EDMONTON, Alta. - Alberta's Brett Hyland and Sean Tschigerl both scored in the third period to help lead the Bears to a second-straight 5-2 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday night at Clare Drake Arena.
The win puts the Bears in firm control of the early East Division standings. With the loss, the Huskies drop to 4-2-0 and still remain in second place. The visitors scored twice in the third period., from
Keaton Sorensen and
Liam Keeler, but were largely unable to generate high-quality chances in front of Bears netminder Tyler Palmer who stopped 22/24 Huskies shots. Saskatchewan goalie
Jordan Kooy was stellar in this one turning aside 31/35 Alberta shots and keeping the Huskies in a tight battle.
The opening period was an exciting back-and-forth affair that featured 27 cumulative shots and three separate power plays, two for Saskatchewan and one for Alberta. The goalies were standout but particularly impressive was Kooy, who saved two consecutive Bears breakaway chances, both occurring on the penalty kill, and keeping the Huskies in it amidst heavy pressure at times. Thacker did have an answer, however, as he beat Kooy short-side mid-period to give Alberta a 1-0 lead it would take to the intermission. Alberta's netminder Palmer turned away all 11 Huskies shots.
The physicality picked up in the second with 18 total penalty minutes given out between the two squads. The two penalty kills were sensational though, as they killed every man-advantage in the frame. Alberta's Josh Prokop netted his second of the year with seven minutes to go in the frame on a stellar cross-crease pass from de la Gorgendiere, who with the helper moved into the league-lead in assists. A clean period from Palmer downplayed a phenomenal second for the Huskies, who outshot the Bears 14-3 and had three power play opportunities but were unable to cash in on them.
Saskatchewan hopped out of the gates in the third, with Sorenson potting his first of the year in the opening minute to close the gap at 2-1. However, just minutes later a powerplay opportunity for the Bears was fruitful as Tschigerl tipped home his fifth of the season, his 12th point in the last five games, as they retook a two-goal advantage. The see-saw did not stop there, as Keller deposited his second of the year shortly after on a shot from the point to again pull the Huskies to within one. However, with how hot Brett Hyland is, it was only a matter of time before he potted a goal. The hat-trick hero from a night previous scored on a beautiful puck win and pass from Tschigerl for his league-leading sixth of the year to give Alberta a 4-2 lead with two minutes remaining.
The Huskies will return home for a series against the Mount Royal Cougars next weekend in their first home action since their season-opener on October 4.
