Watch above: The Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team is seeking home ice advantage in the post-season. Jack Haskins looks at how the team with 11 rookies is gearing up for the stretch drive.
SASKATOON – A record of 9-10-1 is pretty average, but considering the massive roster turnover the Saskatchewan Huskies had to overcome this season, the Dogs are please with where they’re at.
“We thought that we’d be a third, fourth, or fifth place team given the strength of our defence and goaltending,” said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph. “We think that we’re as strong as, if not better than Mount Royal, and we feel that we are right in competition with Calgary and Manitoba.”
Considering Saskatchewan has 11 rookies on it’s roster this season, simply making the playoffs would be a victory for the Huskies. But the Dogs are an ambitious bunch. They want to push for third place in the Canada West, which would give Saskatchewan home ice advantage in the first round of the post-season.
“Rutherford is a hard place for anybody to come in and play,” said Huskies forward Josh Roach. “I think if we get home ice we can maybe do some damage in the playoffs.”
READ MORE: Latest news from Saskatchewan Huskies athletics
The Dogs will have the perfect opportunity to close the gap on third place when they host the Calgary Dinos this weekend. The Dinos sit in third in the standings with 26 points, while the Huskies are tied for fourth with 19 points. A pair of wins for Saskatchewan would put the Huskies within striking distance of catching the Dinos with six games remaining.
There is also a potential milestone looming for Huskies head coach Dave Adolph. Saskatchewan’s bench boss is one victory shy of recording the most coaching wins in CIS history. Adolph is currently tied with Clare Drake for that honour with 377 wins a piece.
However, Adolph isn’t overly concerned about breaking the coaching wins record, and he refuses to compare himself in any way to Clare Drake, a man who Adolph has a tremendous amount of respect for.
“Clare Drake’s shadow is cast all across North America in terms of things he’s done for the game. I mean, I’m not even in his league.”
If the Huskies earn career win number 378 for Adolph this weekend, the Dogs head coach believes that those two points will likely (but not mathematically) secure a playoff spot for Saskatchewan.
Comments