BioSteel Hardy Cup Semifinal Preview

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Oct. 30, 2025 - It used to be nicknamed the “Wheat Province.” Nowadays, it’s known as the “Land of the Living Skies” or the “Breadbasket of Canada.” But this weekend, you can just call it the “Epicentre of Canada West Football.”

The 2025 BioSteel Hardy Cup Playoffs kick off on Saturday, with a pair of semifinal games taking place in the province of Saskatchewan.

The action gets started in Saskatoon at 2 p.m. CST, when the Saskatchewan Huskies take on the UBC Thunderbirds. Then, three hours later and 260 kilometres south, the defending champion Regina Rams host the Manitoba Bisons at 5 p.m. CST.

The winners will advance to play in the 88th BioSteel Hardy Cup next weekend.

Fans across the conference and beyond can catch the Canada West playoffs streaming live and on demand at Canada West TV - Presented by BioSteel. In Saskatchewan, the games will also be broadcast on SaskTel maxTV as part of the Canada West Football Showcase.

Saskatchewan Huskies (7-1, first place) vs. UBC Thunderbirds (3-5, fourth place)

Saturday, Nov. 1 | 2 p.m. CST at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park (Saskatoon, Sask.)

This will be the fourth time in five years that the Huskies and Thunderbirds have met in the playoffs, following an instant-classic semifinal twelve months ago in Vancouver, where Saskatchewan scored 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Thunderbirds 38-33.

Last week in Regina, the Thunderbirds authored a stunning comeback of their own, rallying from a 15-point deficit with less than two minutes remaining before defeating the host Rams 31-29 in overtime to clinch the final spot in the 2025 Canada West football playoffs.

UBC now looks to carry the momentum from its season-saving victory into Griffiths Stadium, where the Huskies went 4-0 this year, including a 51-14 triumph over the Thunderbirds in the team's season opener on Sept. 5.

Saskatchewan also defeated UBC 24-10 at Thunderbird Stadium in Week 7 on Oct. 17.

With quarterback Drew Viotto throwing to talented targets like Shemar McBean and Trey Montour, UBC will try to attack the Huskies’ secondary. The Thunderbirds led Canada West this season in passing yards gained (313.0 per game), while the Huskies allowed the most passing yards (291.3 per game) in the conference.

UBC, however, won’t want to get into a shootout. Saskatchewan is Canada West’s highest-scoring team (31.6 points per game), averaging more than 10 points per game more than the Thunderbirds. Huskies fifth-year wide receiver Daniel Wiebe had a historic campaign, setting a program record with 11 receiving touchdowns while leading the conference in receptions (60) and receiving yards (926).

With 21 and 16 championships respectively, Saskatchewan and UBC are the two winningest programs in Canada West football history.

Regina Rams (6-2, second place) vs. Manitoba Bisons (4-4, third place)

Saturday, Nov. 1 | 5 p.m. CST at Mosaic Stadium (Regina, Sask.)

As they look to capture the Hardy Cup in consecutive years for the first time in program history, the Rams are charting a path quite similar to their championship route of 12 months ago. Before defeating Saskatchewan in the 87th BioSteel Hardy Cup, Regina advanced to the title game with a 28-25 semifinal victory over the Bisons in Winnipeg.

This time, however, Regina will host its semifinal showdown with Manitoba. Prior to facing UBC last week, the Rams were unbeaten at home in 2025. The Bisons, meanwhile, were winless on the road during the regular season, including a 30-8 loss at Regina on Sept. 27.

Saturday’s semifinal in the Queen City could be decided in the trenches. During the regular season, Manitoba ranked first in rushing yards gained (185.8 per game) and third in rushing yards allowed (118.8), while Regina ranked first in rushing yards allowed (86.3 per game) and second in rushing yards gained (168.8 per game).

Rams running back Marshall Erichsen led the conference in both rushing yards (1,026) and rushing touchdowns (11). The third-year student-athlete ran wild against Manitoba in Week 5, scoring two rushing touchdowns while carrying the ball 18 times for 165 yards.

Manitoba’s Jackson Tachinski finished second in rushing touchdowns (6) and first among Canada West quarterbacks in rushing yards (314). Bisons running back Breydon Stubbs, who had the third-most rushing yards (524) in the conference this season, ran for 134 yards and scored a touchdown in last year’s semi-final loss.

The Bisons have won three of their five prior postseason games against Regina.