Huskies Esports surging in Rocket League action

Huskies Esports surging in Rocket League action
September 28, 2021

The Keyano Huskies Esports Rocket League continued their hot start to the season with another pair of league victories and a pair of strong tournament results. 

In NACE (National Association of Collegiate Esports) Starleague action, the Huskies claimed a 3-0 win against Dickinson State last Wednesday and continued their success into a provincial rivalry matchup with a 3-1 win against the University of Alberta Monday. 

The trio of Conner McGlennan, William Nadeau, and Brayden Dang led the charge for the Huskies. McGlennan tallied three goals, four assists, and three saves while Nadeau had six goals, three assists, and one save. Dang rounded out the trio of performances with a pair of goals, three assists, and a pair of saves.

McGlennan, who was named the Keyano Huskies Men’s Athlete of the Week Tuesday, earned praise from head coach Ben Bramly for his performance. 

“Back in our match Wednesday night, he was a big part of the team, leading the squad in assists and saves,” said Bramly. “He was really pivotal in setting up our team for goals as well as getting back on defence when he needed to."

Monday, the trio of McGlennan, Nadeau, and Jared Greenwood claimed a win to kick-start the provincial rivalry against the University of Alberta. The Huskies opened the best-of-five matchup with a 2-0 win before going down to defeat 3-0 in the second match. To their credit, the Huskies came back with back-to-back 4-0 shutouts to close out the match victory. 

The Huskies also made some strong early impressions in the tournament scene for Esports, placing in a tie for third spot in the College Carball Association (CCA) Friday Night Carball Tournament. The tournament helps the CCA, which is a community organization that runs events alongside Rocket League creators Psyonix, identify where teams should be slotted in qualifiers for their premier event, Collegiate Rocket League (CRL). 

“For a school with new program that no one had known of in the world of Esports before, it was really important for us to get out there and get a good result like this,” said Bramly. “Our expectation was to finish in the top eight. 

“To get into that top 8 was our baseline expectation. I think with how the guys were playing, we probably could have gotten into that final and finished in that one or two-spot.”

In a field of 56 teams, Keyano opened the tournament with three-straight wins, including a victory over U Calgary, before going down to their first defeat against CSU Fullerton. The Huskies then rebounded to win matches against UNT, Boise State, and Cal Poly Pomona before falling in the semi-finals to Long Beach. 

The Huskies also competed in The Gaming Stadium’s Collegiate Champions Rocket League Showdown over the weekend, placing fifth among 36 teams. Facing off against five Canadian schools throughout their schedule, the Huskies compiled a 3-2 overall record. 

Their tournament began with a 2-0 win against University of British Columbia Okanagan followed by a 2-0 loss to the University of Alberta. They then claimed a 2-0 win against the University of British Columbia and a 3-1 defeat of York University before falling 3-0 to the University of Waterloo. 

The Huskies are back on the Rocket League pitch tonight in Week 2 of NECC league play. Their game is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. MT and will be streamed on twitch.tv/NECC_Esports.