Sask. strikes first with 5-2 win over Dinos in quarter-final Game 1

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Durante played the most Canada West games of any goaltender in the regular season with 26, seven of those shutouts.

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“They play a very desperate, hungry game of hockey. Everything is pucks to the net,” Drever said.

“They’re losing players to come behind the net hoping to have that backdoor tap in. It’s not easy to play against. They’re very good at getting in front and closing off my vision.”

It was the Huskies who struck early with a goal from fourth-year Kara Kondrat set up by Sara Kendall at 3:56 in the opening frame.

The Dinos countered on their first power play of the night with a marker from third-year Rebecca Clarke, helped by Calgary’s leading-scorer Alli Borrow and Saskatoon product Sydney Mercier at 11:01.

Not to be outdone, Saskatchewan retook the lead 31 seconds later with an unassisted defenseman goal by Emily Holmes.

“I was just in a good spot, saw the corner and picked it,” Holmes said. “It was fun, there was lots of energy on the bench. Everyone celebrating, it felt good.”

Before the opening frame was done, fourth-year Sophie Lalor clocked in for the eventual game winner on the power play with help from Isabella Pozzi and Brooklyn Stevely.

“The first period was outstanding,” said Saskatchewan head coach Steve Kook, who previously told HuskieFAN the team would need an early start against Calgary.

“Second period, we had to find our legs a little bit and figure out our game a little bit … we bent, but didn’t break.”

Clarke and Borrow would connect again for the Dinos second goal just before the halfway mark of the second period.

That effort was followed up by an insurance marker from Holmes for her second of the night, assisted by Jasper Desmerais and McKenna Bolger.

It was a notable night for Holmes, who had scored three goals through 21 games in the regular season, and earned player of the game Friday.

Late in the third, defenseman Isabella Pozzi notched her first goal of the entire 2022-23 season, an unassisted empty-netter.

Coach Kook also credited the work of several “unsung heroes” in Game 1, naming Desmerais, Jayde Cadieux, Paris Oleksyn and Kenzie Lausberg.

“That may be the most minutes that Lauseberg has played all season. I think her and (Bronwyn) Boucher were the best wingers in our zone for us,” Kook said.

Some of those players earned the extra minutes on the penalty kill. In the end, Saskatchewan went 4-for-5 on the kill and 1-for-2 on the power play.

Game 2, and a chance for Saskatchewan to sweep the quarter-final round, is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. CST.

The other Canada West women’s hockey quarter-final is also being played in Calgary. Game 1 of that series Friday went to higher-seed Mount Royal University. The third-ranked Cougars came through with a 1-0 win in regulation over the sixth-ranked Trinity Western University Spartans.

The higher-seed winner of the quarter-final round will visit the second-ranked University of Alberta Pandas in Edmonton next weekend.

The lower seed heads to Vancouver to face the conference-leading UBC Thunderbirds.

Catch all Huskies women’s hockey games on the HuskieFAN app and at huskiefan.ca.

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daniella.ponticelli@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @dponticelliTV