It was a game-winning goal resembling a sight seen so often at SaskTel Centre. Only this time, it was with the Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place.
It was a breakaway goal from former Saskatoon Blade Trevor Wong that helped send the Huskies to the conference finals this weekend.
“He was a huge addition to our group. He’s what we call a blue-chip recruit, and we were super super lucky to get him,” said Huskies men’s hockey coach Brandin Cote.
“It’s been a learning process for him, coming into this type of hockey. It’s bigger, stronger, faster guys, and it took him a little bit to get going. But he’s really hit his groove here. He’s a big-time player. He’s a guy who shows up in the big moments, and he showed that the other night with the goal he scored.”
For himself, Wong says there were a lot of emotions that drained from last weekend, and he’s excited to get back on the ice this Friday.
“Take this week to reset, get our game back, and it should be a great weekend,” Wong said ahead of practice Wednesday.
The Huskies, stacked with a number of former Blades and some previous NHL draft picks, will face tough competition in the conference finals this weekend when the Mount Royal Cougars come to town.
The Cougars were the only team to beat the Huskies on home ice in the regular season, a 4-0 win over Saskatchewan on Oct. 25.
Mount Royal was only a shade behind the Huskies in terms of power-play percentage, and the two teams were separated by only four goals when it came to goal differential.
The sides come in as the number one and number two seeds, as both teams won their division this season.
Perhaps a sign of how evenly matched Mount Royal and the Huskies are is that both teams played the full three-game series to get through the semifinals and even won their respective game-three contests by the exact 4-2 score.
“They’ve got a lot of firepower up front. They’ve got some guys that are big and heavy that can play hard and play physical. Their goaltending is really good. They’ve got a pretty good back end, so they are a pretty well-rounded team with some skill,” said Cote.
The Mount Royal Cougars ousted the Alberta Golden Bears last weekend to reach the Canada West Final for the first time since joining the conference in 2013.
Justin Lies scored the series-clinching goal in game three.
“This whole program, our whole group taking that next step and moving onto the finals and a birth in the national championship, is a real big deal for us, so it was just an amazing win,” Lies said.
Cougars Coach Bert Gilling says the ultimate goal is a conference championship.
“There is no banners for getting in first place, and there is no banners for winning the semifinals. You get a banner when you win the playoff championship.”
Saskatchewan last won the Canada West conference in 2020.
Brandin Cote says the Huskies will have to be on top of their game against a Mount Royal team that’s hungry for a championship.
“We really have to manage the puck well. They are a team that feeds off transition. Their power play was second to ours in the league. So, they’ve got some guys who can make you pay, so discipline is going to be important.”
His message to players this week is to soak it all in and enjoy the moment.
“Just enjoy it. We’ve earned the opportunity to be here and host it.”
Game one goes Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place.
- With files from Glen Campbell
