Best-of-three quarter-final series goes the distance

The Huskie penalty kill could not hold off Mount Royal’s snipers any longer. On Friday the Cougars went 0 for 7 on the man advantage in game one of the best-of-three Canada West men’s hockey quarter-final. However, in game two on Saturday, the Cougars scored twice on 11 chances in a 4-0 win over Saskatchewan to tie the best-of-three series at a win apiece.

The Huskies fell behind before the fans were settled in their seats. Connor Bouchard scored his third goal of the series just 25 seconds into the hockey game. Saskatchewan did generate some chances in the later stages of the first frame as the shots on goal were 8-5 for Mount Royal after 20 minutes of play.

The game unraveled for the Huskies in the second period. Mount Royal scored at the 3:45 mark when Jared Power capped off a nice passing play with assists from Josh Tarzwell and Remy Aquilon. Then the Huskies took four straight penalties, including a double-minor to Jeff Faith, and the Cougars made Saskatchewan pay.

Conference leading scorer and Prince Albert product, Riley Sawchuk, buried a power play marker at the 8:50 mark to give Mount Royal a three goal cushion. Tarzwell then scored his first goal of the series with Faith serving the second of his two minor penalties. “We were undisciplined”, said Huskie coach Brandin Cote “We let our emotions get the best of us which we talked about before the game. We had to keep them under control. When you give a team with that much skill, 18 power plays in 2 games, they are going to score!”