Weekend games see Huskies win streak continue

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — With October quickly reaching its end, the Fort St. John Huskies have left their early season woes in the rear view mirror.

The Pups took both games in their Strike Group North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL) schedule on October 17th and 18th over the Dawson Creek Kodiaks and Fairview Flyers by scores of 4-1 and 6-1 respectively.

In doing so, Fort St. John stretched its win streak to five, with its last loss coming at the start of the month against the La Crete Lumber Barons.

Head coach Todd Alexander feels it is a case of the team having shaken off early season rust and playing more consistently within the team’s structure.

“There are lots of things that are going on that we are trying to make changes [to],” said Alexander. “We are sticking to it and starting to see some of the positives when it’s run properly by the players.”

“It’s been a bit of an adjustment so far. We are 12 games in now, and we are still trying to find the consistency of playing our style”

On Friday, the Huskies travelled to the Ovintiv Events Centre for their first regular season game against the Kodiaks. The two teams had a pre-season contest in early September.

The Huskies cruised to a 4-1 victory, led by a two goal performance from forward Bevin Williams.

Other goal scorers included Ryan Ungstad and defenceman Jordan LaGreca, while goaltender Evan Umbach – making his second start of the season – had 28 saves in the win.

Umbach is a local product of Fort St. John moved up from the North East BC Trackers program.

“He’s working hard and he’s got to work hard every night…it’s important for him to make sure he’s dialed in. He did a really good job in Dawson Creek,” Alexander said of Umbach.

The next night, the Huskies were back at home taking on the Fairview Flyers for the second time this year at the North Peace Arena.

 The Huskies won again by a score of 6-1 with two goals from Xavier Burgher leading to a three-goal second period.

Ungstad also had two goals, while Brody Mickey and MacCoy Willms had one goal each. Willms and Carver Lequiere each also had a pair of assists.

The Huskies will next be in action on Saturday, October 25th heading to Grande Prairie to take on the Wheat Kings for the first time this season starting at 8 p.m. 

The following afternoon, Sunday October 26th, sees the Kodiaks head to the North Peace Arena in a return matchup, with game time scheduled for 2 p.m.

Further details are available on the Huskies’ Facebook and Instagram pages or website.