A Vince Loschiavo goal which sent Merlis Belsher Place into hysterics on Saturday night not only gave the University of Saskatchewan Huskies new life, but served as a turning point for the team in their bid for a Canada West title.
Burying a cross-ice feed with just 44 seconds remaining in Game 2 to tie up the conference semi-final series against the visiting UBC Thunderbirds.
“Not going to lie, it felt pretty good,” said Loschiavo. “[Chantz Petruic] obviously made a crazy pass through a few guys. I just looked and it landed right on my stick, I was just lucky enough to get it into the back of the net.”
Less than 24 hours later, the Huskies would swarm goaltender Jordan Kooy celebrating a 4-2 victory in Game 3 over UBC, to advance to the Canada West men’s hockey championship series.
It marks the Huskies’ first appearance in the conference finals since 2020.
“We’ve believed all year that this is the group,” said Loschiavo. “That we can really go far and do something special.
“I think it’s just sticking with it — obviously the first game we knew we didn’t play anywhere near our best and even in the second game, I don’t think we played that good. We took advantage of the opportunity at the end of the game and then the third game was definitely our best game by far.”
The Huskies staved off elimination twice against UBC after dropping Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Friday night 5-4 in overtime, following a giveaway of the puck in the extra frame from goaltender Roddy Ross.
What followed was a wild comeback in Game 2, which saw Petruic tie the game on the power play with under five minutes remaining, setting the stage for Loschiavo’s heroics on the man advantage, as well in the final minute.
The Huskies would control the pace in Game 3 with goals from Parker Gavlas, Dawson Holt, Trevor Wong and Petruic, to complete the comeback over the Thunderbirds.
“We’ve talked about believing all year,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote. “Knowing and understanding that we’re ready to give it our best shot to win. That’s really where it starts, it’s a credit to [the team] in there.
“They have each other’s backs and they know we have their back as well.”
Entering the series in Game 2, Kooy was stellar in net for the Huskies, stopping 62 of the 66 shots he faced over the final two games of the series — including a series of quality chances in the third period of Game 3.
“It’s awesome to make those saves,” said Kooy. “Really for me, it’s just trying to keep the team in the game and make as many saves as you can. Make the ones that you need to make and the boys will have my back, I know that.”
Kooy is projected to get the start for Game 1 of the Canada West championship series against the Mount Royal Cougars out of Calgary, who beat the University of Alberta Golden Bears in three games to advance.
The ‘Dogs’ are confident in both netminders however, with Ross being named Canada West goaltender of the year on Tuesday.
“I’m super proud of [Ross] and I’m happy for him,” said Kooy. “Just both of us and [third-string goaltender Ethan Chadwick] as well, we’re super confident.
“I think it starts with practice, just working as hard as we can. It translates into the game.”
Ross wasn’t the only Huskie to pick up some hardware, as Cote was named Canada West men’s hockey coach of the year for the first time in his career.
An honour which is still setting in for the third-year Huskies bench boss.
“It’s really special,” said Cote. “There’s been so many coaches that come before me and that I’ve learned from, my mentors I think about. We work hard and we want the best for the program, that’s really what it’s all about.”
Punching their ticket to the 2025 University Cup national championship tournament, the Huskies will aim to raise a conference banner before departing for Ottawa in the coming weeks —giving the team one last chance to capture Canada West glory on their home ice, in front of their home fans.
“It was super fun to play in,” said Loschiavo. “It’s probably the most packed I’ve ever seen this barn, so I’m expecting the exact same.”
Game 1 of the Canada West men’s hockey finals will be played at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday at 7 p.m., with Game 2 of the series being played on Saturday evening.
If necessary, a winner-take-all Game 3 would be played between the Huskies and Cougars at 6 p.m. on Sunday.