Box Score Calgary – The Mount Royal University Cougars came back from an improbable 3-1 late game deficit to defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies 4-3 in a shootout. Along with the game-tying goal, Captain Matt Brown also scored the shootout winner.
The Cougars looked very sluggish to start the first period. Passes were missing their targets and all too often the puck seemed to be rolling off their sticks. The Cougars did not record their first shot on goal until twelve minutes had passed in the first.
With less than a minute to go in the first period, Matthew Spafford of the Huskies chased Scott McKay around the back of the net and picked his pocket. Spafford grabbed the puck and took a shot. Cougar's goalie Cam Lanigan made the first save but Spafford batted the puck out of the air and into the back of the net. The goal gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead going into the intermission
Early in the second Craig McCallum scored on the power play on a laser beam that picked the top right corner, putting Saskatchewan up 2-0. Mount Royal looked to have caught a break when they were awarded a 5-on-3 power play. Despite holding the puck throughout the entire man advantage, the Cougars were unable to even register a shot.
In the dying seconds of the period Yellowknife, Yukon native David Stephens, put the Cougars on the board. After a mad scramble in the Huskie's end, Cody Cartier grabbed the puck off the boards and curled toward the middle. When the defenceman went down to one knee, Cartier flipped the puck to Stephens who made no mistake and buried it past Holfield.
Coach Gilling must have had some choice words for his players heading into the third period because the Cougars came out flying. However, it was the Huskies who struck first scoring just after one of their penalties expired. A clearing attempt ricocheted off the linesman and put Sean Aschim on a breakaway. He made a quick move and beat Langian to restore the two-goal lead.
Billy Marshall got his first of the year on a beautiful feed from Tyler Fiddler at the 16:40 mark to help keep the Cougar's chances alive.
With Lanigan on the bench the Cougars attacked the Huskies relentlessly at the end of the game. Cody Cartier let a shot through that pinballed around and landed on the stick of Matt Brown. Choking way down on his stick, Brown buried the tying goal to send it to overtime.
Two overtimes solved nothing so the game was to be decided by the shootout. Brown went first and scored on a slick backhand to give MRU the shootout lead. That was the only goal they would need. Cam Lanigan stood tall against all three shooters to give the Cougars the 4-3 victory.
The second game of the weekend series will go Saturday at 7:00pm at Flames Community Arenas.
