The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's team kick off the final half of the season against the University of Regina Cougars.

By Katie Brickman-Young

Team look to extend winning streak

Huskies men’s hockey set for second half

Jan 13, 2022 | 9:26 PM

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team will be looking to make some gains as they kick off the second half of the Canada West season on Friday night.

“We are excited to play,” said Mike Babcock, Huskies men’s head coach. “It was a long break, and our focus is on getting better.”

The Huskies currently sit in third place with a 9-3 record, just three points behind the top ranked UBC Thunderbirds and only one point behind the University of Alberta Bears.

To kick off the final eight games of the regular season, the Huskies will have a home-and-home series against provincial rival, the University of Regina Cougars. They will be in Regina on Friday night before hosting the sixth-ranked Cougars on Saturday evening (7 p.m., Merlis Belsher Place).

Huskies Athletics announced earlier this week that fans will not be in the stands this weekend for hockey and volleyball games on campus due to COVID-19 precautions. HuskieFAN and huskiefan.ca will broadcast both men’s hockey games live for free.

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“We like to have fans and have the building shaking, but we don’t have that. There is no sense in worrying about that,” said Babcock. “We need the points. We need to continue to get better. We have eight games. This is the opportunity we’ve been given.”

To start the season, the Huskies struggled with slow starts, but have been able to out-score the majority of their opponents. Collectively, the team has scored 53 goals, just one less than University of Alberta.

The Canada West conference has been on an extended break – the Huskies last played on Dec. 4. It will be over 40 days since the team last saw action. They will look to get back into game intensity against the Cougars.

“The last time we played them, they outplayed us in their building. We weren’t ready. We can’t have that this time,” said Babcock.

Special teams have been a high and low for the Huskies in the first half of the season. The team struggled on the power play early on, but are now scoring at a 20 per cent success rate.

“Our power play right at the start was no good. It has gotten better. You want your good players – the guys that feel like that’s their game – to touch the puck and score on the power play. It makes them feel better and suddenly they are scoring 5-on-5. It is a critical part of the game,” said Babcock. “I feel like we’ve gone in the right direction. We seem to understand, and we are talking the same language.”

On the other side – their penalty kill has been absolutely dominating, as they sit in first place in the conference, operating at an 85.9 per cent success rate.

“Staying out of the box is a critical thing and that was our biggest weakness at the start of the year. We’ve come a long way in that area,” said Babcock. “Those two things are areas that can win you games.”

Much like the rest of the province, the Huskies have also battled COVID positive cases in their locker room. Babcock stated that the athletes aren’t experiencing serious symptoms, but they are working with the available players they have.

“The bottom line is whoever we have available – as little as 10 skaters and two goalies – we are taking, and we got to find a way to win,” said Babcock. “Whatever the rules are, we are going to do our best to follow them and do our best.”

Over the break, the team also brought in two new players – forward Aiden Bulych and goaltender Jordon Kooy.

Bulych, 20 years old, started the season with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League as an over-ager, but become available to join the team.

Kooy, a 21-year-old goaltender from Bradford, Ont. attempted to play professional hockey after he finished up his Ontario Hockey League career. Kooy is a player that Babcock tried to recruit this summer.

“He tried to play pro, but that didn’t work out and now he is here with us. We would really like to solidify that position and be as competitive as we can in that area,” said Babcock.

The Huskies will look to extend their two-game winning streak. So far this season, the men’s team has not lost at home and will host five of their final eight games at Merlis Belsher Place.