Another chapter in a great rivalry
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Even though the Huskie men’s hockey team finished fourth in the Canada West standings in 2023-24 and the Alberta Golden Bears, fifth, this rivalry continues to be one of the best in Canadian amateur hockey. These are two programs with storied traditions and for a 23-year stretch, from 1997 to 2019, were the only two Canada West conference champions.
The two schools meet again in a highly anticipated best-of-three Canada West quarter-final, starting Friday at Merlis Belsher Place. The teams split their four regular season meetings. Saskatchewan defeated Alberta 3-1 in the first contest on November 3rd in Edmonton. The Bears responded with a 4-3 victory the next night. On January 26th, at Merlis Belsher Place, the U of S doubled the U of A 4-2, the visitors earned a split of that series with a 2-1 win on the 27th.
Like Saskatchewan, Alberta has an experienced roster. The Bears advanced all the way to the University Cup last season and got to the national final before losing to the UNB Reds 3-0 in the title game. “We’re playing a veteran team”, said Huskie head coach Brandin Cote. “They’ve got some guys who went to the national championship last year, so that’s going to be a challenge for us, but at the same time I’m liking our match-up at home.” The U of S won 9 of 14 at home this season. Alberta was 8-5 and 1 on the road.
The Huskies enter the season with a pair of empowered goaltenders. Roddy Ross won 11 regular season games while Jordan Kooy registered 9 victories. “It’s good to know we have two really solid guys”, said Cote. “Those guys have worked very hard. It’s a solid 1-2 combo. We’re comfortable with either of them. In the perfect world we’d like to get them both in this series. Whoever is in there, we know, is going to a job for us.”
