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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Cougars trap Huskies to perfection, force playoff series deciding Game 3

The Cougars celebrate a third period power-play goal.

    The Mount Royal University Cougars women’s hockey team were the excellence of execution when it game to playing the neutral zone trap.

    Facing elimination in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final playoff series, the Cougars put the clamps down on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and skated to a 3-0 victory in Game 2 on Saturday night at Merlis Belsher Place. The Cougars win evens the set at 1-1 and a series-deciding Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Following Saturday’s U Sports post-season clash, Huskies head coach Steve Kook said his team didn’t have one of their better efforts.

    “I didn’t think we won very many puck races,” said Kook. “I didn’t think we won very many puck battles.

The Cougars battle for the puck at the side of the Huskies net.

    “They played a real good road game, a boring style of road game, but it was effective. Anytime that we generated anything or had anything outside of our zone it was one versus four. It was hard to generate anything out of that.

    “We’ll have to try and figure out a way to get past their four players.”

    The Cougars had their game plan working to perfection right from the outset. Over the opening 10 minutes of the first period, the Huskies held a 2-0 edge in shots on goal, but it felt like the host side was barely in the offensive zone.

Daria O’Neill had a pair of assists for the Cougars.

    Mount Royal had U of S pinned in its own zone for very lengthy stretches.

    At the 13:22 mark of the first, the Cougars broke through on the scoreboard. Third-year right-winger Anna Purschke drove down the right wing on a rush and roofed a shot over the shoulder of Huskies star netminder Jessica Vance into the top right corner of the U of S goal.

    Trotter’s drive was Mount Royal’s first shot on goal of the game, and the Huskies were still sitting at two shots on goal at that point in the contest.

    “That reminded me of our first playoff series last year against UBC in Game 2,” said Huskies captain Brooklyn Haubrich. “They got a goal and it kind of deflated us, and we were able to comeback.

    “I was hoping that would be the case tonight, but unfortunately, that wasn’t. Hopefully, we can rebound tomorrow.”

Cougars RW Anna Purschke battles Huskies RW Abby Shirley for the puck.

    After the Cougars goal, the Huskies were able to get some more shots on net. They held an 8-2 advantage on shots on goal after the first period and a 16-7 edge in shots on goal after the second frame.

    Those shots resulted in very few quality scoring chances against Cougars netminder Zoe DeBeauville.

    At the 3:39 mark of the third, the Cougars jumped ahead 2-0 on a goal by standout rookie right-winger Breanne Trotter.

    Following that tally, the Huskies tried to mount a push back, but the Cougars ensured they remained muddled up in the centre ice zone.

Camryn Amundson jets up ice for the Cougars.

    “We tried to get some offensive zone time, but I think that was probably the one that killed us a little bit in terms of energy,” said Kook about the Cougars second goal. “We’re a good skating club, but it doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot of beans if we don’t go to try and retrieve the puck first.

    “If we get the puck, we have to find some space. If it is through the middle, we have to get going that way. It is not always along the boards. We would just make it too easy on these guys.”

    The Cougars put the capper on the win netting a power-play goal with 1:36 remaining in the third period. Mount Royal left-winger Jayden Thorpe tipped home a point shot from defender Daria O’Neill to round out the 3-0 win for the visitors.
    O’Neill finished with two assists on the night.

    Vance stopped nine shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. DeBeauville turned away all 19 shots she face to earn her first career shutout in post-season play for the Cougars.

Huskies D Emma Nutter checks Cougars RW Anna Purschke.

    “Kudos to them, their systems were a lot more disciplined I would say today,” said Haubrich. “They were able to get a good trap on us.

    “Tomorrow, we’re going to have to look through some video and try and find a way that we can penetrate that trap.”

    The winner of Game 3 on Sunday between the Cougars and Huskies will advance to face the University of Alberta Pandas in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Pandas finished first overall in the Canada West Conference.

    The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds swept the University of Regina Cougars 2-0 in the other best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series with a 5-1 win in Game 2 of that set on Saturday in Vancouver, B.C. 

Bailee Bourassa brings the puck up ice for the Huskies.

    The Thunderbirds advance to play the defending Canada West Conference and U Sports national champion University of Manitoba Bisons in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

    While she would have preferred to see her Huskies down Mount Royal on Saturday, Haubrich is looking forward to the excitement of a series deciding Game 3.

    “You have to love those as a player,” said Haubrich. “Those are fun to play in.

    “With this rink and this atmosphere, I’m really excited. The energy will be great.”

    NOTES – The Huskies claimed Game 1 of their series with Mount Royal 5-0 on Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, but that victory was costly in the injury department.

    U of S lost third-year defensive forward Danielle Nogier in that contest to a broken arm, and she is out for the remainder of the U Sports playoffs. 

The Cougars celebrate their Game 2 win on Saturday.

    Defender Morgan Willoughby had a goal and an assist in Game 1 before suffering a concussion injury. She was out for Game 2 and is highly doubtful for Sunday’s Game 3.

    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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Puck luck smiles on Huskies

Kennedy Harris breaks up ice for the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team never gets upset when a few bounces go their way.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Huskies built a 3-0 on the Mount Royal University Cougars due to some positive bounce breaks. From there, the hosts ultimately hung on for a 3-2 victory to end a two-game skid.

    The Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports top 10 rankings, jumped ahead 1-0 just before the midway point of the first period, when a seeing-eye point shot from offensive defender Leah Bohlken found the back of the goal. The two clubs played a fairly even opening 20 minutes, where the Huskies held a 9-7 edge in shots.

    Just 2:10 into the second period, the Dogs went ahead 2-0 thanks to a positive bounce goal from fourth-year forward Kennedy Harris. Harris was trying to centre the puck from the right corner of the offensive zone and managed to bank the puck off the legs of Cougars goalie Zoe DeBeauville into the net.

    A short time after that tally, the Huskies went up 3-0 thanks to some good awareness from third-year utility player Brooke Patron, who was playing on the U of S’s top line. After Huskies star winger Kaitlin Willoughby was stopped on a drive to the Cougars goal, Patron found the puck loose in the crease and popped it home to give her side a three-goal edge.

Kori Herner circles with the puck in the offensive zone for the Huskies.

    DeBeauville was injured on the play in a collision with Willoughby and left the game stopping eight-of-11 shots. Emma Pincott entered the contest in relief and turned away all nine shots fired in her direction.

    At that point, the Huskies started playing at a faster pace. They almost picked up their fourth goal on a two-on-one. Feisty forward Brooklyn Haubrich found a pinching Bohlken alone on the left side of the Cougars goal with a perfect pass, but Bohlkin was stoned by Pincott.

    The Cougars managed to gain some traction before the second frame ended, when Sarah Weninger picked up her fourth tally of the season to cut the Huskies edge to 3-1.

Jasey Book makes a stop in goal for the Huskies.

    In the third, the Huskies found themselves pinned in the defensive zone. The Cougars worked hard on the forecheck, but they were only able to beat rookie goalie Jacey Book with 3:44 to play.

    During a net scramble, Gabreille Seper picked up the rebound from a Weninger shot to cut the host’s lead to 3-2.

    That was as close as the Cougars would get in their search for the equalizer.
    Book slammed the door shut making 12 stops in the third period and 24 saves overall in the contest. The Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats midget AAA team grad has won both of her starts with the U of S.

    The Huskies improve to 6-3 with the win. The Cougars fall to 2-5-2.

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

Huskies men’s team thumped on the road

Jordon Cooke and the Huskies had a rough night in Calgary.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team had a second period they would like to forget on Friday night.

    Taking on the Mount Royal University Cougars, who are rated seventh in the U Sports top 10 rankings, the Huskies gave up four goals in the second period to fall behind 4-0. The Cougars cruised through the third period to post a 6-0 victory in Calgary.

    Cam Maclise, Luke Simpson, Jesse Lees and Jamal Watson all netted singles for the Cougars in the second. David Stephens and Matthew Brown rounded out the scoring for the host side in the third.

    Colin Cooper stopped all 25 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Cougars. Jordon Cooke turned away 18-of-23 shots starting and taking the loss in goal for the Huskies. Backup Daniel Wapple stopped 6-of-7 shots making a relief appearance for the visitors.

    The Huskies, who were rated second in the U Sports top 10 rankings, fell to 6-2-1. The Cougars improved to 5-2.

    The two teams face each other again on 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.