B.C. bound

The U of S women’s hockey team will board a plane for BC this weekend. The 5 and 1 Huskies visit the Trinity Western Spartans on October 27^th and 28^th. The games are at two different venues. Friday’s contest is at the George Preston Recreation Centre while Saturday’s is at the more spacious Langley Events Centre.

“One (George Preston Recreation Centre) is similar to Rutherford Rink”, said Huskie head coach Steve Kook. “Small, cramped spaces, you’ve got to execute, you’ve got to move the puck, you have to be clean. On Saturday we play in the Langley Events Centre, where the Vancouver Giants play. A little bit more space, a little bit more room to move and skate.”

The Spartans are 3 and 2 with a shoot-out loss this season, good for seven points in the Canada West standings. “They play tough, they work hard”, said Kook. “They have all those little things, compete wise, that they are good at. When you play these teams, you have to move the puck. You’ll get caught if you stand still.

The Spartans have a number of Saskatchewan born players on their roster, which Kook believes will add motivation this weekend. (McKenzie Mayo, Brooklyn Anderson, Ashlee Wolfe, Kailey Ledoux, Olivia Leier) Kook says there is a noticeable Saskatchewan trait to their strategy. “I don’t know if you can call it prairie style, but they play tough. We need to make sure we are executing cleanly.”