Watch above: no question mark in net for the Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team
SASKATOON- There will be a few question marks this season for the young Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team, but goaltending shouldn’t be one of them.
“I think that Ryan Holfeld is one of the best goalies in the country and we think that Jordon Cooke is going to be the next one.” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph before practice on Wednesday.
Ryan Holfeld has been a workhorse for the team. No other goalie in Canada West has played more minutes in the last two seasons than the Huskies netminder.
The 25-year-old carries a heavy workload off the ice as well, as he’s now in his second year of law school at the University of Saskatchewan.
“It’s definitely a little tiring some weeks,” said Holfeld, “But I’m trying to stay ahead of the game and get my school stuff done when I’m away from the rink and worry about hockey when I’m here.”
At the end of the season, Holfeld will pass the torch to freshman goalie Jordon Cooke. The 21-year-old from Leduc, Alta. is coming off a stellar season with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, posting a 2.28 GAA and 92.2 save percentage in 51 regular season games.
Cooke was named the CHL’s goalie of the year and you would think it would be difficult to recruit a goaltender of Cooke’s calibre, but all it took was one phone call.
“When Dave called me and asked me, that (Saskatoon) was kind of the place that I wanted to go to.” said Cooke. “At the time I was dealing with a couple of other schools, but Dave really convinced me to come here and I’m pretty excited to be here.”
Ryan Holfeld has played virtually every single game for the Huskies over the past two seasons. That will change with Cooke’s arrival, as Adolph wants to give his first year goalie some meaningful playing time.
The Huskies will host their season opener against the Regina Cougars on Friday night, with Ryan Holfeld in between the pipes. On Saturday Jordon Cooke will make his first start in the CIS when the series shifts to the Queen City.
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