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playoff push

Huskies volleyball returns to the court, hockey clubs set for final regular-season contests

Feb 7, 2022 | 6:39 PM

WVB: The Huskies Women’s Volleyball team is just one win away from clinching the top spot in their respective conference, guaranteeing them to host one of the first rounds of the Canada West Playoffs.

Standing in their way this weekend is their provincial rivals, the Regina Cougars. The Huskies are coming off a bye week, as they currently sit with a record of 10-2 (good for third in all of Canada West), with all four regular-season games remaining at the PAC in Saskatoon.

The Huskies, whose last loss came to the 4-6 Cougars (in Regina) back on Jan. 22, will have two games against them on Feb. 11 and 12, followed by two games against the 6-6 Winnipeg Wesmen on Feb. 25 and 26.

U of S, who sits behind only the Trinity Western Spartans and Alberta Panda Bears, have had strong contributions from both fifth-and-final year player Emily Koshinsky, who leads the Eastern Conference with 163 kills and Winnipeg Wesmen transfer, Jessica Andjelic — a first season as a starter for the Huskies — as she is tied for first in all of Canada West, with 179 digs.

Schedule: Friday, Feb. 11 vs. Regina Cougars 6:00 p.m. PAC

Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Regina Cougars 3:00 p.m. PAC

MVB: The Huskies Men’s Volleyball team had quite the slow start to the season this year, holding a record of 1-5 after six games. Since then, however, they have flipped the script entirely — both literally and figuratively — going 5-1, as they now hold a .500 record of 6-6, good for a tie of second place in their respective conference.

The U of S has six games remaining on their schedule, four at home with two of those games happening this weekend, Feb. 11 and 12, at the PAC. Those games will be the first two of four remaining against the conference-leading 7-5 Winnipeg Wesmen — who the Huskies only trail in the standings by one game — all of which will take place in Saskatoon.

This weekend’s matchup will feature a trio of prolific players, two from Winnipeg, Daniel Thiessen and Darian Picklyk, and one from Saskatchewan, Dylan Mortenson. Thiessen is second in the conference with 194 kills, while Picklyk leads the conference in digs with 141. Mortenson leads the conference with 195 kills.

Schedule: Friday, Feb. 11 vs. Winnipeg Wesmen 8:00 p.m. PAC

Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Winnipeg Wesmen 5:00 p.m. PAC

MHKY: The Huskies Men’s Hockey team is coming home this weekend, as they are set to play their final regular-season games. With two wins, the U of S would guarantee themselves a top-four spot in the Canada West standings, which would give the 12-6 Huskies their sixth straight season of hosting a playoff series.

Standing in their way this weekend at Merlis Belsher Place are the 6-11-1 University of Manitoba Bisons, whom the Huskies previously beat 4-3 and 4-0 on the road. Saturday’s game will mark the final regular-season home games for fifth-year forwards Wyatt Johnson and Carter Folk.

The U of S has had strong performances this season from both Zane Franklin and Connor Hobbs, who up to this point rank top-five in the conference in points. Franklin leads all Canada West rookies, while Hobbs leads all Canada West defencemen.

Tune in to the HuskieFAN app/site for the broadcasts. Wray Morrison and Katie Brickman-Young will have the Friday/Saturday games starting at 7 and 5 p.m.

Schedule: Friday, Feb. 11 vs. Manitoba Bisons 7:00 p.m. Merlis Belsher Place (Listen Live on HuskieFAN)

Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Manitoba Bisons 5:00 p.m. Merlis Belsher Place (Listen Live on HuskieFAN)

WHKY: The Huskies Women’s Hockey team will also be playing their final two regular-season games this weekend, however, unlike the men, they will have to do so on the road. They will travel to Winnipeg to face the Manitoba Bisons who sit in fourth-place, just two points back of the second-place Huskies.

The U of S is currently riding a Canada West best five-game winning streak, whilst the U of M is riding a two-game losing streak. If the Huskies secure at least two points this weekend, they would finish top-four in the conference and host a first-round playoff series.

Both games can be listened to live on the HuskieFAN app, as Daniella Ponticelli has the call.

Schedule: Friday, Feb. 11 at Manitoba Bisons 7:00 p.m. Winnipeg, Man. (Listen Live on HuskieFAN)

Saturday, Feb. 12 at Manitoba Bisons 3:00 p.m. Winnipeg, Man. (Listen Live on HuskieFAN)

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8

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