Courtesy: Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella - Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

Landon Kosior makes Huskie debut

Down to the wire

Jan 6, 2024 | 8:35 PM

There may have been a 12-point difference in the standings going into Saturday night’s Canada West men’s hockey game between the U of S Huskies and the Regina Cougars, but the game went down to the wire as Saskatchewan pulled out a 5-4 win over their provincial rivals at Merlis Belsher Place. 3^rd year winger Chantz Petruic broke a 4-4 tie with 4:01 remaining in the contest.

The Huskies took a 2-goal lead early in the final period when 1^st year forward Reed Jacobson scored his first goal of the season at the 3:45 mark. The Cougars showed great resilience on the road when Kade Runke scored 11 seconds later to cut the Huskie lead to 4-3. Regina then buried the equalizer when Paycen Bjorklund scored his 6^th of the season with 9:23 remaining.

Saskatchewan controlled the final stages of the contest leading up to Petruic’s game winner. “We kind of sat back after we got up 4-2, but I thought this game was a good way to get back into the swing of things for sure”, said Huskie head coach Brandin Cote. “I thought we did a lot of really good things. We out chanced them quite handily. Overall, it was a good team game and we found a way to get it done.”

Shane Collins, Keaton Sorensen and Vince Loschiavo scored the other Huskie goals, while Christian Reimer and Griffin Asham-Moroz also scored for the Cougars. Saskatchewan goaltender Roddy Ross made 20 saves for his 9^th win of the season. Regina’s Curtis Meger turned back 24 Huskie shots.

Former Prince Albert Raider, Landon Kosior, was impressive in his Huskie debut. He was part of the starting defensvie pairing with 3^rd-year blueliner Gunner Kinniburgh. “It was a lot faster than I was expecting”, said Kosior. “It was a lot of fun.” The Regina product logged a large amount of ice time and registered an assist in the second period.

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Kosior earned praise from his head coach. “I think he’s fantastic”, said Cote. “Even when we throw a lot at him, he just gets it! He’s very smart. You can put him in a lot of situations. We are happy to have him.” There is already a noticeable chemistry between Kosior and his teammates. “It’s a great group of guys”, Kosior said. “I feel like they are my brothers, already.”

The Huskies improved to 12 and 5 with the win and are now just two points back of fourth place Mount Royal in the Canada West standings with a game in hand. The second game of the Huskie-Cougar series is at 6:00 pm at Regina’s Brandt Centre on Sunday night and can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

X: @wraymorrison