Dinos killer – Huskies’ Stadnyk does in U of C in double OT

Carson Stadnyk, right, reacts to his double OT winner on Saturday.

    Who else would you expect to do in the University of Calgary Dinos but Carson Stadnyk?

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, Stadnyk and his University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team went into double overtime against the Dinos locked in a 4-4 tie in Game 2 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

    Just 77 seconds into the second overtime frame, Stadnyk got the puck in the Dinos zone off a turnover, circled across the front of the U of C net and fired home the winning goal through a screen to give the Huskies a 5-4 victory.

    The goal from the fourth-year right-winger sent the crowd of 1,647 spectators at Merlis into bedlam and allowed the Huskies to sweep the best-of-three series 2-0.

    “We were all getting tired and so were they,” said Stadnyk. “We just got the one extra bounce.

Carson Stadnyk is mobbed by his teammates after his double OT winner.

    “We just couldn’t be more happy right now.”

    With the win, the Huskies advance to the best-of-three Canada West champions series to play the winner of the other best-of-three Canada West semifinal series between the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton, Alta.

    The Thunderbirds and Golden Bears are tied in 1-1 in their best-of-three set with Game 3 slated for Sunday in Edmonton. The Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, topped the Canada West regular season standings with a 23-5 record, while the Thunderbirds finished fifth with a 9-14-4-1 mark.

The celebration continues after Carson Stadnyk’s double OT winner.

    U of S also earns a berth for the fifth straight year to the U Sports elite eight national championship tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. The David Johnston University Cup runs March 12 to 15 in Halifax, N.S.

    Saturday’s game wasn’t the first time Stadnyk broke the hearts of the Dinos in the post-season. When the Huskies and Dinos previously met in the post-season in a Canada West semifinal series in 2018, a series-deciding Game 3 was required.

    With the two squads locked in a 1-1 tie in that Game 3 played at the Huskies former home in the ancient Rutherford Rink, Stadnyk broke the deadlock scoring the game and series winner with 24 seconds remaining in the third period. The Huskies added an empty-net goal to seal a 3-1 victory in that contest.

Merlis Belsher Place was feeling good after Carson Stadnyk’s winner.

    In the latest clash on Saturday, the Huskies held a 4-1 lead at one point in the second period before the Dinos rallied to even things up at 4-4 and force overtime.

    “When we were up by three, they worked their way back and made a comeback,” said Stadnyk, who had an assist to go with his goal. “That was pretty tough on us.

    “We just had to do what we do best. We just had to watch their top players, because they have a lot of good players over there. Our guys who had that responsibility did their job.

    “We just came out lucky, and we are just happy to be moving on.”

Carson Stadnyk had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Huskies head coach Dave Adolph was pleased to see Stadnyk net the winner after giving a strong effort on Saturday night. The veteran bench boss was reminded about the 2018 series with the Dinos at game’s end.

    “That was the first thing the guys said it was Stadnyk that got it two years ago,” said Adolph. “He had about four or five great looks tonight that didn’t go in, and I thought Shirls (Collin Shirley) had a couple too.

    “That is the way hockey goes. I am glad we are on the right end of it.”

    As for the rest of the game itself, the Huskies jumped ahead 1-0 at the 3:47 mark of the first period thanks to a gaff by Dinos sophomore defenceman James Shearer. Shearer had the puck behind his own net, and he tried to fire a pass up the centre of the ice.

    He put the puck right on the tape of the stick of Huskies right-winger Jeff Faith, who quickly fired home the gift for the contest’s opening goal.

The Huskies celebrate a first period goal from Jeff Faith (#5).

    At the 9:22 mark of the opening frame, the Dinos evened things up at 1-1, when rookie right-winger Kaden Elder scored on a two-man advantage.

    The Huskies caught a break 50 seconds into the second when Dinos defenceman Jake Kearley received a double minor for spearing.

    At the 2:18 mark of the second, the Huskies scored on the power play to go ahead 2-1, when second-year centre Donovan Neuls fired home a shot from the right slot after receiving a beauty set up pass from linemate Kohl Bauml.

    Shirley, who is a standout left-winger, extended the Huskies advantage to 3-1 tucking home a goal close in at the left side of the Dinos net at the 5:57 mark of the second.

    Just under three minutes later working again in the Dinos zone, Shirley slipped a pass across the face of the U of C goal to rookie centre Jared Dmytriw, who popped a tally to put the host side up 4-1.

Collin Shirley had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    If it appeared the issue was sealed, the Dinos pushed back with goals coming from the sticks of Dane Gibson and Tim Vanstone to cut the Huskies lead to 4-3 heading into the second intermission.

    With 1.7 seconds remaining in the second, a huge scrum developed after one of the Huskies players was dropped with an elbow by one of the Dinos players. The Huskies came out of that with a two-minute power play but were unable to score on that man advantage.

    In the third, Dinos defenceman Ryan Gagnon worked his way in front of the net, and he netted the goal that created a 4-4 tie and forced overtime.

    “Tip your hat to the University of Calgary,” said Adolph. “That is a really good team.

Some of supporters for Huskies D Evan Fiala in the crowd on Saturday.

    “I don’t know that there is anybody that is as physical and greasy as they are. That is a team that is pretty worthy of probably playing in a national championship.”

    In the first overtime period, both sides had solid chances to end the game. Huskies start goaltender Taran Kozun robbed Vanstone with a glove save.

    Huskies fifth-year right winger Levi Cable looked like he would snipe the winner, but Dinos goalie Matthew Greenfield got his glove hand on a piece of Cable’s shot to direct the puck just wide of the goal.

Ryan Gagnon had the equalizer for the Dinos on Saturday.

    Cable was playing in his 173^rd consecutive game for the Huskies on Saturday including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season. He has never missed a game with the Huskies.

    Everything that happened in the contest to that point set the stage for Stadnyk to get the winner in the second overtime.

    Kozun stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Greenfield turned away 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Dinos.
    Saturday’s win was the 13th straight for the Huskies including action in the regular season and post-season.

    The Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-2 record, while the Dinos, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, were third in Canada West with an 18-7-3 mark.

Levi Cable (#10) almost had the winner in the first overtime period.

    Adolph thought the series with the Dinos would be a good one and the two teams delivered.

    “There are ice bags everywhere,” said Adolph. “I think both teams were just absolutely punished here.

    “I really respect (Dinos head coach) Mark Howell as a coach, and I really respect the Dinos as a program. I just hope that we always finish on the winning side, because that one could have gone either way tonight.”

    Stadnyk said his team is excited to be returning to U Sports nationals for a fifth straight year. Before that rolls around, Stadnyk would love it if the Huskies could win their first Canada West title since the 2015-16 campaign.

    If the Thunderbirds win against the Golden Bears on Sunday, the Huskies would host the Canada West championship series. If the Golden Bears win on Sunday, the Huskies would travel to Edmonton to play the Canada West final.

The Huskies salute the crowd at Merlis Belsher Place.

    “Hopefully, we get that chance to do it this time around,” said Stadnyk. “Whoever we play going forward, hopefully, we have a good chance.”

    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 grease out 2-1 win in Game 1 of Canada West semi

Cable plays 172^nd consecutive game, scores for U of S

Levi Cable (#10) celebrates his first period goal for the Huskies.

    Levi Cable was pumped his teammates ensured he didn’t have to lament the one that got away.
    With his University of Saskatchewan Huskies holding a slim 2-1 lead over the University of Calgary Dinos in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West men’s hockey playoff semifinal series, Cable had a chance to ice the contest skating in on an empty opposition net inside the final two minutes of the third period.

    Uncharacteristically, the fifth-year right-winger fired the puck wide of the mark on that golden chance. The missed opportunity didn’t come back to haunt the Huskies, who ensured the 2-1 score in their favour held up before 1,480 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.

Levi Cable played in his 172nd consecutive game on Friday.

    “It made it a little more stressful than it needed to be,” said Cable about the missed chance. “The rest of the guys all came together and made sure it wasn’t one that I was feeling for a long time.”

    With the win, the Huskies lead the series 1-0. They will attempt to close things out in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Friday’s game marked the 172^nd straight contest Cable has played for the Huskies including action in the U Sports regular season and post-season.

    The 25-year-old Hudson Bay, Sask., product has never missed a game playing with the Huskies suiting up for 140 regular season game, 20 contests in the Canada West playoffs and 12 games in the U Sports national men’s hockey championship tournament – the David Johnston University Cup.

Levi Cable has never missed a game in his U Sports career.

    He netted the game’s first goal on Friday.

    “I’ve just been lucky to play that many games in a row,” said Cable. “The trainers are keeping me together.

    “It was nice to come out here and score the first one. It is always good to get that one out of the way. The boys played well.

    “I’m just glad we came out with a win.”

    With seven minutes remaining in the first period, Cable took a short pass from fifth-year centre Kohl Bauml and wired home a shot from the front of the Dinos goal to put the host side up 1-0. Cable and Bauml have played together on the same line on a consistent basis since joining the Huskies before the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    “We know were each other is lots of times without even having to look,” said Cable. “It just makes it easy.

    “We know where the other guy will be at all times.”

Ryan Graham scored for the Dinos on Friday.

    Just 2:48 later, the Dinos evened the score at 1-1, when third-year left-winger Ryan Graham fired home a shot from the front of the Huskies goal shortly after an offensive zone faceoff.

    With 41.5 seconds remaining in the first, Huskies third-year left-winger Collin Shirley potted a tally in close at the right side of the Dinos goal to put the Huskies up 2-1.

    The contest became a gritty slugfest from that point in time over the final two frames resulting in a lot of hits from physical play and very few scoring chances. Overall in the contest, the Huskies held a 19-12 edge in shots on goal.

    In the final seconds of the third, sophomore defenceman James Shearer had the final chance to score for the Dinos to force overtime, but his shot from the right slot was turned away by Huskies star netminder Taran Kozun.

Collin Shirley (#11) celebrates putting the Huskies up 2-1.

    “I knew that it was going to be an absolute grease match,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph. “We’ve been talking about it for two weeks.

    “They are a big strong team that likes to be physical and wear you down. We knew that we had to try and answer that bell. I thought the first 10 minutes of the third period we got outplayed pretty bad, and then somehow we found a way to grease ourselves back in it.”

    A big key to the Huskies victory on Friday was keeping the Dinos top forward unit of centre Matt Alfaro, right-winger Kaden Elder and left-winger Coda Gordon in check.  That trio combined for no points and only one shot on goal.

    The Huskies would often counter that unit with the fourth-year defensive pairing of captain Tanner Lishchynsky and Colby Harmsworth.

    “Obviously, you have to match strength on strength when you are playing a good team like Calgary,” said Adolph. “That Alfaro line is as dangerous as any that I have seen in probably 10 years in U Sports.

A scrum develops after Collin Shirley scored for the Huskies.

    “You have to throw some guys out there and trust that they can get the job done. (We got) the first check mark tonight.”

    With his goal on Friday, Cable has collected 13 goals, three assists and a plus-seven rating in his 20 games in the Canada West playoffs. In his 12 games at the University Cup, Cable has six goals and five assists.

    In his 140 career regular season games, Cable posted 51 goals, 64 assists and a plus-50 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Before joining the Huskies, Cable played in 267 career WHL regular season games with the Kootenay Ice from 2010 to 2015 posting 55 goals, 62 assists and a plus-13 rating.

Taran Kozun (#31) made 11 saves to back the Huskies to victory.

    When the dust settled on Friday, Cable was pleased his team came out victorious in his 172^nd consecutive game for the Huskies as they battled against a quality opponent.

    “It was tough,” said Cable. “They are a really good team.

    “They are good defensively, and they have a couple of lines who can score. They made it tough on us, and it was a close game right till the end. The greasy ones are sometimes fun, and they are fun to win.

    “I’m just glad we won.”

    Kozun stopped 11 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. Matthew Greenfield turned away 17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Dinos, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

The Huskies celebrate their win on Friday night.

    The Huskies finished second in the Canada West regular season standings with a 22-4-2 record, while the Dinos were third in Canada West with an 18-7-3 mark.

    As is the nature of a best-of-three Canada West playoff series, the Dinos will have last line change for Game 2, and Adolph expects Dinos head coach Mark Howell will shorten his bench a little.

    “You have to be real careful,” said Adolph. “I can’t tell you exactly what we are going to do.

    “We did it I think to execution tonight that if we didn’t quite get the match or a late change that there were two guys out there that were ready to go. We will be fine.

    “It will be another one-goal game tomorrow night.”

If a series-deciding Game 3 is necessary, it will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

Huskies’ Bohlken and Bourassa named Canada West all-stars

Leah Bohlken was named a first team Canada West all-star.

    A pair of veterans from the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team were recognized among the best in the Canada West Conference.

    On Wednesday, fifth-year defender Leah Bohlken was named a first team Canada West all-star, and fourth-year right-winger Bailee Bourassa was honoured as a Canada West second team all-star.

    Bohlken was named a first team conference all-star for the second year in a row. This past season in her final campaign of U Sports eligibility, Bohlken played in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games posting five goals, six assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department.

    The 22-year-old product of Moose Jaw, Sask., was a member of Canada’s women’s hockey team that won a silver medal last year at the FISU Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Bailee Bourassa was named a second team Canada West all-star.

    Bourassa cracked the Canada West all-star team for the first time in her career. The 21-year-old Weyburn, Sask., product played in all of the Huskies 28 regular season games posting 12 goals, seven assists and a plus-five rating.

    Bourassa’s 12 goals and 19 points were both career highs.

    With the contributions of Bohlken and Bourassa, the Huskies finished third in the Canada West Conference with a 17-7-2-2 record.

    They were swept in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series 2-0 by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, who claimed an overtime win and a double overtime victory to get the sweep.

    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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Dinos bite back to force Game 3 with Huskies

Adam Kambeitz (#9) celebrates scoring the winning goal for the Dinos.

    For much of Friday night, the University of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team mimicked the NHL’s New Jersey Devils during the era when the Devils won Stanley Cups.

    Needing a win to stay alive in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Dinos clutch, grabbed, held and trapped their opponents. The tactics worked as the Dinos grinded out a 2-1 victory to even the series up at 1-1.

    A series deciding Game 3 will be held between the two sides on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Netminder Jordan Papirny makes one of his 27 saves on Friday.

    In order to survive Friday’s elimination game, the Dinos, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, elected to start rookie Jordan Papirny in goal in place of sophomore Matthew Greenfield. Papirny comes to the Dinos as no ordinary rookie carrying a pedigree from his WHL days as being a money goalie come playoff time.

    The Edmonton, Alta., product won nine playoffs series during his time in the major junior ranks, backstopped the Brandon Wheat Kings to an appearance in the WHL championship series in 2015 and to a WHL title in 2016. As an overager last season, Papirny almost powered the Swift Current Broncos to a surprising second round upset of the Regina Pats forcing the Pats to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to take the set in a deciding Game 7.

Dinos LW Ryan Graham (#23) ties up Huskies D Tanner Lishchynsky.

    Papirny’s calm was evident in the Dinos goal, and he was solid making 27 saves. While Papirny did his part, the skaters in front of him ensured the netminder had to just be solid and not spectacular to get the win.

    The Dinos started out grinding down the contest in the opening 20 minutes holding a slim 7-6 edge in shots on goal. In that frame, they utilized a lot of clutching, grabbing and tight checking tactics to prevent the Huskies from getting up ice with speed. The first period was full of little one-on-one hand fighting matches between the two sides.

    With 46 seconds to play in the first period, Dinos fifth-year centre Chris Collins circled around from behind the Huskies net and roofed a shot to the top left corner of the U of S goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Huskies D Jordan Fransoo (#6) battles Dinos D Dylan Busenius for the puck.

    In the second period, it appeared the Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, were going to take over the game. Just 13 seconds into the frame, left-winger Alex Forsberg ripped a shot off the post of the U of C goal.

    From that point, the Huskies were constantly in the Dinos zone during the second period holding a 14-4 edge in shots on goal. At the 6:37 mark of the frame, third-year right-winger Levi Cable knocked home a gritty power-play goal from in front of the Dinos net to tie things up at 1-1.

    After Cable scored, Papirny ensured the Huskies weren’t able to jump ahead. Late in the frame, he made a huge glove stop to deny Huskies centre Jordan Tkatch on a breakaway. The save on Tkatch came during a period of time when the Huskies were coming at the Dinos in waves.

Netminder Taran Kozun stops a high shot for the Huskies.

    In the third, the Dinos gained the upper hand by playing the trap for most of the frame. They were able to get the puck deep in the Huskies zone, sent in one forechecker and had their other four skaters clog up all the space in the centre ice zone.

    The visitors broke through with the winning goal to go up 2-1 at the 7:53 mark of the third, when fifth-year centre Adam Kambeitz scored after getting about two or three whacks at the puck in front of Huskies netminder Taran Kozun.

    Following Kambeitz’s goal, the Huskies appeared to be fighting to get out of quicksand, when they attempted to work their way up ice. The hosts turned the puck over a number of times in the third allowing the Dinos to hold a 12-8 edge in shots on goal.

    The Huskies had a chance to regroup with an extended 16-minute timeout to replace a broken pane of glass in the Dinos end with 3:23 remaining in the third. The pane of glass broke when Huskies captain Kendall McFaull missed a hit and his elbow shattered it.

Levi Cable scored a power-play goal for the Huskies.

    When play resumed, the Dinos continued to successfully muddy of the centre ice zone to prevent the Huskies from getting the equalizer.

    Kozun had a solid outing making 21 saves to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. The Nipawin, Sask., product played admirably in place of injured starter Jordon Cooke.

    Cooke went down in the first period of the Huskies 6-4 win over the Dinos in Game 1 on Thursday when he was hit by a scrum of players. He is on crutches forcing the Huskies to dress U of S student Brett Lewchuk of the Kenaston Blizzard of the Sask Valley Hockey League as the backup goalie. The Sask Valley Hockey League is a rural senior league.

The Dinos celebrate their Game 2 win over the Huskies.

    In the end, goaltending didn’t make the different in Friday’s encounter. The Dinos won, because they did a better job of executing their overall team game plan.

    The best part of the Canada West Conference in U Sports men’s hockey is all the teams are mostly made up of standout former WHLers as well as stars from the junior A ranks. These players are good at making adjustments, so there is never a certainly a result will repeat on a following night.

    In a series deciding Game 3, the deciding factor will likely hinge on who wants the game more.

    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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Resilient Huskies rally past Dinos 6-4

Star goalie Cooke leaves Game 1 of playoff series with injury

Jordan Tkatch, second from left, celebrates a short-handed goal.

    For a moment, it looked pretty dark for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Thursday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Dogs found themselves trailing the University of Calgary Dinos 3-0 at the 14:01 mark of the first period in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal playoff series. On the Dinos first goal, a scrum of players crashed into Huskies netminder Jordon Cooke, who was recently named a first team Canada West all-star for a third straight year.

    Cooke had to be helped to the dressing room after stopping 6-of-7 shots sent his way, and Leduc, Alta., product didn’t look to be in very good shape. He didn’t return to the game. It seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong for the U of S side.

Jordan Tkatch scored twice for the Huskies on Thursday night.

    After falling behind 3-0, the Huskies proceeded to catch fire, rolled off five straight goals to go ahead 5-3 and took the opening game of their playoff series with the Dinos 6-4. U of S will try to close out the series in Game 2 on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Rutherford.

    “Your starting goalie goes down and not much worse can happen,” said sophomore Huskies centre Jordan Tkatch, whose team is rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. “We showed our character.

    “When we play our game, that is all that matters. When we play our game, we know what we can do, and it showed tonight.”

    Fifth-year defenceman Brayden Sherbinin scored the Dinos first goal at the 6:59 mark of the opening frame to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. Cooke was injured after Sherbinin’s goal went into the Huskies net.

Parker Thomas scored 23 seconds into the second to spark the Huskies.

    U of C’s edge increased to 3-0 when centre Chris Collins potted his first of two markers in the contest and right-winger Riley Sheen added a single.

    With 3:16 to play in the first period, Tkatch tipped home a point shot from Huskies captain Kendall McFaull to cut the Dinos edge to 3-1.

    Just 23 seconds into the second period, right-winger Parker Thomas potted the rebound from an Alex Forsberg shot to further trim U of C’s lead to 3-2. Just 57 seconds after Thomas’s goal, fifth-year right-winger Josh Roach scored for the Huskies to force a 3-3 tie.
    At that point, the Dinos, who are rated 10th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, called timeout to try and halt the host side’s momentum.

    Tkatch said the Huskies hit another gear after Parker scored.

Goalie Jordon Cooke, centre, is helped off the ice after being injured.

    “Everyone talks about momentum in playoff hockey,” said Tkatch. “We didn’t stay too high.

    “We kept going. When we got the third goal, we thought we had the game in control, and we just kept it all the way through.”

    The Huskies surge kept going. At the 6:24 mark of the second, Huskies star offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg worked a give and go in the centre ice zone to get sprung on a breakaway. He beat Dinos goaltender Matthew Greenfield on a deke to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead.

    At the 8:59 mark of the second, Tkatch scored his second of the contest blowing home a short-handed goal to the top left corner of the U of C net to give the Huskies a 5-3 lead.

Jesse Forsberg celebrates his second period goal for the Huskies.

    “It was a two-on-two and the puck kind of poked back, and I was the late trailer and picked it up,” said Tkatch. “I just walked the blue-line and I shot through a screen, and it happened to go in.”

    Greenfield was pulled from the game after Tkatch’s short-handed goal turning away 22-of-27 shots to ultimately take the setback in the Dinos net. Rookie Jordan Papirny stopped all nine shot fired his way playing the rest of the way in relief for the Dinos.

    Shortly after entering the game, Papirny stopped Tkatch on a breakaway.
    Tkatch admitted he would have liked to have scored a hat trick marker on that play.

    “Obviously, who wouldn’t want to score another one,” said Tkatch. “At the end of the day, you can’t let that hold you back.

    “You just have to keep going and just worry about the game. We got the “W,” and that is all that mattered.”

The Huskies and Dinos engage in a third period scrum.

    Collins scored his second of the contest at the 6:30 mark of the third to cut the Huskies lead to 5-4 to create some suspense for the rest of the contest. Left-winger Alex Forsberg scored an empty-net goal for the Huskies with 96 seconds to play to seal the final outcome.

    Huskies rookie netminder Taran Kozun was beaten on the first shot faced taking over in the U of S goal after Cooke’s departure. Kozun found his groove and had a solid rest of the game turning away 19-of-22 shots fired his way to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

    Cooke’s status for Friday and possibly the rest of the U Sports men’s hockey playoffs, which conclude on March 18, is uncertain.

Taran Kozun made 19 saves to back the Huskies to victory.

    Tkatch was proud that his Huskies rebounded after their disastrous start on Thursday.

    “You can take that part of the game and go one way, and our team decided to go the other way,” said Tkatch. “Koz (Kozun) went in and we probably left him dry for the couple first goals against.

    “I think it was after the second goal our team really turned around and showed our character.”

    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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Bannatyne’s veteran move helps Huskies best Dinos

Defender Kira Bannatyne (#20) celebrates scoring for the Huskies.

    Kira Bannatyne is best known for her defence, but she made a veteran move offensively when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team needed it the most.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies entered the third period of a U Sports regular season contest locked in a 0-0 draw with the visiting U of Calgary Dinos. The hosts held a 33-6 edge in shots on goal over the first 40 minutes, and sophomore netminder Kelsey Roberts was doing her best to try and steal the contest for the Dinos.

    With 9:34 to play in the third, the Huskies top forward line of Kaitlin Willoughby, Emily Upgang and Brooklyn Haubrich were pressing for the game’s first goal. As the intensity increased around the Dinos net, Bannatyne, who a fifth-year defender for the U of S, pinched down from the point to the right side of the U of C goal.

Kira Bannatyne gets set to fire a shot on goal.

    A shot from Upgang from the left side of the goal snuck past Roberts and sat loose backdoor in front of an open net. Bannatyne tucked home the loose puck to put the Huskies up 1-0. The Dogs proceeded to add two more goals to pull out a 3-0 win.

    With the way the contest had been going, Bannatyne was thankful she picked up the game’s first tally to break the deadlock.

    “It was such a relief actually,” said Bannatyne. “We obviously didn’t put any in until the third, so it was all banking on the third.

    “Going into it, we knew that we had to score and we did. We came out winning, so it was good.”

    The 22-year-old Winnipeg product has been known as a solid defensive defender throughout her U Sports career.
    Between action in the regular season and playoffs, her last goal before Friday came way back on Feb. 20, 2015, when she had the Huskies only tally in a 5-1 playoff game loss to the Dinos in Calgary.

    Bannatyne, who stands 5-foot-7, hadn’t scored a goal in the regular season since her rookie campaign in 2013-14, when the Huskies won the Canada West title. She had two goals in regular season play as a first-year player.

    Against the Dinos on Friday, Bannatyne played a big part on the Huskies second goal.

Goalie Kelsey Roberts makes a blocker stop for the Dinos.

    With 6:53 to play in the third, she sprung right-winger Bailee Bourassa on a breakaway with a stretch pass.

    Bourassa’s initial backhander was stopped by Roberts, but the sophomore forward banged home her rebound to put the hosts up 2-0.

    “It is a nice cushion, but we can’t give up,” said Bannatyne. “We still have to play as hard as we did.”

    Fifth-year right-winger Kori Herner sealed victory scoring into an empty net to put the Huskies up 3-0 with 28 seconds to play.

    Roberts stopped 43-of-45 shots in a spectacular effort in the setback for the Dinos, who fell to 1-5-1.

    Jasey Book stopped all 13 shots sent her way to earn her first career U Sports regular season shutout and help the Huskies improve to 4-2-1.

Winger Bailee Bourassa (#14) had the Huskies second goal on Friday.

    Book’s efforts were a testament to her mental stamina, because she kept her concentration in the contest during long stretches of inaction.
    The Loreburn, Sask., product turned away some quality chances from the Dinos including a breakaway by sophomore forward Rachel Paul with the game still scoreless early in the third.

    While the puck didn’t go in for the Huskies for the longest time, Bannatyne said everyone on her team didn’t panic.

    “I don’t think there is like any time to be nervous,” said Bannatyne. “You just have to play how we have been playing.

    “If you do what you have to do and you do your roles, then it turns out good on your side, and it did.”

    Over the Huskies first seven games, Bannatyne has posted a goal, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
    While she has put up good statistics, she believes she hasn’t been as consistent as she would like to be.

Netminder Jasey Book, left, enjoys her shutout with Emma Nutter.

    “I’d say I’ve had not so good games and some good games,” said Bannatyne. “It has been up and down.

    “I am trying to steady it out and just have some good games from here on out.”

    Along the way, she is trying to soak in all the moments of her final campaign.

    “It goes by fast,” said Bannatyne. “Five years, it just flies by.

    “You don’t really realize it until your last year. It is crazy.”

    The Huskies and Dinos go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.
    U of S is in search of its first weekend series sweep of the campaign.

Cooke takes goalie duel after shootout

Star goalie Jordon Cooke backed the Huskies to a win in Calgary.

    Jordon Cooke, who is the star goalie for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, had to be on his game on Friday night on the road in Calgary, because his counterpart in goal for the U of Calgary Dinos was trying to steal the show.

    Dinos sophomore netminder Matthew Greenfield made 42 save through regulation and two five-minute overtime periods to allow his side to go to a tiebreaking shootout with the Huskies locked in a 1-1 draw. Cooke saw plenty of action as well making 29 stops, which included seven saves in the overtime sessions to ensure the Huskies made it to the shootout at the Father David Bauer Arena.

    Huskies captain Kendall McFaull and Dinos fourth-year rearguard Dylan Busenius traded singles in the second period.

    In the shootout, Huskies forward Connor Gay scored the lone goal giving the Huskies a 1-0 win in the shootout and a 2-1 victory in the game. Cooke stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout, while Greenfield turned away one of two shooters.

    The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve to 6-0-1, while the Dinos, who are rated eighth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, saw their record move to 3-1-3.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday in Calgary.

Hebig’s hatty powers Blades to big road upset win

Cameron Hebig is on fire for the Blades.

    Cameron Hebig’s first hat trick of the WHL season powered the Saskatoon Blades to major 4-3 road upset win over the Broncos in Swift Current.

    With the Blades trailing the Broncos 1-0 entering the second period, Hebig went to work scoring three straight goals to give the visitors a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission at the Credit Union i-plex. Saskatoon’s advantage grew to 4-1 at the 5:51 mark of the third when 17-year-old forward Tyler Lees potted his second career WHL goal.

    The Broncos attempted to mount a comeback before a crowd of 2,132 spectators. Just 12 seconds after Lees’ goal, Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin netted his ninth of the campaign to cut the Blades lead to 4-2.

    Shortly before the midway point of the third, Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin scored to further trim the Blades lead to 4-3. Swift Current was unable to final the equalizer from that point. Winger and Finnish import Aleksi Heponiemi scored for the Broncos in the first period.

    Ryan Kubic turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades, who ended a three-game winless skid to improve to 4-7-1. Logan Flodell turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos, who fell to 9-2-1. The Broncos are currently ranked second in the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 rankings.

    With his hat trick, Hebig has 10 goals and seven assist in 10 games with the Blades this season.

    The Blades return to action on Saturday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (9-4-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    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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