Colby Wilson's 35-save effort helped the Huskies earn a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Mount Royal Cougars on October 25. Photo courtesy Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics

By Ryan Flaherty

extra time effort

Huskies push Cougars to brink but settle for single point

Oct 25, 2024 | 11:41 PM

For the second straight game the Huskies women’s hockey team gave a nationally ranked opponent all they could handle but for a second straight game they left the ice with a single point after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday in Calgary.

Saskatchewan’s Kahlen Wisener and Mount Royal’s Jerzey Watteyne traded third period goals before Cougars leading scorer Aliya Jomha netted the winner with 47 seconds left in the extra frame. While the Dogs were disappointed to fall short, earning a point against the #3 ranked Cougars shouldn’t be overlooked, head coach Steve Kook said.

“It’s hard to be pissed at this crew. They worked hard to get one point, stayed in the game and as I said earlier this week, at this point right now, points are important, no matter how you get them,” he said.

Making her fourth consecutive start in goal, Colby Wilson was sharp from the opening faceoff. The fourth-year Huskie from Fort St. James, B.C. tracked the puck well all night and made several difficult stops in tight as the Cougars crashed her crease. Wilson finished the game with 35 saves.

After a scoreless forty minutes that saw the Cougars outshoot the Huskies 24-10, Saskatchewan seemed to find another gear in the third period. Just over six minutes in, Calgary product Jaiyana Nurani pushed the puck ahead to her twin sister and fellow rookie, Kaysah, who blew past a defender down the left wing and behind the Mount Royal net before centering to a wide open Wisener in the slot and the second-year Huskie beat Kaitlyn Ross for her second goal of the season.

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But a short time later, with Mount Royal working on the power play, a perfectly positioned Watteyne replied, sliding a rebound past Wilson from the top of the crease to level the score.

The Cougars mounted a strong push in the back half of the third but Wilson kept made several key stops to preserve the tie.

“Colby played a fantastic game. There was save she made with six minutes left and it was 1-1, blind shot coming across, stuck out her left leg and made that save. If she doesn’t play that way, we’re not even close,” Kook said.

The Huskies started overtime with plenty of puck possession but could only generate a single shot on Ross and as the extra session waned, a tired trio of Saskatchewan players got caught in their own zone and Athena Hauck fed the puck into the slot for Jomha, who slipped her defender and chipped the puck past Wilson to lift Mount Royal to victory.

With the overtime loss the Huskies record drops to 0-4-3, while the win pushes the Cougars to 6-1. MRU finished the night 1/4 on the power play while the Dogs were scoreless on four power play chances.

The teams will meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. in their final meeting of the regular season. The game can be heard on HuskieFAN.

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