Goalie Ryan Holfeld recorded his third shutout of the season to help the Dogs to two wins.

The Huskies men’s hockey team improved their record to 6-6 after posting two wins over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Nov. 15 and 16 at Rutherford Rink. The Huskies are tied with the University of Regina Cougars in the Canada West standings. Both teams are chasing the top ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears and University of Calgary Dinos who boast 12-0 records.

The Dogs bested the Thunderbirds 6-3 on Friday night’s clash thanks to an impressive offensive display.

The home team jumped on the board early when less than four minutes into the first period  Matthew Spafford rerouted Matthew Delahey’s shot over the shoulder of T-Bird goalie Matt Hewitt. It didn’t take long for the Huskies to extend their lead. Less than two minutes later the home crowd had reason to cheer when Ryan McDonald found the net off of Andrew Bailey’s pass during a power play.

T-Bird Kevin Smith had a chance to pull his team within one when he was left alone in the slot with the puck on his stick. Smith fired a slapshot toward the Huskie net but goalie Ryan Holfeld made the save to end the period with the Dogs’ lead intact.

Derek Hulak got the offence going for the Dogs in the second period when his pass deflected off of T-Bird defenders and slid into the net, making the score 3-0. The home team was gifted a golden opportunity at the end of the third period when roughing and checking from behind penalties against the Thunderbirds left them two men short. Hewitt was able to stop an initial shot from Spafford, but couldn’t deny his second attempt to put the Huskies ahead 4-0.

The T-Birds found the scoreboard at 1:28 into the third quarter when Nick Buonassisi snuck the puck past Holfeld. The Huskie offense struck again in the form of Brennan Bosch, who gave the home team a 5-1 edge just shy of the eight minute mark. The lead swelled to 6-1 when Andrew Bailey fired a shot into the top corner.

With four minutes left, the T-Birds made a final scoring push and netted two goals from the sticks of Cole Wilson and Neil Manning to end the game.

Holfeld recorded 25 saves and the Huskies outshot the T-Birds 43-28.

The next night Holfeld tallied 24 saves as the Huskies shutout the T-Birds 3-0. Holfeld has recorded a division-high three shutouts this season.

Josh Roach got the Dogs on the board 15 minutes into the opening frame when he fired a pass from Bosch past T-Bird goalie Steven Stanford. Holfeld made his first big stops of the night during a powerplay for the T-Birds. Despite a traffic jam in front of the net Holfeld let nothing get past him to keep the Huskies ahead 1-0 at the end of the first period.

The Huskies made good on a 5-on-3 advantage in the second period when Connor Cox netted his first goal at 7:25. At 15:20 in the same period, Chad Suer fired a slap shot over the arm of Stanford to put the Huskies ahead 3-0.

The final period saw clutch goaltending and defence from both ends including Holfeld taking a shot off the mask. Neither squad was able to break through and the game ended 3-0 in favour of the home team.

The Huskies travel to Regina to take on the University of Regina Cougars on Nov. 20 and host the same team at Rutherford Rink on Nov. 21.

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Photo: Jordan Dumba/Photo Editor