SASKATOON, Sask. - Chantz Petruic scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season enroute to helping the U SPORTS No. 7-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies secure their eighth consecutive victory as the Dogs defeated the visiting No. 4-ranked Alberta Golden Bears Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place by a final score of 4-3. 

The result improves the Dogs' record to 17-4-0, helping Saskatchewan maintain their tie for second place in the Canada West while also inching closer to the Golden Bears, who now sit only two points ahead of Saskatchewan in first. 

For Alberta, the Bear's loss snaps their five game win streak and drops their record to 18-5-0. 

Petruic's performance was highlighted by his second goal of the game, coming on the power-play with 5:32 remaining in the third and proving to be the eventual game-winner. It was also the veteran forward's fourth multi-goal game of the season and extends his current point streak out to seven games as the Business student has now tallied fifteen points over that span. The Moose Jaw, SK, product also added two assists, pushing his season point total to thirty-one.

Rounding out the Huskies' four-goal night, Dawson Holt and Josh Pillar added to the stat sheet by netting their seventh and eighth goals of the season, respectively. Holt also managed to post his 31st point of the season, nabbing an assist on Petruic's game-winner. Petruic, Holt and Pillar have each enjoyed solid offensive seasons thus far, as the trio form the top three in Huskie scoring. 

Jordan Kooy got the nod for the Huskies in net and the fourth-year goaltender once again put up a solid performance, stopping 24 of 27 shots while making key saves in the third to preserve his ninth win of the season. The former Oshawa Generals netminder has enjoyed a stellar campaign so far by posting a .922 save percentage to go along with a Canada West-leading 2.00 GAA. 

After the Huskies took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, the game exploded in the second period with Saskatchewan and Alberta combining for five goals in the frame. Sean Tschigerl tied the game at one goal apiece early in the period, however the Dogs responded less than one minute later after Pillar escaped on a breakaway and converted on a nifty backhand deke past Tyler Palmer. The Bears and Huskies then traded blows once again as Josh Prokop tied the game 2-2 before Dawson Holt then netted a one-timer on a cross ice feed from Petruic to regain the lead. Tschigerl then capped off the flurry of goals, scoring his Canada West leading seventeenth goal of the season and tying the game 3-3 heading into the third. 

The longtime rivals continued to jostle for the lead in the final frame, with both netminders making critical saves to maintain the deadlock as the game neared the final minutes. With 5:43 remaining, the door opened for the Huskies after Eric Florchuk was handed two minutes for interference. Fifteen seconds later, Petruic rifled home a loose puck near the front of the net, ultimately sealing the victory for the Dogs. 

The Huskies and Golden Bears will do it all over again tomorrow night (Jan 25) for game two of their pivotal weekend series with puck drop set for 5:00PM at Merlis Belsher Place.