Box Score (Written by Megan Jalbert - University of Regina Sports Information)

Box Score

The University of Regina's men's hockey team suffered a 5-2 loss to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Cougars' Canada West home opener at the Co-operators Centre on Friday evening.

Garrett Thiessen, Kyle Ross, Shaun Vey, Kyle Bortis, and Chad Suer all scored in the win for Saskatchewan, while Dayton Fossum and Johnathan Sonntag replied with third-period goals for the Cougars. Vey added two assists to record a three-point night for the Huskies.

Saskatchewan goaltender David Reekie stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the win for the Huskies, while Regina's A.J. Whiffen was tagged with the loss after allowing three goals in the first 4:47 of the contest.

The loss drops the Cougars to 0-3-0, while Saskatchewan improves to 2-0-0 on the season.

Saskatchewan was quick out the gate and scored the game's first three goals within the first five minutes of the opening period. The first goal came at 1:35 from Thiessen and was followed by another just over two minutes later from Ross. Vey improved Saskatchewan's lead to three less than a minute later, a goal which chased Whiffen in favour of backup Lucas Gore.

Saskatchewan added two more unanswered power play goals in the second period, as Bortis put one into the net at 14:38 and Suer potted another one less than two-minutes later. Both of Saskatchewan's goals came on a five-minute man advantage as a result of a checking to the head penalty assessed to Cougar defenceman Russ Nielsen.

Midway through the third period, Regina finally broke through with a shorthanded goal by Fossum. Less than three minutes later, Sonntag lit the lamp with his first of the season. The Cougars had a couple chances to cut Saskatchewan's lead even further, but had a shot ring off a post and a goal that was waived off.

Saskatchewan outshot Regina by a 46-25 margin and had nine different players put points up on the board. The Huskies were 2-for-7 on the power play, while the Cougars were 0-for-6 with the man advantage. Gore made 39 saves in relief of Whiffen, including several of the highlight-reel variety during the extended penalty kill in the second period.

The two teams will meet for the second game of the home-and-home series on Saturday in Saskatoon. The game will be broadcast live at www.canadawest.tv.