CALGARY – A four-goal outburst assured the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team the honour of playing the first-ever playoff games inside Merlis Belsher Place as they earned a 4-3 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary, AB on Feb. 1.

With three games left to play in the Canada West season, Saskatchewan now holds a record of 10-8-5-2, good enough to put them in at least fourth-place at the end of the regular season slate. The Huskies will now play out the remainder of their games with an eye around the conference on who their playoff opponent will be in a best-of-three series slated for Feb. 15-17.

Fourth-year forward Shyan Elias scored twice in the victory while Courtney Cormack and Brooklyn Haubrich added the other goals for Saskatchewan.

The Huskies came into the game guns-a-blazing, as they fired their first shot on Cougars net within seconds of the puck-drop. Continuing their attack, the Huskies eventually scored with a slap-shot from Cormack, her first goal of the season. From there, the two teams racked up shots and penalties, driving forward a fast-paced game.

The Huskies, mimicking the first period, scored another quick shot on the Cougars thanks to captain Haubrich. Cougars goalie Emma Pincott was feeling the pressure by now, along with the rest of her team. This pressure was alleviated though after Breanne Trotter scored the first goal for the Cougars, poking home a loose puck in front of the Huskies net.

Not letting up, the Cougars evened out the score after Tianna Ko shovelled her way past the Huskies' defence which brought the score to 2-2. However, the Huskies would go back on top when Elias scored a third goal. 

Down a goal, the Cougars had one more period to sway the game to their favour.

Instead, the Huskies cemented their lead with another goal, again scored by Elias. The Cougars were relentless though, and forward Nicolette Seper managed a third goal for her team. Even so, the Huskies remained on top, and took the first win of the weekend.