SASKATOON, Sask. –The Alberta Golden Bears captured a convincing win over the Huskies, taking the 8th edition of the Bateman Cup 4-0. 

Habib Assem, Rilind Idrizi, Frankroy Cain, and Caden Ruby scored for Alberta, with Liam Collens stopping all three shots he faced to earn the clean sheet. With the loss, the Huskies fall to 0-3-0 to open the campaign while the Bears start their season 1-0-0. 

The matched opened with the visiting Golden Bears in control of possession, spending the majority of time on the attack. Despite the heavy pressure the Huskies defence held, holding off the threat of an early score. 

Just past the 20-minute mark in the match, fans in attendance saw the best scoring chance for either team when a long Alberta pass down the sideline found a Golden Bear downfield with space. After the initial shot was saved by Huskie keeper Jaron Slopinski, the rebound found another attacker who came inches away from opening the scoring after his shot went off the cross bar. 

With the first high-danger opportunity out of the way, the two teams settled into midfield play.

Late in the half, another high-danger opportunity came for the Bears when Huskie captain Luke Mackie was forced to make a diving kick at a ball just feet from his own goal line. The chance would send a rush into the Alberta attack who continued to push the ball into the Huskie zone. Eventually, the relentless pressure broke through, with another rebound finding an Alberta forward in close to the USask net. Habib Assem made no mistake on the rebound, giving the Golden Bears the lead. 

Despite momentum in the Bear's favour, the Huskie defence held back several opportunities for the visiting team and entered halftime down by one. 

The second half saw the Huskie defence continuing to hold back the Alberta pressure until the 69th minute when Alberta's Jake Bosch found Rilind Idrizi for an open shot. With Slopinski unable to get a hand on the shot, the Bears took a commanding second half lead. 

In the final 10 minutes of the match, the Bears were once again rewarded for their continuous pressure, netting goals in the 84th (Frankroy Cain) and 88th (Caden Ruby) minute to take the win 4-0.