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| Morgan Willoughby had the winning goal for the Huskies. |
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.
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| Morgan Willoughby guards the defensive zone. |
“I just kept it up.
I knew it was coming soon, so it was a good time for it to happen.”
Playing in her 90th
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.
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.
 |
| Netminder Jessica Vance stands her ground in the Huskies goal. |
After Willoughby
gave the Huskies a two-goal edge, Bisons fourth-year centre Jordyn Zacharias
netted her 12th 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.
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.
 |
| Emily Upgang moves the puck out of trouble in the defensive zone. |
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. |
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.
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| Huskies C Chloe Smith checks Bisons D Erica Rieder. |
“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 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. |
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 10th 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 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. |
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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