CUFC

It was a case of not knowing what to expect, really.  Sure, Saskatoon came into the Subway Centre leading the league and with a record of 8-2, but their opponents to date were unknown to Calgary and not regarded as top tier teams.  The only measuring stick that United had was the Accelerators’ games against Edmonton and there was no denying that the Drillers had thrashed them 13-2 in Edmonton.   Saskatoon had repaid the compliment with a 12-2 drubbing of the Drillers in Saskatoon, but this was because Saskatoon plays on a rubberized tile surface and not turf, surely.

The game began with Calgary dominating possession as their opponents dropped back into a disciplined ‘trap’.  Saskatoon defenders regularly sacrificed their bodies to block shots and goalie Jeff Dobchuck pulled off a string of spectacular saves.  Luck wasn’t running with United either when Calvin Campbell cracked  a shot off the inside of the post, wheeled in celebration with an arm in the air only to quickly cut his celebration short when the ball rebounded back into play, defying the laws of physics.

Calgary dominated but something was missing.  There was no sense of urgency and players regularly tried to force balls through the trap with no hope of a positive outcome.  However, it was still a shock when Brett Levi scored with 2:51 remaining in the second period.  No need to panic, just sharpen up a bit and everything will fall into place.

At half time coach Troye Flannery tried to instill some urgency in his troops but they came out flat in the second half.  Another excellent crowd at the Subway Centre watched first in disbelief and then in horror as Saskatoon stretched their lead unbelievably to 4-0.  This was unheard of territory for United who had been so excellent so far this season.  Time ticked by as attack after attack was turned back by a resolute Saskatoon defense.

Finally, Jesic broke Saskatoon’s shut out bid with just 6:58 left in the gamer.  A ray of hope.  Fourteen seconds later Yamada cracked one in off the far post to make it 4-2 and put Calgary in sight of a miraculous comeback.  But two goals in the next two minutes by Saskatoon on breakaways as Calgary pressed, once again opened up a four goal gap.  With 3:35 remaining Calgary pulled goalie Galasczkiewicz and replaced him with Kyle Yamada as a sixth attacker.  Almost immediately Calgary headed in a third, Mark Slade off a free kick from Reyes, and with 2:46 remaining Napuri scored a magnificent fourth as he hooked in a volley with his back to the goal.

But this was as close as Calgary could get on this day.  Saskatoon shut the door for the last two and a half minutes and delivered Calgary its first home defeat of the season.

This gives Saskatoon a four point lead at the top of the league standings with one game to play.  Calgary still has three games to play, but one of these is against Saskatoon. Calgary has four points to make up, but more to the point must now defeat Saskatoon in Saskatoon this coming weekend to stand a chance of capturing the championship. It remains to be seen which United team will show up; they now know what to expect and its just a case of whether the boys can get back to the top class standards of the past few weeks. It’s all on the line.