HALIFAX – A pair of goals just 44 seconds apart was the difference as the University of Saskatchewan Huskies fell 3-2 to the Western Mustangs in quarter-final action at the University Cup in Halifax.
 
The Huskies, who were seeded No. 2 in the tournament, received a second period goal from Carson Stadnyk as well a tally with just 43 seconds left on the clock by Sam Ruopp.
 
Reed Morison, Cordell James and Stephen Desrocher responded for Western, who will now move on to the national semifinal.
 
Saskatchewan dominated the run of play for a vast majority of the game but the Mustangs' special teams provided both a power play and shorthanded marker while goalie Luke Peressini made 26 saves.
 
Saskatchewan got the first real chance of the game just four minutes into the contest.
 
Newly-minted member of the U SPORTS All-Rookie team Jared Dmytriw drove hard to the net and found a wide-open Collin Shirley, but his one-time blast rang straight off the crossbar and out of danger.
 
Western opened the scoring on the man-advantage with just three minutes left in the frame.
 
A shot from a Mustang attacker was stopped by the U SPORTS Goalie and Player of the year Taran Kozun before Morison was there to pounce on the rebound and send the game into the first intermission with the score 1-0.
 
After a pair of great chances got momentum back on the side of Saskatchewan at the start of the second before Carson Stadnyk tied the game.
 
Fifth-year forward Logan McVeigh drove hard to the net and while his initial attempt was stopped by Peressini, Stadnyk sent the rebound into the net for the fifth University Cup goal of his Huskies' career.
 
That goal tilted the ice completely in favour of Saskatchewan, but it was Western who would score next.
 
After multiple scoring opportunities were denied by Peressini, the Mustangs took advantage of an odd bounce on a Huskie power play to break in on a two-on-one which James finished off.
 
Just 44 seconds later another odd-man rush from the Mustangs resulted in a goal by Desrocher that made the score 3-1 after two periods of play.
 
The Huskies fought throughout the third period, continuing to dominate play but were unable to sneak one past Peressini until late in the frame.
 
With the goalie pulled, Sam Ruopp was the beneficiary of a nice passing play set up by Collin Shirley and Layne Young but it was a case of too little too late for the Huskies as Western was able to hang on for the win.

With the loss the season is over for a Huskies' squad that went on a 22-2 run in the regular season and claimed the 11th Canada West title in program history.
 
The loss also brings an end to the Huskies' career for four outstanding fifth years. Kohl Bauml, Levi Cable, Logan McVeigh and Andrew Johnson will forever go down in the Huskie history books as the lone athletes to win a Canada West banner at both Rutherford Rink and Merlis Belsher Place.