Patterson's Dipsy Doodle in OT a Dandy
Slick move by Rookie Forward gives Huskie 1-0 Series Lead; Game 2 Tonight
By Darren Zary
of The StarPhoenix
Huskies 3, Dinos 2 (OT)
Colin Patterson¹s pursuit paid off. The University of Saskatchewan Huskies rookie forward beat a herd of Calgary Dinos through the neutral zone, then split the Dinos defence and out-raced a charging Calgary goalie Scott Talbot to the puck. Patterson calmly deked around the gambling netminder, depositing the game winner at 4:27 of overtime.
Just like that, it was game over. The hometown University of Saskatchewan Huskies had been rewarded with a 3-2 victory in Game of their best-of-three Canada West men¹s hockey semifinal series at Rutherford Rink.
Game 2 goes tonight, at 7 p.m., at the Doghouse.
That¹s great, said Patterson after being mugged in the team¹s dressing room as the OT hero. Anyone would say it¹s the most exciting part, getting an OT winner especially in playoffs. We played pretty well in the first period but three weeks off kind of left us in a tough spot because we¹re used to playing in games and we kind of slowed down a bit.
Their (tying) goal was pretty lucky, but we bounced back and got the win.Tyrel Lucas helped Calgary send the game into OT, being credited for a pinball-machine goal that bounced off numerous bodies before finding the top right corner behind U of S goalie Jeff Harvey with 3:25 left in the third.
In OT, however, Patterson was the likely hero.
The right guy got the puck at the right time, said Huskies coach Dave Adolph. We got outplayed for 40 minutes and we got lucky.
Chipped in assistant coach Troy Walkington: Paddy does that all the time;he beats six guys at the blueline all the time.
With the Huskies buzzing around the net and cycling down low, they dominated play through the opening minutes. Saskatchewan finally solved the puzzle in the Calgary net at 10:03. That¹s when rookie Brad Erickson pounced on a big rebound and swatted it past Talbot to make it 1-0.
On the power play at 11:33, the Dogs upped their lead to 2-zip when Mark Hinz¹s slapshot whizzed past a crowded maze in front of the net, somehow untouched, past Talbot.
In the second frame, the momentum turned somewhat with Calgary generating a bit of offence but, once again, Saskatchewan had the majority of the best scoring chances but only mustered numerous near-misses that just grazed the post or missed the net.
In the third, Ryan Annesley banked in a rebound from the side of the net at 2:09 before Lucas knotted the score at 2-2 just mere seconds after Calgary¹s eighth power play expired.
The Dinos were 0-for-8. The Dogs capitalized on just one of eight chances. I thought Blanchette was going to score just before they scored, said U of C coach Scott Atkinson. You¹ve got to play 60 minutes. We basically gave the game up in the first period. They came out and we certainly didn¹t play well in the first. We gathered ourselves and started to come on. Second half of the game, we definitely outplayed them but they¹re a good team. They¹re going to be tough to beat and we¹ve got to find a way.
Long-time U of S coach Adolph, now in his 14th season with the squad, was honored prior to the game as the ³winningest coach in Hockey Huskie history.
Adolph, who has over 500 games behind the bench in the Canada West conference, was presented with a plaque from acting Huskie athletic director Bill Seymour, a keepsake from hockey professor Dr. P.J. Kennedy and a big photo print from Huskie hockey alumni members Shannon Briske and Dan Leier.
DOG TALES: Huskie scratches included F Matt Girling (lower body), F Shane Zimmer, F Dan Erlandson, D Scott Roy and D Cleve Len . . . Among those not playing for the Dinos were Travis Friedley and D Wade Davis. Davis is a former fifth-round selection (141st overall) of the Calgary Flames from the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He was a member of the Calgary Hitmen who lost in the Memorial Cup Final in 1999 . . . Calgary F Jevon Desautels, from Alida, Sask., is a former fourth-round draft choice of the Washington Capitals of the 2002 NHL Draft. He was picked 109th overall. F Torrie Wheat joined the Dinos after the Christmas break. He has attended NHL training camps with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. Wheat is the
all-time leading scorer with the WHL¹s Everett Silvertips and a former first-round WHL Bantam selection, 16th overall of the Swift Current Broncos in 2000 . . . Calgary F Aaron Richards, a native of Saskatoon, played forthe Saskatoon Midget AAA Contacts prior to moving on to the WHL.
