With a 15-10 victory over the visiting Oshawa Firewolves on Saturday night, the Saskatchewan Rush improved its lead in the National Lacrosse League to 6-1.

The two teams battled back and forth in the first quarter, with the Rush carrying a slim 4-3 lead at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

However, Saskatchewan went on to outscore Oshawa 4-1 in the second quarter to take a lead that it never relinquished, although the Firewolves did pull within two points in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Keenan topped the points for the Rush with four goals and three assists, while Zach Manns, Austin Shanks and Brock Haley each scored twice. Robert Church, Jake Boudreau, Holden Garlent, Josh Zawada and Levi Anderson each chipped in with singles.

In net, Frank Scigliano made 34 saves on 44 shots for the Rush, while his Oshawa counterpart Doug Jamieson went 38-for-52.

Saskatchewan will take its five-game winning streak on the road for its next match, which will be Jan. 30 against the Calgary Roughnecks.

The Saskatoon Blades took on the Swift Current Broncos in a home-and-home Western Hockey League series on the weekend, with the Blades winning at home, but losing on the road.

In Swift Current on Saturday night, the hometown Broncos took an early 3-0 lead after the first period. The Blades battled back with a single goal in the second period from Zach Olsen and a pair of goals in the third — one from Kazden Mathies and an empty netter from Cooper Williams with 39 seconds left on the clock — to tie the game and force overtime.

However, three minutes and 47 seconds into the extra frame, Swift Current’s Stepan Kuryachenkov notched the hat trick and the game winner to give the hosts a 4-3 win.

Starting in goal for the Blades, Evan Gardner made three saves on eight shots before being replaced with teammate Ryley Budd who went 18-for-19, while across the ice, Archer Cooke made 29 saves on 31 shots for the Broncos.

Friday night in Saskatoon saw the teams tied at two early in the third period, but goals from Elias Pul and Tyler Parr in the final eight minutes propelled the Blades to the 4-2 victory.

In that game, Gardner went 26-for-28, while Aiden Eskit was 32-for-35 for Swift Current.

Earlier in the week, the Blades also fell to the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-1 at home, leaving the team sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 22-16-3-1 record.

The Blades will return to action on Jan. 21 when it hosts the Victoria Royals at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Huskie basketball teams double up Pronghorn victories

It was a winning weekend on the road for both of the University of Saskatchewan Huskie basketball teams as it swept the series against the host, the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

On the women’s side, Saskatchewan improved its undefeated season to 14-0, winning 101-52 on Friday night and following that up with a 79-59 victory on Saturday.

Tea DeMong picked up a double-double in the first game with a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Gage Grassick topped both teams with 25 points in the second game.

The Huskies continue to share the top spot in the Canada West Prairie Division standings with the Regina Cougars who are also 14-0.

Over on the men’s side, the U of S posted its first double-victory weekend of the season, with narrow wins of 80-75 and 81-77 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Easton Thimm picked up a double-double in both games leading the Huskies with 22 points and 13 rebounds on the first night and following it up the next night with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while teammate Mohamed Mohadhi led the team with 17 points.

The men are now 5-9 and eighth place in the Prairie Division. The team needs to move up into seventh or higher to make the post-season.

Huskie volleyball

With four games left in the regular season, both Huskie volleyball teams are poised to make the playoffs, despite the teams being swept by the host, the Manitoba Bisons, on the weekend.

On Friday night, the teams both lost in three straight sets with the women falling 23-25, 21-25 and 23-25, while the men fell 19-25, 20-25 and 13-25.

The following evening, the women pushed the game to four sets but ultimately lost 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25 and 18-25), while the men extended the game to five sets but lost 2-3 (19-25, 25-15, 27-25, 21-25 and 10-15).

Saskatchewan sits sixth in the Canada West standings on the women’s side with a 9-7 record, while the men are seventh at 7-9. The top 10 teams will earn a spot in the post-season.

Huskie hockey

The U of S men’s hockey Dogs moved into second place in the Canada West’s East Division with a 14-4-2 record after winning one weekend game over the host, the Mount Royal Cougars, and losing in overtime in the other.

On Saturday, the teams were tied at three after the second period, but Connor Roulette and Ethan Regnier both scored for Saskatchewan in the third period to make the final score 5-3.

Nolan Maier made 27 saves on 30 shots in net for the Huskies in that game, while his Cougars’ counterpart Shane Farkas was 14-for-19.

The night before, the teams were also tied 3-3 entering the third, but each team scored once in the remaining regulation time to force the extra frame, where Mount Royal notched the 5-4 overtime game winner.

Saskatchewan goaltender Jordan Kooy stopped 22 of 27 shots that evening, while Farks was 23-for-27.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, the Huskies sit fourth in the standings with a 7-9-1-3 record after a pair of losses — one in regulation and one in overtime — while playing at home against the top-ranked Mount Royal.

In the overtime loss on Friday, Saskatchewan’s Shelby Williamson tied the game at two just before the midway point of the third period, but the Cougars netted the game winner 43 seconds into the extra frame to take the 3-2 victory.

The following night, Sara Kendall had the lone goal for the Huskies in the third period as the host fell 5-1.

Colby Wilson was in net for Saskatchewan both nights and faced more than double the amount of shots of her Cougars’ counterpart in both showings, stopping 25-of-28 in the first game and 37-of-42 in the second game.

Huskie wrestling

With 49 points, the Huskie men’s team topped the standings at the Golden Bear Invitational in Edmonton on Saturday, with three athletes achieving gold-medal performances, including Takis Sembalerus (72-kg division), Donovan Neudorf (65-kg) and Yuel Kebrom (61-kg).

On the women’s side, Saskatchewan had 44 points to finish fourth overall, with Elizabeth Chapman (50-kg) claiming the only gold medal for the team.

Next up for the teams will be the Canada West Championships, which will be back in Edmonton on Feb. 14.

Huskie track and field

Also in Edmonton on the weekend was the Huskies track and field team competing at the Golden Bear Open.

Overall, the team found its way to the podium 17 times between men’s and women’s results, but gold belonged solely to the women.

Hannah Hagerty claimed individual first-place finishes in the long jump (6.26 metres) and 60-m race (7.44 seconds) and also assisted the Huskies 4×400-m relay team to first with a time of 3:48.46, while the 4×200-m relay team was also No. 1 with a time of 1:37.68.

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