Dinos get upper hand against Huskies in men’s QF

But it was the Dinos that got on the board first.

Bradley Schoonbaert shoveled the puck under Huskies’ goaltender Jordan Kooy at the 3:35 mark of the first period to give the Dinos the lead.

It didn’t last long.

Just 12 seconds later, off the face-off, Evan Fiala threw a soft wrister towards the net and with four bodies standing in front, it got past Dinos’ goaltender Brodan Salmond to tie the game up.

Late in the first period, Huskies’ defenseman Tate Olson took a crushing hit from Josh Reiger, who was served a two-minute minor for checking to the head and a 10-minute misconduct. Olson left the game under his own power and didn’t return. The Huskies will watch the game tape and decide if they will submit it to Canada West for review and possible suspension.

“It’s tough, but it is part of the game,” said Huskies’ forward Carter Folk. “We would like to have Tate out there – he’s been big for us in the second half. We will see what comes tomorrow and who comes in, but we would like to have Tate there.”

Injuries have plagued the Huskies this season, especially in the second half. They are now down five skaters – Chantz Petruic and Dawson Holt are both out long-term with knee injuries. Wyatt Johnson was injured after taking a hit in the first game against the University of Manitoba Bisons in the final regular-season weekend and his timeline to return is unclear.

Connor Hobbs has also missed the last few weekends with a lower-body injury and his timeline is unclear as well.

“There is always a chance (he returns). He is doing everything he can to get back,” said Babcock of Hobbs. “We would love to have him back. He is our best player. The reality is, we got what we got. But none of that stuff matters – when you put on the uniform, you get a chance to play, and you have to play and find a way to win.”

Saskatchewan continued to have good pressure and momentum in the second period, but they found themselves digging out of a hole. Josh Maser and Kaden Elder scored 25 seconds apart to give the Dinos a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.

“That is not the result we’d like, but I think there are five-minute stretch where we let things get away,” said Folk. “Besides that, I thought it was a pretty good effort. We had lots of chances to score, and we played well defensively for the most part. In a playoff series like that, when you take away those positives and try to move on.”

The Huskies piled on the pressure in the third period but came up just short of tying the game and sending it to overtime.

Justin Ball scored on a nice tip in front of Salmond at the 5:46 mark and the team had some great opportunities on a power play, but just couldn’t get the equalizer.

With 2:34 left in the game, the Huskies pulled Kooy for the extra attacker and had the Dinos pinned in their zone for the majority of that time, but couldn’t get one past Salmond, who made 33 saves on the night.

“You have to give him (Salmond) some credit, he played well and made some saves. We had our chances, not sure if it’s holding the stick too tight, but everyone has played hockey for a long time,” said Folk. “I think those chances will come and we need to take the positives that we can get those chances and go from there. We can’t dwell on that – if you do, we will be out of the playoffs, and it will be a long summer. We just need to stick with those positives and try to get after it tomorrow.”

And that will be the critical point for the Huskies tomorrow night (7 p.m., Merlis Belsher Place) when their season will be on the line. If they lose, their season will be over. If they win, the two teams will battle it out in the third game of the best-of-three series on Sunday evening (7 p.m., if necessary).

For Folk and Huskies, they will focus on the positives throughout this game, knowing they created their opportunities, had chances to score and led the play for most of the game.

“I don’t think much (has to change). I thought we had a good effort. We played solid defensively, with a couple lapses where they got inside and got a bounce that went in. We got 35 shots on net … those were some Grade A chances,” said Folk. “I’m confident in this group. I am not worried. We’ve taken a different path this year, but I think it will pay off if we keep having an effort like that.”

by Katie Brickman-Young

Dinos get upper hand against Huskies in men’s QF

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