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Ritchie's OT winner lifts SMU to semifinal over Saskatchewan in U CUP dogfight
Posted: Mar 19, 2026

Ritchie's OT winner lifts SMU to semifinal over Saskatchewan in U CUP dogfight

Tickets Photos Photos Photos Results Box Score
Scoring Summary
1st - 19:07 - Reid Valade (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 00:37 - PP - Ben Allison (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 15:17 - Jake Uberti (Saint Mary's)
2nd - 15:51 - Conner Roulette (Saskatchewan)
3rd - 00:15 - Conner Roulette (Saskatchewan)
3rd - 17:50 - PP - Liam Keeler (Saskatchewan)
OT - 16:15 - Ethan Ritchie (Saint Mary's)
Game Leaders
Saskatchewan
G: Conner Roulette - 2
A: 4 Players (#3, #10, #11, #18) - 1
Sh: Conner Roulette - 5
Sv: Nolan Maier - 29
Saint Mary's
G: 4 Players (#3, #5, #25, #74) - 1
A: Ryan Hopkins - 3
Sh: 2 Players (#5, #25) - 5
Sv: Marcus Vandenberg - 34
Team Stats
Full stats
Ethan Ritchie scored the overtime winning goal as the host Saint Mary's Huskies stunned the top-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 4-3 (OT) in a thrilling contest Thursday night in the second quarterfinal of the 2026 University Cup, presented by Steele Mazda, at the Scotiabank Centre.
With the victory, Saint Mary's improves to 17-13-3 (16-11-3 AUS) and advances to Saturday's national semifinal at 1 p.m. Atlantic against the Windsor Lancers. Saskatchewan, the Canada West champion, sees its season end at 25-8-1 (19-7-1 CW).
 
The game lived up to its billing as a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading momentum swings across regulation and into overtime.
 
Saint Mary's struck late in the opening frame, as Reid Valade opened the scoring with under a minute remaining in the period.
The hosts carried that energy into the second, adding a power-play goal from Ben Allison early before Jake Uberti extended the lead to 3-0 midway through the period.
Saskatchewan responded with urgency. Conner Roulette got the western Huskies on the board late in the second before scoring again just 15 seconds into the third to cut the deficit to one. The comeback was completed late in regulation when Liam Keeler buried a power-play marker to even the score at 3-3 and force overtime.
 
In the extra frame, both teams exchanged top-tier chances before Ritchie delivered the decisive moment. The Saint Mary's forward finished a setup from Ben Boyd and Ben Allison at 16:15 of overtime, sending the home crowd into celebration.
 
Marcus Vandenberg was strong in goal for Saint Mary's, turning aside 34 shots, while Saskatchewan's Nolan Maier made 29 saves in defeat.
 
With the win, Saint Mary's advance to the U CUP semifinal, where they'll take on the #4 seed Windsor Lancers, on Saturday, March 21 at 1 p.m. at the Scotiabank Centre. SMU becomes the fourth consecutive host team to advance to the semifinals, with three of those coming as No. 8 over No. 1 upsets.
 
NIKE TEAM PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Saskatchewan: Conner Roulette
Saint Mary's: Ethan Ritchie