EDMONTON – The Saskatchewan Huskies inched closer to clinching a home playoff game thanks to a 2-1 road victory over the Alberta Golden Bears, Saturday afternoon at Foote Field.
With one conference game left, the Huskies now own a 6-3-4 record with 22 points, three points clear of the Calgary Dinos. One point from Saskatchewan tomorrow, or a tie or loss from Calgary will clinch a home quarter-final match for the Huskies.
The loss is the sixth for Alberta (4-6-3), who will finish fourth in the Prairie Division, and visit the No. 1 seed in the Pacific division in a quarter-final match next weekend.
Entering the match will a chance to climb higher in the standings, Alberta opened the match with pace and control, opening the scoring in the 28
th minute. Sophomore Bears striker Garry Onyejelem scored his sixth goal over his last four games, beating Huskie keeper
Marcus Baxter from inside the box.
The Bears lead was short-lived, however, as the Huskies levelled the match at 1-1 just three minutes later.
Jacob Powell scored his second of the season, beating Bears goalie Liam Collens.
The Huskies didn't waste time getting their first lead of the match, as
Kuhle Bekwayo scored in stoppage time in the first half, as the Huskies led 2-1 after 45.
After allowing the Onyejelem marker in the first, Baxter was solid throughout the rest of the match, stopping the other four Alberta shots on target.
Saskatchewan will finish their regular season tomorrow, when they visit the MacEwan Griffins at Clarke Stadium. Alberta will host Lethbridge tomorrow afternoon in their final match this season at Foote Field.