Women’s hockey: Huskies win despite blown lead

It wasn’t pretty but it worked.

The Huskies women’s hockey team was forced to down the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns 4-3 in overtime Jan. 7 after blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period.

Saskatchewan’s Cara Wooster scored the winner on a wrap-around goal only 1:07 into the extra frame. She picked up the puck behind the net and, with a slick fake, forced Lethbridge goaltender Crystal Patterson to slide across the crease. Wooster then reversed direction, beat Patterson to the open right side of the net and tucked the puck softly across the goal line.

“It was a huge relief,” said Wooster. “We didn’t want to go to a shootout.”

The Huskies, who had a commanding 3-0 lead after two periods thanks to goals from Kelsey Tulloch, Julie Paetsch and Sara White, allowed the Pronghorns to pot three goals in the final frame.

“You don’t mean to sit back but I think with any lead — especially a 3-0 lead — you tend to,” said Wooster.

It was the second night in a row that Saskatchewan had given up three goals in the third period.

On Jan. 6, in the first game of their weekend series with the ’Horns, the Huskies were fortunate enough to have a 5-0 lead going into the final frame; Lethbridge’s three late goals were not enough to threaten the Dogs’ lead.

However, the late rally was at least enough to swing momentum into Lethbridge’s favour going into the second game.

“I knew that they’d be pumped up after their third period from last game and I knew that I was going to have to get a good start” in the second game, said Huskies goaltender Mackenzie Rizos.

Rizos, who faced tremendous pressure from Lethbridge’s scorers early on, shut the door on all the Pronghorns’ opening scoring chances. She stopped 54 of 60 shots on the weekend. Patterson stopped 57 of 66.

”I knew that if I could hold my team in there until we got a goal that we’d carry on with our own momentum and pull through on that,” said Rizos.

When Tulloch buried the Huskies’ first goal 4:53 into the game, the momentum shifted. Saskatchewan would control the play for the remainder of the first two frames, outshooting Lethbridge 24-18 in those periods and scoring two more goals before the second intermission.

The third period, however, was a different story. Lethbridge outshot Saskatchewan 10-6 and Ashley Beattie, Erica Williams and Sadie Lenstra all scored to even the game up at three.

“It was just us elevating our game and capitalizing on our chances,” said Beattie, the Lethbridge captain. “In the first two periods, we just weren’t putting the puck away.”

Beattie added that a rivalry is clearly developing between the Huskies and the ’Horns, who both sat first in the Canada West going into the weekend.

“I like the way our teams match up against each other. They’re really good battles.”

In an earlier series this year, it was Lethbridge who swept Saskatchewan. This time, the Huskies took the four crucial points.

Saskatchewan now sits solely atop the conference while Lethbridge slides to third. The Alberta Pandas are in second.

[box type=”info”]The Huskies will be on the road Jan. 13 and 14 to take on Alberta.[/box]

Men’s hockey: Huskies pick up four of possible six points

The Lethbridge Pronghorns continued to trouble the first-place Huskies men’s hockey team last weekend as the Dogs found themselves scrambling for what should have been a guaranteed win.

Earlier this year, a game between the ’Horns and the Huskies was postponed after two periods due to ice resurfacing problems. Saskatchewan had led 3-0 in that game.

On Jan. 6, the third period of that game was replayed. Going into the game with a three-goal lead, the Huskies should have easily skated to victory. However, the Pronghorns scored three goals in the period and forced the game into overtime.

Luckily for Saskatchewan, captain Kyle Ross was able to silence the ’Horns comeback with an overtime goal.

The Huskies then carried that overtime momentum into the second game of the three-game series against Lethbridge by putting up a dominant 5-2 performance.

It was in the third game that the Pronghorns finally got the best of the Dogs. Trailing 2-1 going into the third period, Lethbridge potted two goals in the final frame to down the Huskies 3-2.

Lethbridge, who is near the bottom of the Canada West conference standings with only a 4-11-3 record, has given the Huskies two of their three losses this season.

The Huskies, who sport a 13-3-2 record, are tied with Alberta for first-place in the standings.

Saskatchewan will host Alberta at home on Jan. 13 and 14.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf