Huskies men’s hockey team has gold medal hopes at 2026 University Cup in Halifax

Entering the final tournament of his university hockey career, 26-year-old Chantz Petruic is happy to be flying alongside some younger teammates.

Especially with just three wins in Halifax, N.S. separating the University of Saskatchewan Huskies from a U Sports national championship.

“It’s good to have fresh, young legs,” Petruic said. “I’m getting old and I know a few of us are too, but trying to enjoy it while we can. We’re ready to make some noise.”

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The Huskies have arrived on the east coast to begin the 2026 University Cup on Thursday afternoon, taking on host Saint Mary’s University in quarter-final action.

It’s the second year in a row the Huskies men’s hockey team has qualified for the University Cup. The team claimed a bronze medal in 2025 with a 4-1 victory over the TMU Bold.

While they were only one of three programs to bring home a national medal from Ottawa last year, Petruic said their semi-final loss to the Concordia Stingers is still fresh in their minds.

“I had a sour taste in my mouth,” Petruic said. “I didn’t think personally the tournament went great for myself, so I got something to prove. I feel like I got a chip on my shoulder that way, I think as a group in general we do.”

The Huskies are coming off winning their second consecutive Canada West championship against the Mount Royal Cougars, celebrating on the road in Calgary following their 4-2 victory in Game 2 on March 7.

“Anytime you can win back-to-back like that, I think it’s important to celebrate it a bit,” said Huskies defenceman, Landon Kosior.

“We had our fun there in Calgary, but now it’s back to business. We know there’s a bigger goal at the end of the day and that’s the national championship.”

The Huskies made history on their way to becoming Canada West champions for a second straight year, sweeping all three of their best-of-three series to finish conference playoffs with an undefeated 6-0 record.

It’s the first time in Canada West men’s hockey history a team has done so.

“It’s really what you strive for as a group from the start of the year to the end of the year,” said Huskies head coach, Brandin Cote.

“You want to peak at the right time and that’s what championship teams do. We’ve been able to do that the last couple of years here.”

Cote has noticed a different gear out of this year’s Huskies lineup, which he believes will serve them well as they take on the top programs from across Canada.

“We just really buckled down,” Cote said. “Our guys were focused the whole time and really didn’t waver a whole lot. It was great to see and hopefully we continue that trend here as we move into Halifax.

It’s because of their Canada West playoff dominance that the Huskies have been awarded the tournament’s top seed for the first time since 2000. An early favourite to make the U Sports gold medal game – which would be their first since 2017 – the Huskies have been driven by a desire to redeem their crushing loss to Concordia from a year ago.

“I know it hung in my head a lot over the summer, just how close that (semi-final) game was. I wanted to get back there and have another shot at it,” Kosior said.

This will be the final week in a Huskies uniform for six fifth-year veterans including Petruic, Quinton Ong, Dawson Holt, Jarrett Penner, Jordan Kooy and captain Gunner Kinniburgh.

That is adding extra motivation for players like Kosior, wanting to send their leadership core off raising a trophy above their heads.

“We do have quite a few guys moving on after this year,” Kosior said. “To get a win for all those guys would mean a lot to all of us, even the guys that are going to be staying here.”

The Huskies haven’t captured a Canadian university men’s hockey championship since the program’s lone national title in 1982-83, a drought which has stretched 43 long years. After suffering heartbreak on the national stage last year, the Huskies believe they have the team to turn that disappointment into celebration when the medals are handed out Sunday.

“We’re going there for the gold and we’re coming home with it,” Petruic said.

The Huskies will battle against the eighth-seeded Saint Mary’s at 4 p.m. on Thursday with the winner advancing to Saturday’s semi-finals.