Back to back! Huskies sweep MRU to claim CW banner

Recap by Ethan Bomhof, Mount Royal Sports Information

CALGARY, Alta. – The Huskies are Top Dogs once again.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies completed the sweep over the Mount Royal University Cougars to win their second consecutive Canada West men's hockey championship, winning game two by a 4-2 final.

"It's special. It's hard to win and it's harder to repeat," said Huskies' head coach Brandin Cote following his group's back-to-back title.

Rookie goaltender Nolan Maier was named Championship MVP after allowing just two goals on 63 shots over the course of two games.

Maier and the Huskies went five straight periods without allowing a goal in the series.

Dawson Holt's second goal of the postseason opened the scoring five minutes into the opening frame to give an early bump for the Huskies.

Carter Stebbings added another one partway through the period after a defensive lapse by Mount Royal.

Mount Royal's struggles from game one had unfortunately carried over into Saturday's contest; however, the Huskies were making it incredibly difficult for the Cougars to get anything going in the offensive zone.

"You have to tip your cap to U of S. They were outstanding. They played great hockey," said MRU head coach Bert Gilling.

Just over six minutes into the second period, Canada West Rookie of the Year Connor Roulette dealt MRU a backbreaking goal. Through six playoff games, Roulette led the league with 12 points.

Chase Bertholet scored his first of the postseason later in the period to put the MRU crowd to complete silence.

Shane Farkas was pulled after two periods, with Ethan Buenaventura coming to go for the final 20 minutes.

Halfway through the final period, Josh Tarzwell got the Cougars' first goal of the series, finally beating Maier with a great shot.

33 seconds after Tarzwell's marker, Huskies' forward Josh Pillar was assessed a major penalty for a cross-check to Vaughn Watterodt's face.

The Cougars went on a five-minute powerplay, with a golden opportunity to chip away at the Huskies' lead.

Clay Hanus lasered a shot from the point into the top corner to cut the deficit to two with most of the man advantage still to play.

However, it was too little, too late for the Cougars.

"We knew they were going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us," said Cote on the Cougars' late push. "We've got a veteran group and have been in situations like this before and ones where we've been down and also ones where we had to hold on."

Although the Cougars were proud of the push, they couldn't help but wonder what could have happened if it had come earlier in the game.

"The biggest thing that we needed to happen in both games was to get just a goal," said Gilling. "If we just could've broken the ice, maybe get the crowd going. But you go through all these periods without scoring, you can sense the doubt."

The Huskies would hold on the rest of the way to secure the championship.

Last year, Saskatchewan won on home ice and this season accomplished arguably an even harder feat, winning on the road.