Canada West Women's Hockey Playoffs set to take centre ice
Catch all the action on CWTV presented by Co-op
Brian Swane, special to CW
After a season lost to COVID-19, playoff action returns to the rinks of Canada West Friday through Sunday, when the Alberta Pandas entertain the Regina Cougars and the Saskatchewan Huskies visit the Manitoba Bisons in women’s hockey best-of-three quarter-final series.
Between the four quarterfinalists, these schools account for 19 of the 23 all-time conference champs, including the last three teams to capture the Catherwood Cup. Only two will move on to next weekend’s semifinal round, where the Mount Royal Cougars and UBC Thunderbirds await the victorious quarterfinalists.
No. 6 University of Regina Cougars (8-10-2, 18 points) vs. No. 3 University of Alberta Pandas (13-5-2, 28 points) at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton
- Game 1 – Friday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 3 -
Sunday, 2 p.m. MST (if necessary)It’s been nearly two years to the day, Feb. 29, 2020, that the Pandas defeated Mount Royal 2-0 to successfully defend their conference title and claim the Canada West championship for a record 14th time. Alberta has advanced at least as far as the semifinal every year since the inaugural Canada West women’s hockey tournament in 1998, while Regina is looking to win a playoff round for the first time in six years.
Alberta enters the postseason as winners of a six straight, a streak in which the Pandas conceded just four goals total and did not allow more than one in any single game. The two-time reigning conference champs are led by second-year forward Madison Willan, who tied for second in Canada West with 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) and led all players with five game-winning goals.
The Cougars have effectively been in a playoff situation for a while now, moving in front of MacEwan and overtaking Calgary over the final two weeks of the season before finally securing the conference’s last playoff berth with only one game remaining on their schedule. Regina forward Lilla Carpenter-Boesch shared the Canada West lead with 10 goals and fired 70 shots to rank third in the conference.
The Cougars and Pandas have not seen each other since a tightly contested series in Regina at the end of October, which saw both games go to overtime before Alberta ultimately prevailed.
No. 5 University of Saskatchewan Huskies (11-7-2, 24 points) vs. No. 4 University of Manitoba Bisons (13-7-0, 26 points) at Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg
- Game 1 – Friday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 3 - Sunday, 3 p.m. CST (if necessary)
Four years after the Bisons swept Saskatchewan in the 2018 best-of-three Canada West final en route to winning their first U Sports title, these conference originals meet again, only this time they’re opening the Canada West postseason instead of closing it.
Just three players remain from Manitoba’s championship team, including captain Lauren Warkentin, who led the Bisons with 37 shots this season. Manitoba’s penalty-kill, ranked first in Canada West at 89.9%, was 38/40 (95.0%) at Wayne Fleming Arena, where the Bisons won 8 times this season to tie for the most home wins in Canada West.
The Huskies had a record of 5-4-1 away from the comforts of Merlis Belsher Place and gave up a mere 11 goals on the road, fewest in the conference. Saskatchewan’s Camryn Drever was the busiest netminder among all Canada West teams that qualified for the postseason, logging 968 minutes in 16 appearances, and went 8-7-1 with a 1.49 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan played two games against each other in the regular season, on Oct. 28 and 29 in Saskatoon, where the visiting Bisons won 2-1 in overtime and 1-0.
You can catch all the action on CWTV presented by Co-op. For complete game results and updates, visit the playoff page.