THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN’S MAIN CAMPUS IS SITUATED ON TREATY 6 TERRITORY AND THE HOMELAND OF THE MÉTIS.
Cougars 2, Huskies 1 (OT)
In game one of the best-of-three quarter-final series between Mount Royal University and the University of Saskatchewan, it would take overtime to find a winner. On. Feb 20 in Calgary, Mackenzie Johnston opened the scoring midway through the first. The teams traded great chances but both goalies stood tall. Ryan Holfeld made 25 saves, while Cougars netminder Cameron Lanigan stopped 31 shots in the contest.
The score would hold up at 1–0 after 40 minutes as the teams went back-and-forth in an exciting series opener. Down a goal, the Dogs turned it up a notch in the third period as they outshout Mount Royal 18–5 in the frame. They would be rewarded for their efforts later in the period as Sean Aschim forced a turnover, out waited Lanigan and fired a nice shot into the net to even the score.
In overtime, it wouldn’t take long to decide a winner as Cougars captain Matt Brown buried a wraparound past Holfeld just 36 seconds into the extra period. The goal would give the Cougars a 1–0 series lead.
On Feb. 21, the Huskies were fighting for their lives in game two of the series and it turned out to be one of the most exciting games of the season. After Mount Royal opened the scoring for the second consecutive night, Jesse Ross would come right back with the equalizer, knotting the game at one 43 seconds later.
Zak Stebner and Connor Cox also notched goals in the frame as the Huskies were outshot 14–5, but held a 3–1 advantage after 20 minutes of play. In the second frame, the Dogs had two glorious chances to extend the lead. First, Cox was awarded a penalty shot, following a Cougar player covering the puck in the crease, but he couldn’t beat Lanigan one-on-one. Then later, Craig McCallum banged home a loose puck as the net came off. The call was initially a goal, but it was overturned after a group discussion among the officials.
In the third, the Cougars made their move as Sebastien Pare scored his second of the night to cut the lead to just 3–2. Three minutes later, defenceman Emmerson Hrynyk tied the game back up at 3–3 on a seeing eye shot from the point. With overtime looming again, Michael Sofillas was the hero as he collected a loose puck, spun and fired it past Lanigan with only 29 seconds to go in the game to give the Dogs a clutch 4–3 victory and a series tie with it.
The winner-take-all game three on Feb. 22 didn’t quite go according to the Huskies’ plan, as their season came to an unfortunate close with a 3–0 loss. Holfeld was phenomenal in the loss as he made 41 saves on 44 shots in his final CIS game.
The Huskies never got it going as they found themselves in a 1–0 hole just 30 seconds into the game. They never recovered and took 19 penalties in the loss, with nine of them coming in the crucial third period. Forward Craig McCallum and defenceman Matthew Delahey join Holfeld as the graduating Huskies.
With the Huskies on the road to face the University of Calgary Dinos in their quarter-final matchup, it would take a complete team effort to try and upset the higher seeded Dinos. In game one on Feb. 20, Calgary scored early and often as Janelle Parent opened the scoring just 61 seconds into the contest.
Parent added another in the second period and conference MVP Iya Gavrilova also tallied and before the Huskies knew it, the score was 5–0 Dinos. The usually strong Cassidy Hendricks struggled as she only managed to stop 25 of 30 shots and was pulled early in the third period in favour of Jerrica Waltz. Kira Bannatyne broke the shutout midway through the third period, but the Dinos took game one of the series.
On Feb. 21, with their backs against the wall in game two, the Huskies couldn’t deliver as they were beat 3–2 and swept by the Calgary Dinos. Fifth-year Dino Jenna Smith opened the scoring 12:28 into the first and would add the eventual game-winner early in the third period. Gavrilova scored another goal and her fellow Russian teammate Alexandra Vafina had two assists in the series-clinching win.
Calgary held the Huskies in check all night as they could only muster up 19 shots on goal, while Hendricks stopped 26 of the 29 shots the Dinos fired her way. With the loss, forwards Kandace Cook and Chelsey Sundby played their final game as Huskies having used all five years of their eligibility.
Playing their quarter-final series a week early, the Huskies used a big second half to knock off the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and take game one of their three game series on Feb. 20. With a see-saw battle in the first half that saw the Huskies only leading by six points at halftime, some great adjustments were made at the intermission as the Wesmen could only muster up five points in the third stanza.
Combine that defensive effort with some hot shooting and it turned ugly in the second half, as the Dogs took game one by a score of 71–47. Winnipeg shot just 25 per cent from the floor in the final 20 minutes and at one point in the third quarter went nearly seven minutes without a basket. Kelsey Trulsrud had a game-high 21 points and Dalyce Emmerson tallied 16 rebounds. The Huskies utilized their size advantage as they outrebounded Winnipeg 50–28 and 16–9 on the offensive glass.
With their sights set on the sweep, the Huskies weren’t fooling around as they played a complete 40 minutes to earn the 73–57 win and take the series with it. Fifth-year guard Riley Humbert was the Huskies’ offensive catalyst on Feb. 21 as she poured in 24 points — all off three-pointers — and added three assists to lead the way for Saskatchewan.
With the score in favour of the Huskies by just four points heading into the fourth, another great defensive performance would seal them the victory. The saying goes “defence wins championships” and so far so good as two excellent defensive efforts have the Dogs advancing to the Canada West Final Four, which takes place March 6 and 7, either at the U of S or at the University of British Columbia.
It was a superb weekend at the Canada West championships for the Huskie wrestling team as 10 athletes qualified for the CIS Championships in Edmonton on Feb. 27 and 28. Dylan Bray (57 kilograms) and Annie Monteith (48 kilograms) led the charge as both claimed gold in their respective weight classes. On top of that, both were named Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament for their genders. Josh Bodnarchuk (54 kilograms) claimed CanWest Rookie of the Year honours with his gold medal and Monteith was also honoured for her off-mat contributions, picking up the Student-Athlete Community Service Award.
Also advancing to the national championships is Malcolm Meekins (72 kilograms) after he won gold, Andrew Johnson (82 kilograms) following his silver medal performance, Jacob Phillips (120 kilograms) and Lisa Brise (59 kilograms) both earned bronze medals and will advance as well. All four went to nationals last year, with fifth-place being the highest finish among the group.
Making their first appearances at nationals will be Megan Nelthorpe (82 kilograms) as she picked up a bronze and Nathan Galan (61 kilograms) who also won bronze as both are in their rookie seasons. Laryssa Barry (55 kilograms) also won a bronze medal and will make the trip in her second season on the team.
