“We match up real well with Calgary.” – Steve Kook

The Huskie women’s hockey team visits the Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final starting on Friday, February 17^th at Father David Bauer Arena. There is little that separates these two teams. The fourth place Dinos finished just three points ahead of the Huskies in the Canada West regular season standings. Saskatchewan and Calgary also split their four games this season with all going to extra time. “We match up real well against Calgary”, said head coach Steve Kook.

The Dinos have a couple of high-end scorers that the Huskies will have to be mindful of. Alli Borrow leads the conference with 15 goals in 28 regular season games. Saskatoon’s Sydney Mercier is also a top end threat for the Dinos. The former Saskatoon Star has 22 points in 28 games this season. “They have a couple of players who have been on fire”, said Kook.

In contrast, Saskatchewan’s scoring is more by committee. Six Huskies had double-digit seasons. Sophie Lalor and Kara Kondrat led the team with 12 points each. Kook says his team can’t afford to let Calgary get the jump in this series. “We have to have a good start and try get some of that momentum”, said Kook. The head coach also sees special teams as being a key in the series. “We have to click a little bit more on the power play.”

The Huskies have the luxury of having two goaltenders see meaningful minutes this season. Camryn Drever has 8 wins in 17 appearances, while Colby Wilson has 6 victories in 11 contests. 3^rd year goaltender Gabriella Durante is Calgary’s undisputed starter with a sparkling 1.96 goals against average in 27 games in the 2022-23 regular season.