Huskies stalled by T-Birds in semifinal defeat to end season

Kook said he was also proud of the resilience the fifth-ranked Huskies showed, forcing a full three-game series against UBC, a team that went undefeated at home through the regular season.

Additionally, Saskatchewan’s fans rivalled the home base for both the quarter-final and semifinal series.

“We just have a loyal group and they bleed green,” Kook said. “It means a lot to them.”

Huskies led shots on goal for the majority of Game 3, something they were unable to do in the two games prior.

Thunderbirds netminder Elise Hugens started all three games, turning away 26 goals Sunday for her second shutout of the playoffs.

She faced 52 shots, allowing two goals, through three postseason starts for a goals against average of 0.68 and a 0.962 save percentage. Hugens finished first among Canada West qualified goaltenders through the regular season.

UBC opened scoring the earliest of the series Sunday, with a power play marker from rookie Cassidy Rhodes 3:12 into the first period. Third-year Chanreet Bassi collected her second assist of the playoffs on the eventual game winner.

Maintaining a 1-0 lead through th opening frame, UBC put another past Drever at 3:11 in the second period scored by Sophia Gaskell — her second of the series — helped by Jacqueline Flemming and Bassi.

Bassi finished the night with UBC’s third and final goal, 18:02 into the third, assisted by Grace Elliott and Gaskell.

Huskies goaltender Camryn Drever made 24 saves on the night.

Through five playoff starts in 2023, the fourth-year Edmonton product faced 167 shots against and allowed eight goals.

Drever recorded one postseason shutout and finished with a goals against average of 1.61 and 0.952 save percentage through the quarter-final and semifinal rounds.

Huskies fourth-years Sophie Lalor and Isbella Pozzi both finished with five points each through Saskatchewan’s five playoff games.

Lalor notched three goals, all on the power play — two of which were game winners — and two assists for her five.

Pozzi scored twice, including a game-winning power play marker, and helped three times for her five-point total.

Overall, Huskies special teams were strong in the postseason, finishing first in the conference through five playoff games going four-for-15 on the player advantage and 19-for-21 on the kill.

Saskatchewan went 0-for-five on the powerplay Sunday, and two-for-three on the penalty kill in Game 3.

The semifinal defeat ends the 2022-23 season for the Huskies.

UBC will once again host the best-of-three Canada West Final series, from Friday, March 3, through Sunday, March 5.

The third-ranked Mount Royal University Cougars upset their second-ranked hosts, the University of Alberta Pandas, in a Game 3 win Sunday to claim the other Canada West semifinal.

Both conference finalists receive berths to the national U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship, hosted this year in Montreal, Que. from March 16-19.

Relive all the magic of the 2022-23 season through archived Huskies women’s hockey broadcasts on the HuskieFAN app and at huskiefan.ca.

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daniella.ponticelli@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @dponticelliTV

by Daniella Ponticelli

Huskies stalled by T-Birds in semifinal defeat to end season

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