Huskies fall first in semifinal series against No. 1 Thunderbirds

“Cam played great, don’t get me wrong, they had way more scoring chances than we had,” said Huskies head coach Steve Kook, who took exception to the lopsided shot count post-game.

“We run into this when we play in Alberta too; shots from the red line count for one team, but not the other. Not that it matters, but when you start to get hung up on those things, it takes away from the integrity of the game.”

According to the in-arena count, it took the Thunderbirds 38 tries to finally get one past Drever.

Second-year Sophia Gaskell sniped one top shelf from the outside for the game-winner 9:13 into the third period.

Her first goal of the post-season was helped by UBC assist-leader Chanreet Bassi and former Ohio State forward, Madisyn Wiebe.

Saskatchewan went four-for-four on the penalty kill Friday, including a short-handed stint late in the third. The team was unsuccessful on their lone power play chance of the game in the second period.

Kook said officiating Friday night played a role in the outcome.

He explained that prior to playoffs, they talked about the calls that needed to be called, those that are dangerous, affect scoring chances, etc.

“I didn’t think the four penalties we got tonight affected scoring chances,” he said.

“When you talk about officials not affecting the game, well here we are in a situation where two late calls in a one-goal game affect the outcome of the game. The standard has got to be consistent, it just wasn’t.”

Saskatchewan will now look to even the series in Game 2 Saturday at 9 p.m. CST. If needed, Game 3 will be played Sunday at 5 p.m. CST.

“We’ve just got to take our swings and go from there,” Kook said.

“Live another day and if that’s what it is, we go. You live on borrowed time until time runs out.”

Unlike the Huskies, who swept a quarter-final road series against Calgary last weekend, the T-Birds had a bye into the semifinal round.

UBC set a Canada West single-season record this year with 24 wins, also going undefeated at home through the regular season.

With Friday’s victory, the Thunderbirds continue a 13-game win streak.

The other Canada West semifinal series is being hosted by the second-ranked University of Alberta Pandas against the Mount Royal University Cougars.

That Game 1 resulted in a 2-0 win for the third-ranked Cougars Friday afternoon.

Their Game 2 starts 3 p.m. CST Saturday and will be decided by the time the Huskies and T-Birds play their rematch.

Both Canada West semifinal winners receive berths to the national U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship in Montreal, Que., March 16-19.

The Canada West title will be hosted by the higher-seed semifinal winner.

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

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daniella.ponticelli@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @dponticelliTV

by Daniella Ponticelli

Huskies fall first in semifinal series against No. 1 Thunderbirds

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