The USask Huskies attempt to put Canada West’s women’s hockey postseason lady in the backseat. 

The Huskies ‘ women’s hockey team’s second trip of play for the 2025-26 Canada West period is awash with enthusiasm and intensity at the University of Saskatchewan process. Given that the Huskies are just beginning a new year along, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. ” Truthfully, we’re looking very good so much,” said Huskies commander Sara Kendall. There are” the working attitude, the conversation, and the links being made.” The Huskies are putting last month solidly behind them, a time that put the group’s resilience to the test and marked a rare nosedive in the Canada West standings for the program that is typically steady out of Saskatoon. The Huskies saw a significant portion of their 2023-24 squad leave the organization, starting the 2024-25 plan with a rookie-heavy portfolio, after hosting the U Sports National Women’s Hockey Championship. 14 straight costs followed, and the Huskies eventually won their first game against the MacEwan Griffins on November 29. After coming in the winter without winning a single game or anything else, Kendall said,” It was difficult for us to get the enjoyment in it.” We’re attempting to connect the team this year by trying to bring the emotions. The Huskies may just win five of their 28 regular-season game, leaving Canada West finals for the first time in almost 20 years, with a disappointing 5-17-6 record to end second-last in the event. Head coach Steve Kook said it was a season that put the entire program under the microscope. He spent the off-season looking for solutions to how to stop the script from repeating itself this fall. Let’s be honest, it was a major wake-up call, Kook said. We had a chance to sort of evaluate everything we do, both for the players and the coaching staff. We looked at the items and said,” Are we doing these things because that’s what we do?” Or are we doing these things because they work? The selection process for a young Huskies roster involved a lot of soul-searching, according to the coach. A number of players had only recently been introduced to Canada West competition. 2: 09
In order for the champion USask Huskies to win the Canada West men’s hockey title, Kook wanted to instill in his players in 2025-26 the distinction between U18 and U Sports, with his locker room taking the note seriously. ” Hockey day in and day out means something here,” said Kook. It’s a little different from where they were originally. There are jobs on the table, money on the table, and university reputation. The Huskies struggled in their opener last Friday, falling 3-1, which Kook said could have been much worse if not for a 30-save performance out of starting goaltender Colby Wilson. They made sure we got to take care of business here, and they did it with a little bit of an awakening. The Huskies faced Mount Royal on a different night, winning 1-0 thanks to a 23-save shutout night from backup goalie Clara Juca and veteran Bronwyn Boucher scoring the game-winning goal midway through the second period. According to Boucher,” We’re already ahead of schedule from last year.” We have a win in the offing before December, and I believe we have plenty of positive energy and momentum to start the second half. There is a lot to work on, but I’m very excited about this.” For Boucher, breaking the deadlock was a key goal, as well as a milestone for the Sturgeon County, Alberta, product scoring in her 100th career Canada West game. According to Wilson, splitting their first series of matches against Mount Royal marked a step in the right direction, with the goal of putting together victories much more consistently than last year. Everyone is in the lineup, according to Wilson, who is a relatively young team. Getting people to think,” Oh yeah, I can do this,” and getting them to do that is really awesome. The Huskies ‘ first weekend was a good one for us, according to Wilson, who wants to return to the playoffs in her final Canada West campaign. Only time will tell whether the Huskies can actually change the standings they’re anticipating this winter. It’s irrelevant whether you’re a first- or fifth-year player, Wilson said. ” We all have a role to play on this team, and I believe that’s where we are right now. The Huskies (1-1 ) are going on a bye week after their season-opening loss to Mount Royal because we know what we’re trying to achieve. The Trinity Western Spartans (2-0-0 ) host them in their home opener on October 17th.