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The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and Mount Royal University Cougars will need a third and deciding game 3 on Sunday night to decide the Canada West men’s hockey championship after the Cougars took a 2-1 overtime win on Saturday.
For a majority of the game at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon the Huskies held the lead after Trevor Wong scored with 3:19 remaining in the first period to take the Dogs to 1-0.
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The Huskies held on to that score and had plenty of chances even strength and on the power play, but couldn’t solve Cougars goaltender Shane Farkas.
With 4:45 remaining in the third period, the Cougars took advantage of those missed opportunities and made them pay.
Former Regina Pats defenceman Kyle Walker ripped a wrist shot from the blue line and had it deflect off Teague Patton in front of the net to put the puck past Huskies goaltender Roddy Ross to give the Cougars the equalizing goal.
With the game tied, the Huskies were given a five minute power play after centre Liam Keeler was hit in the head by Cougar Josh Tarzwell as he was cutting up ice towards the boards.
Initially, the referee didn’t call the penalty, but the linesmen later helped him reverse his decision.
Keeler didn’t return to the game following the hit. Huskies head coach Brandin Cote confirmed after the game that Keeler had a concussion and was unlikely to start game 3 on Sunday.
The Huskies had a power play for the remainder of regulation and the first two minutes of overtime, but it couldn’t muster anything past Farkas.
With 11:08 left in overtime, Clay Hanus scored off a one-timer to give the Cougars the overtime win and force a winner-take-all third game on Sunday night.
MRU takes the game in overtime with a score of 2-1.
Back at it tomorrow for Game 3 at Merlis Belsher Place.#HuskiePride | #PowerOfThePack pic.twitter.com/KNDD3mqrF9
— Huskie Men's Hockey (@HuskieMHKY) March 9, 2025
“Pretty greasy,” said Hanus when asked about what he thought of his overtime winning goal.
“Teague skated up the ice and kind of just put it my way. In overtime, I think everything kind of goes on net so that I just throw it there. Fortunately, I got a lucky bounce.
“The boys played really well. Yeah, we were down one goal most of the game, but I thought personally we controlled most of the play through a lot of the game,” Hanus added. “It was nice it kind of showed for that at the end of the game.”
On the other side of the arena, the Huskies were left pondering what if —what if the team could have hung onto its lead for three more minutes and what if they would’ve been able to score on that five-minute power play.
Despite the heartbreak on the Huskies side of the ice, Cote thinks his team can respond in game 3.
“It’s a game seven, right? I mean, we had one last weekend. We’ve been a part of a few here since I’ve been here,” Cote said.
“I thought the game was a very well played by both teams — it was tight. Both teams are probably a little banged up and tired, but that’s just part of playoff hockey. So, yeah, it sucks. I thought we came close there. They found a way. Give them credit.”
Cote said his team will have to have a short memory.
“It sucks to be on this end of it, but we just gotta wipe it clean right away — you have to have a short memory here. We gotta get food in, we gotta get hydrated and get refocused and reset,” Cote said.
“Our group has responded every single time that we’ve faced any adversity this year, we’ve come back and with a big effort, so I got no concerns with how our group’s going to respond and attack this game tomorrow.”
Game 3 on Sunday night is set for 6 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.
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