Huskies advance at University Cup
Quarter-final’s ‘one-and-done format’ no problem in 6-1 victory over Guelph
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies are moving on.
The Dogs eliminated the University of Guelph Gryphons 6-1 on Thursday in University Cup men’s hockey national championship quarter-final play at Lethbridge. Saskatchewan, the Canada West runner-up, came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed while Guelph entered at No. 4.
“It’s the game that makes all our U Sports coaches the most anxious with the one-and-done format,” admitted U of S head coach Dave Adolph. “You can’t sleep for two days before that one, knowing that anything can happen and, in the worst-case scenario, you’re going home before the tournament actually starts. We’re thankful we were on the right end of that and we had a great first period. Kudos to our guys.”
Carson Stadnyk scored twice, while Logan Mcveigh, Evan Fiala, Wyatt Johnson and Levi Cable added singles for Saskatchewan, which led 2-0 and 4-1 by periods.
It was Fiala’s first goal with the Huskies and it proved to be the eventual game-winner.
“He got the player hat of the game for the game-winner,” noted Adolph.
Collin Shirley had four assists for the Huskies, who were threefor-six on the power play. Shirley was named his team’s player of the game.
For the hockey Dogs, it was a relief to get the first one over and done with.
“It always is,” Shirley said. “You get nervous in the first one, because anything can happen in one game. We had a good first period — that was the main thing — and then we went from there. I guess we can ready for the next one.”
Scott Simmonds had the lone goal for Guelph, the Ontario University Sport runner-up. Guelph went 0-for-2 on the power play.
The score could have been even more lopsided. Stadnyk, Alex Forsberg, Jaimen Yakubowski and Parker Thomas all hit crossbars for the Huskies, while Carter Folk and Shirley were both denied on breakaways.
Even though the Huskies were edged in the official shot clock, they had far more quality scoring chances — and posts do not count as shots on net — and far more shots at the net.
“Early in the game, we had some good chances and give them a lot of credit as well — they played a hard game — but our success is sticking with it,” Shirley added.
“The first period was a great period of hockey and we got a few goals there, which is always key for us. The second period, we had some lapses. They had a big push, but we’ve always got (Taran) Kozun in the back of the net to have our backs there. That’s always huge for us.”
Kozun, the U Sports goalie of the year, picked up the win with 35 saves in the U of S net.
Saskatchewan now awaits the winner between No. 1 Alberta Golden Bears and the host University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, seeded No. 8. The semifinal will be played Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., Sportsnet 360 TV).
“It’s just a big sigh winning that first game,” Adolph said. “I’m not worried about it for another hour or two after they play.”
U SPORTS HOCKEY AWARDS
During the U Sports men’s hockey awards gala Wednesday, Kozun earned both goaltender of the year and U Sports first-team All-canadian honours.
Kozun set three Canada West records for wins (20), shutouts (5) and shutout streak (267 minutes and 53 seconds) this season.
Team captain Jesse Forsberg was named a second team All-canadian for the second time during his Huskies’ career. Forsberg was second among Canada West defencemen with 21 points in 24 games and added five points in five playoff games.
DOG TALES: In U Sports men’s hockey, the top four seeds automatically go to the Atlantic University Sport champion, Canada West champion, and OUA Queen’s Cup champion and runner-up. Therefore, Saskatchewan could not be seeded higher than No. 5 as Canada West runner-up despite being ranked in the U Sports topthree all season.