Box Score Game Sheet

Second-year forward Kyle Ross scored a hat trick and added two assists to lead the University of Regina's men's hockey team to an 8-1 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday night in a Canada West game at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre.

After losing to the Huskies 6-2 in Saskatoon on Friday night, the Cougars (1-1-0) came out flying on Saturday. Ryan Cruse scored just 32 seconds into the game, then Ross scored his first of the night on a 5-on-3 advantage 91 seconds later. Steven Gillen scored three minutes later to bring the Huskies (3-1-0) to within one, but Dustin Bru restored Regina's two-goal lead with four minutes remaining in the first.

In the second period, the Cougars broke the game wide open with four goals in the first seven minutes, effectively putting the game away for Regina.

“Compared to last night, we moved the puck a lot smarter,” Cougars head coach Blaine Sautner said. “We're usually pretty good defensively, and it was our focus tonight to return to solid defensive hockey and wait for our opportunities. It just happened tonight that our opportunities came early tonight and we were able to capitalize.”

With a minute and a half remaining in the first, a hit by Cougar forward Laurent Benjamin on Derek Endicott broke a pane of glass near the penalty box, causing a half-hour delay as crews worked to clean and replace the shattered glass. When play resumed, the teams played the remaining 90 seconds of the first period, had a short break, and went right into the second.

Both Ross and Caine Pearpoint were plus-6 for the Cougars during the game, while Dan Bohemier and Cody Thoring both had a plus-4 rating.

Brant Hilton made 27 saves to record the win for the Cougars. Russell Monette was tagged with the loss for the Huskies after allowing five goals on 13 shots. Jeff Harvey relieved Monette at the 4:13 mark of the second period and made seven saves on 10 Regina shots.

The Cougars will host Lethbridge (1-1-0) next weekend at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

NOTES: Regina's seven-goal margin of victory on Saturday was the most lopsided win over Saskatchewan in the team's history ... the only time the Cougars have ever scored more goals in a single game against the Huskies was on Feb. 5, 1994 in a 10-4 win.