University of Saskatchewan Huskies forward Justin Ball tips the puck past Trinity Western University goaltender Isaac LaBelle on Friday night. (Katie Brickman-Young/HuskieFAN) 

By Katie Brickman-Young

Loschiavo notches two points in return to lineup

Huskies men’s hockey stays perfect

Nov 12, 2021 | 10:36 PM

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team remain undefeated on the season.

The Huskies dominated the Trinity Western University Spartans on Friday night at Meris Belsher Place in Saskatoon, taking a 6-0 victory.

The Huskies started slow, something head coach Mike Babcock didn’t like, but his team made some changes after the first period and didn’t look back, scoring three goals in the second frame and added three more in the final period.

“We weren’t very good to start the game. We turned the puck over and didn’t execute. We didn’t prepare the way we should have with respect for our opponent,” said Babcock. “We obviously found our game and played a little better as time went on. It is a good win for us. I was happy to see the way we played in the second and third periods.”

Zane Franklin got the Huskies on the board 18 seconds into the second period. Justin Ball tipped a shot midway through the second period past Spartans goaltender, Isaac LaBelle on the powerplay.

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Rookie forward Brayden Camrud notched his first of the season to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead after the middle frame.

“We have a good team, but he has done a good job of finding a way of staying in the lineup,” said Babcock.

It was a much better period by the Huskies, who dominated the play on both sides of the puck, winning battles along the boards as well and scoring on the man advantage.

“I think the powerplay has really been coming here of late. We are a little hard-headed about what we want to do,” said Babcock. “We have enough skill to be good on it and we plan on being good at it.”

The Huskies continued to put goals on the board in the third period. Vince Loschiavo scored the Huskies second powerplay marker of the game on a back-door play on a tough angle to beat LaBelle, who finished with 38 saves on the night.

“It was nice to get a couple because the powerplay hasn’t been where we want it to be,” said Loschiavo. “I think just playing simple (is key). Even early on, we still had looks and getting the shots, it was just a matter of getting through their goalie.”

Loschiavo returned to the lineup for the Huskies, after missing the last three games to injury. He made the most of his return, notching a goal and an assist on the night.

“It feels great to be back. Whenever your hurt, its tough to watch, especially when the boys are winning, you just want to be out there. It took me a bit to get my feet going in the first period, but as the game went on, I felt better. It was a good team win,” he said.

Chantz Petruic added to the total on a Spartans giveaway, whipping a wrist shot past LaBelle. Jaxan Kaluski would finish the scoring with an unassisted goal with five minutes left in the game.

So far this season, 12 different players have scored goals for the Huskies. Depth was a key strength for Babcock’s team this season and they are seeing it pay off early to start the year.

“It is unbelievable to have depth like that. That’s what good teams have, especially later in the year and into playoffs,” said Loschiavo. “That’s how you get far is by having depth. Our team definitely has that, and we just want to keep rolling with that.”

The Huskies outshot the Spartans 44-14 and improved their record to 5-0 on the season. These two teams will face off again on Saturday evening (7 p.m., Merlis Belsher Place) and the focus will be on having a better start. This was the first-ever meeting between these two teams, as the Spartans make their USports debut this season.

“The focus has been on getting better every day. There are a bunch of levels of opponents, and we haven’t seen the league and there was two years in between playing, so we don’t really know what the other teams have until you face them,” said Babcock. “We like our product. We think we are getting better and that’s all that matters.”

Huskie Notes

• Donovan Neuls had two assists on the night, extending his point streak to five games.
• Goaltender Roddy Ross wasn’t particularly busy tonight, but picked up the 14-save shutout, his first of the season.
• Wyatt Johnson has missed the last four games due to an injury.
• The Huskies have outscored their opponents 24-5 to start the season.
• Huskies are one of two undefeated teams in the Canada West conference. UBC has the bye this week and are also undefeated to start the season.
• The Huskies haven’t lost a game at Merlis Belsher Place since Jan. 3, 2020.
• The Trinity Western University Spartans are making their USports debut this season. The were previously the BCIHL champions in 2018 and 2019 before making moving to the Canada West conference.