The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team is preparing to host the 2013 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Potash Corp. Cup this March and they have a couple local players on the club hoping to hoist the trophy in their own backyards.

Forwards Kenton Dulle, from Craik, and Jordan Peddle, Elbow, have joined the third-ranked team in the country after four-year stints in the Western Hockey League, which have provided them each with scholarship money to put towards tuition and books.

Dulle, a 24-year-old arts and science major, said this is his first year on the Huskies after playing three years of CIS hockey with the St. Thomas Tommies in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He said the lure of playing closer to home and the chance of playing for a top team in the CIS is what brought him back.

“With them hosting nationals for the next two years, I decided to give the coach a call and things just went from there,” said Dulle, who graduated from Craik School. “I ended up coming back and had to sit out a year of hockey, but now I’m playing my first year here.

“I think the whole atmosphere here, as this year we host nationals, so everything and everyday is exciting. You come to the rink and everyone is excited. I’m just happy that we had a good start, so guys are happy and everybody is getting along, which is the best thing for a winning team.”

The Huskies are currently 9-3-0 after 12 regular season games, which is quite an achievement considering only three of those games have been on home ice, the Rutherford Rink on campus. The team is preparing for a long home stand now, playing eight of their next 10 games in Saskatoon.

Dulle, who has two goals and an assist in the first 12 games, said the big part of his game is his skating, which he perfected during a four-year trip through the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, Saskatoon Blades and finally the Kamloops Blazers.

“I usually play wing, but the coach has had me playing centre this year, so it’s something completely different for me,” he said. “I don’t mind it and I’m getting used to it. I’m getting more comfortable. I think the biggest part of my game is just my speed and skills just kind of come from there.

“I also play of the power play right now, but I’m not much of a penalty killer.”

Peddle, 21, started his first year in arts and sciences this past September after winning the WHL championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings last year. The Loreburn School grad played three years with the Swift Current Broncos before that.

“After playing my junior hockey, they recruited me and asked if I wanted to play,” said Peddle. “I heard that they were hosting the championship this year, so I decided that this was as good a place to play as any.”

To read more please see the November 26 print edition of The Davidson Leader.