Huskies storm out of gates against T-Birds, but fall 6-3

Through the first 13 minutes of Saturday’s rematch against the Thunderbirds, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team looked like a brand new team from the side that lost 4-1 the night before.

They had a 3-0 lead, thanks to a pair of power play goals from captain Gordie Ballhorn, and Justin Ball, and and a shorthanded goal from Donovan Neuls. But the Huskies still ended up falling 6-3 to the Thunderbirds, suffering their third straight defeat Saturday at the Doug Mitchell Thunder Sports Centre in Vancouver. The Huskies are now 7-3 on the season, the Thunderbirds improved to 8-1-1, taking sole possession of first place in the Canada West USports standings.

The Huskies took three penalties within a 1.5-minute span, and quickly saw their 3-0 lead into a 3-2 game late in the first period. Jonathan Smart scored on the power play, before Cyle McNabb walked into the slot and trickled one in off the glove of Huskies goaltender Travis Child and into the net.

After a scoreless second, the Thunderbirds tied the game up nine minutes into the third frame, before Chris Douglas chased Child from the game by beating him through the pads on a bad angle shot. That ended up being the game winner. Matt Revel then added an insurance marker, a tip in front for his second goal of the game, before Tian Rask scored on the empty net.