Former Rockets on ice this weekend in Canada West final

Four former Kelowna Rockets are facing off this weekend in the U Sports Canada West final.

Jordon Cooke is backstopping the University of Saskatchewan Huskies — whose defence corps features MacKenzie Johnston — against the University of Alberta Golden Bears, starring two more recent Rockets in Tyson Baillie and Cole Linaker, plus Coldstream product Cole Sanford.

That trio of 21-year-old forwards will be in tough trying to score on Cooke, the 23-year-old reigning U Sports goaltender of the year and the Canada West nominee for that award again this season.

Cooke’s career has been full of accolades, despite being undersized and never drafted or signed by an NHL team. Cooke, from Leduc, Alta., also won CHL goaltender of the year honours during his final WHL season with Kelowna in 2013-14, and he suited up for Canada at this year’s Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland.

“Last year, Jordon stood out in his first full year as our No. 1 goaltender. He helped calm a young team, leading us to the Canada West pennant,” Saskatchewan head coach Dave Adolph said of Cooke, whose encore included a 19-4-1 record, 1.94 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and four shutouts — the latter tying the Canada West single-season record.

“This year, he made things look routine as the Huskies skated to a first-place finish in the regular season. He and our young defence enabled us to lead the league with a very stingy 2.11 goals-against average.

“He loves to play and loves the challenge. We are very fortunate to have him in a Huskies uniform.”

Baillie, from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., continued to be an offensive catalyst in making the jump from junior to university. He was named Canada West rookie of the year after leading all first-year players with 26 points in 28 games, including 13 goals. Known for his heroics, Baillie also scored four game-winners — tied for tops in the conference.

“Tyson has had a tremendous first season,” Alberta head coach Serge Lajoie said of Baillie, who recorded eight multi-point games in picking up where he left off with the Rockets after racking up a team-leading 95 points as an over-ager for Kelowna last season.

“He is a relentless worker in the offensive zone, which allowed him to quickly establish himself as an offensive leader on our team.

“His five seasons with the Kelowna Rockets and participation at the 2015 Memorial Cup definitely prepared him to be an immediate contributor on our team this season. The Golden Bears program is fortunate to have a player with such high character and work ethic like Tyson.”

Baillie also headlined Canada West’s all-rookie team, while Cooke cracked the first all-star team for the second year in a row.

Linaker, from Edmonton, also played all 28 regular-season games for the Golden Bears in a familiar checking-line role while chipping in five goals and seven points.

Sanford, who played for the Medicine Hat Tigers and Regina Pats in the WHL, joined the U of A mid-season, returning from the pro ranks to put up seven points in 12 games for the Golden Bears. Sanford started the campaign with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles, netting seven goals and 15 points in 19 games.

The best-of-three Canada West final opened Friday night in Saskatoon, with Alberta posting a 4-3 win — led by one goal and three assists from Linaker.

Saskatoon rebounded Saturday, with Cooke making 26 saves for the shutout in a 2-0 win to force a deciding Game 3 tonight at 5 p.m.

The entire series is being streamed online at CanadaWest.tv, with every puckdrop scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.

The U Sports University Cup will be hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton from March 16 to 19.