Huskies men’s hockey goalie Ryan Holfeld is learning how to manage his time off the ice.

The Leroy, Sask. native is balancing his first year studying at the College of Law with holding a spot on the Huskies’ starting line. Luckily, Holfeld had a good role model to look up to in previous years and, now in his fourth year with the team, he has some experience divvying up his time.

“The first year was definitely a bit of an adjustment, going to school and playing hockey,” he said. “Kyle Ross was our captain my first couple years and he was also in law school so he was a good guy to look up to for putting a good effort into both school and hockey.”

No stranger to putting in the long hours for the sport he loves, Holfeld started playing hockey at four years old and moved into net when he was nine. One of the things that attracted him to the position was that it helped him avoid the bench.

“When I was young I liked being on the ice all the time so that was a way to stay on,” he said.

Holfeld has been spending a lot of time on the ice this season, starting in all eight games the Huskies have played. So far Holfeld has turned away 93 per cent of shots that have come his way. The ability to make an impact on the score sheet is something he relishes.

“You have a stake in every game,” he said. “You can affect the outcome whether it’s good or bad but it’s good to know that you can make a difference every night.”

This year Holfeld hopes to be the difference when the season is winding down. The Huskies are assured a spot in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport University Cup as the host team but first Holfeld and the Huskies are hoping to bring a Canada West banner home.

“First and foremost we want to win the Canada West,” he said. “When it comes down to it I think everyone’s already got their eyes set on the University Cup. That’s the number one goal.”

Holfeld was a part of the team that won the Canada West championship in the 2011-12 season.

“It was really memorable and a really exciting and fun year — something I won’t forget,” he said.

With many new faces joining the Huskies’ roster this year, Holfeld is hoping to take on more of a leadership role with the team. As the team gets deeper into the season Holfeld will find himself in familiar situations and is no stranger to the post-season or big games.

“Being an older guy now … I think I have a little experience guys can draw off of,” he said.

The Huskies are currently at .500 on the season but Holfeld doesn’t think the record reflects the team’s level of play.

“We’ve been in every game, every night,” he said. “We’ve had a high effort level every night and I think that’s the most important thing.”

As the squad spends more time together Holfeld think the results will follow. He sees this year’s team dynamic as something that will help the Huskies achieve success.

“We have more of a team game that we’ve been building on this year,” he said. “We still have a lot of skilled players that can put the puck in the net [but] we know that if we want to have success this year we can’t be individual, we’ve got to be all on the same page.”

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Photo: Jordan Dumba/Photo Editor