University of Saskatchewan forward Jasper Desmarais battles with Rylee Gluska of the Grant MacEwan University Griffins in front of Natalie Bender in USports Canada West action on Friday night. (Katie Brickman-Young/HuskieFAN)

By Katie Brickman-Young

Head coach Steve Kook wins 200th career game

Bourassa leads Huskies women’s team to fourth straight win

Feb 4, 2022 | 11:27 PM

Bailee Bourassa picked a special night to have an excellent game for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

The fifth-year captain scored a hat-trick, leading the Huskies to a 4-1 victory over the Grant MacEwan University Griffins on Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon.

“I am at a loss for words. I don’t think I could have asked for a better night. It is pretty special,” said Bourassa. “This is a game that I will never forget.”

There are many reasons why Bourassa won’t forget this game.

One, the team hosted their annual Play for the Cure game, which Bourassa led after making a strong connection with Rhodes McNairn as a nurse in the city.

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“I was not expecting to get a hat trick, but every battle and every play that I went into, I thought of Rhodes and his battle, and I thought that I just had to do this for him,” Bourassa said.

Bailee Bourassa, captain of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team poses for the ceremonial puck drop for the Play for the Cure night. (Huskie Athletics)

Two, this is her final home weekend for the Huskies in her graduating season. The Master of Nursing student will graduate this summer and her time with the Huskies program will also wrap up.

“This (weekend) means a lot. We want that home playoff spot,” she said. “I want to play in this rink again. This could be my last weekend in this rink, and it would be special to me to get a home playoff spot.”

Third, the victory was not only the team’s fourth straight win, but it was head coach Steve Kook’s 200th career win at the Huskies’ helm.

“It means the world to us,” said Bourassa. “The amount of time and dedication that Steve has put into this program. Behind the scenes, I don’t think anyone understands how much Steve does. For us to get him that, it was awesome. It couldn’t have been a better night.”

Everything went well for the Huskies on Friday night in the first-ever match up against the Griffins, who joined the USports Canada West conference after winning three consecutive Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) titles.

Nicole Fry opened the scoring for the Huskies midway through the first period when she picked up a loose puck at the blueline and walked between three defenders to beat Griffins’ goaltender Natalie Bender. Bourassa added to the total just two minutes later with a great wrist shot that beat Bender glove side.

“I saw that she pointed up to the crowd after her first goal and I think she was pointing at Champ (McNairn) and that was a pretty special moment,” said Kook. “I am happy for Bailee to get three goals on a night like this.”

Bourassa continued her strong play of late, notching two power play goals in the second period and earning her the hat trick.

“We had lots of jump tonight. We wanted to come out fast and use our speed and we wanted to make sure we were hard on pucks,” said Kook. “After the game in the dressing room, they were all talking about how everyone contributed. It is not just about the points – the kill was good, the power play was good, we were hard on pucks and our defense moved the puck well.”

Cam Drever was just 2.8 seconds away from earning her second straight shutout, but Aryn Chambers beat her on a late power play. Despite giving up the lone goal, Drever had another solid outing for the Huskies.

“She is just so calm back there,” said Kook. “She has the ability to take the game in control and I thought she did that tonight. The shots were 17 against, but there were a lot of dangerous shots on her.”

The Huskies are riding a confident high at the moment – winning their last four games and pushing their way up the standings, looking to earn crucial points and securing a playoff spot.

“I think we are truly just coming together as a team. Everyone is playing for the team – there is no individuality out there anymore. We’ve come so far as a young team and our growth has been exponential and we’ve seen that come together in the second half. I hope that we keep climbing.”

They face an expected desperate Griffins team tomorrow afternoon (5 p.m., Merlis Belsher Place).

“As long as we stay on the same track with the same mentality, we will be good,” said Bourassa. “MacEwan will be fighting for points, and we can’t take them lightly.”