Courtesy: Ryan Flaherty

By Wray Morrison

Pandas sweep Huskies in Edmonton

Halle Oswald shuts the door on Huskies

Oct 22, 2022 | 10:51 PM

For the first time this season the Huskies women’s hockey team finds itself on the wrong side of a weekend sweep after being blanked 3-0 by the Alberta Pandas on Saturday in Edmonton.

The Huskies split their first three series this season but could not continue the trend following a loss on Friday night. The Dogs scored just one goal in two games against the Pandas, and despite a better effort in Saturday’s game, head coach Steve Kook feels his team has more to give.

“We were better today but frankly I thought we were better last weekend against UBC,” he said. “(Alberta) outworked us, plain and simple. I don’t think we won many puck battles.”

Saskatchewan came out with a solid start, earning three first period power plays and outshooting Alberta 9-3 in the frame. Pandas fifth-year goaltender Halle Oswald had all the answers, keeping the game scoreless after one period.

The Pandas pounced on a power play of their own in the opening minute of the second as Taylor Anker tucked the puck between the outstretched pad of Camryn Drever and the goalpost off a cross-crease feed from Cassidy Maplethorpe. It was just the second power play goal conceded by the Dogs this season after killing off 96% of their penalties coming into the game.

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Natalie Kieser doubled the lead with just over five minutes left in the period, potting a rebound from just outside the blue paint.

The Huskies continued to search for offence in the third but ultimately could not solve Oswald, who recorded her second shutout of the season with a 23-save effort.

“We didn’t get many bounces today either but at the same time you’ve gotta work real hard to get bounces and I just thought that they outworked us on loose pucks,” Kook said. “Any time there was a 50-50 puck it wasn’t clean for us, it was contested and we didn’t have any real clean shots. That’s something that you have to fight through against competition like this.”

Maplethorpe completed the scoring on another power play late in the third, with Emily Holmes in the box after being whistled for two penalties on the same play. The Huskies protested the calls but moments later it was 3-0.

Saskatchewan now enters a bye week before returning to action November 4 to host the Regina Cougars in the first game of a home-and-home set.

“We’ll get a chance to breathe here and then get right back at it and we’ll get two or three good days of skating and then the players will have a good break away from us and I think they need that,” Kook said.

With the loss the Huskies record drops to 3-3-2 this season.

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