Huskies’ Haubrich playing well above her diminutive status

Have no fear, Brooklyn Haubrich ishere.

You would think Haubrich — who has grown into a fierce competitor on the University of Saskatchewan women’s hockey team — would be six feet tall and not the undersized player that she is.

“I try and play big,” says Haubrich, who is listed at 5-foot-4 but appears to be a couple of inches smaller.

“If you let your size define you, then you’re only going to play as big as you are. I try and play bigger than I am. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, but I have some bigger teammates who will back me up.”

Never mind that Haubrich has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 28 games — her real value is in her so-called “200-foot game.” She contributes at both ends of the ice, especially defensively.

She is tied for second in the team’s plus-minus category at plus-13.

“She’s undersized but plays big,” U of S head coach Steve Kook says rather matter-of-factly, his team about to host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a Canada West best-of-three semifinal Friday, Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Rutherford Rink.

“And for us, she’s a 22-plus minute-a-game player for us every single game. For her to be that high for plus-minus, given the minutes that she gets — she plays power play, penalty-kill — is it important that she puts up a ton of points?

“She generates a lot, that’s what she does. If feisty means doing things the right way and not taking any short-cuts, than that’s Hauby.”

Haubrich is also quick and dynamic.

“When you’re in our league and you’re not the biggest kid on the ice, you either have to be the toughest kid or the quickest kid and sometimes you need to be both,” adds Kook. “When she plays at her best, she probably is that. She’s one of the toughest players on the ice, mentally and physically, and also one of the quickest. You have to find ways to create a little bit of space for yourself in our game and she does that both ways.”

Haubrich, a native of Hodgeville, Sask., played female midget AAA for the Swift Current Wildcats.

“Coming into this league, I think I was a little bit timid out there,” she admits. “You don’t know what to expect. Now that I’ve been in the league for a bit, I’m more confident and I’ve been able to play a bigger role and play big.”

Haubrich says she’s a “gritty player” who likes to be in the corners and move the puck around.

“I’ve been lucky I’ve been on a line with (Kaitlin) Willoughby, who is awesome. I like to move the pu ck to her and watch her do your thing with it. It’s pretty fun to watch.”

As for Haubrich’s height? “I’m a solid 5-foot-3 ½ inches,” she claims. “If you round that up, I’m 5-foot-4.”

UBC, which finished third in the Canada West with a 14-5-5-4 record and 56 points, is ranked No. 5 in U SPORTS and higher than Saskatchewan, even though the Huskies placed second in the conference with an 18-7-1-2 record and 58 points.

Saskatchewan will host a Canada West women’s semifinal for the first time since 2014 when they went on to win their first conference title.

“Hopefully it turns out that same way,” says Kook.

“It’s so exciting,” adds Haubrich. “We’re glad be able to host. That’s exactly what we wanted. I think it’s going to make for something in our advantage. It’s going to be good. We earned it. We won all four against them (T-Birds), so we’re feeling pretty confident going into this.”