SASKATOON, Sask. — Two first-period power-play goals and another stellar performance from goaltender
Nolan Maier lifted the Saskatchewan Huskies to a 2-0 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday night (Nov. 6) at Merlis Belsher Place.
The Huskies controlled play from the opening faceoff, finishing with a commanding edge in shots with a season-high 55 in the contest. Despite the lopsided total, the Huskies potent attack was held relatively in check by Trinity Western netminder Raphael Audet, who logged an impressive showing turning aside 53 shots to keep the visitors within striking distance throughout the evening.
Special teams provided all the offence Saskatchewan would need in a dominant first period. After a pair of penalties put the Spartans on their heels midway through the frame,
Jaydon Dureau opened the scoring at 9:48 with a power-play marker, his third goal of the season. The Huskies struck again less than a minute later when
Keaton Sorensen converted another power-play opportunity at 10:35, with
Rhett Rhinehart picking up the lone assist. Sorensen's fourth goal of the campaign doubled the Saskatchewan advantage to 2-0.
From there, the Huskies continued to press offensively, generating 25 shots in the opening period alone and firing another 30 over the final 40 minutes. Saskatchewan's blue line was active throughout the night, led by
Logan Bairos, who recorded a team-high six shots on goal, while Sorensen,
Liam Keeler,
Raphael Pelletier, and Dureau each added five.
At the other end of the ice, Maier was once again steady when called upon. The veteran goaltender stopped all 23 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. Despite facing far fewer shots than his Spartan counterpart, Maier was tested well by Trinity Western. In perhaps the highlight of the night, the former ECHLer made a srawling blocker save when he was eeemingly down and out after an unexpected bounce.
The Spartans came closest to finding the scoresheet late in the finale frame. A tipped point shot beat Maier but was quickly determined to have been high sticking, assisting the Huskies in the shutout victory.
Saskatchewan and Trinity Western return to MBP tomorrow to close out their weekend series. Puck drop is set for 5:00 PM.
