Courtesy: Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

Petruic scores 20th of the season

Huskies close out season with win over Bisons to finish first overall

Feb 15, 2025 | 10:31 PM

The Canada West men’s hockey regular season is in the books and the Huskies will enjoy home ice advantage throughout the 2025 Canada West playoffs. Saskatchewan put a lock on top spot in the conference’s overall standings with a 4-2 win over the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday night at Merlis Belsher Place.

U of S resilience was tested early when Andre Sutter gave the Bisons a 1-0 lead at the 5:23 mark of the first period. The Huskies drew even in the late stages of the opening frame when veteran Chance Petruic scored his 19^th of the season. Petruic then buried his milestone 20^th goal on a nice feed from teammate Vince Loschiavo at 12:33 of the second period. Loschiavo immediately raced over and picked up the puck for Petruic. “I was really happy for him (Petruic) to get it”, said Loschiavo. “He’s worked hard all year.”

Petruic, a 4^th-year veteran from Moose Jaw, was quick to put the spotlight on others after the game. “I’ve got to give credit to my teammates” he said while holding an ice pack to his face after the game. “Guys are stepping up every single night and that’s what makes a good team. We don’t have a third or fourth line, we have four first lines. That’s just how it feels to us.”

Saskatchewan received some insurance from Carter Stebbings who used his speed to beat Bison goaltender Ross Hawryluk with three minutes remaining in the middle frame. The Huskies’ top ranked penalty kill held a Bison 5-on-3 situation at bay early in the third period. “It doesn’t really phase us”, said Huskie head coach Brandin Cote. “Our penalty kill has been unbelievable all year. We didn’t really give them much.”

Manitoba cut the lead to 3-2 five minutes into the third period on Michael King’s fourth goal of the season, however the Huskies put the game out of reach with a Jarrett Penner marker with just over three minutes remaining.

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4^th-year goaltender Jordan Kooy turned aside 17 shots for the win. The Huskies’ other 4^th-year goalie, Roddy Ross, made 21 saves in a 2-1 win over the Bisons on Friday night. Ross has the best goals against average in the conference, while Kooy, from Bradford, Ontario, has won 12 of 13 games this season. “Our team is better off with two goalies that you can rely on”, said Kooy. “No matter who is in the net, everyone is confident.”

The Huskies get a bye for the February 21-22-23 weekend, and then will host either the MacEwan Griffins or the UBC Thunderbirds in a best-of-three Canada West semi-final starting on February 28^th. Cote was asked about his team’s practice schedule considering the bye. “We’ll get a couple of days rest, but we are going to practice more than we usually do. Friday is going to be a scrimmage just to keep up more of a routine. Once we find out we are playing we can dive into more of the pre-scout stuff.”

Mount Royal finished on top spot in the west division standings and will host either Alberta or Calgary in the other conference semi-final series.

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

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