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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.