The University of Saskatchewan men’s hockey team sent the Mount Royal University Cougars home empty handed after the Dogs swept the weekend series on Nov. 29 and 30 at Rutherford Rink. Heading into the break the Huskies are 8-7-1 on the season and are in third place in Canada West.

The Huskies downed the Cougars 8-4 in a high scoring game on Friday night. Both teams attacked the net relentlessly to score eight goals in the second period.

The home team was first on the board at 5:31 in the opening period after a goal from Matthew Spafford. Ryan McDonald scored again for the Dogs in the final minute of the frame to give his team a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies offence continued to be effective, netting five goals in the second period. Goals from Sean Aschim and Andrew Bailey within 20 seconds of each other had the home team up 4-0 five minutes into the frame.

After falling behind by four goals, the Cougar offence woke up and scored two goals of their own. Cody Cartier pushed the puck past Huskie goalie Ryan Holfeld during a scramble in front of the net at 6:54. Cougar Eric Galbraith scored during a power play three minutes later to cut the Huskies’ lead to 4-2.

With 10 minutes left in the frame, goals from Matthew Delahey, Ryan MacDonald and Aschim cushioned the Dogs’ lead. The Cougars closed out scoring for the period with a goal from Derek Huisman. Heading into the final frame, the home team led 7-3.

Each team scored once more in the third period. Cougar Mike Brown picked up the puck in the neutral zone after a giveaway and put it in the back of the net at 2:09. Spafford scored his second goal of the night at 13:38 to give the Huskies the 8-4 win.

Holfeld made 12 saves and the Huskies were 1-5 on power plays while the Cougars were 2-6.

The Huskies defeated the Cougars 4-1 on Saturday night with four goals being scored during power plays.

The Dogs were first to score when Kenton Dulle beat Cougar goalie Dalyn Flette. The Cougars replied with a goal of their own off the stick of Brown just over a minute later.

Huskie captain Brennan Bosch scored the only goal of the night that didn’t come during a power play at 11:46 in the first period. Ryan McDonald scored the Dogs’ third goal of the period during a 5-on-3 advantage at 14:18 to give the home team a 3-1 lead.

After an offensive first period, neither team was able to find the net in the second and there was only one goal in the third frame. Huskie Jesse Ross added the final goal at 7:30 on another power play.

Both Holfeld and Flette made 28 saves. The Huskies were 3-8 on power plays and spent 32 minutes in the box while the Cougars went 1-9 and spent 30 minutes in the box.

The Huskies return to the ice on January 3 and 4, hosting the University of Manitoba Bisons at Credit Union Centre.