Huskies' Zary rediscovers offensive touch

Lauren Zary breaks into the offensive zone on a rush for the Huskies.

    For the majority of her post-secondary hockey career, it seemed like a dark cloud hung over Lauren Zary in the offensive zone.

    Basically, if she didn’t have bad luck, she would have no luck at all. The speedy forward’s work ethic could never be questioned, but the on ice drive often didn’t result in points on the scoresheet.

    In four seasons of midget AAA hockey from 2008 to 2012, Zary built a storied career with her hometown Saskatoon Stars. She piled up 44 goals and 82 assists in 103 career regular season games.

    Her shining moment came in the championship contest of 2011 Mac’s Tournament, when she recorded two goals and two assists to help the Stars claim the tournament title with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Thunder. That victory marked the first time the Stars captured the prestigious Mac’s title.

    After graduating from the Stars and completing her high school studies at Centennial Collegiate, Zary packed up for Providence, Rhode Island, to play for the Brown University Bears women’s team in the Division I ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the fall of 2012. In two seasons at Brown, Zary notched just two assists in 26 games and seemingly skated away from hockey.

    Returning home to Saskatoon, she enrolled in engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 2014 and decided to resume her hockey career with the Huskies women’s team, who were coming off winning their first Canada West conference championship. Thanks to a then recently introduced Canadian Interuniversity Sport eligibility repatriation rule, Zary could join the Huskies without have to sit out for an entire season.

Lauren Zary (#13) battles on a draw for the Huskies.

    As an added bonus, the Huskies also contained a few of her former Stars teammates.

    During the 2014-15 campaign, Zary, who made the dean’s honour roll, started to become a bit of a factor in the offensive zone picking up six goals and eight assists in 28 regular season games. This season, she had two goals and five assists in the 16 games the Huskies played before the Christmas break.

    When the Huskies opened their second semester schedule on the weekend, Zary had a breakthrough offensively helping her squad sweep a pair of games against the visiting University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    On Friday night, Zary, who stands 5-foot-5, had a goal and an assist to help the Huskies double up the Pronghorns 4-2. Kori Herner, Marley Ervine and Kaitlin Willoughby had singles for the Huskies, while Cassidy Hendricks made 24 saves to earn the win in goal.

    Brett Campbell and Lauren Fredrich responded with singles for the Pronghorns, while Alicia Anderson turned away 29 of 32 shots in the U of L net.

    On Saturday night, Zary again had a goal and an assist to help the Huskies slip past the Pronghorns 4-3. Her helper came on the Huskies first goal, which saw Willoughby wire a shot off the post and in. In the contest’s third period, Zary scored on the power play, when she flipped a shot past Pronghorns netminder Jessica Lohues.

Lauren Zary, right, celebrates her goal Saturday with her teammates.

    Rachel Johnson and Herner each had singles in Saturday’s win. Jerrica Waltz started in goal for the U of S and stopped 11 of 13 shots over two periods of action. Hendricks started the third period for the Huskies, who were locked in a 2-2 tie with the Pronghorns at that time. She turned away six of seven shots fired her way to pick up the win in goal.

    Jocelyn Sabourin, Tricia Van Vaerenbergh and Chelsea Kasprick replied with singles for the Pronghorns, who fell to 8-9-1. Lohues stopped 30 shots to take the loss in the U of L net.

    With the wins, the Huskies, who are rated seventh in the CIS top ten rankings, improve to 11-5-2 to sit second in the Canada West conference. In the congested Canada West women’s standings, the Huskies are just two points back of the University of Alberta Pandas for first place, but are only six points ahead of the Mount Royal University Cougars, who sit sixth overall.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday, when they take on the University of Calgary Dinos (4-10-4) in Calgary.

    For the moment, Zary seems to have found a comfort zone playing on a line with Willoughby and one of her former Stars teammates in Ervine. If Zary can remain a factor offensively, the Huskies chances of finishing near the top of the Canada West standings will increase greatly.

    Zary’s work ethic on the ice and in the classroom will always be there. It would be nice if an extended run of good luck would come her way too.

Dogs take care of business in Lethbridge

John Lawrence fights for a faceoff for the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team looks intent on proving their impressive results before the Christmas break were no fluke.

    The Huskies, who are rated fourth in the CIS top ten rankings, opened the second semester by traveling to Lethbridge to sweep a series with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The wins allowed the Huskies, who are 9-0 on the road, to improve their Canada West leading record to 15-3. They sit five points up on the second place University of Alberta Golden Bears, who were swept away by the University of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg.

    In Lethbridge on Friday night, the Huskies slipped past the Pronghorns 3-1. Rookie Levi Cable, John Lawrence and Jesse Ross netted singles for the Huskies, while Jordon Cooke made 37 stops to earn the win in goal. Jay Merkley replied for the Pronghorns, while cancer survivor Dylan Tait turned away 39 of 41 shots to earn the win in goal.

    On Saturday night, the Huskies found another gear storming out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and cruising to a 7-2 victory. Lawrence and fifth-year defenceman Zak Stebner both had a pair of goals for the Huskies, while Kohl Bauml, Jesse Forsberg and Logan McVeigh each had singles. Cooke turned away 24 shots to pick up another victory in net.

    Zane Jones and Tim Campbell replied with singles for the Pronghorns. Tait turned away 13 of 16 shot before being pulled at the 14:07 mark of the opening frame. Warren Shymko stopped 23 of 27 shots in relief.

    The Pronghorns have lost six in a row to fall to 6-11-1.

    The Huskie return to action this coming Friday, when they host the University of Calgary Dinos (7-8-3) at 7 p.m. 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.

Brooms put on hold for Huskies

Dinos prevent sweep as Canada West looks unpredictable

Huskies forward Marley Ervine, left, battles Dino Iya Gavrilova for a draw.

  The University of Saskatchewan Huskies got a feel for just how unpredictable the Canada West women’s hockey ranks could be this season.

    Hosting the University of Calgary Dinos who limped into a pair of games at the ancient Rutherford Rink with an unexpected 0-2 mark, the Huskies picked up a solid 3-2 win on Friday night, but the Dinos collected their first victory of the season with a 3-2 comeback effort on Saturday.

    In Friday’s encounter, the Dogs led 2-0, 3-1 before holding to a 3-2 victory. Paige Anakaer, Marley Ervine and Hanna McGillvray scored for the Huskies. Chelsea Court and Stephanie Zvonkovic replied for the Dinos.

    Cassidy Hendricks made 18 saves to earn the win in goal for the hosts, while Sarah Murray turned away 27 shots taking the loss in goal for the visitors.

    The Huskies held the advantage in territorial play for lengthy stretches on Friday night and appeared strong. The Dinos didn’t looked like they would get a chance to make a rally until Zvonkovic pulled them to within 3-2 scoring with 63 seconds to play in the third.

    Despite the late goal to cut their edge to one, the hosts shut things down defensively to close out Friday’s victory in solid fashion.

Kori Herner gets set to wire home a goal for the Huskies.

    With having won their first three regular season games, the Huskies got out of the gate slow on Saturday. The Dinos took a 1-0 at the 6:02 mark of the first on a power-play goal from Iya Gavrilova, who was a member of Russia’s team at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

    As the opening 20 minutes came to a close, the Huskies started string together a series of strong back-to-back shifts to turn the tide.

    The hosts came out flying in the second and constantly crashed the Dinos net with solid scoring chances holding a 14-7 in the shots on goal department. Anakaer, who is the Huskies captain, tied things up at 1-1 just past with midway point of the frame with a gritty positive bounce goal.

    Kori Herner put the Dogs up 2-1 late in the second breaking down the left wing into the Calgary zone and wiring a shot past Dinos goaltender Hayley Dowling.

    The Huskies couldn’t hold the momentum as the Dinos answered back with two goals that seemed to come out of nowhere to go up 3-2. Court potted the equalizer at the 5:17 mark and Cheyann Newman picked up the winner at the 11:37 mark.

    The home side tried to push back, but the rally attempt was big time hampered when Huskies star defender Julia Flinton was tagged with a double minor for checking to the head with 5:49 to play in the third. The Huskies killed off the penalties, but couldn’t find the equalizer despite mounting pressure in the Dinos over the contest’s final 90 seconds.

Captain Paige Anakaer, middle, celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    Jerrica Waltz made 26 stops to get tagged with the loss in the Huskies net, while Dowling turned away 29 shots to earn the win for the Dinos (1-3).

    While Saturday’s setback to the Dinos might have been a bit disappointing, the Huskies have to be happy they are off to a 3-1 start.

    Their next challenge should be an interesting one. This coming Friday and Saturday, they travel to Lethbridge to face the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, who are off to a surprising 4-0 start with a pair for road sweeps over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Vancouver and the University of Alberta Pandas in Edmonton.

    The Huskies have played fairly sound structurally in their first four outings. Going forward, they just have to keep finding ways to improve on a day-to-day basis, because it appears the Canada West conference is going to be up for the taking.

Sweet opening sweep

Jordon Cooke backstopped the Huskies to a pair of victories.

    The Huskies men’s hockey team seem to like variety when it comes to victory.

    The Dogs opened the regular season on the road in Calgary and swept away the Dinos, who are expected to be a powerhouse this season.

    On Friday, rookie forward Andrew Johnson scored 53 seconds into overtime to lift the Huskies to a 6-5 victory. Zak Stebner, Levi Cable, Michael Sofillas, John Lawrence and Kendall McFaull all netted singles in regulation for the Huskies. Spencer Edwards, Chris Collins, Kevin King, Dylan Walchuk and Elgin Pearce replied with singles for the Dinos.

    Jordon Cooke made 25 stops to earn the win in goal for the Huskies, while Steven Stanford turned away 23 shots taking the loss in the Dinos net.

    The wild affair saw the Dinos lead 2-0 after the first, and the Huskies hold leads of 3-2 and 4-3 in the second. The Dinos took a 5-4 edge in the third, before the Huskies forced overtime.

    On Saturday, Johnson scored a short-handed goal at the 11:36 mark of the second, and that proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory. Cooke made 27 stops for his second career CIS shutout, while Myles Hovdebo turned away 21 shots taking the setback in the Dinos goal.

    The Huskies open their home schedule this coming Friday and Saturday when they host the Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) at 7 p.m. both nights at the Rutherford Rink.

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

New and old power Huskies sweep

The Huskies celebrate a goal from Marley Ervine (#9) on Saturday.

    It seemed like everyone had a part in bringing out the brooms, when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team opened their Canada West regular season.

    The Huskies swept a two-game series against the visiting Mount Royal University Cougars on Friday and Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink and the contributions of both rookies and veterans were key to the early success. That will be a theme the Huskies hope to build upon as the 2015-16 campaign progresses due to the fact their roster contains nine rookies along with a large contingent of holdovers from the 2013-14 Canada West championship winning team.

    Friday’s 2-1 victory was aided by the efforts of the newcomers. Before the Huskies rookies could come through with big moments, Maggie Shykula-Ross gave the Cougars an early 1-0 edge.

    The hosts answered back before the opening 20 minutes expired. Rookie defender Morgan Willoughby, who was the former captain of the Prince Albert A & W Bears midget AAA team, potted a goal on a Huskies power play to tie things up at 1-1 going into the first intermission.

Jerrica Waltz earned her first shutout victory for the Huskies on Saturday.

    After a scoreless second, rookie forward Brooklyn Haubrich, who is a graduate of the Swift Current Wildcats midget AAA squad, netted the winner for the Huskies on another power-play chance.

    Fourth-year veteran goaltender Cassidy Hendricks made 23 stops to up her Huskies team record for career victories to 35. Jess Ross turned away 27 shots to take the setback in the Cougars net.

While the rookies accounted for the big moments in Friday’s win, the veterans came through in Saturday’s 2-0 follow up victory.

    The Huskies opened up the scoring in Saturday’s win with their third power-play goal of the weekend. Marley Ervine and Kaitlin Willoughby combined to set up fourth-year forward Rachel Johnson for her first goal of the season at the 13:58 mark of the opening frame. The tally was a big one for Johnson, who missed most of the second half of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her knee.

    Ervine, who is in her fifth year of eligibility, fired home an insurance goal in the second roofing a shot top corner on Cougars goaltender Emma Pincott, who turned away 27 shots taking the loss in the Mount Royal net.

Huskies captain Paige Anakaer (#11) tries to poke a puck home.

    Early in the third period, Cougars forward Rachel Piitz almost got her team back in the game wiring a shot off the post. The was the closest the visitors came to beating Huskies sophomore netminder Jerrica Waltz, who made 25 saves to earn her first career Canadian Interuniversity Sport regular season shutout.

    Overall on Saturday, the Huskies played good structural game, but they did go through the odd stretches where they were pinned in their own zone.

    The Dogs couldn’t have asked for any better results from their special teams. They were 3-for-6 on the power play and killed off all four shorthanded situations they faced over two games.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday, when they host the University of Calgary Dinos (0-2) at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Rutherford Rink.

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

Repeat not in cards for Huskies

Huskies forward Kandace Cook inspired with her heart and determination.

    Winning a championship is hard and repeating as champ is even harder.
    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team learned how true that statement is. Their 2014-15 campaign officially came to an end on Saturday, when they were swept out of the Canada West playoffs by the U of Calgary Dinos. The Dinos claimed a best-of-three quarter-final series 2-0 thanks to a 5-1 victory on Friday and a 3-2 win on Saturday in Calgary.
    The Dogs season wrapped up about a month earlier than it did a year ago, when they won their first Canada West title and a bronze medal at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament. The medal win at nationals was also a first for the program.
    Entering the 2014-15 season, the Huskies returned a large number of players from that championship squad. Even with the returnees, the majority of pre-season predictions had them finishing around third in the conference. As far as the team went, hopes were high that the accomplishments from 2013-14 could be matched or improved upon.
    The Huskies built an 11-3-2 record to sit first overall in Canada West heading into the Christmas break. They started the second semester getting swept by the Dinos in Calgary dropping two games by a combined score of 9-3.
    The players on the U of S squad admitted they weren't very good in those outings. The result seemed to set a tone for the semester, as those setbacks were the start of a seven-game skid.
    Over the final five regular season games, the Huskies showed signs of coming out of their funk posting three wins to finish at 14-10-4 good for fifth overall in Canada West. Their confidence appeared to have returned heading into the post season.

Huskies defensive forward Chelsey Sundby was a heart and soul player.

    Just 61 seconds into Game 1 of their quarter-final series with the Dinos, Janelle Parent scored to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Erika Mitschke scored on a power play just under six minutes late to increase the Dinos' lead to 2-0.
    Parent added her second of the game in the second, and Bronwyn Stevens and Iya Gavrilova potted singles to give the host a 5-0 lead at the 4:43 mark of the third.
    Following the fifth goal, the Huskies pulled starting netminder Cassidy Hendricks, who stopped 25 of 30 shots fired her way. Jerrica Waltz turned aside all five shots she faced in relief.
    Carissa Fischer made 24 saves in goal for the Dinos and her bid for a shutout was stopped thanks to a third period goal by Huskies defender Kira Bannatyne in the 5-1 final.
    In Game 2 on Saturday, Jenna Smith put the Dinos up 1-0 in the first, but standout sophomore Kaitlin Willoughby potted the equalizer for the Huskies to knot things up at 1-1. Gavrilova put the Dinos up 2-1 before the second period ended, and Smith added her second of the contest early in the third to put the hosts up 3-1.
    Canada West first team all-star defender Julia Flinton scored with under a minute to play in the third to pull the Huskies to within 3-2. The Dogs couldn't net the equalizer in the final seconds.
    Hendricks made 26 saves in the loss, while Fischer made 17 saves in the win.
    A lack of scoring depth proved ultimately to be the biggest thing that hurt the Huskies in the second semester. Forward Rachel Johnson was lost with a knee injury during a Jan. 16 home contest at the Rutherford Rink, where the Huskies dropped a 1-0 decision to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Rookie forward Chelsea Wilson left the team due to family reasons having last played in a 5-2 road loss to the Dinos on Jan. 10.
    When those two players were playing in the first semester, the Huskies had an easier time creating offence. After they left, the Huskies became essentially a one-line team offensively relying on the forward unit of Willoughby, fifth-year forward Kandace Cook and Marley Ervine for goals.
    As a whole, the Huskies scored 58 goals over their 28 game regular season, which ranked sixth in the eight team Canada West. The graduation of Cami Wooster, who was the captain of the Canada West title team, also was a big blow when it came to offensive production, as she led that club with 16 goals and 31 points.

Defender Julia Flinton was a first team Canada West all-star.

    Besides the difficulties with putting the puck in the net, the Huskies also went through a lot of stretches in the second semester where they had trouble breaking out of their own zone, when opponents were in hard on the forecheck.
    When next season rolls around, the Huskies will be without Cook and fifth-year forward Chelsey Sundby due to graduation. Cook had a breakout year offensively with career highs in goals (13) and points (22). Sundby, who is more of a defensive forward, picked up a career high five goals this season and matched her career high in points with seven.
    Both were heart and soul members of the team, whose compete level was always high game in and game out. They will be missed going forward.
    The Huskies will return a key base of players, but they need to find recruits at forward to help them on the offensive end of the rink. They can build around players like Willoughby, who had 10 goals and 16 assists for a team high 26 points. It is possible players currently on the roster could have breakout seasons in 2015-16 with another year of experience under their belts.
    While the way the 2014-15 campaign finished was far from what the Huskies envisioned, the returning players should still shoot for the bar that was set in the 2013-14 Canada West title season. The first CIS title for women's hockey was awarded in 1998, and since that time, the Huskies have only won one conference title.
    When the 2014 Canada West title win happened, it was really special for all those involved. The players that continue to wear the Huskies jersey in the future should strive to one day experience that same feeling and maybe one day exceed that with a first national title win.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Outmatched: Dinos too much for Huskies

Parker Thomas (#24) tries to set up offence for the Huskies.

            Could the unthinkable happen? Could the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team actually finish a regular season with a losing record?

            Unless the Dogs can roll off a big win streak over their last six games, it appears likely a losing record will happen. On the weekend, it became really apparent the Huskies are a bit of a distance away from being one of the top teams in the Canada West conference.

            The Huskies battled the University of Calgary Dinos at the ancient Rutherford Rink and fell 6-3 on Friday night and 5-2 on Saturday night. With the wins, the Dinos improved to 15-7 to sit alone in second place in the conference.

U of S fell to 9-12-1 and dropped to sixth overall in the conference. The Huskies sit five points up on the seventh place U of Regina Cougars (6-14-2) for the final playoff berth in the conference.

The last time the Huskies finished with a losing record in regular season play was way back in the 1995-96 campaign, when they posted an 11-14-3 record. Over the past six seasons, the Huskies have been an impressive 105-52-11, which includes winning a Canada West title in 2012 and a second place finish at last year’s University Cup.

Roster turnover has definitely caught up with the Dogs. They have 12 players in their first year of eligibility, with the bulk of those newcomers coming on the forward lines. The Dinos in contrast have five first year players.

Calgary also has more higher end former Western Hockey League players on its roster than Saskatchewan does.

With all that said, the Dinos only pulled out respective 2-0 and 2-1 victories early on in the season in Calgary. The notion that the Huskies could pull out two win in their home rink wasn’t unthinkable.

Friday’s tilt was back-and-forth. Craig McCallum scored 55 second into the third period to cut the Dinos two-goal lead to 4-3.

Shortly after that tally, Calgary put the contest away going up by the final of 6-3 scoring goals 28 seconds apart from each other. David Vandane had the first marker, while Colton Grant had the second marker.

Philip Tot, Alex Dzielski, Chris Collins and Brooks Myers had the other singles for the Dinos, while Kris Lazaruk made 35 saves to earn the win in goal.

Zak Stebner and Jesse Ross also netted singles for the Huskies, while Ryan Holfeld made 23 stops taking the loss in goal.

Dinos goalie Jacob DeSerres holds down the fort.

On Saturday, the Huskies played the Dinos close and trailed 3-2 heading into the final two minutes of the third. Dinos forward Ryan Harrison then potted an empty netter and added another tally in the final seconds to seal a 5-2 victory.

During that contest, the Dinos had the Huskies pinned in their own zone for extended periods of time.

Danny Gayle, Elgin Pearce and Kevin King also had singles for the Dinos, while Jacob DeSerres made 14 stops to earn the win in goal.

Tayler Thompson and McCallum netted singles for the Huskies, while Jordon Cooke turned away 25-of-29 shots suffering the loss in goal.

Huskies head coach Dave Adolph is holding at 377 career conference wins, which ties him with University of Alberta Golden Bears head coach Clare Drake for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport record for conference victories. Adolph will have to hope the fourth attempt at getting the record will be a charm.

U of S heads on the road to Vancouver for two key games against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds hold down fourth overall in the conference with a 10-9-3 record, which means they would host a first round playoff series if the regular season ended right now.

If the Huskies still hope to host a home playoff series, they needed to win at least one of those games to keep those hopes alive. With that said, one win might not be enough. A sweep is likely needed.

With the Huskies in a rebuild, a home playoff series and a winning regular season record might not be in the cards for the current campaign.

Paparazzi picture a good sign

Huskies ace picture taker Kandace Cook.

            The volume of the laughs and the mischievous giggles gave away that something was up.

            During the Huskies men’s hockey game on Jan. 3 at the Rutherford Rink against the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns, I went over behind the Pronghorns net to shoot pictures in the second period. The Pronghorns were in the end that contained the box seats at the Rutherford and most of the members of the Huskies women’s hockey team were up there.

            As I was getting ready to shoot, I could hear the laughter, and I knew something was going on. When I returned home that night, I saw fifth-year forward Kandace Cook took a picture of me doing my thing and put it on Twitter.

            I am all cool with that. If that helps the Huskies have fun at the rink and win, it is all good. The Rutherford is their home rink, and it should always be a fun place for them to be at.

Actually, to me that is a good sign. If they have the comfort level to do something like that, it is just another signal that shows me how together the Huskies women’s team is and that they have another intangible to help them be successful.

            I don’t mind getting made fun of or being the victim of a prank. Pretty much all the women’s sports teams I have dealt with that have won have done something along those lines.

            It is just too bad the Cook’s Huskies took one on the chin in their first weekend back. They traveled to Calgary and were swept by the Dinos by respective scores of 4-1 and 5-2 on Friday and Saturday.

            The Dinos roster contains Canadian National team icon Hayley Wickenheiser and Russian national team standouts Iya Gavrilova and Alexandra Vafina. All three were not with the Dinos last season because it was Olympic year.

            Back in October, the Huskies swept the Dinos, who had all those stars on the ice, 4-3 in overtime and 3-1 at the Rutherford Rink. After those results, you can bet the Dinos, who are guided by head coach and former Canadian national team star Danielle Goyette, played the revenge card in an old school style way like how head coach Bill Belichick prefers to see his New England Patriots bury opponents in the NFL.

            In Friday’s encounter in Calgary, Heather Berzins, Wickenheiser, Janelle Parent and Kate Lumley netted singles for the Dinos, while Carissa Fischer made 23 stops to earn the win in goal.

            Cook had the Huskies lone goal, while Cassidy Hendricks made 44 stops taking the loss in the Huskies net.

            A day later, Erica Mitschke scored twice for the Dinos, while Megan Grenon, Gavrilova and Vafina netted singles. Fischer made 13 stops to earn the win in goal.

            Captain Paige Anakaer and Hailey Tyndall picked up singles for the Huskies. Hendricks turned away 15-of-20 shots starting in goal for the Huskies. Jerrica Waltz stopped all 14 shots she faced in a relief appearance.

            The Dinos vaulted into first in Canada West improving to 11-3-4. The Huskies dropped from first to fifth in the tight contested conference with an 11-5-2 mark.

            The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday when they host the Thunderbirds (10-4-4) at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Rutherford Rink.

            The losses to the Dinos were likely a big learning experience for the Huskies in dealing with a revenge minded team.

            Knowing the character of the players on the Dogs, expect them to bounce back and move on.

If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.