Darren Zary
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The calendar year has changed but the goals remain the same.
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey squad — currently No. 6 in the U Sports national rankings — have first place in mind when Canada West conference play resumes this weekend in a home-and-home series against the University of Regina Cougars.
“It’s time to get back at it,” says Huskies head coach Brandin Cote, whose team (12-4-0) sits four points behind the Alberta Golden Bears (14-4-0) in the Canada West East Division standings with a pair of games in hand.
“I don’t think our focus has changed at all. We’re focused on that top spot. There’s still a realistic chance. We’re right in the mix. We just have to take care of business in the next few weeks and get ready for that weekend and keep progressing. At the end of the day, the standings are the standings. We know we want to finish as high as possible. We’ve got a good chance to hopefully be in the mix for being in the top spot in our division and even overall.”
DOGS ADD CHASE BERTHOLET
At the Christmas break, the Dogs added former Spokane Chiefs forward Chase Bertholet from the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets.
Bertholet, who played his U18 AAA hockey for the Prince Albert Mintos, had 52 goals in his last two seasons with Spokane. He had 24 goals and 47 assists for 71 points in 64 games last season.
“He just adds a ton of speed,” Cote said in an interview. “He was a point-a-game guy in the Western League for three straight years. He can do a lot of different things. He’s a 200-foot player. He’s tenacious on the puck. He brings a lot to our group. He can kill penalties, You can put him out on the power play. Our power play’s pretty good, but I can slot him in there. He just has to earn his spot — and he knows that — but he just adds to our depth.”
The Huskies now have 19 forwards, eight defencemen and three goalies on their roster, though they are down a defenceman and at least one forward for the near future.
Blueliner Cole Jordan is sidelined indefinitely, while forward Liam Keeler is away representing Canada at the FISU Universiade world university games. Forwards Ben Tkachuk and Keaton Sorensen are also nursing minor injuries.
“We had a couple of nicks last weekend,” Cote noted. “Obviously, another D would have helped but we still have seven guys there. Hopefully Cole can get back but we’re not sure about that. We just felt that we’ve got a really tight-knit group and everyone has settled in to their roles, whether they’re playing every night or not. We want to keep it consistent by adding a pretty skilled player in Chase.”
The Dogs were keeping an eye on former Saskatoon Blades standout defenceman Charlie Wright as a possible addition, but he has been called up by the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds from the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks and is making the most of his pro opportunity.
“He wanted to come here, if it was school, but I just got the sense, in our process with him, that he really felt that he wanted to give pro a chance and credit to him — he got called up in the end (of 2024),” Cote said. “At the end of the day, he got an opportunity and he’s enjoying it. That’s great for him.”
Other potential recruits during the off-season have also settled in with their respective minor pro teams. They include forwards Gabe Klassen (Wheeling Nailers, ECHL), Atley Calvert (Wheeling, ECHL), Conner Roulette (Tulsa Oilers, ECHL) and Sloan Stanick (Tahoe Knight Monsters, ECHL).
The Huskies will graduate a handful of forwards after this season and likely a couple of defencemen, as well. For now, however, it’s a roster full of options.
“We managed it all year,” offered Cote.
“Everyone knows their role. There are a couple of guys at the bottom who know they’re not playing. They’re part of the group and they’re practicing and they want to be here. At the end of the day, we talked about a number of different options. We have two-and-a-half months left. To me, it’s easy to manage. We have a great team. We have a great group and everyone wants to be part of a winning team. That, at the end of the day, is it. We have zero egos in there.”
dzary@postmedia.com
