Huskies secure home playoff series

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Linden McCorrister got the Bisons on the scoresheet first on a two-on-one chance and was able to beat Huskies’ goaltender, Jordan Kooy under the pad. The Bisons would add a second just three minutes later when Dylan Thiessen got his stick on a turnover from Huskies’ defender Gordie Ballhorn behind the net and beat an unsuspecting Kooy.

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“Gordie made the play where he gave them the puck and they scored. At the start, he said to one of the guys, I’m skating in quicksand,” said Mike Babcock, head coach of the Huskies. “When you come back, you’re rusty and when you play back-to-back, you aren’t in the same shape. That showed early.”

Jared Dmytriw pulled the Huskies within one midway through the frame on a forehand, backhand deke in close on Bisons’ goaltender Jermery Link. The play was created by Kaluski’s speed coming into the zone and Dmytriw had good hands at the net.

“We were so tight that we’ve maybe ever played. I don’t know why we were so tight. We talked about just being loose,” said Babcock of the Huskies’ start. “JD scored a goal and I thought we could breathe a bit. We can’t play the game tight. It’s hockey, it’s supposed to be fun.”

And the fun began just 39 seconds into the second period when Ballhorn notched his sixth goal of the season on a big shot from the point, getting the equalizer.

Ballhorn would score again as he found space after moving around the back of the net, using a Bisons defender as a screen to pull the Huskies ahead.

They didn’t look back.

“The kind of leader he is and the kind of person he is, he dug in and got us ahead,” said Babcock.

The Huskies didn’t relent in the third period. Kaluski tipped a Shane Collins’ point shot past Link to add some insurance early in the final period.

“You have to give Jax a lot of credit, he’s around the net all the time and that’s why he scores,” said Babcock of Kaluski “When you are around the net, you score.”

Kaluski finished the night with one goal and two assists. Eight players finished with multiple points for the Huskies.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ forward Jaxon Kaluski finished with three points on the night

“I felt good with the puck all weekend. I just want to keep feeling that way heading into the playoffs and hopefully continue my success,” said Kaluski. “It is good to see some other guys chipping in and that’s a huge need we have. We have some of our top players out right now with injuries, but everyone needs to step it up a little bit.”

Vince Loschiavo and Donovan Neuls would round out the scoring for the Huskies in securing the much-needed victory.

With the win, the Huskies secured a home playoff series – their sixth straight season hosting. They will face the University of Calgary Dinos on Feb. 25-27 in a quarter-final match-up. The teams split their exhibition games in September and split their regular-season games in November.

“That is the biggest hope for us – get ourselves feeling better about the way we are playing. We have a big couple of weeks here coming up. Ideally, we get someone back,” said Babcock. “We have two weeks to get ourselves organized and getting everyone set up.”

Getting those injured players back – forwards Dawson Holt, Chantz Petruic, and Wyatt Johnson – will be a longshot, but they hope that defenceman Connor Hobbs will be ready to return for the playoff series.

“It doesn’t sound like Holt or Petruic will be back any time soon. We just have to go to work,” said Babcock. “It doesn’t matter if we get those guys back though – when you put the sweater on, you are supposed to play and play well.”

With 13 days off now, the Huskies will focus on cleaning up some areas of their game – communication, specialty teams, playing as a unit, finding depth from within, and building confidence as they prepare for the Dinos.

“Just getting back to work and making sure everyone doesn’t have to think when they are on the ice – they just know where they are supposed to be and making sure things are automatic. Make sure that everyone is healthy as possible and getting everyone mentally ready,” said Kaluski. “Home ice in this rink is ahuge advantage – our fans are awesome, and the student section is always loud. It will be nice to have that in the first round now.”