Photo courtesy Matt Smith/Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics

By Ryan Flaherty

five straight wins

Another blowout win sends Huskies streaking into bye

Nov 9, 2024 | 10:46 PM

The Huskies men’s hockey team is heading into its first bye week on a five-game winning streak after blasting the Trinity Western Spartans 7-1 at Merlis Belsher Place on Saturday.

Josh Pillar led the scoring barrage with two goals and two assists and rookie goaltender Ethan Chadwick made 21 saves in his U SPORTS debut as the Dogs completed a dominant weekend sweep, outscoring the Spartans 13-2 in the two-game series.

Head coach Brandin Cote was pleased with the way his team handled its business against a weaker opponent.

“The tough part is just managing the habits and still playing with structure. It’s natural to kind of get away from that when you’re not challenged as much, so in that regard I thought our guys did a good job,” he said.

A four-goal outburst in the second period provided more than enough support for Chadwick, who learned early in the week that he would be making his first career start against TWU.

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“I just wanted to have as much fun as I could out there. The boys made me feel really good, they were really supportive before the game and I just kind of eased my way into it. It was really fun,” he said.

Starting Chadwick was the latest in a series of lineup decisions Cote has made this season designed to keep every player on the Huskies’ 29-man roster engaged and involved.

“He did a great job. He stood in there, he looked confident and it was great to get him that first win,” Cote said.

Chadwick wasn’t the only Huskie named Ethan to mark a milestone, as Mount Royal Cougars transfer Ethan Regnier tallied his first goal in a Saskatchewan jersey to open the scoring on a power play just over ten minutes in when his centering pass deflected off a Spartans defender and into the net.

Despite outshooting the Spartans 19-5 in the opening period the Dogs headed to the intermission with just the one goal but the floodgates opened in the second with their top scorer leading the charge. After a three-assist night on Friday, Dawson Holt wired a wrist shot just under the bar to double the lead at 3:46, then just 61 seconds later Ty Prefontaine shoveled a goalmouth pass from Pillar into the open side of the net for his second goal in as many nights.

Less than four minutes after that, Pillar scored his first of the night, taking advantage of some time and space in the slot to pick his spot and beat Spartans netminder Raphael Audet to the glove side. The Dogs capped the four-goal period with their second power play goal of the night as Carter Stebbings finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play from the top of the crease.

Pillar pushed the lead to a half dozen in the third, batting a puck out of mid-air after a Mac Gross point shot hit a defender and bounced over Audet’s head. The Spartans would spoil Chadwick’s shutout bid with a power play goal by Connor Farren before the Huskies completed the scoring with less than five minutes to go as Cohner Saleski, playing in his first game of the season, converted a centering feed from Keaton Sorensen.

While he missed out on a two-for-one milestone deal, Chadwick wasn’t lamenting the one that got away.

“Didn’t think about it too much. I didn’t expect a shutout, honestly, I was just happy with the win,” he said, adding that the game puck will join his collection along with one marking his first career WHL victory with the Saskatoon Blades.

The Huskies outshot the Spartans 49-22 on the night. Saskatchewan’s power play went 2-for-3 while Trinity Western scored once on three man advantages.

The Dogs now head into their first of two bye weeks with a 9-3 record and a trip to Edmonton for a pair of games against the archrival Alberta Golden Bears looming on the other side. The series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, November 22 at Clare Drake Arena.

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