SASKATOON – It took four years for the Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team to dethrone the Alberta Golden Bears. In the end, it all came down to 15 seconds at Rutherford Rink Saturday night.
That’s how quickly Jesse Ross and Logan McVeigh turned a 1-0 third period deficit into a 2-1 lead – one the Huskies would not relinquish on their way to their first Canada West title since 2012.
READ MORE: No love lost between the Huskies and Golden Bears
The Huskies’ 3-2 victory in game two was made even sweeter by the fact that it came against their biggest rival.
“These two teams have a long history over 100 years so any time we play them, we want to play our hearts out and I think the guys did that tonight,” Huskies’ defenceman Zak Stebner said.
“Our purpose is a little bigger than theirs, because they’ve done this before and they’re trying to three-peat. We’re just trying build with our young kids so it was important to us,” head coach Dave Adolph said.
WATCH: Highlights from the game
That sense of purpose was evident all season. The memory of a former teammate, Cody Smuk, helped drive the dogs to new heights. Smuk passed away in June 2015 after a battle with cancer.
“To do this for Cody, I mean, he was a heart and soul guy and that was one of the things we wanted to do this year, is play for him and just kind of grind and work and I think this team was exactly
what he embellished,” captain Kendall McFaull said.
Now the Huskies have one more mountain to climb. They’ll begin their quest for a second national championship in program history on March 17 in Halifax, N.S.
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