KADE GATES

Huskies hockey hit a rough patch this weekend as the men’s and women’s teams went a combined 1–3 against the University of Manitoba Bisons.

The third ranked Huskie men’s team was swept at home by the currently unranked Bisons with scores of 4–1 and 5–2. Meanwhile, the eighth ranked women’s team split their games in Winnipeg dropping the Oct 10. game 3–1 before rallying to defeat the Bisons 1–0 the following night.

On Oct. 10 at Rutherford Rink, the Huskies men lost their first contest of the season to the visiting Bisons. With a score of 4–1, Matthew Spafford looked to have the Huskies off and running when he beat Bisons goalie Deven Dubyk from the slot 7:12 into the first — the Huskies’ only goal of the night. The Bisons’ Aaron Lewadniuk stole momentum from the Huskies just before the end of the first, scoring at the 19:32 mark. The Bisons then used two Luke Paulsen goals as insurance to bank a victory over the Huskies.

The following night, the Bisons got the party going early as Lewadniuk scored just 54 seconds into the game. Huskies’ rookie defenceman Jordan Fransoo got the Huskies back to even with a seeing eye shot that found it way through a screen and behind Dubyk to tie it at 1. Bringing the Bisons ahead, Jordan DePape buried his first of two at the 12:49 mark. The teams traded goals before the Bisons’ Jesse Paradis put it out of reach with 2:26 to go.

In women’s action on Oct. 10 , it was the Bisons who celebrated their home opener with a 3–1 victory over the Huskies. The Huskies continued to have a tough time scoring as they could muster up only two goals in two games out in Winnipeg. Manitoba drew first blood on a shot from Lauryn Keen that banked off the back of Huskies goalie Cassidy Hendricks’ leg and went in. A slap shot from the point on the power play had the Bisons’ Caitlin Fyten bringing their lead to 2–0. Rachel Johnson tallied the only goal for the Huskies and Bison Courtlyn Oswald sealed the victory with a empty net goal.

On Oct. 11 Hendricks stole the show as she stopped all 29 shots she faced including 17 in the first period alone. The Huskies controlled more of the play in the second and generated some power play opportunities but could not solve Bisons goaltender Amanda Schubert. The Huskies power play never clicked as they went 0 for 7 and the winning goal of the game came on a Julia Flinton slap shot 17 seconds into the third.

Both teams now have weekend sets with the University of Alberta. The women will be at home on Oct. 17 & 18, while the men will be on the road on the same days. All game times are at 7 p.m.