Wyatt’s moment – Huskies centre gets winner in Game 1 of Canada West final

Wyatt Johnson (#26) celebrates scoring for the Huskies on Friday.

    What a difference a year makes for Wyatt Johnson when it comes to the Canada West Championship series.

    A year ago, the two-way centre was in his sophomore season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, and he was unable to play in the best-of-three Canada West final against the University of Alberta Golden Bears due to a concussion injury. The Golden Bears swept that year’s series 2-0 in Edmonton, Alta., and ultimately captured the U Sports national title.

    Now in his third season with the Huskies, Johnson was on the ice Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place as his squad opened the Canada West Championship series taking on the Golden Bears for a fourth year in a row.

Wyatt Johnson breaks into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    The graduate of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels and Spokane Chiefs made the biggest play in the Huskies 4-2 victory over their “forever rivals” in Game 1. With U of S holding a 2-1 edge in the second period, Johnson converted a picturesque passing for a power-play goal to give the Huskies a 3-1 advantage to the delight of the 2,583 spectators that jammed into the brand new rink.

    “It is unreal,” said Johnson about playing in this year’s Canada West final. “Obviously, last year was tough watching.

    “I played it in my first year, so I knew what to expect. It is awesome to be back.”

    The Huskies were working on a five-on-three power play when Johnson scored. Offensive defenceman and Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg started the play by slipping a pass to the right side of the Golden Bears net to Huskies winger Collin Shirley.

Taran Kozun makes one of his 24 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    Shirley quickly fed a backdoor pass to Johnson, who fired his goal into an empty cage.

    Johnson was pumped his team took Game 1, which means the Huskies will have a chance to wrap up the series in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. If the Golden Bears force a series-deciding Game 3, it will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Following Friday’s win, Johnson was already looking focusing on what his team has to do to close out the series.

    “Every game, everybody rises in intensity,” said Johnson, who had five goals and 10 assists in 22 regular season games with the Huskies in the current campaign. “Every game as you get into playoffs, everybody starts bearing down on pucks more, and the intensity rises.

Brandon Magee scored the Golden Bears first goal.

    “We have to up our level, and I am sure they will over there too.”

    While the Huskies and Golden Bears know each other well, the 509^th overall meeting between the two squads on Friday started with a bit of a feeling out period.

    Just 2:32 into the opening frame, Huskies fiery left-winger Jaimen Yakubowski roofed home the game’s first goal short side over the left shoulder of Golden Bears star netminder Zach Sawchenko to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph thought Yakubowski’s tally gave his side some early traction.

    “We were pretty uptight,” said Adolph. “The whole game was played kind of uptight, and the ice wasn’t great.

    “We thought in this brand new facility that things would be a little bit better, but the puck was bouncing everywhere on both teams. It was a little unnerving. I think that we scored the first goal and that might have been the difference in the night.

    “I think if they would have scored we would have been a little bit more nervous. Jaimen Yakubowski scores and it kind of just calms the sails a little bit.”

Huskies LW Jaimen Yakubowski is turned away on a scoring chance.

    Before the first period ended, the Golden Bears pulled even at 1-1, when right-winger Brandon Magee wired home a power-play goal from the top of the left faceoff circle.

    The Huskies hit another gear in the second period. At the 4:06 mark of the frame, Huskies fifth-year right-winger Parker Thomas slipped home a shot from the front of the U of A goal to put his squad up 2-1.

    Johnson’s power-play goal came just under three-and-a-half minutes later.

    “You never really separate yourself from this team, and I think they would probably say the same thing,” said Adolph. “I think we were opportunistic.

Parker Thomas had a goal on Friday for the Huskies.

    “We got a five-on-three power play and scored. You have to do that in a clutch game, and that might have been the difference on the night.”

    When it appeared the Huskies had total control of the game, the Golden Bears got themselves back into the contest, when fourth-year right-winger Jayden Hart scored on the power-play with 40.4 seconds remaining in the second period to cut the U of S edge to 3-2.

    The Huskies argued both the puck was knocked in with a high stick and star netminder Taran Kozun was interfered with to no avail.

    The hosts sealed the win with 4:02 remaining in the third period, when Huskies rookie defenceman Gordie Ballhorn sprung sophomore right-winger Carter Folk on a partial breakaway. Folk wired home a shot glove side to put the Huskies up 4-2.

Huskies G Taran Kozun,left, gets tangled with Golden Bears LW Trevor Cox.

    Kozun turned away 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Sawchenko stopped 21 shots to take the setback in goal for the Golden Bears.

    Friday’s encounter included a number of scrums and some chippy play, which is expected when the Huskies and Golden Bears face each other.

    Golden Bears top agitator Trevor Cox tried to do his thing, which included standing in front of Kozun and waving his stick in the air in the third period. The two got tangled together later on in the frame.

    Cox’s linemate, Cole Sanford, also tried to stir things up too.

    Adolph said his side always has to be aware that both Cox and Sanford are dynamic players, which adds to the challenge of countering the duo.

Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg, left, fights to get to a loose puck.

    “Not only are they a little pesky, but they are also highly skilled,” said Adolph. “If they can get you chasing them around a little bit, their skill will prevail.

    “I think that we were calm enough tonight to handle it. We have to do it again. It is a best of three.”

    When the teams hit the ice for Game 2 on Saturday, the Huskies will be trying to win the Canada West title for the first time since 2016, when they swept the Golden Bears 2-0 at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    Johnson said the players on his team are aware of what they can accomplish with one more win.

    “Obviously, the excitement is huge,” Johnson. “We try and stay even keel, but everyone knows what is on the line tomorrow.

The Huskies celebrate their Game 1 victory on Friday.

    “We have to come a do a job.”

    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 withstand Golden Bears trash, win rivalry clash in OT

The Huskies and Golden Bears players engaged in numerous battles Friday.

    Logan McVeigh delivered a sweet and satisfying end to a bitter rivalry game for his University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies built a 3-1 lead on their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears only to see the visitors rally back to force overtime in a U Sports regular season contest. Golden Bears right-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk banged home the equalizer at the left side of the Huskies net with 2.4 seconds to play in the third period forcing a 3-3 tie.

    Just 72 seconds into overtime, McVeigh roofed home the winner for the Huskies from the left slot in the U of A zone to send the 2,089 spectators at the new U of S home rink into a joyful celebration over the 4-3 final score in favour of the home side.

Logan McVeigh scored the OT winner for the Huskies.

    McVeigh’s winner allowed the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve their winning streak to an impressive 13 games and continue to sit first in the Canada West Conference with a 14-1 record.
    The Golden Bears, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, saw their seven game winning streak come to an end as their record moved to 11-3-1 to remain second in Canada West.

    The Huskies battle with the Golden Bears, who are the defending U Sports national champions, was a testy one.
    The two sides often talk about respect for one another in the week leading up to their games, but that talk is unable to hide the visible dislike on the ice.

    On the opening faceoff, Golden Bears ultra-pest left-winger Trevor Cox was chirping Huskies right-winger Levi Cable in an attempt to get Cable off his game.

    From that point, Cox and a few other U of A players did their best to antagonize Huskies fifth-year captain Jesse Forsberg with trash talk and numerous little shots after the whistle.

Golden Bears LW Trevor Cox hits Huskies RW Carson Stadnyk.

    Opponents of the Huskies have often tried to rekindle an over aggressive mean streak Forsberg once had, but as has been the case over the last three seasons, the Huskies star offensive-defenceman didn’t let the shenanigans get the best of him.

    In one of the stranger exchanges Forsberg had with the Golden Bears players, he was given an unsportsmanlike penalty for a dive after taking a cheap shot crosscheck long after the whistle from U of A defenceman Ryan Rehill late in the second period.

    Another battle on the ice saw Golden Bears defenceman Ben Carroll often mix it up with Huskies hard-working right-winger Parker Thomas. Carroll got away with drilling Thomas from behind early in the third period.

    The Huskies were dishing out their share of shots too.

    With just over seven minutes remaining in the second period, Huskies right-winger Carson Stadnyk bowled over Golden Bears netminder Zack Sawchenko on a rush into the offensive zone.

Golden Bears D Ryan Rehill drops Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg.

    Stadnyk received a high cross check from Cox in retaliation that was not penalized.
    Late in the third period, Huskies rugged first-year defenceman Evan Fiala nailed Golden Bears fifth-year left-winger Stephane Legault from behind in the offensive zone.

    The extra-curricular activities added spice to the game.

    Still, the first 15 minutes of Friday’s encounter kind of started slow as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out.
    The Huskies got on the board at the 10:09 mark of the opening frame, when McVeigh stole the puck just inside the U of A blue-line from a Golden Bears player and  fed a pass to linemate Jaimen Yakubowski, who put a backhand shot past Sawchenko for a 1-0 lead.

Huskies LW Collin Shirley stares down Golden Bears LW Stephane Legault.

    The Golden Bears drew even at 1-1 just 77 seconds into the second, when Cox converted a backdoor feed from linemate Luke Philp, while working on the power play.

    Just over two minutes later, the Huskies went ahead 2-1, when left-winger Alex Forsberg connected on a backdoor feed from Stadnyk on a U of S power-play chance.

    Only 69 seconds after Forsberg’s goal, Cable sniped home a bad angle shot past Sawchenko to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.

    The Golden Bears actually worked on five more power-play chances in the second period after Cox scored with the man advantage, but Huskies netminder Taran Kozun made a number of key saves to keep the visitors at bay.

Alex Forsberg had a goal for the Huskies on Friday night.

    U of A cut the Huskies lead to 3-2 with a short-handed marker from sophomore centre Steven Owre at the 8:55 mark of the third. That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third and in overtime.
    Centre Kohl Bauml had assists on three of the Huskies goals.

    Kozun made 28 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.   
    Sawchenko turned away 19 shots to take the overtime setback in the Golden Bears net.

    While Friday’s game had its rivalry sparks, the Huskies did a decent job of keep their composure against the Golden Bears agitators.
    When the dust settled, that likely made the biggest difference in U of S coming out with a win. The Dogs have won two out of three head-to-head encounters with U of A this season.

The Huskies celebrate their OT win over the Golden Bears.

    The Huskies will try to duplicate and better their effort on Saturday, when they host the Golden Bears again 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 grind out win on Vance’s third shutout

The Huskies congratulate goalie Jessica Vance on her shutout.

    Steve Kook hopes the low scoring nail-biter isn’t the norm for his University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The veteran head coach watched his side squeak out a gritty 1-0 victory over the University of Regina Cougars on Saturday night in a U Sports regular season clash at the ancient Rutherford Rink. So far this season, low scoring battles have been the norm for teams playing head-to-head in the Canada West Conference. Venla Hovi, who is a star forward for the University of Manitoba Bisons, is the only player averaging a point a game with four goals and eight assists in 12 appearances.

    In building a 9-6-1 record to sit fourth in Canada West, the Huskies and the University of Calgary Dinos are tied for giving up the fewest goals in the circuit at 23. The Huskies have only scored a combined 26 goals which ranks fifth in the eight-team conference.

    Kook said grinding out the low-scoring win isn’t the easiest thing to do.

    “I think it is hard on teams to do this every weekend,” said Kook. “I don’t think it is any different than what we’ve gone through every year.

Jessica Vance makes a glove save for the Huskies.

    “The challenge for us is to try to find a way to get more than one person at the net. Goalies are so good in this league you have to find a way to get two people at the net or attack in multiples.”

    The Cougars came at the Huskies hard in the opening 20 minutes outshooting the host side 16-8. Thanks to the stellar goaltending from Jessica Vance, the Huskies entered the first intermission locked in a 0-0 tie.

    Vance’s two best saves in the opening frame included robbing Cougars captain Kylee Kupper on a backdoor play and making a glove stop on fourth-year forward Emma Waldenberger.
    “They came on strong, and it was important to make those first few saves to keep my team in it,” said Vance. “Luckily, my team did a good job by keeping most of the shots to the outside to make it a little easier for me.”

    At the start of the second, Vance made a trio of big saves first on Cougars star forward Jaycee Magwood, then on Kupper and another on Jenna Grube.

    The Huskies found traction, when they went to work on their fourth power-play of the contest. During a net scramble, Huskies star captain Kaitlin Willoughby, who had a solid lunch pail type game, got the puck from a crowd at the left side of the Cougars goal and drove home her fifth tally of the season.

Kaitlin Willoughby scored for the Huskies on this net scramble.

    That goal ultimately turned the tide of the contest in favour of the Huskies. The hosts held a 12-5 edge in shots on goal in the second period.

    The third period was a calm one with both sides not have a whole lot in the way of scoring chances. Vance made a big late save on Magwood in a 27 save shutout performance.
    In six starts this season, Vance has posted a 4-2 record, a 1.18 goals against average, a .955 save percentage and three shutouts.

    “It feels good to have the shutouts, but the most important part is for my team to get the win,” said Vance. “I try not to think about my stats too much and just focus on working together with my team to get the win.
    “A lot can be said for my team’s defence as well for my shutouts as that is a key part of the game.”
    Jane Kish stopped 23 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars, who fell to 7-8-1 to remain fifth overall in Canada West.

    During their first 16 games, the Huskies held the edge in shots on goal in six of the seven games they lost.

Kaitlin Willoughby drives into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    A lot of the times, they have outshot their opponents by a comfortable edge, but that work hasn’t resulted in a gusher of goals.

    On the power play, the Huskies are 3-for-55 with a 5.5 per cent success rate on the campaign. Kook said his team is getting chances on the power play, and it is a challenge to keep the confidence up with everyone.

    “The natural thing is to want to try and change something,” said Kook. “I’d be more concerned if we weren’t getting good looks and good scoring chances off the power play.

    “We need to get better at the things we do. We need to tweak a little bit maybe some strong net front presence and a more committed net front presence. For us to make a wholesale change I think is wrong.

Goalie Jessica Vance makes one of her 27 saves on Saturday.

    “We’re getting good scoring looks.”

    The Huskies now head into their exam and Christmas break. They return to action on Jan. 5 in the new year, when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (7-9-2) at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Kook liked how his team won puck battles on Saturday and wants to see that continue in the second half. He would also like to see his side manage the puck better.

    The bench boss thought his team had lapses in Friday’s 2-0 loss to the Cougars in Regina, where the Huskies did have a 31-19 edge in shots on goal.

    “Literally in the second half, it is a sprint,” said Kook. “We have 12 games over six weeks. Before you know it, it is over.

    “You just have to make sure we are in games like this right off the bat. (Friday night), I thought we didn’t play a very good 40 minutes, and we played a good 20 minutes. That is what we are going to try and focus on.”

Cooke sits alone in second on Huskies career wins list

Jordon Cooke picked up his 54th career regular season win for the Huskies.

    Jordon Cooke hit another major milestone before his U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team departed into the semester break.

    On Saturday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Cooke made 23 saves to back the Huskies to a 6-5 victory over the host U of Regina Cougars before 1,020 spectators. The victory was the 54^th of Cooke’s regular season career with the Huskies, which places him alone in second spot on the team’s all-time regular season win’s list.

    Cooke sits one victory ahead of former teammate Ryan Holfeld, who won 53 games playing goal for the Huskies from 2010 to 2015.

    Jeff Harvey sits first on the team’s all-time wins list picking up 60 victories playing goal for the Huskies from 2005 to 2010.

    As for Saturday’s contest itself, the Huskies and Cougars battled in a seesaw affair. With the two sides locked in a 5-5 draw, feisty forward Jaimen Yakubowski scored the winner with 1:32 to play to lift the Huskies to a one-goal win.

    Andrew Johnson scored twice for the Huskies, while John Lawrence, Tanner Lishchynsky and Alex Forsberg had singles.

    Corwin Stevely, Colton Sparrow, Zach McPhee, Cody Fowlie and Ian McNulty replied with singles for the Cougars.

    Michael Herringer started in goal for the Cougars turning away 5-of-8 shots before being pulled at the 5:36 mark of the first period. Dawson MacAuley stopped 36-of-39 shots going the rest of the way in relief for the U of R.

    The Huskies, who have won five straight, sit second in Canada West with a 13-2-1 mark. The Cougars fell to 3-11-2 to sit in the basement of the eight-team Canada West Conference.

    The Huskies return to action on Jan. 5 in the new year, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns (6-9-1).

    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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Yakubowski pushes Huskies into series deciding Game 3

Canada West final with Golden Bears tied 1-1

Jaimen Yakubowski, right, celebrates his first of two goals.

    It is Jaimen Yakubowski’s world, and the University of Alberta Golden Bears are living in it.

    On Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the second-year winger scored both of that night’s goals for University of Saskatchewan Huskies to deliver them to a 2-0 victory over U of A in Game 2 of the Canada West men’s hockey championship series. 

    With the win, the Huskies, who are the defending conference champions, tie the best-of-three series 1-1 and force a series deciding Game 3 for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Both teams already have berths locked up at the University Cup national championship tournament, which runs March 16 to 19 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

    Besides hitting the scoresheet offensively, Yakubowski played his feisty forward role perfectly. The 22-year-old competed hard and did his part to agitate U of A players with some verbal jabs during and after the play. The Dalmeny, Sask., product also absorbed some shots like a butt end to the face in the third period when he wasn’t able to draw any penalties.

Jaimen Yakubowski brought a feisty edge to the Huskies game.

    “In the moment, I am just here to contribute in whatever way I can,” said Yakubowski. “I don’t really think about it at that moment. It definitely does feel good to get on the scoresheet and muck it up at the same time.”

    The Golden Bears roster contains players that have reputations of being able to trash talk and pull a few physical jabs to draw penalties. A number of U of A players have been trying to do just that in both games of the series so far with the Huskies.

    Yakubowski’s forward line, which also contains centre Jordan Tkatch and winger Parker Thomas, have been the Huskies counter point to that aspect of the Golden Bears game. Yakubowski, Tkatch and Thomas have at times struck first and initiated getting under the skins of the Golden Bears, but the tactic has been something that has come in the moment.

    “I wouldn’t say it was planned or anything,” said Yakubowski, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 205 pounds. “We’ve been a very disciplined team. It started since last year.

The Huskies and Golden Bears engaged in a number of scrums.

    “I think we understand that in order to put ourselves in the best position to win we don’t need to take those stupid penalties. At the same time, we have to stand up for ourselves and for our teammates.

    “(You are) just riding the line that you try not to go over it so much. We’ve been really good at that all playoffs.”

    Besides being feisty, Yakubowski showed the packed rink of 845 spectators that he has some pretty good skill. After the Huskies came out of the gate with a strong first period, Yakubowski got the puck in close of the U of A goal just three minutes into the second, and he tucked his first marker past Golden Bears goalie Brendan Burke. Thomas and offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg combined to get the puck to Yakubowski down low.

    At the 8:59 mark of the third, Wyatt Johnson and Forsberg combined to get the puck to Yakubowski down low again, and he put a backhand shot past Burke after a deke move to give the Huskies a 2-0 edge.

Jesse Forsberg (#5) had two big assists for the Huskies.

    During the regular season, Yakubowski had four goals and six assists in 20 games for the Huskies. While he wasn’t one of U of S’s top scorers, Huskies head coach Dave Adolph wasn’t surprised to see the feisty winger score twice noting Yakubowski had 32 goals and 18 assists in 66 regular season games with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes as an 18-year-old in 2012-13.

    In 247 career WHL regular season games with the Hurricanes, Seattle Thunderbirds and Moose Jaw Warriors, Yakubowski picked up 67 goals, 56 assists and 507 minutes in penalties.

    “He is hard to play against,” said Adolph. “He has been (hard to play against) his whole career in the Western League, and he has here.

    “He had a bit of a shoulder issue, when he first got to us. He has always had the ability to score.

    “That second goal he scored, those are nice hands. That was a goal-scorer’s goal.”

Huskies goalie Jordon Cooke makes one of his 26 saves in a shutout win.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke made 26 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings. Burke turned away 40 shots taking the loss in net for the Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports top 10 rankings.

    The Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 21-5-2 record, while the Golden Bears finished second with an 18-8-2 mark.

    On Sunday, the Huskies will try to repeat what they did when they hosted the 2012 Canada West final against the U of Calgary Dinos. In that year, the Huskies lost the opening game and rallied back to take the series 2-1.

    The Huskies won Game 3, when Brett Ward scored at the 6:33 mark of the third overtime period to give U of S a 2-1 victory.

The Huskies celebrate their Game 2 victory.

    Yakubowski didn’t want to venture a guess who could possibly be the Game 3 goal-scoring hero for the Huskies this year against the Golden Bears.

    “I’m hoping my linemates each get one,” said Yakubowski. “That is the best-case scenario.

    “I don’t care who gets them as long as somebody does, and we put up a good battle tomorrow. That is all we are looking forward to.”

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

Thomas comes up clutch for Huskies with two key goals

U of S downs Cougars 4-3 in opener of Canada West semi

Parker Thomas, left, hugs Jaimen Yakubowski after scoring on a breakaway.

    Parker Thomas seems to love playoffs.

    The third-year winger is developing a habit of delivering in big moments for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team in the post-season. At the U Sports national championship tournament held in March of last year in Halifax, N.S., Thomas scored a quadruple overtime winner to deliver the Huskies to a 3-2 quarter-final victory over the Carleton University Ravens.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, Thomas delivered two big goals in two big moments to help power the Huskies to a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series with the Mount Royal University Cougars. The Huskies will attempt to go for the sweep when they host Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    “It is huge,” said Thomas about the win. “It is the first game of playoffs. It is only a three-game series.

    “To get that first one out of the way was big.”

Parker Thomas speeds up ice for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s first goal came with 16 seconds to play in the first period, when he cut across the face of the Mount Royal goal and tucked the puck home to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The goal helped break some momentum the Cougars had built. Mount Royal held a 14-7 edge in shots on goal over the first 20 minutes thanks to working on a couple of power play opportunities.

    Following Thomas’s first goal, the Huskies proceeded to build a 3-0 lead with singles coming from the sticks of Kohl Bauml and Levi Cable early in the second period.

    Before the second frame ended, Mount Royal answered back with a power-play goal coming from forward Jamal Watson, who tipped home a point shot from Emerson Hrynyk, to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1. Just 1:54 into the third, the host’s edge shrank to 3-2, when Cougars defenceman Maddison Smiley blasted home a power-play goal top left corner through a screen from the point.

Parker Thomas wins a battle in the corner for the Huskies.

    When it seemed the Cougars had all the momentum on their side, Thomas came through in another key moment just before the midway part of the frame. Third year defenceman Jordan Fransoo sprung Thomas on a breakaway with a beauty stretch pass coming from the U of S zone.

    Thomas showed the finesse that made him one of the top scorers in junior A playing for the Selkirk Steelers in Manitoba from 2010 to 2014 faking Cougars goalie Cam Lanigan to the ground and tucking in the puck around the right side of the netminder. The goal gave the Huskies a 4-2 lead and stood up as the winner.

    The Cougars proceeded to throw a scare into the Huskies down the stretch, when third year forward Cam Maclise scored an unassisted goal with 3:31 to play in the third to cut the Huskies lead to 4-3. Shortly after that goal, the Cougars wired a potential equalizer off the crossbar of the U of S net.

    Star netminder Jordon Cooke made 38 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Cam Lanigan turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Cougars.

Netminder Jordon Cooke snags one of his 38 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    The Cougars came off winning a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-1 last weekend in Calgary against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings, had a bye into the semifinal thanks to finishing first in the conference standings with a 21-5-2 record. The Cougars were fourth in Canada West with a 15-11-2 mark.

    Thomas, who was close a couple of times to netting a hat trick, was pleased to pick up a couple of goals, but was more focused on the bigger picture.

    “It was nice, but the win was better,” said Thomas, who didn’t think the shots on goal were indicative of the play Friday. “They are still into it a bit.

    “I think we started well. It didn’t look like we had a couple of weeks off there.”

    The 23-year-old Winnipeg product was also glad to see his team stayed out of some of the extra-curricular sparring and talking that occurred after the whistle.
    The Cougars had the top power play in Canada West this season clicking at 23.1 per cent, and it looked like there was a visible effort to draw the Huskies into penalties.

Winger Jaimen Yakubowski played a high energy game for the Huskies.

    Thomas’s line containing rookie centre Jordan Tkatch and sophomore winger Jaimen Yakubowski also came through with a number of aggressive and high energy shifts throughout the game that seemed to get the Huskies on track, when they were in a lull. Tkatch and Yakubowski drew assists on Thomas’s first goal, and the trio was arguably the Huskies’ best forward unit on the night.

    “We have a couple of big bodies, so we like to crash and bang,” said Thomas. “We were matched up against one of their bottom lines, so it was good.”

    Including the regular season, the Huskies have now won four of the five head-to-head meetings with the Cougars in the 2016-17 campaign. If the Huskies aren’t able to close out the series on Saturday, they will have another chance on Sunday if necessary in a series deciding Game 3 set for 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Huskies women’s team falls in series opener with Thunderbirds

Netminder Cassidy Hendricks made 17 saves Friday night for the Huskies.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team were blanked in Game 1 in their best-of-three Canada West semifinal series opener on Friday night in Vancouver.

    In a tight checking battle, the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds slowly pulled out a 2-0 win. Second-year forward Mathea Fischer scored at the 7:31 mark of the opening frame, and Madison Patrick scored early in the third to give the host side a two-goal edge. Patrick is the older sister of Nolan Patrick, who is a superstar with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and is pegged as the potential first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in June.

    Fifth-year veteran netminder Cassidy Hendricks turned away 17 shots taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Rookie netminder Amelia Boughn turned away 14 shots to pick up the shutout win in the Thunderbirds goal.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday night in Vancouver, and the Huskies need to win to stay alive in the series. If a series deciding Game 3 is needed, it will be held Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.

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Supporting cast seals sweep

Huskies head to nationals for fourth time in five years

Huskies defenceman Tyler Borstmayer celebrates his first career CIS goal.

    The unsung heroes delivered when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team needed them the most.

    All season, the Huskies prided themselves on the fact they had more depth and balance throughout their lineup than they did a season ago. That showed when the team topped the Canada West standings with a 22-6 mark.

    During the clutch moments, the rookie line of Levi Cable, Kohl Bauml and Andrew Johnson seemed to lift the Dogs to another level. Their ability as a unit to flat out create offence has been a game changer.

    In a long playoff run, teams can’t just rely on their top offensive line. The deeper you go in the post-season the harder it becomes to score. Others need to step up and deliver on the scoreboard.

    Others did just that on Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, as the Huskies posted a 5-3 victory over the U of Calgary Dinos to sweep a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series 2-0. U of S’s high scoring rookie line accounted for one goal, which Cable dumped into an empty net with 12 seconds to play to lock up the final outcome.

    With the Dinos doing their best to limit the Huskies top unit, U of S had to look towards other sources to score and pull out victory.

Cameron Blair has three assists for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The challenge to have others score also got that much bigger, when the Dinos jumped out to a 2-0 just 5:44 into the contest on singles from Ryan Suchorab and Danny Gayle. The tallies silenced a packed Ruthy for a short time, and one had to wonder if a series deciding Game 3 was going to be needed on Sunday.

    Despite the Dinos fast start, the Huskies, who are rated third in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top ten rankings, gained some traction when gritty rookie forward Jaimen Yakubowski, who had three points in 15 regular season games, tallied at the 11:50 mark of the opening frame. Yakubowski’s goal re-energized the packed and raucous crowd at the Rutherford Rink and was an early momentum changer.

    While the Huskies continued to mount pressure, Dinos netminder and former Saskatoon Blades star Steven Stanford was doing his best to keep the host side at bay. U of S broke through again on the scoreboard at the 13:49 mark of the second, when an on ice point shot from sophomore defenceman Tyler Borstmayer found its way to the back of the Dinos goal. Borstmayer’s first ever CIS goal pulled the Huskies even at 2-2.

Parker Thomas played a strong energy game for the Huskies.

    With 3:43 to play in the second, Kendall McFaull, who is earning a reputation as the Huskies “Captain Clutch,” put home an accurate off-speed point drive to put the Dogs up 3-2. Early in the third, the Huskies lead expanded to 4-2, when Connor Cox, who is a former Saskatoon Blades blue-liner, laser beamed home another point shot through a screen.

    In the four-goal outburst, sophomore forward Cameron Blair quietly helped set up three tallies. He almost matched his regular season total of assist in one game. Blair played in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games collecting seven goals and four assists.

    The Dinos still didn’t go quietly. U of C star forward Elgin Pearce potted his sixth of the post-season with 1:17 to play in the third to cut the Huskies edge to 4-3. U of S clamped things down defensively from there, and Cable’s goal ensured a comeback was not to be.

    Stanford, who stopped 77 shots in a 4-3 double overtime loss to the Huskies in Game 1 on Friday, turned aside 38 of 42 shots to take the loss in goal for the Dinos in Game 2.

    Cooke made 21 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, who took all six of their encounters with the Dinos this season.

The crowd at the packed Rutherford Rink cheers a Huskies goal.

    Besides the offence, the Huskies also received strong contributions from players like energy forward Parker Thomas, who was key for the green and white on the forecheck.

    U of S advances to host the best-of-three Canada West championships series against their forever rivals - the U of Alberta Golden Bears. The Golden Bears, who have won the last two CIS titles, swept their semifinal series slipping past the Mount Royal University Cougars 4-3 in Edmonton on Saturday. Game 1 of the Canada West championship series will start this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    The Huskies also earned a berth to the eight-team CIS championship tournament, which runs March 17-20 in Halifax. That will mark their fourth appearance at nationals in the last five years.

    If the Huskies want their playoff success to continue, they need the X-factors to keep producing along with their top players. If that keeps happening, they might just win it all for the second time in team history.

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Huskies hammer Dinos 8-3

Jaimen Yakubowski celebrates scoring a Huskies goal.

    No overtime dramatics were needed in this outing.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team proved to be too much for the University of Calgary Dinos to handle on Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. The Dogs scored early and often and skated away with a convincing 8-3 victory. One night earlier, the Huskies needed double overtime to slip past the Dinos 4-3.

    In Saturday’s contest, eight different players accounted for the eight Huskies tallies. The route started when Huskies captain Kendall McFaull tipped in a point shot from Josh Roach for a power-play goal at the 6:44 mark of the opening frame.

    Rookie forward Daylan Gatzke potted his first career Canadian Interuniversity Sport regular season goal to put the Huskies up 2-0 before the first period ended. Just 84 seconds into the second period, rookie forward Andrew Johnson netted his ninth goal of the season to put the hosts up 3-0.

    Johnson’s tally chased Dinos starting goalie Myles Hovdebo from the U of C net. He stopped eight-of-11 shots fired his way. Steven Stanford played the rest of the way in relief and stopped 18 of the 23 shots he faced.

    Actually, the Huskies netted their first goal on Stanford just 94 seconds after he entered the contest, when gritty rookie Jaimen Yakubowski popped his first career CIS regular season goal. The Dinos proceeded to use a timeout to try and regroup after that tally.

    The stoppage worked for a short time, as Kevin King scored for the Dinos to cut the Huskies lead to 4-1. The Dogs’ edge ballooned to 6-1 before the second period ended thanks to a short-handed marker by Kohl Bauml and a point shot power-play blast by rearguard Jordan Fransoo.

    Dylan Busenius and Chris Collins netted singles for the Dinos in the third, which cut the Huskies lead to 6-3 for a short moment. Cameron Blair and Parker Thomas replied with singles for the Huskies to round out the game’s scoring.

Jesse Forsberg had four assists and a plus-six rating on Saturday.

    Jordon Cooke made 27 saves to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, who improve their Canada West Conference leading record to 17-3. Cooke also has 15 goaltending wins on the campaign, which are three shy of equaling the Huskies team record for goaltending victories in a season. The team record of 18 goaltending wins in a season is held jointly by Jeff Calvert (1998-99) and Ryan Holfeld (2012-13).

    The Dinos fell to 7-9-4 with the setback.

    While it seemed everyone that hit the ice for the Huskies was on a roll Saturday, their best player might have been sophomore defenceman Jesse Forsberg. Known for being a defensive defenceman, Forsberg quietly collected four assists on Saturday and was a plus-six in the plus-minus department.

    Saturday’s victory also allowed the Huskies, who are rated third in the CIS top ten rankings, to officially clinch a berth in the Canada West playoffs for the 20^th straight year.

    U of S leads the overall Canada West standings with 34 points. The Mount Royal University Cougars and the University of Alberta Golden Bears sit tied for second place with 28 points coming from identical 13-5-2 records. All Canada West teams have eight games remaining in their respective regular season schedules.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Vancouver to take on the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (9-8-3).

OT heartbreaker in Calgary

Brooklyn Haubrich had the Huskies lone goal in Calgary on Saturday.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team dropped an overtime heartbreaker in Calgary on Saturday night.

    The Huskies, who are rated sixth in the Canada West top ten rankings, fell 2-1 to the host University of Calgary Dinos at the Father David Bauer Arena despite holding a 31-20 edge in shots on goal.

    The Dinos jumped out in front 1-0, when defender Stephanie Zvonkovic scored on the power play at the 7:50 mark of the opening frame. The Huskies evened things up at 1-1, when rookie winger Brooklyn Haubrich scored with 3:45 to play in the third period.

    At the 3:07 mark of overtime, Russian import Sasha Vafina scored the winner for the Dinos shortly after getting out of the penalty box having served a minor infraction for body checking.

    Cassidy Hendricks turned away 18 shots taking the overtime loss in goal for the Huskies. Hayley Dowling stopped 30 shots to earn the win in goal for the Dinos.

    With the overtime setback, the Huskies record moves to 11-6-3, which is good for fourth overall in the very tight Canada West standings. The Dinos, who have won three straight, still sit last in the eight-team Canada West Conference, but they improve to 6-10-4.

    The Huskies return home this coming Friday and Saturday, when they host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (12-6-2) at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Rutherford Rink.

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