Lethbridge, AB – An outstanding 2018-19 season came to a bitter end for a University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team that fell 5-1 to the StFX X-Men in the bronze medal game of the University Cup in Lethbridge, AB.
 
A program-best 25 wins the regular season and a deep playoff run took the Huskies all the way to being one of the top four teams in the nation for the fourth straight season.
 
The lopsided score-line at the end of the game doesn't do justice to the play on the ice, as the Huskies controlled play at even-strength, outshooting StFX 49-16 in the game.
 
"I can't say enough about our guys, you get put into a bronze medal game at 1 p.m. on a Sunday when you lost a real close one the night before and I can't imagine us playing any better than we did in that situation, we were bang on the whole night," said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph.
 
In the final game of his university career, Parker Thomas scored the lone goal for Saskatchewan, breaking the StFX shutout in his final shift as a Huskie.
 
Chase Marchand was spectacular in net for StFX, making 48 saves in the win, while Adam Holwell tallied twice for the X-Men.
 
StFX struck first on the power play just over two minutes in. A wrist shot from the point off the stick of Holwell just snuck past a screened Travis Child in net for Saskatchewan.
 
The Huskies answered almost immediately after Levi Cable forced a turnover at the blue line and broke in on the rush, but Marchand was there to make the first of his many crucial saves in the game.
 
Saskatchewan dominated play after surrendering the early goal, forcing the X-Men to repeatedly ice the puck to relieve the pressure. The Huskies wouldn't be rewarded for their efforts however, shots from Andrew Johnson and Cable both found iron, ensuring that the X-Men lead would be two goals after they tallied again on the power play.
 
The teams went into the first intermission with the X-Men up 2-0 despite Saskatchewan holding a 21-9 lead in shots on net.
 
That same pattern of Huskie frustration and StFX finishing their few opportunities continued into the second period.
 
The X-Men added another goal just a minute-and-a-half into the second period when Holwell finished off an odd-man rush for his second goal of the game.
 
Again, the Huskies nearly answered right after surrendering a goal when Andrew Johnson, Logan McVeigh and Layne Young broke in on a three-on-two but Marchand made the momentum-maintaining save with his glove.
 
A late tally from StFX in the frame made the score 4-0 and removed any doubt from the game, as the X-Men scored the only goals of the second period despite the Huskies firing 14 more shot on net than them.
 
Late in the third and with score now 5-0, Thomas snapped the shutout with just 30 seconds left to play, firing a shot over the shoulder of Marchand.
 
The game brought an end to the Huskie career of a trio of fifth years: Captain Jesse Forsberg, Michael Sofillas and Thomas.
 
"All three are good students, Michael is about a 93 per cent average guy, Jesse Forsberg might have been the best captain that I have had in a number of years, he is an absolute warrior," said Adolph. "Then a fitting end to a five-year career for Parker Thomas with him scoring tonight."