With a 3-2 win over the Mount Royal University Cougars Saturday night in Saskatoon's Rutherford Rink, the No. 2 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies will advance to the Canada West men's hockey final.
Logan McVeigh's goal at 16:21 in the second period held up for the game-winner. The goal was Saskatchewan's first lead of the game. An offensive zone breakout resulted in a two-on-one. A pass from Michael Sofillas found McVeigh who scored top shelf blocker side.
Saskatchewan will host the Alberta Golden Bears, who won its semifinal series against the Calgary Dinos, next weekend in a rematch of the 2015-16 conference final after defeating the Cougars in two games. A night earlier in Game 1, the Huskies won 4-3.
MRU's Matthew Brown opened the scoring at 5:55 in the first when he was on the receiving end of a Jordon Cooke rebound in front of the net.
The lead didn't last long. Less than a minute later, Levi Cable tied the game for the Huskies on a give-and-go through the Cougars' zone at 6:44.
Devin Gannon gave the Cougars the lead at 13:49 in the second period when his wrap around attempt beat Cooke. Again, the Huskies answered quickly when Andrew Johnson's shot from the left faceoff circle beat Cam Lanigan top shelf at 14:40.
Lanigan finished the night making 23 saves for the Cougars, while Cooke stopped 29 for the Huskies at the other end of the ice.
Puck drops on the men's hockey final March 3. Game 2 will be played March 4th, while Game 3, if needed, is March 5. All three puck drops are at 7 p.m. Both the Huskies and Golden Bears advance to the U SPORTS University Cup hosted by the UNB Varsity Reds in Fredericton, New Brunswick March 16-20.