Photo courtesy: Huskie Athletics/Electric Umbrella Images Ltd.

By Ryan Flaherty

rivalry growing

Bouchard lifts Cougars to OT win over Huskies

Jan 17, 2026 | 12:42 AM

A heavyweight bout between the Saskatchewan Huskies and Mount Royal Cougars lived up to the hype and it was the Cougars who landed the knockout punch as Connor Bouchard’s second goal of the game lifted Mount Royal to a 5-4 overtime win on Friday night in Calgary.

Ex-Cougar Ethan Regnier scored twice against his former team and Jordan Kooy made one of the saves of the year in OT but the Huskies had to settle for a single point in the battle between two of the top three teams in the U SPORTS rankings.

The top-ranked Cougars drew first blood on a power play goal by Spencer Moe midway through the opening period but the number-three ranked Huskies responded on a man advantage of their own just three minutes later. After Justin Lies was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a hit from behind on Dogs defenceman Cole Jordan, USask wasted no time with Dawson Holt scoring just eight seconds into the power play. Holt’s ninth goal of the season was also his 100th career point with the Huskies.

Blake Stevenson restored the Cougars lead four and a half minutes into the second period but once again the visitors had an answer as Regnier, playing his first game at Flames Community Arenas since joining the Huskies last season, tallied his first two goals of the season in a four-minute span to put the Dogs in front, 3-2.

The lead lasted just 30 seconds, however, as Bouchard flashed the skills that helped earn him 2024 U SPORTS Player of the Year honours, stickhandling his way through a series of defenders before beating Huskies netminder Jordan Kooy to knot the score at three.

Season wrap up

HuskieFAN partners hosts USask women's hockey team

Mar 31, 2026

St. Mary's pulls out OT win over USask

Huskies eliminated at University Cup

Mar 20, 2026

University Cup preparations continue

Roulette named U SPORTS men's hockey rookie of the year

Mar 18, 2026

Mount Royal nosed back in front early in the third with captain Kyle Walker sneaking in from the point and putting a centering pass upstairs for the Cougars second power play goal of the night. The back-and-forth affair continued as Jordan, who remained in the game after the hit from Lies, wristed home his second goal of the season.

The final 15 minutes of regulation saw the teams trade chances but neither found the net, sending the game to three-on-three overtime.

After a controversial non-call when Conner Roulette appeared to be tripped as he tried to drive to the MRU net, the Cougars went the other way on an odd-man rush and Bouchard had a wide open net only to have Kooy leap across and make a spectacular save.

But the fourth-year forward would have the last laugh on Mount Royal’s next trip down the ice, accepting a pass on the right side of the net then outwaiting Kooy before firing the puck home to deliver the win for the Cougars.

Mount Royal outshot Saskatchewan 32-31 and scored twice on four power plays while the Huskies converted one of three with the man advantage. USask now sits at 13-4-2 on the season while the victory moves MRU to 14-5-2, two points up on the Huskies for second place in the East Division. The Dogs still have two games in hand on the Cougars.

The teams will meet again on Saturday with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m. MST (6 p.m. Sask). Every Huskies home and away game can be heard live on the free HuskieFAN app.

—

X: @RFlahertypxp