SASKATOON, SK – It was a special night at Merlis Belsher Place as the Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team welcomed the U25 Ukrainian national team for the first game of the Hockey Can't Stop Tour. 
 
The Hockey Can't Stop Tour provides the Ukrainian team with the opportunity to play and prepare for the upcoming Winter University Games while raising money for refugees and Ukrainian communities torn apart by the war. All proceeds from the Hockey Can't Stop Tour will be sent to the Canada/Ukraine Foundation, which provides assistance to humanitarian groups in Ukraine and Canada. The Foundation will disperse the majority of funds to the Ukrainian Hockey Dream Foundation, whose goal is to support athletes at home and abroad, to continue to provide training opportunities to youth and professional teams, and to restore Ukrainian arenas damaged by war.
 
The starting five for the Huskies included Jaxan Kaluski, Jared Dmytriw, Vince Loschiavo, Ty Prefontaine, and Connor Hobbs. Roddy Ross would get the start in net. The Ukraine would have Andrii Grigoriev, Yevhenii Ratushnyi, Denys Borodai, Vadym Mazur and Hilib Kryvoshapkin start, with Sava Serdiuk in goal. 
 
A ceremonial puck drop at centre ice started an emotional evening, as a meeting ceremony took place between the two teams. A traditional Ukrainian welcome bread and salt was shared by captains Connor Hobbs and Vadym Mazur. The puck drop included a Ukrainian family who recently relocated to Saskatoon as a result of the war in the Ukraine. 
 
The first period saw the Huskies go up 2-0 against the U25 Ukrainian national team. Dawson Holt would open scoring at 2:18 into the period, with help from Shane Collins. The Ukrainian offence had some opportunities, but Roddy Ross was solid in net for the Huskies, deflecting anything that came his way. At 14:02, Carter Stebbings would find the back of the net, thanks to assists from Shane Collins and Brayden Camrud. 
 
The second period saw the Ukrainian team make adjustments to their style of play to amp up their defense against the Huskies. Saskatchewan traded goaltender Roddy Ross for Jordan Kooy in the second period, who would prove to be effective in net. The Huskies would head into the third period with their 2-0 lead intact. 
 
It was a similar story in the third period, with a defensive battle on both sides of the net. Declan Hobbs was in net for Saskatchewan, allowing all three of the Huskie goalies to see action. Ukraine's offense played exceptionally well but they were unable to put one past Hobbs and the Huskies would go on to win the game 2-0. 
 
The MVP of tonight's game had to be Saskatoon's Ukrainian community, who helped sell out Merlis Belsher Place with an attendance of 2,375. Singing Ukraine's national anthem, cheering the team on in Ukrainian, wearing blue and yellow, proudly waving their Ukrainian flags, our community welcomed the team with open arms and full hearts. 
 
The U25 Ukrainian team will now head to Calgary to take on the Dinos on Monday, January 2, before competing against the University of Alberta and University of Manitoba. All games can be streamed on CanadaWest.TV. Following those games, the team heads to New York to take part in the FISU World Winter University games from January 11-23, 2023. The Ukrainian team will see some familiar faces, as Saskatchewan's Roddy Ross and Jared Dmytriw have been named to Team Canada's roster for the games.