EDMONTON, Alta. - Second year forward Josh Pillar scored twice and recorded three points in a crucial win for the U SPORTS No. 9-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies over the No. 4-ranked Alberta Golden Bears Saturday night (Nov. 23) at the Clare Drake Arena.

With the win, the Dogs hand the Golden Bears their second loss of the season and improve to 10-4-0 on the campaign. The victory also means Saskatchewan remains alive in the six-game series with their rivals, which could prove to be crucial come the Canada West playoffs and potential tie-breaker scenarios. Through four games against the Bears this season, the Huskies are now 1-3 with the final the two games to come in January on home ice. 

The game saw four different Huskies find the back of the net and 11 record at least one point. Scoring was highlighted by a pair of impressive goals from Pillar who scored both on the man-advantage at at even strength. Ben Tkachuk, Carter Stebbings, and Justin Ball made up the remaining Saskatchewan goal scorers with Sean Tschigerl, Sam Popowich, and Connor McClennon finding the back of the net for Alberta. 

In net, the Canada West leader in save percentage Jordan Kooy put in another impressive performance between the pipes. The veteran netminder turned aside 28 of the 31 shots he was faced with, earning his sixth win in seven starts this season. 

Saskatchewan's conference-leading powerplay was also in peak form in Edmonton, converting on two of five man-advantage opportunities. On the flip side, the Huskie penalty kill also put on another strong performance, allowing one blemish in four Alberta powerplays. Following the weekend, the Huskies continue to boast the top-ranked powerplay with a  27.8% success rate and the second-best penalty killing unit at 85.7%. 

Heading into the second period down a goal, the Dogs were looking to avoid a repeat of Friday night when they were unable to overcome an early deficit. A two-goal period would do just that as Ben Tkachuk showcased his puck possession skills and beat Alberta's Tyler Palmer to tie things up. Just over three minutes later, Josh Pillar would earn his first of the game on the powerplay after dancing through a trio of Golden Bears on the rush to give the Dogs their first lead of the weekend.

Back on the advantage early in the third, it was Carter Stebbings who got on the scoresheet after locating a rebound from a Ty Prefontaine point shot to extend the Huskie lead to 3-1.

With time running down in the third, Jordan Kooy would make the biggest save of his night when he stretched out his right pad to rob Alberta's Connor McClennon of a great scoring chance. A few minutes later Pillar returned to the highlight real with another perfectly placed wrist shot to reestablish the two-goal Saskatchewan lead. 

The Golden Bears were not done yet however as McClennon would give the home team a glimmer of hope with his fourth of the weekend with 59 seconds remaining. Shortly after though it would be the captain, Justin Ball who scored an empty net goal to seal it in his second game back from injury this season. 

Saskatchewan will now return to home ice at Merlis Belsher Place and close out the fall semester against the MacEwan Griffins next weekend.