Courtesy: Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

A series sweep over the Bisons

Huskies take seven game win streak into January 24th-25th series with the Alberta Golden Bears

Jan 18, 2025 | 10:44 PM

Less than 24 hours after clinching a Canada West playoff spot, the Huskie men’s hockey team extended its win streak to seven games with a 5-0 shutout over the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday night at Merlis Belsher Place. Saskatchewan dominated play in the first period, but didn’t find the net until the final minute of the opening frame when Vince Loschiavo scored his 12^th goal of the season. The Winnipeg product is now on a six-game point streak.

Despite outshooting 18-1 in the second period, the Huskies were not able to increase the lead. Third year goaltender Kolby Thornton, from Winnipeg, made save after save to keep Manitoba in the hockey game. “Give credit to their goalie”, said Loschiavo. “He was phenomenal.”

With the focus on getting more traffic to the net, the Huskies were finally able to get some insurance in the third period. Dawson Holt scored one of four U of S power-play goals at 2:11. After Raphael Pelletier scored an even strength goal, Carter Stebbings added another on the power play to make it 4-0.

Loschiavo was not only lethal with his shot, but at times created havoc around the Bison net as the Huskies concentrated on creating more traffic in front of Thornton. “You’re not always going to score the nice goals from outside”, he said. “The message was to just get to the blue paint and create more opportunities.”

Frustration got the better of Manitoba in the late stages of the game. Skyler Bruce of the Bisons took a run at Loschiavo near the Manitoba bench giving Saskatchewan another power play chance. Ashton Ferster was then credited with the Huskies’ final goal of the night with 3:31 remaining. The U of S was 4-for-7 with the man advantage and has the top ranked power play in the conference at 36.5%.

A series sweep over the Bisons

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The U of S outshot Manitoba 23-5 in the third period and 56-12 in the hockey game. Thornton, who was briefly shaken up in the third period after a collision, made several big stops despite being under siege for the entire game. Cote had nothing but respect for Thornton and Bisons following the game. “They competed hard”, he said. “You have to give them credit. I think they’ve got a better team than what’s shown sometimes.” The Bisons have just four regulation wins in 20 games this season.

Huskie goaltender Jordan Kooy registered his eighth win and second shutout of the season. Cote liked his team’s defensive play and break outs. “To me we played a really complete game all around, and that’s what we need.”

Elsewhere in Canada West hockey on Saturday night, Alberta rallied with five third period goals to beat Regina 6-3 in Edmonton. The Golden Bears lead the Huskies by four points for top spot in the Canada West standings, however Saskatchewan has two games in hand, setting up a first-place showdown between the U of A and the U of S on the January 24^th-25^th weekend in Saskatoon. “They are the biggest games of the year to this point”, said Loschiavo. “We just have to have a good week of practice. We will be prepared for them and we are excited for the challenge.” While coach Brandin Cote will ensure is team is focused on puck management, he is content going into the series. “We won’t do a whole lot different than what we normally do”, he said. “We may make some slight adjustments.”

The January 24^th Bear-Huskie game will start at 7:00 PM at Merlis Belsher Place. The puck drops at 5:00 PM for the January 25^th contest. Both games can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

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