麻豆社区

Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

PUTTING ON A SHOW 鈥 Timbit hockey players swarm the puck and the Huskies鈥 new mascot during the first intermission of Saturday鈥檚 game.

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

SOLID EFFORT 鈥 Huskies goalie Brad Gustafson makes a glove save Saturday. He allowed just one goal in a 5-1 win.

Huskies overwhelm Capitals to sweep series

With 700-plus watching, the Nuway Crushing Whitehorse Huskies swept away the North Island Capitals Saturday night.

By Marcel Vander Wier on January 11, 2016

With 700-plus watching, the Nuway Crushing Whitehorse Huskies swept away the North Island Capitals Saturday night.

The Huskies poured on the offensive pressure in a 5-1 win, with goals by Derek Klassen, Adam Henderson, Joe Densmore, Burt Stephens and Ted Stephens.

The victory came on the heels of Friday night鈥檚 9-6 barnburner, and saw the Huskies鈥 record improve to 3-1.

鈥淚 was real happy with the way our guys kept getting better through the six periods,鈥 Huskies head coach Michael Tuton told reporters post-game.

鈥淚 still don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e hit our stride yet. I think we can bring it up a level and if we鈥檙e going to go and chase our goals of a Coy Cup, then we鈥檙e going to have to bring it up a little bit. But I鈥檓 real happy with where we鈥檙e at, four games in.鈥

New off-ice additions included the unveiling of a new team mascot 鈥 a husky dog originally seen at the 2007 Canada Winter Games 鈥 as well as post-game autograph sessions with players.

鈥淚t was great to see all the fans out,鈥 said Tuton. 鈥淥ne of my favourite parts of the weekend was our interaction with the fans and the young kids. It made us all feel pretty good about the direction we鈥檙e going and the leadership that we鈥檙e showing.鈥

Huskies goalie Brad Gustafson was solid between the pipes Saturday, allowing only one late goal to Capitals winger Eric Kennelly.

鈥淚 felt really good,鈥 said the 22-year-old who was named top dog by his teammates post-game.

鈥淚鈥坱hink the team did a really good job keeping shots outside and clearing traffic from in front of the net. It made my job pretty easy tonight, for sure.

鈥淭hey had a solid team, but I think they got a bit tired as the games went on and kind of ran out of steam.鈥

Meanwhile, despite the results, Capitals goalie Aaron Hinton put on a show of his own in the other net.

The 33-year-old looked like a modern-day Dominik Hasek at times, making several scramble saves to nullify sure goals.

鈥淲e had a tough time breaking out of our own end,鈥 said Hinton, who told reporters he formerly played with the Calgary Hitmen and Houston Aeros.

鈥淲e were chipping them off the glass, but the Whitehorse guys were so fast they were coming back in waves. ... It was tough to control for a while there.

鈥淣ow we know who we have to compete with if we get to the Coy Cup. It was so nice being up here, playing against a team of this calibre. They鈥檙e better than Powell鈥圧iver by far.鈥

Hinton was pulled after the Huskies鈥 fourth goal Saturday night, and was replaced by backup Stevyn Ruel 鈥 who also made several spectacular stops.

On Friday, 550 fans watched from the Takhini Arena bleachers as Kane Dawe and Henderson each scored twice in a 9-6 victory.

Other Huskies scorers were Jared Tuton, Rob Warner, Klassen, Chris Gleason and Rob Stuckey.

Tuton was named Huskies top dog for his work solidifying the blue-line.

Meanwhile, Shelby Cockell and Shawn McNulty each put two pucks past Huskies goalie JJ Gainsforth, with Mitch Walker and Jon Hollett adding singles.

Huskies players Kevin Petovello, Simon Nugent and Ryan Gleason all sat our Saturday鈥檚 game with injuries, while Clayton Thomas announced his retirement after Friday鈥檚 game.

Two Capitals defencemen were also hurt in Friday鈥檚 hard-hitting affair.

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.