KEVIN MENZ and KIMBERLEY HARTWIG

Huskies bench boss Dave Adolph was left scratching his head after his team was held
winless at the University Cup.

Michael Kaye was quick to jump to his coach’s side.

The fifth-year Huskies hockey player sat to the right of Huskies head coach Dave Adolph as the two, alongside fellow fifth-year Chris Durand, addressed the media following the squad’s final game of the year — a 3-1 loss to the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes March 15 at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.

The loss gave the Huskies a 0-2 record in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship and knocked them out of contention for the University Cup.

Both the players and Adolph were clearly choked up about the loss.

Adolph, who has coached the Dogs since 1994, blamed himself when asked why the Huskies were unable to win their round-robin matches and advance to the final game.

“What’s something you’d do differently over the last two games?” one member of the media asked Adolph.

“Change the coach,” he answered.

Kaye immediately disagreed with Adolph’s solution.

“Completely contrary to what he’s saying, he’s been our leader for five years — Chris and I. He’s been with the program, he knows what it takes, and he’s won a national championship,” Kaye said, referring to the University Cup Adolph won as a player with the Huskies in 1983.

“We’re on the ice,” Kaye continued. “We’re responsible for [winning]. No matter what it comes down to, it’s not the coach behind the bench. It’s the 20 guys. For him to say [he’d change the coach], he’s manning up, but it falls on us. We’re the ones out there.”

Durand reiterated Kaye’s statement when asked if playing in front of a less-than-enthusiastic home crowd affected the Huskies’ play.

“We didn’t get the quality offensive chances to get the crowd into it, but in a situation like this, that’s got to come from internal and within the team,” Durand said. “We shouldn’t be relying on the crowd for our energy and our intensity.”

The Huskies came out hard in the first period against UQTR. While the Patriotes scored first, the Dogs had more quality scoring chances and scored an equalizer in the frame.

Both sides failed to score in the second period, but the Patriotes’ chances near the end of the frame set the tone for the final 20 minutes of the game.

UQTR outshot the Huskies 14-6 in the closing frame and took a 2-1 lead just over one minute into the period. The Dogs were unable to muster an attack strong enough to tie the game, and UQTR added an empty-netter to finalize a 3-1 win.

The Patriotes outshot Saskatchewan 35-25 in the game.

It was a similar story in the Huskies’ opening game of the tournament against the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds March 14. The Dogs played strong in the opening frame — this time scoring first — but slowed down as the game went on. The Reds, who would go on to win the championship, dominated Saskatchewan. UNB outshot the Dogs 42-24 en route to a 3-1 victory.

Adolph said that while the Huskies may have been outplayed by a better team in their opening game against UNB, they just didn’t get lucky in the second game.

“Our guys played their tail off this weekend and I can’t be more satisfied or proud of their efforts,” he said. “It just didn’t go, and that’s the way hockey goes. It’s easily the most frustrated I’ve ever been since coming to this point…. These guys just didn’t get a break, again.”

Their 0-2 record at the tournament marks the second consecutive year the Huskies have lost out in the University Cup’s round-robin matches.

“I hate losing,” Adolph said. “I’m never going to quit. These guys aren’t going to quit. Our new guys aren’t going to quit. We’ll only get better from here. We’ll only get better every year.”

The Huskies will host the University Cup again next year. Adolph said their goal will be the same as this season — to make it to the Canada West final and to show they deserve a top-six spot at the national championship despite being guaranteed a spot as tournament hosts.

His last words to the media showed just how dedicated he is to his players.

“Never give up until they fire me, and they ain’t firing me.”

Changes coming to University Cup format: Adolph

Huskies head coach Dave Adolph is one of many CIS coaches pushing for changes to the University Cup format.

“There’s going to be two pools at our tournament next year,” Adolph said March 17 on 600 CJWW’s post-game show of the University Cup final. “The difference is going to be that you’ll play within your pool and we’re going to eliminate one team on each side. We’re going to take a day off and we’re going to have a true semi-final and a final.”

Currently the University Cup consists of six teams split into two pools of three squads each. The pools square off in round-robin play with the winner of each pool advancing to the final. As the format stands there is no semi-final, and Adolph sees this as a problem.

This isn’t the first time changes to the Cup’s format have been discussed, but provisions are now more likely to occur because of an odd situation in this year’s tournament. The Saint Mary’s Huskies were up 2-1 over the Waterloo Warriors entering the third period of their final round-robin match of the tournament when they considered putting the puck in their own net — or at least letting their opponent score on an open net. The squad contemplated allowing a goal to tie the game because of convoluted tie-breaking rules currently used in the tournament. In the game, a 1-0 or 2-1 Saint Mary’s win would have sent the Alberta Golden Bears into the championship final, while a Saint Mary’s win by any other score would have sent Saint Mary’s to the final.

By allowing a goal, Saint Mary’s would have had a chance to win the game 3-2 in overtime.

Fortunately for Saint Mary’s, they scored three goals in the third period to win 5-1.

Bears head coach Ian Herbers agrees the tournament’s format needs to be changed.

“When you’re trying to do things like that, or shooting pucks into your own net, or that even comes into play, that isn’t the best for the game, or best for CIS hockey,” Herbers told the Edmonton Journal. “In my opinion, you want teams coming out here to battle, to win and compete.”

Adolph is among those who have previously lobbied to change the tournament format, but hopes that this year’s events will ensure that the CIS follows through with the adjustments.

“I think the message has been sent,” Adolph said, noting that new CIS chief executive officer Pierre Lafontaine, “was absolutely scared stiff yesterday when Saint Mary’s was up 2-1 and they were looking at putting the puck in their own net.”

A proposal to change the tournament’s format is now ready to be forwarded by the CIS men’s hockey coaches association to the CIS board of directors, who will make the final decision on the matter.

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Photo: Pete Yee