EDMONTON - Goaltender Brandon Holtby broke an 87-year old Canada West record for most saves in a shutout, as the Regina Cougars dispatched the Alberta Golden Bears 2-0 at Clare Drake Arena Friday night.

The year is 1934; bread is eight cents, the top selling artist is Benny Goodman, and on January 22, Golden Bear Ralph Maybank turned aside all 49 Saskatchewan shots in a 0-0 tie. That was the record for most saves in a Canada West shutout until Holtby's 50 save effort on Saturday night. 

The Cougars also exorcised some historic struggles against the Bears as well, snapping a 54-game losing streak across all competition against Alberta, earning their first win at Clare Drake Arena since 1996.

Riley Krane, Tyler Adams, and Turner Ripplinger were the scorers for the Cougars, with Alberta goaltender Matt Berlin adding 29 saves of his own.

The Bears largely dominated the game, as evidenced by a 50 to 32 shot differential, but were not able to find an answer against a historically good Holtby.

QUICK HITTERS

• The last Regina win at Clare Drake Arena in a Canada West regular season contest was a 6-4 victory on February 3, 1996.
• In the inverse, this also means the Golden Bears set an undesirable record of their own in the loss, with the most shots without a goal in a single Canada West contest.
• Cougars Captain Conner Chaulk was the leading point-getter on the night, with two assists.

The first period was relatively dominated by the Golden Bears, outshooting the visitors 21-7. Alberta held the Cougars shotless until the 10:07 mark of the period. Holtby had a phenomenal period, slamming the door on all Alberta scoring chances, including two separate power plays.

Riley Krane potted his first of the Canada West campaign with 3:30 to go in the period, off a Ben Duperreault shot that sent Matt Berlin sprawling. 

The Cougars maintained their momentum into the second, killing a penalty at the start of the period. Tyler Adams sniped a powerplay goal home five minutes in; assisted by Regina's two leading scorers, Conner Chaulk and Tyler Heidt. 

Holtby maintained his perfect game, setting aside all 17 Alberta shots on goal.

The third seemed relatively even on the boxscore, with Alberta outshooting Regina 12-9, however the Bears dominated the period, with Holtby and the Cougars hemmed in on their own end for great lengths of time. It was here where the performance turned from excellent to magical, as he routinely and with ease put down the Bears chances of getting back into the game.

Turner Ripplinger added an empty net goal with 36 seconds remaining to put the win on ice.

Despite the loss, it was an impressive display of hockey from the Golden Bears, as they thoroughly dominated possession and drew five power plays.

With the loss the Bears drop to 2-2 in the Canada West campaign, while the Cougars grab their first win of the season to move to 1-4.

Alberta returns to action on November 12^th, in a rivalry game against the Calgary Dinos (2-2) in Calgary. The Cougars return home to take on the Manitoba Bisons (1-4) also on the 12^th.