Horns offense explodes in rout of Huskies
The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns avenged Friday’s home opener loss by downing the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 7-2. With the win, the Horns continue their trend of win one, lose one during weekend series, having split all three weekend series thus far.
The Huskies started the game quickly on the power play as Casey Lee (Kindersley, SK, 2nd) finished off a tic-tac-toe play, burying a backdoor pass into a wide open net only 1:23 into the contest. The Horns would answer quickly on a power play of their own, as second year defenceman Ryan Pottruff (Woodstock, ON, 2nd) found the twine on a seeing eye shot from the point.
The Horns kept the pressure up with three more unanswered goals, including a shorthanded marker by Jason Roberts (Spiritwood, SK, 4th) who intercepted a pass at the Horns blueline and raced in all alone, beating Russell Monette (Neville, SK, 3rd) top blocker.
The Huskies were able to add an additional goal, credited to Chris Durand (Saskatoon, SK, 1st) in the final minute of the first period, on a play that saw Horns goalie Scott Bowles (Penticton, BC, 2nd) make the initial save, but inadvertently kick it into his own net in an attempt to cover the puck. The Horns would head into the locker room with a 4-2 lead, while the Huskies held a slim 13-12 shots advantage.
The Huskies started the second period by pulling starting goaltender Monette in favor of Friday night’s starter, Jeff Harvey (St. Albert, AB, 4th). The change did little to alter the Huskies fortunes, as Dustin Moore (Red Deer, AB, 2nd) would add to the Horns lead on the power play at the 8:03 mark of the second period by burying a rebound off an Andrew Marshall (Niagara Falls, ON, 2nd) shot from the top of the faceoff circle. The Horns blew the game wide open when Roberts potted his second shorthanded goal of the game by finishing a nifty give and go with Moore. The score heading into the third period had the Horns up 6-2.
The third period saw Roberts continue his scoring ways by taking another feed from Moore and completing his hat trick by fighting off two defenders before beating Harvey on the backhand. The final shots on goal total had the Huskies holding a distinct advantage over the Horns 47-30.
With the win the Horns improve to 3-3-0, while the Huskies drop to 5-2-1. The Horns have a bye next weekend and will next see action October 31 when they host the UBC Thunderbirds at Nicolas Sheran Arena. The Huskies play host the defending CIS Champion Alberta Golden Bears next weekend.
by Eoin Colquhoun, U of Lethbridge Sports Information
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