SASKATOON, Sask. - The Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team surged to a 5-0 victory over the Manitoba Bisons, thanks to a four goal third period, this Saturday evening at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon, SK.
Fresh off a 7-2 victory on Friday, the Huskies aimed to pick up where they left off. However the Bisons, who currently sit eight points back of the final playoff spot, were eager to try and earn some points on the road against premier Canada West competition.
The first period was a competitive 20 minutes, and while the Huskies maintained the majority of the possession, the Bisons were not without their opportunities. On the other end of the ice, it was imperative early on that Manitoba goaltender Kolby Thorton was having one of those nights. Throughout the period Thorton denied a number of high quality Huskie scoring chances, keeping Saskatchewan's high powered offence off the board until the final minute of the period.
After Manitoba's Skylar Bruce was assessed a 4:00 double major for high sticking, Saskatchewan's division best powerplay unit (36.5%) was granted an extended opportunity. In a play eerily similar to Friday night, Vince Loschiavio dropped to a knee in the left slot to bury the top shelf one-timer past Thorton. This time it was
Josh Pillar who found an uncovered Loschiavo who made it 1-0 Huskies heading into the second period.
Saskatchewan would continue it's offensive barrage, mustering 18 shots in the second frame. Time and time again Thorton came up with big-time saves. Thornton's efforts and an occasional assist from the crossbar, helped keep the Bisons competitive despite a lofty 33-7 shot disadvantage after two periods of play. The score would stay 1-0 Saskatchewan heading into the third.
The Bisons would do themselves no favours, as they quickly picked up another penalty in the opening minutes of the period. As the Huskies so often do, they punished their opponent for the mistake, this time it was
Dawson Holt, who capitalized off a rebound in front of the net. Not too long after,
Raphael Pelletier would tip in a shot from
Carter Stebbings, which Thorton could only throw his hands up in desperation, well after the puck had already crossed the goalline. After this, frustration would begin to set in for the Bisons and the teams got in a number of altercations in the final 10 minutes. Stebbings and
Ashton Ferster would each add goals for Saskatchewan, bringing the final to 5-0, with
Jordan Kooy picking up the 12 goal shutout.
NEXT UP
Saskatchewan fans, make sure you get your tickets early for next weekend, as it is shaping up to be a heavyweight battle. Longtime rival and the current East division leading Alberta Golden Bears roll into Saskatoon for a pair of games that very well could determine the #1 seed in the conference. The puck drops Friday, Jan. 24th, at 7 PM at Merlis Belsher Place. Head over to Huskietickets.com to secure your seat or tune in to a special retro-style broadcast on CBC Gem, Telus or Canada West TV.
For fans of the Manitoba Bisons, you can look forward to a big matchup at home against the Macewan Griffins. Macewan currently sits eight points above Manitoba in the standings and is a hold of the third and final playoff spot. The games present an opportunity to close the gap. The action gets underway on Friday Jan. 24th, 7 P.M at Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.
