The Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team surprised everyone with their start to this season — and not in a good way.
The team didn’t earn a win in their first four regular-season games.
Head coach Dave Adolph felt it had a lot to do with a number of pre-season games they didn’t play, as the Huskies only took to the ice twice in the pre-season.
“The more opportunities you play in a game situation, the better you are,” Adolph said. “Looking back, I don’t know if I would have changed it.”
But the team has rallied since then, going 11-1 and are now tied for second with the Calgary Dinos, four points behind the Alberta Golden Bears.
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“Everything takes a little time,” Adolph said.
“The way we played the last few weeks, all our young guys got an opportunity to play because of some injuries. We couldn’t have done anything different in a good way.”
The women’s team sits in second heading into the break. They’ve won their last three games and are tied with the Alberta Pandas, four points behind the Calgary Dinos.
Head coach Steve Kook said the focus for the team heading into the break was to get as many points as possible.
“We got 13 out of a possible 18 points,” Kook said, adding that it’s too early to be comfortable in their current place in the standings.
“I think the spot that we’re in at least gives us a chance to have a little bit of control where we end up.
“We’ve been done at Valentine’s Day before and we don’t want to be in that situation.”
Kook wants his team to keep their eyes on the prize as they turn their attention to their studies and the break.
“With the number of fifth-years that we have, we’re hoping that we get a veteran-led group and that showed up in the last three weeks,” Kook said.
“And the message is just come back in the second half ready to sprint to the finish line.”
The Huskies are off for the month of December as the student-athletes prepare for exams and spending time with their families.
The teams are back in action on Jan. 3 and 4. The men host the Golden Bears while the women travel to Edmonton to take on the Pandas.