game, they didn’t really build on any momentum from Zacharias’s goal. 

Emily Upgang moves the puck out of trouble in the defensive zone.

    U of M held a 9-5 edge in shots on goal in the third period, but the Huskies locked things down defensively, especially in the final 10 minutes of the third.

    The Bisons best chance to score came off a fire drill scramble in front of the U of S net with about a minute remaining in the frame, but the Huskies were able to clear the puck away.

    Willoughby was pleased with how her team played defensively.

    “I know just lately we have been struggling a bit on our D side of things,” said Willoughby. “It is always important (to remember) that D-zone is first.

    “You can be offensive unless we get out of our zone clean. Yeah, it is important.”

Erin Fargey stopped 27 shots in goal for the Bisons.

    Jessica Vance turned away 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who finished fourth in Canada West with a 16-10-1-1 record.

    Rookie Erin Fargey made her third start of the year in goal for the Bisons and turned away 27 shots in the setback. The Bisons, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished second in Canada West with a 20-5-2-1 record.

    “I think honestly, when we play with pace, we play our best,” said Willoughby. “We know that we are a quick team, and that is when things start working out well for us.”

    Willoughby liked how her team looked in both of their games this weekend. On Friday, they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Bisons at Merlis Belsher Place while holding a 32-15 edge in shots on goal.

    A stellar performance by Bisons star netminder Lauren Taraschuk prevented the Huskies from posting a victory that night.

Huskies C Chloe Smith checks Bisons D Erica Rieder.

    Having fallen to the Mount Royal University Cougars 6-1 in Calgary on Feb. 2 in their last game before playing the Bisons the past two nights, Willoughby said her team believed they would turn things around.

    “I think that we all had a positive mentality coming into this weekend,” said Willoughby. “We kind of had a downfall against Mount Royal last weekend, but we knew what we all expected out of each other.

    “I think we definitely performed, so it was awesome. I think we’re on a pretty good high right now going into playoffs. I think it is really important that we move from this weekend with the momentum that we have.

    “I think we will have a solid start to our playoff series.”

The Huskies celebrate their win on Saturday.

    The Huskies will host Mount Royal in a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series to start the post-season. Game 1 is set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Cougars finished fifth in Canada West with a 12-14-2 record and have won their last three straight games. The Huskies and Cougars split their four head-to-head games in the regular season.

    Willoughby said it was big for her team to start the post-season at home. The Huskies have a 10-3-1 record at Merlis Belsher Place this season.

    “Obviously, any home ice in playoffs is huge,” said Willoughby. “It is too bad that we aren’t guaranteed more than one round.

    “I think it will be a good push for us to start off playoffs in our home rink. We always play well here. It will be good.”

Huskies men’s team runs the table for first

Parker Thomas scored in his final U Sports game in Winnipeg.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team successfully ran the table to lock down first place in the Canada West Conference.

    On Saturday in Winnipeg, the Huskies blanked the host U of Manitoba Bisons 3-0 at the Wayne Fleming Arena in a clash that closed the regular season for both sides. The victory was the 10^th in a row for the Huskies, who improved to 25-3 to lock up the top spot in Canada West for the third time in four years.

    The Dogs will have home ice advantage throughout the Canada West playoffs.

    In the process of finishing first, the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, set new team for wins in one regular season at 25 and standings points at 50.

    The Huskies old record for most wins in a regular season of 22 was posted on three occasions. The former mark of 22 victories was first established in the 1987-88 season, when the Huskies posted a record of 22 wins, five losses and one tie.

    The Dogs reached 22 wins again in the 1999-2000 regular season posting a record of 22 wins, three losses and three ties. The record was last equaled in the 2015-16 campaign when the Huskies posted a 22-6 record. That season marks the last time the Huskies won the Canada West title.

Carson Stadnyk scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The old record for most points in the standings stood at 47, and it was set in the 1999-2000 campaign.

    The Huskies needed to finish on a hot run to secure first place over the defending Canada West and U Sports national champion U of Alberta Golden Bears.

    The Golden Bears, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished the regular season winning 13 straight games and had recorded points in their last 21 regular season games. They finished second in Canada West just one point behind the Huskies with a 24-3-1 record.

    In Saturday’s clash between the Huskies and Bisons, rookie forward Donovan Neuls scored in the first period to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Third-year forward Carson Stadnyk netted a goal in the second period to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

    The Huskies rounded out the scoring in the third period with a tally coming off the stick of fifth-year forward Parker Thomas. Thomas, who is from Winnipeg, was playing in his final career U Sports game in his hometown.

    Rookie Travis Child made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies and his first career regular season U Sports shutout. Fifth-year netminder Byron Spriggs turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bisons in his final career U Sports game.

    The Bisons finished seventh in Canada West with a 6-20-2 record and did not make the post-season.

Donovan Neuls scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    While the Huskies set a new standard for their best regular season record ever, starting goaltender Taran Kozun set a new record for most individual goaltending wins in one regular season at 20, when the Huskies slipped past the Bisons 3-2 on Friday in Winnipeg.

    The sophomore for Nipawin, Sask., posted a 20-3 record, 1.81 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts this season.

    The old record of 19 wins was posted by Jordon Cooke on two occasions in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 regular seasons.

    Due to finishing first, the Huskies have a bye into the semifinal round of the Canada West playoffs. They will host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series starting with Game 1 on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Huskies break longstanding wins record with sweep of Cougars

Kozun breaks into goaltending record books too

Parker Thomas and Taran Kozun mark a Huskies win.

    It had been tied on a couple of occasions before finally being broken.

    On Saturday before 1,670 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team thumped the Mount Royal University Cougars 6-1 in a U Sports regular season contest to improve to 23-3. With their 23^rd win, the Huskies set a new team record for wins in one regular season.

    The old record of 22 wins was posted on three occasions. The former mark of 22 victories was first established in the 1987-88 season, when the Huskies posted a record of 22 wins, five losses and one tie.

    The Dogs reached 22 wins again in the 1999-2000 regular season posting a record of 22 wins, three losses and three ties. The record was last equaled in the 2015-16 campaign when the Huskies posted a 22-6 record. That season marks the last time the Huskies won the Canada West title.

Taran Kozun has posted 19 wins in goal this season for the Huskies.

    U of S equaled its former wins record on Friday downing Mount Royal 1-0 in double overtime before 1,713 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.
    Fourth-year winger Levi Cable scored the only goal of the contest at the 1:35 mark of a second five-minute overtime period with captain Jesse Forsberg picking up the assist.
    Taran Kozun made 14 saves to pick up the shutout in goal for the Huskies. Rookie Riley Morris turned away 44 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.

    In Saturday’s encounter between these two squads, the Huskies led 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 after the second frame. They expanded their edge to 6-0 in the third before the Cougars rounded out the game’s scoring with the final goal.

    Forsberg scored twice for the Huskies, while Carter Folk, Donovan Neuls, Collin Shirley and Sam Ruopp had singles. Connor Chartier had the lone reply for the Cougars.

    Kozun made 25 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

Levi Cable had the double OT winner for the Huskies on Friday.

    Fourth-year netminder Colin Cooper turned away 34 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars, who fell to 12-12-2 to remain fourth in Canada West.

    When Chartier beat Kozun at the 15:58 mark of the third period, that goal ended a shutout streak that lasted an impressive 267 minutes and 32 seconds for the Huskies puck stopper. Kozun’s streak, which spanned over five games, set a new Canada West Conference record for the longest consecutive shutout streak in regular season play.
    Before being beaten by Chartier, Kozun last allowed a goal to Brooks Maxwell of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the 14:11 mark of the second period in a 5-4 Huskies win in Lethbridge on Jan. 19.

    The old Canada West record for longest consecutive shutout streak in regular season play was held by former University of Calgary Dinos goalie Kris Lazaruk. During the 2014-15 campaign, Lazaruk posted a shutout streak lasting 255 minutes and three seconds that spanned over five games.

Jesse Forsberg had a big weekend for the Huskies.

    With the sweep of the Cougars in the books, Kozun, who is in his sophomore season, has posted an impressive 19-3 record, a 1.79 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts in goal for the Huskies this season.

    The Nipawin, Sask., product has matched the Huskies team record for most wins in one regular season by a goaltender. He shares the record with former teammate a recent Huskies grad in Jordon Cooke.
    Cooke recorded 19 wins in two separate regular seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

    As a team, the Huskies are one point shy of matching their team record for most standings points collected in one regular season, which currently sits at 47 points set in the 1999-2000 campaign.

    The Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won their last eight straight games, and with their 23-3 mark, they top the Canada West standings with a one point lead over the defending conference and U Sports national champion University of Alberta Golden Bears (22-3-1).
    The Golden Bears, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have won 11 straight and have recorded points in their last 19 regular season games. 

Donovan Neuls scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    If the Huskies can win their final two regular season games, they will lock up first place in the Canada West regular season standings for the third time in the last four years.

    They close the regular season by traveling to Winnipeg to face the University of Manitoba Bisons (6-18-2) on Friday and Saturday.

    The Golden Bears conclude their regular season with a pair of games against the Dinos (18-6-1-1). The two squads meet Friday in Calgary and Saturday in Edmonton.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Thunderbirds gut out series opening 2-1 overtime win

Pats face an uphill battle losing third straight Game 1

Thunderbirds winger Donovan Neuls celebrates his OT winner.

    REGINA – The Regina Pats seem to like doing things the hard way in the post-season.

    For the third straight series, the Pats, who topped the WHL standings with a 52-12-7-1 mark, dropped an opening Game 1, and this time they face a different obstacle.
    On Friday night in the opening contest in the best-of-seven WHL Championship series, the Pats fell 2-1 in overtime to the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.

    Just 14 seconds into the extra session, Thunderbirds winger Donovan Neuls knocked home a loose puck in front of the Regina net to send most of a sellout crowd of 6,484 home disappointed.

    Thanks the setback, the Pats will have to fight another uphill battle to pull out a series victory, but this time the challenge is different for the club the was rated first in the final CHL top 10 rankings released on March 22.

Donovan Neuls breaks up ice for the Thunderbirds.

    In the second round of the playoffs, the Pats dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Swift Current Broncos at home. The Broncos eventually took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven set before the Regina battled back with three straight wins to take the series 4-3 to advance to the WHL Eastern Conference championship series.

    In the opener of the Eastern Conference title series, the Pats again fell on home ice this time by a 3-1 decision to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Lethbridge took a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven set before the Pats rallied back with three straight wins to claim the series 4-2.

    The Broncos, who posted a 39-23-4-6 mark in the regular season, and the Hurricanes, who had a 44-21-4-3 record in the regular season, were both strong clubs, but both also hadn’t made far ventures in the post-season for some time.
    The Broncos were looking to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2001 when they fell to the Pats. The Hurricanes were making their first conference final appearance since 2008 when they fell to the Pats.

    Regina is also making its first long run in the playoffs in some time. When the Pats won the conference final, it marked the first time they appeared in the league championship series since 1984.

Ethan Bear had a goal in his return from injury.

    Between 1984 and the current campaign, they only had one other conference final appearance coming back in 1993, when they were swept by the Broncos.

    In the Thunderbirds, the Pats are facing an experienced opponent when it comes to the post-season.

    Seattle made it to last year’s league title series dropping the best-of-seven set 4-1 to the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Thunderbirds dropped three straight overtime games to make things really hard to try and win that set.

    This season, the Thunderbirds returned 14 skaters and posted the league’s fourth best record at 46-20-4-2. You have to think they were heading into the playoffs looking to take care of unfinished business.

    Still, Seattle entered the playoffs with some adversity. They haven’t had the services of star overage goaltender Rylan Toth, who missed the entire post-season with a lower body injury. Carl Stankowski, who in his 16-year-old rookie season, has been spectacular in Toth’s place posting impressive stats in the post-season with a 13-2 record, a 2.39 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.

    He was solid on Friday making 31 stops, which included turning away Pats captain Adam Brooks on a first-period wraparound and stopping speedy Pats winger Austin Wagner on a short-handed breakaway in the third period.

Thunderbirds goalie Carl Stankowski stones Pats centre Braydon Buziak.

    The Pats finally beat Stankowski on a spectacular power-play goal from star offensive-defenceman Connor Hobbs with 7:49 to play. Hobbs snuck in the point and potted a backdoor feed from winger Dawson Leedahl which tied the contest up at 1-1 and eventually forced overtime.

    The Thunderbirds also started the playoffs without spectacular star captain Mathew Barzal with what the team said was an illness. The Thunderbirds said Barzal was being tested for mumps in early March. Barzal missed the Thunderbirds first round series swept of the Tri-City Americans and returned for the start of the Thunderbirds second round series with the Everett Silvertips.

    In 11 post-season games, Barzal has been on fire piling up five goals and 14 assists. He had helpers on both his team’s goals in Game 1 against the Pats.

Connor Hobbs, left, celebrates his game-tying goal for the Pats.

    The Thunderbirds also had questions going into the series opener with Regina as right-winger Keegan Kolesar was sitting out a one-game suspension for receiving a major for checking from behind in Seattle’s Western Conference series clinching 3-1 Game 6 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna on Sunday.

    Ethan Bear, who was named the WHL’s top defenceman, was returning to action after missing three games with a hand injury. The Ochapowace product blew home a power play goal from the top of the faceoff circle at the 4:55 mark of the second period to give Seattle a 1-0 edge and answer questions about his effectiveness.

    On top of all of those obstacles, the Thunderbirds got rid of some demons with regards to losing overtime games in the league title series from a year ago.

    To make matters worse for the Pats, they lost Brooks who was nailed in the open ice after cross the Seattle blue-line by Thunderbirds rugged defenceman Turner Ottenbreit early in the second period when the game was still scoreless. Brooks was held off the ice, had a cut on his head, looked groggy and didn’t return.

Pats captain Adam Brooks is tended to by trainer Greg Mayer.

    In a post-game press conference, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock compared Ottenbreit’s hit to one thrown by former NHL Hall of Fame defenceman Scott Stevens. Paddock also didn’t give an update on Brooks’s future status.

    On replays, Ottenbreit’s hit appeared clean, and Brooks was at a size disadvantage in the collision, which helped cause the injury. Ottenbreit stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, while Brooks stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 177 pounds.

    The Pats won their second round series against the Broncos with Brooks missing the last five games of that set with a knee injury. He dressed for the last three outings of the series but stayed on the bench.

    Regina netminder Tyler Brown did his best to give the Pats a chance to win on Friday making 24 saves to take the loss in goal.

The Thunderbirds celebrate their overtime victory.

    The Pats now have their backs to the wall against an experienced opponent. They claimed Game 2 at home in both of their series wins against the Broncos and Hurricanes to put themselves in the fight in those sets.

    The pressure is on Regina to repeat recent history in Game 2 against the Thunderbirds on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Brandt Centre before going back for three straight games at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Wheat Kings put Thunderbirds on ropes

Seattle’s mental toughness faces huge test in WHL finals

The Wheat Kings mob Jayce Hawryluk (#8) after his OT winner.

    BRANDON, Man. – Jayce Hawryluk potted one of those ugly overtime winners that drove a dagger through the hearts of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    With the host Brandon Wheat Kings locked in a 2-2 tie in overtime with the Thunderbirds in Game 2 of the WHL championship series on Saturday night, Hawryluk had the puck in the right corner of the Seattle zone. The Roblin, Man., product tried to hit linemate Nolan Patrick with a backdoor pass for a scoring chance. 

    Hawryluk’s pass banked off the inside of one of the pads of Thunderbirds goaltender Landon Bow and bounced into the Seattle goal 6:56 into extra time. The marker gave the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory before 5,621 delirious onlookers at Westman Place, which seats 5,102.

Ethan Bear gave Seattle a short-lived lead.

    Brandon takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which moves to Seattle for Game 3 on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds aren’t dead as they also host Game 4 on Wednesday and a potential Game 5 on Friday, but they are on the ropes. Saturday’s loss has to be a tough pill to swallow, as even the winning goal scorer himself admitted he wasn’t trying to put the puck in the net with his pass attempt.

    “I was trying to hit Patrick backdoor,” said Hawryluk. “I saw him going in. It caught a fortunate bounce.”

    That positive bounce marked the second straight overtime victory for the Wheat Kings, who took Game 1 a night earlier by a similar 3-2 outcome. Brandon centre Tanner Kaspick netted the winner in the series opener, when he showed great hand-eye coordination in knocking a puck out of the air into the Seattle net.

    Seattle’s mental psyche is being tested like it never has before in the 2016 post-season. Over the first three rounds of the WHL playoffs, the Thunderbirds won 12 out of 13 games. Now, they have lost two straight overtime games in a battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and they drop two contests they could have won, if they had just a couple of breaks go their way.

Jayce Hawryluk finds a way to come through for Brandon.

    On Saturday, the Thunderbirds never trailed until Hawryluk’s winner went in. Seattle led 1-0 and went up 2-1, when a point shot from defenceman Ethan Bear found the back of the Brandon goal. Donovan Neuls scored Seattle’s first marker just a minute into the second period.

    The Wheat Kings, who were swept out of last year’s WHL title series by the Kelowna Rockets, found a way to get it done, and that has ultimately made the difference so far in this year’s league title series.

    Just 81 seconds after Neuls’s goal, Patrick wired home his 12^th of the post-season on a two-on-one break to tie things up at 1-1. Patrick’s goal came when the Thunderbirds were on the power play.

    After Seattle went up 2-1, Wheat Kings left-winger Tyler Coulter netted the equalizer with 5:20 to play in the third to force a 2-2 score.

    Wheat Kings goaltender Jordan Papirny proved to be a Thunderbirds nemesis making 37 stops to earn the win in goal for Brandon. Bow, who had a stellar night outside of Hawryluk’s winner, turned away 36 shots to take the loss in goal for Seattle.

The Thunderbirds couldn't crash in a potential winner late in the third.

    Right now, the Wheat Kings, who have won 14 of their 18 post-season games, have to be feeling they can overcome every obstacle that comes their way. Some doubt has to be creeping in the minds of the Thunderbirds, who don’t have a whole lot of history of recent long playoff runs.

    Game 3 is a must win for the Thunderbirds. If the Thunderbirds fall, a sweep will likely be in the cards for the Wheat Kings.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.