Forsberg brothers help Huskies dismantle Cougars 6-0

Jesse Forsberg picked up three points for the Huskies.

    The brotherly duo of Jesse and Alex Forsberg look pretty sweet in the brand new white jerseys the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey are wearing this season.

    While the two Waldheim, Sask., products can make a great fashion statement along with the rest of their teammates, the Forsberg brothers looked equally impressive on the ice Saturday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Saturday’s contest marked the first time the two played together as home as members of the Huskies.

    Jesse had a goal and a pair of assists, while Alex had a goal and an assist as the Huskies bombed the University of Regina Cougars 6-0.

    The two last played together as members of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars in the 2011-12 campaign. Alex came to the Huskies last season, but sat out as a red shirt as he healed up a shoulder injury from his final WHL campaign with the Victoria Royals in 2015-16.

    Jesse had a dream season playing in his third year of eligibility with the Huskies in 2016-17 developing into a stellar offensive defenceman netting 11 goals and 16 assists in 28 regular season games to top all Canada West defencemen in scoring.

    He was also a plus-eight in the plus-minus department, named a Canada West first team all-star, captured honours as the Mervyn “Red” Dutton trophy winner as the top defenceman in Canada West and was named a second team all-Canadian all-star.

Alex Forsberg had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

    Now that Alex, who is 22-years-old, has been cleared to play, the two brothers showed they can be a force for the Dogs.

    With the Huskies up 3-0 nearing the nine-minute mark of the third period, Jesse, who is 24-years-old, combined with centre Logan McVeigh to set up Alex, who tucked the puck past Cougars netminder Michael Herringer to give the hosts a 4-0 edge.

    About four minutes after that tally, Alex drew an assist on Jesse’s seeing eye point shot power-play goal that gave the Huskies a 5-0 lead.

    When Alex speeds down the left wing, you can almost anticipate the skilled forward is going to make a dynamic play. While Jesse, who is in his fourth year of eligibility, has become a force offensively, he still plays strong in the defensive zone. You can see his passion in his physical play.

    The two will only get to play together for a maximum of two seasons, but you can expected they will make their share of big plays on a deep Huskies side.

The Huskies celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    After the Huskies and Cougars played through a scoreless first, John Lawrence and Connor Gay netted singles to give the U of S a 2-0 lead in the second period. Josh Roach and Connor Cox picked singles to go along with the tallies of the Forsberg brothers in the third.

    Nipawin, Sask., product Taran Kozun made 24 saves to pick up the shutout and first career U Sports win in goal for the Huskies (2-0). Rookie Michael Herringer did his best to keep the visitors in the game making 36 saves only to see the Cougars fall to 0-2.

    The Huskies return to action on Friday, when they host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

Upgang, Willoughby power Huskies to road win

The Huskies received great leadership from Kaitlin Willoughby on Saturday.

    Sophomore winger Emily Upgang and star captain Kaitlin Willoughby proved to be too much for the U of Regina Cougars to handle.

    On Saturday night at the Co-operators in Regina, Willoughby set up Upgang on a pair of second period power-play goals and Willoughby added a goal of her own as the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team downed the Cougars 4-3.

    U of S led 1-0 after the first period thanks to a tally by winger Bailee Bourassa. Upgang scored her first early in the second period to give the visitors a 2-0 edge before rookie Jordan Kulbida tallied for the Cougars to cut the Huskies lead to 2-1.

    Upgang added her second goal late in the second, and Willoughby tallied at the 12:44 mark of the third to put the Huskies up 4-1.

Leah Bohlken (#4) mixed it up in the rough areas.

    Cougars star forward Jaycee Magwood and Emma Waldenberger added singles late in the third in a last ditch comeback attempt that came up short.
    Saturday’s encounter had its rough moments too. Cougars forward Chelsea Hallson and Huskies defender Morgan Willoughby booth took boarding infractions. Huskies defender Leah Bohlken was tagged with a body checking minor and Cougars sophomore centre Lilla Carpenter-Boesch took an elbowing minor. The game ended with an old school WHL style scrum, but no penalties were dished out.

    The Huskies cashed in on 2-of-8 power-play chances, while the Cougars 0-for-3 on the power play.

Chloe Marshall made 29 saves to pick up her first career U Sports win in goal for the Huskies (1-1). Morgan Baker turned aside 29 shots to be saddled with the loss in net for the Cougars (1-1).

    The Huskies return to action on Friday, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the U of Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-1-1).

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.