Randy SavoieIn a key series against CIS No. 1 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, the Golden Bears hockey team pulled through, earning a sweep and putting an end to their two-game losing streak.
After a scoreless first period in Friday night’s game, the Bears broke through in the second, as Riley Keiser tipped home Jayden Hart’s point shot to make it 1-0 for the home side. Jordan Rowley and Kruise Reddick each scored in the third period to seal the 3-0 win for the Bears.
Head coach Serge Lajoie credited his team with sticking to the game plan and coming out on top with the victory. “Overall, I think our total buy in, and everybody committing to short shifts and pushing the pace was very important,” he said.
It was a chippy affair on Friday night, as the two teams combined for 96 minutes in penalties, with three different Huskies hit with game misconduct penalties. Bears forward Stephane Legualt was also assesed a game misconduct as well.
Despite the extracurricular antics, the Bears were able to keep focused and not let the nature of the game distract them, according to Lajoie.
“It was important for us to keep our emotions in check and stick together,” he said.
Reddick finished with a goal and an assist in the victory, while Luke Siemens made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season.
The momentum carried over to Saturday night for the Bears, as they used a dominant third period to take the victory by a score of 5-2. After entering the period with a slim 3-2 lead, the Bears took over the game, outshooting the Huskies 16-3, and were rewarded for their efforts just over 11 minutes into the third when Stephane Legault buried his sixth goal of the season to make it 4-2. Jamie Crooks would ultimately ice the game with just under five minutes left, scoring his 11th goal of the season.
Lajoie credited his team with keeping their shift lengths short in the first two periods, and said that allowed them to keep the intensity up and play at a level the Huskies couldn’t match.
“For us to be able to put ourselves in a position to exert our will on teams in the third period, it’s our commitment in the first and second to short shifts,” he said. “To me, that’s the biggest indicator of a buy in from our team, and it’s the highest level of buy in we’ve had all year.”
With only one more weekend of games left before the end of the season, the Bears find themselves fully into playoff preparation mode. Their final series of the season pits them against their provincial rivals, the Mount Royal Cougars, who currently sit one point ahead of the Bears for second place in the Canada West standings.
“We’re really in playoff mode right now,” Lajoie said. “This was an opportunity for us to establish ourselves as a team and as a program against the best team in Canada.”
“There’s now a confidence in our dressing room that if we play the game plan as it’s laid out for us, there’s a high likelihood the results will end in our favour.”
The Bears will take on the Cougars in a home-and-home series on Feb. 12 and 13, with the season finale going at 6 p.m. at Clare Drake Arena.
