Huskies hockey teams ready for important battles against Alberta

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams are gearing up for critical weekend series against their rivals from the University of Alberta.

All four teams are jockeying for playoff position with the Canada West playoffs approaching quickly.

The Huskies men’s team will be hosting the Golden Bears on Friday and Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place; Saskatchewan (15-5-0-0) is just two points back of Alberta (15-5-2-0) with two games in hand.

“They’re obviously a really good team. They’ve got a lot of experience there and we played them in Edmonton in November and they were tightly contested games,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote. “I think everybody is just going to be ready to go and it’s going to be an exciting weekend.”

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies take on the University of Regina Cougars in Canada West men’s hockey action in Saskatoon on Jan. 6, 2024. (File photo courtesy of Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards)

The Huskies sit fifth in Canada West. Cote suggests he has been happy with how his team has battled against teams in a very tough Canada West conference.

“We’ve progressed as the season went on. We had a really hot start and we played some tough teams in the middle of the year and went through some growing pains like every team does,” Cote said.

The Huskies started the season with a 9-0-0 record, but losses to the U of A, Mount Royal and Calgary in November and early December slowed that start and had the team going through those growing pains.

Despite those bumps in the road, Cote sounded happy with how his group has been able to bounce back after a challenging stretch.

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“I thought so far after Christmas break here we’ve handled everything well and are playing well,” Cote said. “We’ve got a tough stretch with U of A and Mount Royal coming up, two teams we’re battling with position for. Every game is really important and every team is so tight and so close.”

In his third year as the Huskies’ head coach, Cote suggests this is the tightest he has seen the Canada West standings, with five teams having a chance to win the title.

If there has been a point of emphasis for the Huskies this season, it has been the pride they’ve taken when it comes to playing defensively.

Entering the weekend series against the Golden Bears, the Huskies have allowed the fewest goals in Canada West.

“Our goaltending has been solid,” Cote said. “Both guys (Roddy Ross and Jordan Kooy) have stepped up when they’ve needed to and made the saves they needed to.

“I think we’ve really limited the Grade A scoring chances and being tight in our defensive zone and being aggressive. I think our transition game has been really good, we’ve been able to sustain some zone time and then when we’re in our end, we’re aggressive and we break out cleanly. Those are all things we’ve focused on and that’s what’s contributed to our success defensively.”

Cote credits a lot of his players for stepping up this season, including Chantz Petruic, Vince Loschiavo, Raphael Pelletier and new addition Landon Kosior.

When it comes to the women’s team, the Huskies will be in Edmonton for their series against the Pandas.

At 16-4-1-1, the Huskies sit fourth in Canada West as they head into the final three weeks of the regular season.

They face Alberta (18-2-1-1) and Mount Royal (18-5-0-0), which are right behind UBC (20-1-1-2) for first place in the conference.

“We’ve played well. Our conference is tough this year. In any other year we’re fighting for first or second and here we are in a logjam at fourth – that’s just how tight the top four teams are,” said Huskies head coach Steve Kook.

“We look forward to the next games and the standings can flip and flop whichever each way.”

Kook noted the team’s success this year can be credited to his top players playing their roles and doing well in them.

“Our best players have been playing well. Sophie Lalor has been leading our team in scoring. Kara Kondrat, Mallory Dyer and Kelsey Hall are up there in terms of leading our team in scoring too and all four of them have to be,” Kook explained.

“That’s what’s expected out of them. No surprise that Camryn Drever is leading our team and the nation in save percentage. You need a goalie that’s playing this well to be in the top four.”

Drever has been nothing short of sensational this year and leads the country with a .956 save percentage and a 1.26 goals-against average.

The Huskies are four points back of the Pandas for second in Canada West and the playoff seeding will be determined in the coming weeks.

Kook knows this will be an important stretch for his club as it wants one of those top seeds so it can avoid what would be a gruelling travel schedule come playoff time.

“You play a three-game series and having last change against the opposition in one-goal games is huge. Just the ability to prepare the way you normally do means a lot,” Kook stated.

“We went through this a couple years ago – we went to Manitoba in Round 1, Calgary (to face Mount Royal) in Round 2 and Vancouver (to take on UBC) in Round 3. We were three weekends in three different provinces – we don’t want to do that again.”