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

The Huskies ‘ women’s soccer team is practicing their second weekend of play for the 2025-26 Canada West period, and the atmosphere is great. Given that the Huskies are just beginning a new year up, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. ” Truthfully, we’re looking very good so much,” said Huskies commander Sara Kendall. ” The work ethic is it, the communication is it, and the associations are 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 losses followed to start the year before the Huskies eventually won their first game against the MacEwan Griffins on November 29. After coming so far in the winter and never having a second win, or anything else going our means that time, it was difficult for us to discover the joy in it, Kendall said. ” We’re trying to bring the feelings this year… We’re trying to connect the team.” 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 spent the off-season looking for solutions to how to stop the script from repeating itself this fall. It was a season that put the entire program on the test. 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 engaging in these behaviors because they work? The selection process for a young Huskies roster involved a lot of soul-searching, with some players only receiving their first taste of Canada West competition months prior. 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 off a 23-save shutout night from backup goalie Clara Juca and the game-winning goal scored by veteran Bronwyn Boucher midway through the second period. We’re already on time from last year, Boucher said. 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. Wilson believes that their first series of wins against Mount Royal, which they won in the first game of the season, was a step in the right direction. We’re a relatively young team, and everyone is in the lineup, Wilson said. It’s really awesome to get people used to thinking,” Oh, I can do this,” and getting them to do it. 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 makes no difference whether you’re a first- or fifth-year player, Wilson said. ” We all have a role to play, and I believe that’s how we’re currently doing. The Huskies (1-1 ) are on a bye week after their season-opening loss to Mount Royal. We know what we’re striving for. They will play their home opener against the Trinity Western Spartans on October 17th, at 7 p.m., and they are scheduled to return to action.