Huskies win semifinal Game 1 with 1 goal against MRU

The Edmonton-product is now 3-0-0 on her postseason starts, with back-to-back shutout victories.

Huskies head coach Steve Kook said while Drever was solid between the pipes, the team did whatever they could to keep the lead secure.

“I’ll quote our defensive coach Brian McGregor, ‘This group is scrappier than any team in Canada West.’ And that’s what saved us tonight,” said Kook.

“We scrapped our way through the second … I thought we managed better in the third, but we certainly scrapped our way through this one.”

Friday’s postseason win was a dish best served cold, fittingly in the same frigid rink of the Flames Community Arenas where the Huskies were dealt back-to-back 1-0 shutout losses in early December.

WATCH: Huskies goaltender Camryn Drever and head coach Steve Kook speak after Saskatchewan’s Game 1 win in the Canada West semifinal on March 4, 2022.

After missing the Huskies’ Canada West quarterfinal due to a shoulder injury, third-year forward Kara Kondrat found the puck 3:08 into the first period and sent it into the top-left corner.

“There was a quick change and I was heading into the zone and the puck popped right to me and I saw a corner and it worked,” said Kondrat, whose family was among the Huskie supporters in the crowd.

Mallory Dyer and Brooklyn Stevely were credited for the assists on the eventual game winner.

Cougar’s netminder Zoe De Beauville finished with 12 saves on the night.

WATCH: Huskies third-year forward Kara Kondrat speaks after scoring the lone goal to secure a 1-0 shutout win in Game 1 of the Canada West semifinal.

The low-scoring game was also low on penalities. Saskatchewan and Mount Royal each stayed perfect going three-for-three on their respective penalty kills.

For Kondrat, the win is fuel for Game 2.

“This is huge for us, having the momentum. These are going to be neck-and-neck games and we know that,” she said.

“We can’t be settled with this game. We can’t come satisfied. We have to come just as hard tomorrow.”

Game 2 on Saturday will start one hour earlier at 6 p.m. local time, 7 p.m. CST.

If needed, Sunday’s Game 3 will also start at 6 p.m. local, 7 p.m. CST.

The other Canada West semifinal this weekend is being played in Vancouver, where second-seed University of British Columbia Thunderbirds host third-seed University of Alberta Pandas.

UBC took Game 1 in that series Friday with a 2-1 win.

The higher-seed winner of the Canada West semifinals hosts the championship series March 11-13.

Listen to all Huskie’s women’s hockey games live and archived on the HuskieFAN app and huskiefan.ca

by Daniella Ponticelli

Huskies win semifinal Game 1 with 1 goal against MRU

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