Huskies good enough when they need to be in 3-0 win

Drever makes 30 saves in victory over Cougars

Goalie Camryn Drever dives on a loose puck during a net scramble.

Some good moments and a stellar outing by star netminder Camryn Drever allowed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey Team to overcome some holiday season rust.

On Friday playing before 511 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies blanked their provincial rivals the University of Regina Cougars 3-0 in the first U Sports regular season contest for both sides since returning from their respective Christmas breaks. Drever made 30 saves to pick up her 12^th career U Sports regular season shutout.

The fifth-year’s performance allowed the Huskies to overcome a determined Cougars side that carried play for a good two thirds of the contest.

Camryn Drever made 30 saves to pick up a shutout win on Friday.

“It wasn’t a very good game for us,” said Huskies head coach Steve Kook, whose team improved to 11-4-1-1. “It was a good thing that Cam was on her game tonight.

“We fought the puck the whole night. The plays were there. We just didn’t pull the trigger.

“We were lucky that we got a couple early, and I thought that we played the right way for about eight or nine minutes there. We took some stupid penalties – undisciplined stuff that we didn’t need to. We almost killed ourselves there tonight.”

The two sides started out Friday’s game playing fairly even. The Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, appeared to break things open scoring two goals 73 seconds apart inside the final four minutes of the opening frame.

Mallory Dyer scored the Huskies first goal on Friday.

With 3:58 remaining in the first, Huskies third-year centre Mallory Dyer potted her sixth goal of the season to give the host side a 1-0 lead. Positioned at the right side of the Cougars net, Dyer got her stick on a rebound from a shot taken by linemate Kara Kondrat and quickly popped the puck into an empty cage.

Just 73 seconds later, the Cougars turned the puck over in their own zone. The puck came to Huskies rookie defender Jacquelyne Chief, who wired home her second goal of the campaign to put the Huskies up 2-0.

When it seemed the Huskies had all the momentum after Chief’s goal, the Cougars found another gear. The visitors closed out the first period with a flurry of five shots to hold a 12-8 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

Jacquelyne Chief had the Huskies second goal on Friday.

With 10.1 seconds remaining in the first, Drever made a key glove save off Cougars winger Lauren Focht to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.

“I think it is tough maybe coming back from the break,” said Huskies third-year centre Desmarais. “It was our first game we got under our belt.

“It was a little rough off the start, but I think we got our legs under us just jumping back into it.”

The Cougars controlled play throughout the second period holding a 16-10 edge in shots on goal for the frame, which was a total that seemed to flatter the host side.

The Huskies had a huge chance to expand their lead, when star fifth-year centre Kennedy Brown, who is the squad’s captain, had a short-handed breakaway. Brown was denied by Cougars standout netminder Arden Kliewer.

Lauren Focht had a big first period chance to score for the Cougars.

A short time later, the Cougars had a huge chance to crack on to the scoreboard. Winger Makena Kushniruk centred the puck from behind the Huskies goal to linemate Paige Hubbard, who was positioned right in front of the home side’s net. Hubbard quickly fired a shot on goal, but the puck was swallowed up by Drever.

“Most of the first and just about all of the second, it was the Cam (Drever) show,” said Kook. “The thing about Cam’s game that is so good is that they get one (shot), but they don’t often get a second or a third.

“When we’re fighting the puck, it is important that Cam doesn’t give them that second or third, and that is what she does so well.”

Makena Kushniruk controls the puck in the offensive zone.

The Huskies proceeded to play a fairly strong shutdown style third period, where they outshot the Cougars 6-2. One of the two Cougars chances came on a Hubbard breakaway late in the frame, but Drever stoned the fourth-year winger keeping the visitors off the scoreboard.

Kondrat finished out the game’s scoring firing the puck into an empty net with 1:45 remaining in the third to round out the 3-0 win for the host side.

“I think we kind of noticed, yeah, that we did a little bit better in the third,” said Huskies fourth-year centre Kate Ball. “(It was) a rough start, but at least we got the win.”

Kara Kondrat had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

Desmarais said her squad started to focus on playing more of a shutdown game in the third due to holding a two-goal advantage for most of the frame before Kondrat added her empty-net tally.

“I know when we are up in the third we like to focus on getting the pucks deep and getting fresh legs out there,” said Desmarais. “I think rather than getting a bunch of pucks on net like we want to in the first and second I think focused on getting the puck deep.”

Kliewer turned away 21-of-23 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars, who fell to 5-12-1-1.

The Huskies and Cougars will go at it again on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Huskies begin to celebrate their win on Friday.

“I think moving forward it will be a little bit better now,” said Desmarais. “We had to get that one out of the way.”

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