Tempo and optimism are high at University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey practice, coming off their first weekend of play for the 2025-26 Canada West season.
Not a surprise given the blank slate in front of the Huskies as they’ve embarked on a new season together.
“Honestly we’re looking pretty solid so far,” said Huskies captain Sara Kendall. “The work ethic is there, the communication is there, the connections are being built. It’s been really good.”
The Huskies are putting last year firmly behind them, a season which tested the team’s resiliency and marked a rare freefall in the Canada West standings for the usually consistent program out of Saskatoon.
Coming off hosting the U Sports National Women’s Hockey Championship, the Huskies saw a large part of their 2023-24 roster graduate or depart the organization leaving a rookie-heavy lineup to begin the 2024-25 campaign.
What followed were 14 consecutive losses to open the season before the Huskies finally won their first game on Nov. 29 against the MacEwan Griffins.
“It was hard for us to find the fun in it after coming so far in the season and not having a single win, or really anything going our way that year,” said Kendall. “This year we’re trying to bring the vibes… We’re trying to get the crew connected. We want everyone to have fun and try their best.”
The Huskies would wind up only winning five of their 28 games in regular season, missing Canada West playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years with a disappointing 5-17-6 record to finish second-last in the conference.
It was a season which tested the entire program according to head coach Steve Kook, who spent the off-season searching for answers on how to prevent the script from repeating itself this fall.
“It was a big wake up call, let’s be honest,” said Kook. “For [players] and the coaching staff, we had a chance to sort of evaluate everything we do. We had a look at things and we said, ‘Are we doing these things because that’s just what we do? Or are we doing these things because they’re effective?’”
That process involved a lot of soul-searching for a young Huskies roster, with several players only being introduced to Canada West competition months earlier.
The differences between U18 or junior hockey with the U Sports level is something Kook wanted to instill in his players in 2025-26, with his locker room taking the note to heart.
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“Hockey day in and day out means something here,” said Kook. “It’s a little different than where they came from. There’s money on the table, there’s jobs on the table, university reputation. I think they got a little bit of an awakening of making sure we got to take care of business here.”
Visiting the Mount Royal Cougars to kick off the 2025-26 season last weekend in Calgary, the Huskies struggled in their opener last Friday suffering a 3-1 loss, which Kook said could have been much worse if not for a 30-save performance out of starting goaltender Colby Wilson.
The following night it was a different story, as the Huskies locked down defensively against Mount Royal winning 1-0 off a 23-save shutout night from backup goalie Clara Juca and the game-winning goal scored midway through the second period by veteran Bronwyn Boucher.
“We’re already ahead of schedule from last year,” said Boucher. “We have a win before December now, I think with that we have a lot of positive energy and momentum to take us into that first half. Lots to work on, but very excited for this.”
For Boucher it wasn’t only a key goal to break the deadlock, but served as a milestone for the Sturgeon County, Alta., product scoring in her 100th career Canada West game.
Splitting their first series of the season against Mount Royal marked a step in the right direction, according to Wilson, with the goal of stringing together wins much more consistently compared to last season.
“We’re a pretty young team and everyone is in the lineup,” said Wilson. “Getting people used to that pace and thinking, ‘Oh yeah I can do this’ is super awesome. It was good for us to do our first weekend.”
Time will tell if the Huskies are able to achieve the real change in the standings they’re expecting this winter, but the mentality of the team has shifted for the better, said Wilson, who aims to get back to the playoffs in her final Canada West season.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a fifth-year or a first-year [player],” said Wilson. “We all have a role to play on this team, and I think that’s where we are right now. We know what we’re striving for, so now we’re just trying to create ourselves a new identity separate from past years.”
The Huskies (1-1-0) are on a bye week following their season-opening split against Mount Royal. They are set to return to game action on Oct. 17 for their home opener at 7 p.m. versus the Trinity Western Spartans (2-0-0).
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