Huskies secure split with shutout win over Cougars

After a sleepy opening ten minutes, the Huskies broke through as Kara Mitenko forced a turnover deep in the Regina zone, then carried the puck behind the net before centering to a wide open Nurani, who one-timed it past Cougars goaltender Payton Schlamp for her second goal of the season.

USask had several opportunities to add to its lead, including a pair of power plays, but could not produce any more goals. However, they continued to forecheck hard and on the few occasions when Regina generated their own chances, Backman was there to make the save.

The Huskies did some of their best defensive work late in the third period when they repeatedly forced the Cougars back into their own zone, preventing Schlamp from leaving her net for an extra attacker until there was just half a minute to play. A flurry in the final ten seconds resulted in a couple of shots but Regina could not beat Backman, who made one last save at the buzzer to seal the win.

Saskatchewan outshot Regina 22-21 on the night. With the victory, the Huskies vaulted past the Trinity Western Spartans and back into first place in the Canada West standings with a 4-1-1 record. The Cougars fell to 2-4 and sit last in the West division.

The Huskies return home next weekend to host the UBC Thunderbirds, with Friday’s series opener scheduled for 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

Listen to every Huskies home and away game live on the free HuskieFAN app and huskiefan.ca.

GAME SUMMARY – Huskies 1, Cougars 0

by Ryan Flaherty

Huskies secure split with shutout win over Cougars

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