It shouldn’t come as news to folks, but former Moose Jaw Warriors goaltender Zach Sawchenko is a pretty good hockey player.
Case in point, the Canada West men’s hockey championship final series.
Sawchenko made 29 saves to post his second-straight shutout as the University of Alberta Golden Bears claimed their second straight Canada West men’s hockey championship with a 1-0 victory over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Alberta won the series two-games-to-one, losing the first game 4-2 before Sawchenko picked up his first clean sheet with a 3-0 win in Game 2.
“At the end of the day, I might get credit for the shutout, but it's a team game. Our team was excellent this weekend, we showed a lot of grit and character,” Sawchenko told canadawest.org shortly after the Bears won the title at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon. “It’s a tough rink to play in here, and we have to give the Huskies full credit, they played well. And to be honest, the difference between all three games was very small. At the end of the day the series could have gone either way.”
Luke Philp scored the lone goal of the game on the power play with 2:16 remaining in the second period.
Taran Kozun made 27 saves for the Huskies while former Warriors defenceman Jesse Forsberg had a pair of shots but was unable to beat Sawchenko.
Both programs will now represent Canada West at the 2019 University Cup, hosted by the University of Lethbridge March 15-17.
