SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team is one win away from their fifth-consecutive trip to the University Cup, as they took down the Calgary Dinos with a 2-1 win in Game 1 of the Canada West semifinal inside Merlis Belsher Place on Friday, Feb. 21.
 
A two-goal first period was the difference for Saskatchewan, as Levi Cable and Collin Shirley's markers in the frame were all the team needed to record the victory.
 
"You have to match strength-on-strength when you're playing a good team like Calgary," said Huskies head coach Dave Adolph. "They're a big, strong team that likes to wear you down and be physical, and we knew we needed to try and answer that bell."
 
After the teams combined for three goals in the opening frame, with Ryan Graham scoring for Calgary, neither team was able to strike the rest of the way, with the two clubs combining for only 20 shots in the final two periods.
 
"It was a real defensive game. Both teams are big, strong, work hard and defend really well. I thought we got better as the game went on," said Dinos head coach Mark Howell.
 
The Huskies were able to hold the Dinos first line of Coda Gordon, Matt Alfaro and Kaden Elder off the scoresheet, after the trio of forwards combined for nine points in Calgary's quarter-final sweep of the Manitoba Bisons last weekend.
 
"That Alfaro line is one of the strongest I've seen in probably ten years in U SPORTS. You have to throw some guys out there and trust that they can get it done," said Adolph.
 
The Dinos were able to muster up just 11 shots on net in the contest, as opposed to the Huskies 19, with Taran Kozun stopping 10 of 11 to record the win for the home side.
 
"The last three games we've only scored one on him. Kozun's a good goaltender. We've got to find some ways to get clean looks on him and get some traffic," said Howell. 
 
On the opposite end of the ice, Matthew Greenfield made 17 saves on 19 shots for the visitors.
 
The Huskies opened the scoring midway through the opening frame, taking advantage of a Dinos turnover forced by a funny bounce off the boards in the neutral zone. Bauml scooped the puck up and was off to the races, and he found the trailing Cable, who struck twine as the pair of fifth-year's connected for the team's first goal of the playoffs.
 
"We know where each other are a lot of the time without even having to look. It makes it easy," said Cable.
 
Calgary responded with a tally of their own just 2:46 later, as Graham's second of the postseason knotted the contest back up. Off a scramble draw, the puck came loose in the slot to Graham, who settled it down and went shelf over the shoulder of Kozun to tie the game at one goal apiece.
 
But with under a minute remaining in the opening period, the Huskies took the lead right back. Carson Stadnyk was able to force a turnover inside the Dinos zone, allowing Logan McVeigh to move the puck to Shirley, and the third-year forward shovelled the puck between the legs of Greenfield to make it 2-1, allowing the Huskies to enter the intermission with a one-goal lead.
 
With the Huskies holding on to their one-goal advantage late in the third, Cable had a chance to put the home side up two, but his shot at the empty-net sailed wide, keeping the visitors in the contest.
 
But Kozun and the Dogs were equal to the task, as the netminder, who was named the to the Canada West First Team All-Star squad on Wednesday, made a kick save on a Dino in the waning moments of the third, which was enough for the Huskies to escape with the win.
 
With the victory, Saskatchewan takes the opening contest of the best-of-three series and will look to eliminate Calgary in Game 2 at Merlis Belsher Place on Saturday night.
 
"We got to be ready for another game like tonight," said Cable. "We got to be ready to battle."
 
Meanwhile, the visitors will look to recover and even the series up at one-game apiece to force Game 3.
 
"Every game you play in the playoffs, you've got to find another little better effort, and a little better execution," said Howell.
 
All the action can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV presented by Co-op.