Ending on a high note

Feb 14, 2026 | 10:52 PM

What a difference a day makes. Thanks to a third period rally, the Huskie women’s hockey team pulled out a 3-2 win over the Mount Royal Cougars on Saturday night at Merlis Belsher Place to end the 2025-26 season on a high note. There was bitter disappointment 24 hours earlier when the USask dropped a 4-0 game to MRU, ending Saskatchewan’s playoff hopes.

On Saturday the team paid tribute to the graduating players from the program and many of those players were influential in turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win. Mount Royal’s Allee Gerrard scored in the first period and Kiana McNinch followed that up with a second period marker, but the Huskies rallied with three goals in a three-and-a-half-minute span in the third period.

In her last game as a Huskie, Sara Kendall buried her fifth of the season at 12:44 to bring the crowd at Merlis Belsher Place to its feet. “What a way for our captain to lead the (the team)”, said Huskie head coach Steve Kook.

Another graduating player, Jayde Cadieux, followed that up with the equalizer three minutes later. Saskatchewan continued to pour on the pressure and with two minutes and 45 seconds remaining, Kahlen Wisener deposited her 10th of the season in the Cougar net to give the Huskies a 3-2 lead. Fifth-year goaltender Colby Wilson turned aside nine third period shots and made 17 saves on the night for her 8th win of the season.

Kendall, Cadieux, Wilson, Kendra Zuchotski, McKenna Bolger Bronwyn Boucher and Paris Oleksyn are the seven players who suited up for the last time with the Huskies. “It (six seasons) went by really fast” said Zuchotski.

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When asked for a career highlight, Zuchotski looked back to her rookie year when the Huskies advanced to the U SPORTS women’s championships in 2022. “I scored the game winning goal in the bronze medal game at nationals. We were considered the underdogs and no one thought we’d make it that far.”

Kendall admitted that Saturday was a bitter-sweet day for the Huskies. When asked for her fondest memories with the program, she too looked back to the 2022 U SPORTS championships. “In our first game at nationals, I scored my first goal”, she said. “The older players told me to take that moment in.” The Ponteix, Saskatchewan product admitted she will miss the road trips. “All the times on the bus, I was the loudest one”, she joked.

There were plenty of smiles by the players following the win. Kook, who has been the head coach of the Huskies since 2005, had this assessment; “There are certain things you remember in an athletic career. They (graduating players) are going to remember what the last days were like with this program. If this win is a lasting memory they have, I’m happy.”

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

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by Wray Morrison

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Ending on a high note

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