Huskies squeak out ninth win in a row, nail down playoff bye

Jared Dmytriw had the winning goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Riley Lamb nearly robbed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    The first year netminder for the University of Manitoba Bisons came up with an incredible 42 save performance on Saturday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, Man. The 21-year-old gave his Bisons a prime opportunity to steal a victory, but his effort wasn’t enough to keep the Huskies at bay.

    The Huskies overcame an early 2-0 first period deficit and ultimately rallied for a 4-3 victory in the U Sports regular season clash to pull out a ninth straight victory. The win allowed the Huskies, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve to 20-4-2 to ensure they will have a bye through the first round of the Canada West playoffs and will host a best-of-three semifinal series.

    The Huskies and their “forever rivals” the U of Alberta Golden Bears (21-5) are guaranteed to finish in the top two positions of the Canada West Conference standings. Both squads have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

    Both teams have 42 points to hold down the first and second spots in the Canada West standings. The Golden Bears hold the standings tiebreaker having won three out of the four head-to-head meetings between the two sides.

Kohl Bauml scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Against the Bisons on Saturday, the Huskies fell behind 2-0, when Bisons defenceman Ryan Carlson scored 48 seconds into the first period and again at the 3:15 mark of the opening frame.
    The Huskies battled back to even the score at 2-2 heading into the first intermission with goals coming from the sticks of rookie winger Justin Ball and fifth-year winger Kohl Bauml.

    U of S held a 16-5 advantage in shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes.

    In the second, fifth-year centre Logan McVeigh scored 65 seconds into the frame to give the Huskies a 3-2 lead. The Huskies were unable to add to their advantage despite holding a 19-3 edge in shots on goal.

    At the 7:01 mark of the third, Bisons fifth-year offensive defenceman Adam Henry netted his 10th goal of the season to even the score at 3-3.

    Rookie centre Jared Dmytriw potted his 10^th of the season and the game winner with 2:58 remaining in the third to put the Huskies ahead for good at 4-3.

    Sophomore netminder Travis Child turned away 16 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

    The Bisons fell to 9-13-2-2 to sit fifth in the Canada West standings.

    After starting 0-3-1, the Huskies have rolled off a 20-1-1 record over their past 22 outings. 

Logan McVeigh scored for the Huskies on Saturday.

    They have battled the injury bug throughout the campaign including a rash of injuries at the start of the season on defence.
    The Huskies can still finish first in Canada West, if the Golden Bears, who are rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, suffer a loss in one of their final two games.

    The Huskies close their regular season schedule with a home-and-home series with the University of Regina Cougars, who sit seventh in Canada West with an 8-15-2-1 record. The Cougars need to win both games against the Huskies to give themselves the best shot to move into the top six of the Canada West standings and earn a playoff berth.

    The two sides meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place and again this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    The Golden Bears close out their regular season schedule hosting the Bisons this coming Friday and Saturday in Edmonton.

Major third period collapse costly for Huskies women’s team

Elizabeth Salyn had a goal and an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team saw a golden opportunity to move into second in the Canada West Conference standings slip through their fingers.

    On Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies built a 3-0 victory over the U of Manitoba Bisons after 40 minutes of play. With star fourth-year netminder Jessica Vance playing goal and the Huskies carrying the reputation of being one of the best defensive teams in the conference, it seemed like that lead would be insurmountable.

    Unexpectedly, the Bisons rallied for four straight goals in the third period to skate away with a 4-3 victory in the U Sports regular season contest.

    The Bisons improved to 9-16-1 with the win but still remained last in the eight-team Canada West Conference. Due to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds slipping past the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-1 in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday, the Bisons were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

    The Huskies entered Saturday’s clash with the Bisons riding a seven-game winning streak. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 16-7-2-1 to sit third in the Canada West standings with 49 points coming off 14 regulation wins, two extra time wins and three extra time setbacks.

    U of S trails the U of Calgary Dinos (16-7-1-2) by one point for second place. The Dinos have 50 points in the standings coming off 15 regulation wins, one extra time win and three extra time setbacks.
    In Canada West women’s hockey, teams are awarded three points in the standings for regulation wins, two points for extra time wins and one point for extra time setbacks.
    The top two teams in Canada West earn byes past the first round of the playoffs and the opportunity to host best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

Shyan Elias had an assist for the Huskies on Saturday.

    Both the Huskies and Dinos have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. The Huskies hold the standings tiebreaker over the Dinos having won all four head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

    The Huskies can’t finish any lower than third or any higher than second in Canada West.

    The U of Alberta Pandas (19-7) top the Canada West standings with 56 points coming off 18 regulation wins and one extra time win. The Pandas, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, need to earn one more point in the standings to lock up first in Canada West.

    The Dinos hold the standings tiebreaker against the Pandas having one three out of four head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

    In Saturday’s clash between the Huskies and the Dinos, fifth-year centre Elizabeth Salyn scored to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the first period with fifth-year veteran left-winger Shyan Elias and third-year right winger Abby Shirley picking up assists. 
    Fifth-year left-winger Rachel Lundberg and sophomore forward Kara Kondrat each netted their first goals of the campaign in the second period to put the Huskies up 3-0.
    Salyn had an assist on Lundberg’s goal to finish with a two-point night.

    At that point, things fell apart for the host side. Just 1:42 into the third, third-year left-winger Mekaela Fisher scored for the Bisons to cut the Huskies lead to 3-1.

    At the 10:44 mark of the third, fourth-year right-winger Sheridan Oswald tallied for the Bisons to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2.

    With 1:26 remaining in the third, Bisons fifth-year captain Jordyn Zacharias scored the equalizer to force a 3-3 tie. Just seven seconds after that tally, Bisons rookie right-winger Kate Gregoire scored the winner for the visitors to cement the final score a 4-3.

    Zacharias had two assists to go with her goal.

    Vance turned away 16 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. Fifth-year veteran Amanda Schubert turned away 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bisons.

    The Huskies also failed to score on three third period power-play chances as the Bisons roared back on the scoreboard to add to the collapse for the host side.

Kara Kondrat had a goal for the Huskies on Saturday.

    The Huskies close their regular season with a home-and-home series against the U of Regina Cougars, who sit fourth in Canada West with a 13-13 record. The two sides meet this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre in Regina.

    They then go at it on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    The Dinos close their season with a home-and-home series with the Pronghorns (9-14-1-2). They go at it this coming Friday in Lethbridge and again this coming Saturday in Calgary.

    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’ Lundberg first time lucky in triple OT

U of S advances to Canada West semifinal series

The Huskies celebrate a triple OT winner from Rachel Lundberg, middle.

    Rachel Lundberg made her first career U Sports post-season goal a big one.

    On Sunday, the fourth-year right-winger drove home the winning tally with 10.7 seconds remaining in triple overtime to deliver the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the Mount Royal University Cougars in Game 3 of a Canada West quarter-final playoff series.

    The win before 420 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place allowed the Huskies to take the best-of-three set 2-1 and advance in the U Sports playoffs to a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series against the University of Alberta Pandas. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday in Edmonton.

    “I can’t describe it,” said Lundberg. “I think I blacked out.

Rachel Lundberg scored the triple OT winner for the Huskies.

    “Everybody was around me. It was so good to be done the game. (I’m) very tired, but I’m so happy that I could do it for my team.

    “Everybody was contributing. They were doing great, so I am happy that it ended well.”

    Lundberg’s goal was her first point in 18 post-season games. Normally a checking forward, the Calgary product had one assist in 27 regular season games this season and two goals and five assists in 99 career regular season contests.

    Her winning goal was created thanks to some hard work on the forecheck by Huskies left-winger Shyan Elias. Elias stole the puck from a Cougars defender in the right corner of the Mount Royal zone, circled up the right side wall and fed a crisp pass over to an open Lundberg in the left slot.

    Lundberg quickly fired the winner to the low left corner of the Mount Royal goal to end a contest that lasted 109 minutes and 50 seconds.

    “I had come off the bench, because Abby Shirley had changed,” said Lundberg. “I saw that she (Elias) was turning it over and everybody seemed to be looking at her.

Shyan Elias assisted on the Huskies triple OT winning goal.

    “I just got into the slot and got ready for the pass and was screaming her name.”

    The Huskies most famous overtime win came back in March 2, 2014, when they claimed the Canada West title 2-1 in double overtime in a series deciding Game 3 against the University of Regina Cougars at the ancient Rutherford Rink. In recent years, the Huskies have felt misfortune in overtime.

    In last year’s playoffs, they dropped a 1-0 overtime heartbreaker to the University of Manitoba Bisons in Game 1 of the Canada West Championship series. The Bisons swept that series and ultimately won the U Sports national title.

    Huskies head coach Steve Kook believed his side wouldn’t experience any disappointments against Mount Royal on Sunday.

Tatum Amy scored to allow the Cougars to force overtime.

    “We’ve been in too many of these that have gone the other way,” said Kook. “I honestly had the feeling that it was going to be undeniable for us tonight.

    “Just the way the girls were on the bench. For the first time in an overtime game, I wasn’t nervous. It felt enjoyable being out there.

    “The girls carried the play. We (the coaches) didn’t have to do much today.”

    The Huskies finished fourth in the Canada West Conference during the regular season with a 16-10-1-1 and were favoured to beat the Cougars, who finished fifth in Canada West with a 12-14-2 record. The two squads split their four head-to-head regular season games.

    After a scoreless opening frame on Sunday, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead at the 1:53 mark of the second period, when right-winger Bailee Bourassa blew home a beauty feed from captain Brooklyn Haubrich.

    As the Huskies held a big edge in shots on goal and spent lengthy stretches in the Mount Royal zone, it appeared Bourassa’s goal would hold up to be the winner.

Bailee Bourassa scored the Huskies first goal on Sunday.

    With 5:02 to play in the third, the Cougars were able to go on the power play. Shortly after that power play expired, Cougars sophomore centre Tatum Amy drove home a goal that evened things up at 1-1 with 2:59 remaining in the third period to force overtime.

    During the three overtime periods, the Huskies outshot the Cougars 34-10. Despite the fact they had chances to end things numerous times early in the three extra sessions, Lundberg said the Huskies never got discouraged.

    “I think we were pretty poised, because I think we controlled quite a bit of the game,” said Lundberg. “We didn’t give up a lot of opportunities especially throughout overtime.

    “I think we knew that if we just stayed on our path that good would come from it.”

    Jessica Vance stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.

The Huskies press trying to get the winning goal in overtime.

    Zoe DeBeauville turned away 58 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.

    Going forward, the Huskies playoff journey will increase another level in difficulty. They will be underdogs in their Canada West semifinal series against the Pandas.

    The Pandas finished first in Canada West with a 23-5 record, and they are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. U of A claimed three of four head-to-head regular season encounters with U of S in the current campaign.

    For the moment, the Huskies just wanted to take some time to savour their overtime win on Sunday.

The Huskies celebrate their triple OT playoff victory on Sunday.

    “This almost rivals the one that we won in 2014,” said Kook. “Not quite, but this was pretty close.”

    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 win, everyone pitches in

Carson Stadnyk, right, looks to try a wraparound for the Huskies.

    It seemed like everyone was getting in on the action for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, six different player scored for the Huskies as they dumped the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons 6-2 in a U Sports regular season contest before 393 frigid spectators.
    The contest provided an interesting clash as the Huskies came in rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and had dropped a 4-2 decision last Saturday in Lethbridge to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Logan McVeigh had three assists for the Huskies.

    The Bisons were rated ninth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings and were coming in high on confidence having won their last two outings by sweeping the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a two-game series on Jan. 5 and 6 in Winnipeg and having won four straight overall. The Golden Bears are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.
    U of S didn’t take the Bisons lightly jumping out of the gates with a fast start. Just 51 seconds into Friday’s clash, fourth-year right-winger Parker Thomas knocked home his fifth goal of the season at the left side of the Bisons net to give the Huskies a 1-0 edge.

    The hosts went ahead 2-0 with 1:29 to play in the first when sophomore left-winger Carson Stadnyk netted his fourth of the campaign. The Huskies outshot the Bisons 16-7 over the opening 20 minutes.

Josh Roach leads Canada West in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists.

    The Bisons found their legs in the second period coming with a big push back. Sophomore centre Remi Laurencelle scored 63 seconds into the second on the power play for the Bisons to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

    At the 8:11 mark of the second, the Bisons cashed in on a three-on-one opportunity down close near the Huskies goal. Bisons third-year defenceman Adam Henry pinched down to the left side of the Huskies goal and converted a tick-tack-toe passing play from forwards Zach Franko and Michael St. Croix to tie things up at 2-2.

    Just as the Bisons seemed to have all the momentum, the Huskies recaptured it when gritty fifth-year centre John Lawrence wired home his sixth of the season from the left slot to give the hosts a 3-2 edge with 9:05 to play in the second.

Michael Sofillas had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

    Centre Jordan Tkatch and right-winger Josh Roach netted singles at the 2:58 and 10:21 marks respectively of the third period to put the Huskies up 5-2.

    With 66 seconds to play in the third, the Huskies rounded out the scoring when right-winger Levi Cable and centre Logan McVeigh teamed up to spring left-winger Michael Sofillas on a breakaway towards an empty net, and he potted the puck easily into the vacated cage.

    Taran Kozun turned away 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who sit second in the Canada West Conference with a 15-3-1 record. Byron Spriggs turned away 34-of-39 shots taking the setback in goal for the Bisons, who sit third in Canada West with an 11-6-2 mark.

Netminder Taran Kozun begins to celebrate a win with two teammates.

    Roach, Sofillas and Stadnyk all had an assist each to go along with their respective goals. Roach continues to lead Canada West in scoring piling up 10 goals and 18 assists in 19 regular season games.

    McVeigh finished with three assists on the night to give him 18 helpers on the campaign to match his career high.
    The Kenaston, Sask., product was a plus-three in the plus-minus department.

Offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg had a stellar night collecting three assists and posting a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Vance returns to haunt Bisons

Jessica Vance picked up a special win in Winnipeg.

    Jessica Vance posted arguably one of her sweetest victories in her U Sports career on Friday night in Winnipeg, Man.

    The sophomore netminder with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team turned away 22 shots to back her squad to a 3-1 regular season victory over the host U of Manitoba Bisons, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. The Bisons were the Prince Albert, Sask., product’s first team, but she found herself buried on U of M’s goaltending depth chart.

    After dressing for one game as a backup early last season for the Bisons, Vance elected to leave the U of M side and joined the Huskies to play closer to home.

    Her teammates provided good offensive support in Friday’s clash before 400 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Just 2:38 into the opening frame, sophomore defender Kayla Kirwan netted her third goal of the season with checking winger Danielle Nogier drawing an assist.

    After a scoreless second period, the Huskies went ahead 2-0 at the 12:02 mark of the third, when third-year winger Rachel Lundberg netted her first goal of the campaign with rookie center Chloe Smith drawing an assist.

    Bisons fourth-year forward Lauryn Keen scored just over two-and-a-half minutes later to cut the Huskies edge to 2-1.

Kayla Kirwan scored for the Huskies on Friday night.

    Huskies sophomore left-winger Emily Upgang sealed the victory for the visitors scoring into an empty net with 72 seconds remaining in the third.

    Fifth-year netminder Rachel Dyck turned away 16-of-18 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bisons (13-5-1).

    To show how much the goalies are ruling the Canada West Conference in women’s hockey, Keen topped the conference in scoring last season with nine goals and 25 assists appearing in all 28 of her squad’s regular season games. Keen has five goals and four assists in 17 regular season games so far in the current campaign.

    Vance continued her stellar season winning her fifth straight start. She now has a 7-2 record, a 1.00 goals against average, a .958 save percentage and four shutouts on the campaign.

    With Vance in net, the Huskies have won their last four straight games to improve to 12-6-1.

    The two teams face each other again on Saturday in Winnipeg.

    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 find ways to win early

U of S women’s hockey team overcomes tough opening games

Pandas F Autumn MacDougall is stopped by Huskies G Cassidy Hendricks.

    Coming out of the gate, it appeared the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team was facing a murderous schedule.

    In their first four games, the Huskies had to hit the road to take on the defending Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds twice, and then they returned home to host the University of Alberta Pandas, who are always a conference powerhouse, twice. On paper, a split in each series would be considered a great success for the Huskies.

    There was also a realistic chance the Huskies could play well and still come out of that stretch without a win.

Kaitlin Willoughby netted the shootout winner for the Huskies.

    Under first year head coach Robin Ulrich, the Huskies weren’t phased by the early challenge. After dropping their regular season opener 4-0 in Vancouver to the Thunderbirds on Oct. 7, the Huskies have rolled off three straight wins.

    After falling to the Thunderbirds, the Dogs rebounded the next night downing UBC 5-3, which ended a streak where the Thunderbirds had won eight straight meetings between the two squads.

    On Friday, the Huskies opened their home schedule at the ancient Rutherford Rink with a 2-1 double overtime victory over the Pandas. Offensive defender Leah Bohlken blew home the winner on the power play on a perfect backdoor feed from star winger Kaitlin Willoughby.

    On Saturday at Rutherford, the Huskies completed the sweep of the Pandas pulling out a 2-1 victory after a tiebreaking shootout. Willoughby was the first shooter up in the shootout and netted a beauty goal on a deke that totally fooled Pandas goaltender Dayna Owen.

    That turned out to be the only tally in the tiebreaking session. Veteran Huskies goalie Cassidy Hendricks slammed the door on the three Pandas shooters she faced to deliver her side to victory.

Rachel Lundberg (#15) celebrates her short-handed goal.

    When you play tough opponents like the Thunderbirds and Pandas, who were rated eighth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top 10 rankings, the key is to just to find a way to win. That is what the Huskies have done, and Saturday’s game provided the perfect example of just finding a way to get to right side of the scoreboard.

    The Huskies weren’t always at their best. Had it not been for the stellar play of Hendricks, who made 29 stops through regulation and 10 minutes of overtime play, the Huskies wouldn’t have pulled out a sweep.

    The Pandas had the Huskies pinned in their own zone for much of the first period, and at one point, the visitors had a 9-1 edge in shots on goal. U of A was winning every race for loose pucks and taking what seemed like every physical battle for the puck.

    Hendricks was under siege, but the fifth-year standout from North Vancouver played with a trademark calm that has defined her whole university career. She was going to hold her team in the game until her teammates could find some traction.

    When the first 20 minutes ended, the Pandas had outshot the Huskies 16-7. The visitors could have had at least a three-goal edge on the scoreboard, but the two sides were locked in a 0-0 draw.

Rookie Kayla Kirwan has been solid for the Huskies. 

    The hosts found the traction they were looking for early in the second. While on the penalty kill, fifth year defender Alyssa Dobler sprung hard-working second-year forward Rachel Lundberg on a breakaway.

    Lundberg broke into the Pandas zone, wired her first shot off the post, collected the rebound and beat Owen to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The Dogs found their skating legs, and they played fairly even for the rest of the contest with the Pandas.

    In the third, the Huskies ran into some penalty trouble, which allowed the Pandas to pull even. Playing with a two-person advantage, Pandas sophomore forward Autumn MacDougall buried her second of the season to tie things up at 1-1 shortly before the seven minute mark.

    Before going to overtime, the Pandas had a glorious chance to pull ahead. Third-year forward Amy Boucher found herself on a breakaway late in the third, but she fired a shot wide of the goal.

    During the second five-minute overtime period, Owen had to make a big save on Willoughby, when the Huskies were pressing with all sorts of pressure around the U of A net.

    That set the stage for the shootout, where Willoughby made no mistake in potting the only goal in the tiebreaking session to give her team the win. The Huskies improved to 3-1 as a result.

The Huskies celebrate their shootout victory against the Pandas.

    Owen turned away 22 shots over 70 minutes and two of the three shooters she faced in the shootout as the Pandas record moved to 2-0-2.
    Besides getting clutch contributions from their veterans, the Huskies have also received strong performances from rookie defender Kayla Kirwan and rookie forward Emily Upgang.

    After three big wins in a row, the Huskies now encounter their next challenge, when they hit the road to Lethbridge for two trap style games this coming Friday and Saturday against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Pronghorns are 1-3, but they have always found a way to give the Huskies difficulties.

    For the moment, the Huskies can take pride in their surprising good start. In the back of their minds, they have to ensure they don’t get too high, so they can focus on their next challenge and keep finding ways to win.

Bauml bashes Bears with hat trick

Kohl Bauml had a hat trick to lead the Huskies to a big road win.

    Kohl Bauml put the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team on his back to power them to a huge road victory in Edmonton.

    On Saturday, Bauml fired home a hat trick to lead the defending Canada West champs past the U of Alberta Golden Bears with a 4-2 victory at the Clare Drake Arena. Bauml’s third goal broke a 2-2 tie just 55 seconds into the third period.

    Huskies captain Kendall McFaull added a big insurance marker just past the midway point of the third to cement a two-goal victory. Goaltender Jordon Cooke made 32 saves to give the Dogs a split in their weekend series with their forever rivals. The Bears picked up a 3-2 double overtime victory on Friday.

    In Saturday’s encounter, Jayden Hart and Cole Linaker had singles for the Bears, while netminder Kenny Cameron turned away 24 shots taking the loss in goal.

    With Saturday’s win, the Huskies, who are rated third in the CIS top 10 rankings, improved to 3-0-1. The Bears, who are rated fourth in the CIS top 10 rankings, fell to 1-1.

    The Huskies return to action this coming Friday and Saturday when they host the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) 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.