LETHBRIDGE — Five goals power play goals allowed the No. 3 University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team to run away with a 6-1 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorn in Canada West men's hockey action on Jan. 18.
 
Saskatchewan netminder Taran Kozun backstopped his team to their 17th win of the season by turning aside 35 of 36 Lethbridge shots in the winning effort. Pronghorns starter Garret Hughson made 28 saves in the loss. 
 
Collin Shirley, Logan McVeigh, Alex Forsberg, Kohl Bauml and Donovan Neuls all scored for Sasktchewan.
  
Lethbridge would gift a first period power play opportunity to their guests. The Huskies converted on this opportunity, as Alex Forsberg found an open lane from the near corner to an open Colin Shirley in front of the Lethbridge netminder. Shirley found twine above the blocker of Hughson for the game's first goal, 11 minutes into the opening frame.
  
After a fruitless opportunity on the power play, the Pronghorns would find themselves back shorthanded. On the ensuing power play, with the puck behind the net, Huskies forward Kohl Bauml got the puck into the crease behind Hughson, and Logan McVeigh would tuck the puck behind the red line.
 
McVeigh's power play marker put the Huskies up by two goals to end the period, and his team would lead on the shot-clock 15-8.
  
After tempers began to die down from a penalty-filled start to the second period, Saskatchewan would again demonstrate their ability to press their opponents in their own zone and maintain possession of the puck, leading to another power play. Lethbridge did a much better job this time around, limiting the Huskies to one shot on goal and garnering two odd-man rushes of their own on Kozun, who turned aside the second chance which landed on net after the first was sent wide.
 
Lethbridge refused to let the Huskies maintain control of the game, beginning to take control for themselves in the second half of the period, getting plenty of in-close opportunities on Kozun.
 
Pronghorns forward Landon Gross cycled the puck to Derek Brown, who fired a shot towards the Huskies net. The puck bounced off of Brooks Maxwell and past Kozun to cut the Huskies lead in half with just over five minutes remaining in the second period.
 
With less than a minute remaining, Jordan Roy was called for a tripping violation, sending the Pronghorns to the penalty-kill for the sixth time. Shirley found Alex Forsberg in front of the Pronghorns net, who would hesitate on the wrist shot before firing it high blocker-side on Hughson. Forsberg's second of the night restored the Huskies' two-goal lead heading into the third period.
 
Lethbridge's take-over of the momentum in the second-half of the period saw them outshoot the Huskies 19-9 in the frame, but an exchanging of goals left them still down by two goals after 40 minutes of play.
 
Setting up a play while the visitors' lines were changing, Saskatchewan's Donovan Neuls dumped the puck into the Pronghorns zone behind Hughson, where Carter Folk followed the play and intercepted the puck at the near-side half-boards. He then connected with Colby Harmsworth on a long pass to the far-side point, where Harmsworth sent a slap-shot past Hughson on the blocker-side. Harmsworth's goal was the first even-strength goal for his team, giving the Huskies a three-goal cushion heading into the final ten minutes of play.
 
In the second half of the double-minor that had Jordan Roy in the penalty box, Bauml notched Saskatchewan's fifth goal of the game with just over two minutes remaining. The Huskies scored once more on the power play with Gross in the box in the final minute of play, signing off on this emotion-fuelled tilt that saw the Huskies pull away with a 6-1 win.
 
With the win, the Huskies further cement their place atop the Canada West standings, improving to an 18-3-2 record, while the Pronghorns drop to 7-12-2 on the season.
 
The second game of this weekend's double-header takes place at :00 PM on Saturday, at the Nicholas Sheran Arena.