Courtesy: Huskie Athletics
Captain Connor Hobbs leaves game with injury

Bears cruise to convincing win over Huskies.

Jan 21, 2023 | 1:15 AM

“We looked like we were skating in quicksand.” That was Huskie head coach Brandin Cote’s take after watching the Alberta Golden Bears thump Saskatchewan 7-2 at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton on Friday night.

The Huskies opened the scoring at the 8:43 mark when Justin Ball scored his 5th of the season on the power play. The home side then took control, scoring three times in the final 4:36 seconds of the first period. 3rd year forward Nolan Volcan scored two goals in a two and half minute span to lift the Bears to a 2-1 lead. Curtis Trolley buried his second of the season to give Alberta a 3-1 advantage with just 27 seconds remaining in the opening frame. “They had 22 shots in the first period”, Cote said. “That’s not acceptable! We left our goaltenders hanging out to dry.”

After 2nd year Huskie, Vince Loschiavo, scored his 7th of the season at the 5:08 mark of the second period, Alberta again showed more dominance, scoring four goals in less than 10 minutes.

3rd year Bear Daneel Lategan had two goals, Volcan put the finishing touches on a hat trick and Adam Hall scored his ninth of the season. “I don’t know if we were too wound up”, said Cote.

After Lategans’ first goal, at the 7:02 mark of the second period, Cote pulled starting goaltender Jordan Kooy in favour of Declan Hobbs. Kooy allowed five goals on 24 shots. “He (Kooy) made some good stops early”, Cote said. “There is a couple he’d probably like back. The bottom line is all the goals… they (Bears) were left all alone in front.”

It was a physical game with emotions running high at times. The Huskies had five power play opportunities while the Bears had two. The Huskies are not only dealing with the loss, but with the news that captain Connor Hobbs will not play Saturday. “He’s got an upper body injury”, said Cote. “That hurts us, but again, we are going to play for him.”

The Huskies fell to fifth place in the Canada West standings. UBC defeated Manitoba 6-4. Both Saskatchewan and the Thunderbirds have 28 points, however UBC has two games in hand.

The second game of the Huskies/Bears series can be heard on the HuskieFAN app and HuskieFAN.ca at 8pm on Saturday night.

wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @wraymorrison

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