The Huskies men's hockey team improved to 7-3 with a 5-0 win over the Manitoba Bisons on November 2. Photo: Matt Smith/Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics

By Ryan Flaherty

shutout victory

Complete effort gives Huskies weekend sweep of Manitoba

Nov 2, 2024 | 6:49 PM

A short turnaround was no trouble for the Huskies men’s hockey team as it delivered its best performance since the opening weekend of the season in a wire-to-wire 5-0 win over the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday in Winnipeg.

After squeaking out a 4-3 shootout victory one night earlier the Dogs returned to the ice for a 1 p.m. start looking no worse for wear as they took the game to the Bisons from the opening faceoff. With a number of fresh skaters inserted into the lineup and the usual switch in goal from Friday starter Roddy Ross to Jordan Kooy, the Huskies skated circles around a Manitoba team that had only two healthy bodies available from the group that did not dress on Friday.

The Dogs outshot the Herd 16-3 in the first period and 35-16 overall. While the Bisons managed to keep the score close through 40 minutes of play, the Huskies’ superior depth came to the fore as the game wore on.

“We came out with a lot of energy. It obviously helped to have an injection. We had four forwards chomping at the bit to get in there who are pretty good players and obviously getting (Ty) Prefontaine back in there (on defence), and Kooy was rested. I think that helped in a short turnaround, but overall I thought our depth really shone through today and everyone played hard,” head coach Brandin Cote said.

The Huskies opened the scoring exactly 16 minutes into the contest as Josh Pillar beat Bisons netminder Kolby Thornton high on the short side on the game’s first power play. Pillar’s second goal of the season gave Saskatchewan goals on back-to-back man advantages after Ben Tkachuk ended an 0/12 drought in the third period of Friday’s contest.

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Chantz Petruic doubled Saskatchewan’s lead midway through the second, finishing off a perfectly executed three-on-two rush with Pillar and Dawson Holt for his team-high fifth goal. While the Bisons managed to prevent any further damage in the frame, they struggled to generate much in the way of scoring chances, tallying just six shots by period’s end.

In the third, the Bisons simply couldn’t keep up with the breakneck pace and the Huskies took full advantage. At 8:06, Vince Loschiavo made it three straight successful power plays with a one-timer from his office at the left dot for his second goal in as many games. A short time later Brandon, Man. product Cole Jordan netted his first of the season. Holt completed the scoring with just over a minute remaining to extend his team-leading point total to 13.

“Yesterday we were cheating for offence and that’s not how you win. I thought the way we played today in terms of the heaviness that we played with on our stick and being physical when we had to be, I thought Ben (Tkachuk)’s line with Ferster and Penner were really good in that regard, and the other guys, we made them pay when we had an opportunity,” Cote said.

Pillar finished the day with a goal and two assists while Landon Kosior added three helpers from the blue line. Petruic, Holt and Loschiavo each recorded a goal and an assist. Jordan Kooy wasn’t busy but still made a couple of excellent saves among his 16 to earn his third career shutout and fourth win of the season.

The Huskies’ third straight win moves them into a tie with the Alberta Golden Bears for first place in the East division with a 7-3 record. However, the Golden Bears had the weekend off and hold two games in hand. The Bisons are 2-4-2 after Saturday’s loss.

The Dogs return home to face the Trinity Western Spartans on November 8 and 9. Friday’s game at Merlis Belsher Place is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.

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