Courtesy: Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

Listen: November 15th Coach's Show - Brandin Cote

Huskies visit first place Thunderbirds

Nov 15, 2023 | 4:17 PM

The 9 and 3 Huskie men’s hockey team will again have its character tested on the November 17^th-18^th weekend, as Saskatchewan visits the UBC Thunderbirds in a big two-game series. The T-Birds are the top team in the Canada West standings at 11 and 1 and enjoy a three-point lead over Calgary on top of the Canada West standings.

The Thunderbirds are averaging an incredible 5.4 goals per game this season and are led by Sam Huo who has 22 points in 12 games. UBC’s small mobile defense joins the rush more than most teams according to Huskie coach Brandin Cote. T-Bird blueliner, Jake Lee, has 14 points in 12 games.

“They are a high octane, high skill team”, said Cote. “They don’t like to play defense, but they can make you pay on offense. Their speed and transition games are really good. They take advantage of turnovers…we have to be ready for that.”

The U of S is out to end a three-game losing skid after dropping back-to-back games to the Calgary Dinos at Merlis Belsher Place on November 10^th and 11^th. The Huskies fell behind by 3-0 margins in the first period of both contests and could not recover.

Cote says despite 5-2 and 5-3 defeats, there were some positives. “We didn’t play well enough to win either game but when you look at some of the analytics and some of the statistics in terms of puck possession and all that kind of stuff, we were the better team…but that didn’t translate to wins because we made mistakes.”

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U of S goaltender Roddy Ross was pulled in the first period of last Friday’s 5-2 loss while Jordan Kooy allowed five goals in Saturday’s setback. Despite last weekend’s results, Cote is more than confident in his goalie tandem. “We still have two of the best statistical goaltenders in the league”, stated Cote. Ross has a sensational, Canada West best, 1.81 goals against average, while Kooy is at 2.68 with two wins in four appearances this season. “I like both our guys.”

After suffering a bit of a flu bug last weekend, Saskatchewan sniper Liam Keeler has been skating with the team this week and should dress in Vancouver. Centre Keaton Sorenson suffered an upper body injury against the Dinos and won’t be available this weekend, however Cote says his absence from the line-up will be “short term.”

The November 17^th contest starts at 9:00 pm Saskatchewan time, while puck drop for the November 18^th game is at 5:00 pm. Both games can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

X/Twitter: @wraymorrison