The Huskies battled the TWU Spartans in their home opener. (Wray Morrison/HuskieFan)

By Derek Craddock

THE NEW GUYS DELIVER

Huskies rout Spartans in home opener

Sep 30, 2022 | 11:22 PM

Liam Keeler and Shane Collins had two goals each as the Huskies overwhelmingly won their home opener 8-3 over the Trinity Western Spartans.

The game looked like it would be close after the first period with the score tied at one apiece thanks to goals from Shane Collins for the Huskies and Mitchell Joss for the Spartans.

However, the second and third periods were all Huskies as they used every offensive weapon they had to pull away from their opponents.

Keeler would score twice in the game including a goal with .07 seconds remaining in the second period.

“Obviously they count on me to produce .and that’s something I know I’m capable of, so I’m really excited and really thankful for the role and the trust they put in me.”

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Shane Collins would get his second goal in the third period and relished in those moments.

“It’s nice to always get a couple of goals under your belt. It’s not exactly what I’m known for but I’ll take them when I can get them.”

Collins added that the younger players like himself will play a huge role in the team’s success moving forward. He said on Saturday they just need to stay true to who they are.

“Ultimately every game we just have to challenge ourselves to kind of be as good as we can and do our jobs alright. It’s still early in the season, tomorrow we’re just going to have to build on the good things we did tonight and try to limit the mistakes we had.”

The offensive onslaught eventually chased Spartan goalie and Calgary native Berk Berkeliev out of the net in favour of Saskatoon’s Issac Labelle.

After the game, head coach Brandin Cote said it was good to see his newcomers contribute.

“They played hard, we knew they were going to come in and work,” he said. “That’s what we expected, that’s why we got them. They’ve been solid for us so far and they led the way as well.”

Before the game, First Nations leaders and dignitaries took part in the ceremonial faceoff as part of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

These two teams meet again at Merlis Belsher Place on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. with the pregame at 6:50 p.m. on HuskieFan.ca and the HuskieFan app.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock