Baillie and Bears beat Cooke’s Huskies in Canada West opener
Tyson Baillie has always been able to ramp up his game for the playoffs and the former Kelowna Rockets forward did just that in scoring twice and earning first-star honours as the University of Alberta Golden Bears opened the Canada West Championship with a 5-2 win over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night. The best-of-three series, hosted by Alberta in Edmonton, continues tonight and, if necessary, would wrap up Sunday.
Friday’s opener saw Baillie score the only two goals of the second period, including what stood up as the game-winner.
The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period, then Baillie got the go-ahead goal at 4:03 of the middle frame before delivering the dagger with only 55 seconds left in that stanza, making it 4-2.
This series features four former Rockets, but Jordon Cooke is currently sidelined by injury and didn’t suit up Friday. He’s the key to Saskatchewan’s success, named the Canada West goaltender of the year earlier this week for the third straight year.
Also on Saskatchewan’s roster is defenceman Mackenzie Johnston, while Alberta features Baillie and fellow forward Cole Linaker.
Johnston and Linaker were both healthy scratches on Friday, but Cole Sanford of Coldstream assisted on one of Trevor Cox’s two goals for Alberta.
The Huskies defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 2-1 in their semifinal matchup, while the Golden Bears swept the Calgarybased Mount Royal Cougars to secure their spot in the final.
The winner of the series will move on to compete in the U SPORTS University Cup at the University of New Brunswick from March 15-18.
Baillie played 329 regular-season games for the Rockets, racking up 138 goals and 172 assists for 310 points, with a plus-107 rating and 273 penalty minutes. He also played 64 playoff games, recording 27 goals and 36 assists for 63 points. Baillie had one goal and five assists for six points in five games at the 2015 Memorial Cup tournament.
In 27 games with the Bears this season, Baillie produced six goals and 19 assists for 25 points.
Linaker put up 45 goals and 75 assists for 120 points in his 253 games with Kelowna. Linaker also had a plus-66 rating and 95 PIMs. He appeared in 62 playoff games, recording 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points.
In eight games with the U of A this season, Linaker was limited to one goal and one assist for two points.
Cooke played in 149 games for the Rockets. He finished his WHL career with a 92-34-4-8 record, 2.54 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and nine shutouts.
Cooke appeared in 23 games for the Huskies this season, going 16-7-0-0 with a 2.29 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
Johnston suited up in 233 games for the Rockets, putting up eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points, plus 75 penalty minutes.
The Swift Current product also appeared in 18 playoff games for Kelowna, registering two assists and 12 penalty minutes.
In 13 games with the Huskies this season, Johnston recorded two goals and five assists for seven points.