EDMONTON - Rookie Brett Hyland scored three goals in the third period to lead the Alberta Golden Bears to a 5-2 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies in a great early season game Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.

Hyland now has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last three games, and was supplanted by some phenomenal line play as Sean Tschigerl had four assists on the day. Alex Thacker and Mason Ward were the other goalscorers for Alberta. The Bears now move to 5-0-0 and hold the sole lead in the East Division.

Saskatchewan moves to 4-1-0 with their first loss of the season, with Liam Keller and Jarrett Penner finding the back of the net for the visitors. Goaltender Roddy Ross took the loss but played well all night, saving 33/37 total shots.

The first salvo in this one was fired by the Bears who got off to a roaring start. Thacker found twine on just the third shot of the game on a beautiful pass from Marc Lajoie to give Alberta an early 1-0 lead. The Huskies would get more comfortable from there though, culminating in some offensive zone time and a cross-crease snipe from Keeler that beat Ethan Kruger to knot the score at one. They would head to the break tied up, with Alberta holding a slight shot advantage at 14-10.

The second period turned into a bit more of the war of attrition expected between these two rivals. The first 12 minutes of the frame saw both sides pump up the physicality, and a nice penalty kill from the Bears which stymied a Huskies powerplay unit that ranks 4th in the conference. Alberta took the lead back near the end of the period however, as Mason Ward deposited his first of the season that beat Ross blocker-side and gave the home team a 2-1 advantage entering the third.

The final frame did not disappoint - the period saw four goals and an impressive comeback attempt from Saskatchewan, but the Bears were able to put this one away 5-2. Hyland came close to a natural hat-trick in the period, scoring the first, second, and fourth goal of the period for Alberta. Linemate Tschigerl assisted on all three goals, which raises his point total over the last three games to an astounding ten. Penner added the only goal for the Huskies, who put up a good fight outshooting the hosts 16-13 in the third, but Hyland was too much as the Bears went home with the victory.

The teams are back in action tomorrow night at Clare Drake in what promises to be an exciting series finale.