CW BioSteel Players of the Week: Nov. 12

Nov. 12, 2025 - From the Hardy Cup in Saskatoon to the national stage, it was a memorable weekend of championship action for multiple Canada West programs and student-athletes. ​

The 88th BioSteel Hardy Cup more than lived up to the hype, as longtime rivals Saskatchewan and Regina delivered a thriller in Saskatoon. The Rams appeared in control entering the fourth quarter, but Jake Farrell and the Huskies mounted a dramatic 16-point comeback capped by a Lukas Scott 25-yard field goal with just 25 seconds left.

The 25–24 victory marked Saskatchewan’s 22nd conference title, and the Huskies will now host OUA champion Queen’s in the Mitchell Bowl next Saturday.

On the national stage, Victoria's Madelyn Eybergen claimed individual gold at the 2025 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships in Sherbrooke, covering the 8km course in a blistering 27:10.00. Her performance paced a dominant effort from the entire Vikes team as they captured their first national title since 2001. The Vikes placed all five of their scoring runners within the top 40, a remarkable feat in a national championship.

The conference was also well represented at the U SPORTS Soccer Championships in Ontario. On the women’s side, UBC’s quest for another undefeated season ended just short after falling 2–1 to Montréal in the national final. In men's action, the Mount Royal Cougars also came up just shy of the top prize, dropping a hard-fought 1–0 decision to York in a snow-filled national championship match.

And lastly, history was made on the hardcourt as Regina’s Lodie Kenyi etched his name into the record books. Kenyi erupted for 58 points in a win over Lethbridge - the second-highest single-game total in conference history and a new program record for the Cougars.

Let's get to our BioSteel Players of the Week.

Football Player of the Week - Jake Farrell (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Nov. 18 vs REG: 25-for-35, 356 yards, 2 TDs, 16 Rushing Yards in 25-24 win

Named the MVP of the 88th BioSteel Hardy Cup, Jake Farrell helped the Huskies orchestrate a 16-point, fourth quarter comeback in the conference championship on Saturday.

The second year pivot making his fifth career start under centre, completed 66% of his passes for 356 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns to Liam Piccinin and Mason Grabowski. With his most productive plays of the game coming in the final frame, Farrell put together the best performance of his young USask career.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Soccer - Jayda Thompson (UBC Thunderbirds)

Nov. 6 vs Guelph: 2 shots, 90 mins played in 2-1 win

Nov. 7 vs Laval: 3 SOG, 2 G, 1 A, 90 mins played in 3-2 win

Jayda Thompson was an unstoppable force for the Thunderbirds at the U SPORTS National Championship in Hamilton, earning a spot on the Tournament All-Star team.

Her performance in UBC's semifinal comeback win over Laval was the stuff of legend. She scored twice - including the game winner in the 86th minute - while adding an assist, and was named UBC's Player of the Game.

Men's Soccer - Sjard Strauss (Mount Royal Cougars)

Nov. 6 vs Cape Breton: 3 saves in 2-1 win

Nov. 7 vs UQTR: SOG: 3 saves in 2-0 win

Nov. 9 vs York: SOG: 8 saves in 1-0 extra time loss

Sjard Strauss was at the top of his game at the 2025 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships in Toronto last weekend, helping the Cougars reach the national final for the first time in program history while settling for a national silver medal.

Strauss played every minute of the championship tournament, making 14 total saves over the three games. He was at his best in a tense, snow filled championship final against York, denying a penalty kick in the 58th minute while helping the Cougars take the game to extra time.

Women's Hockey - Allee Gerrard (Mount Royal Cougars)

Nov. 7 vs ALB: 1 goal, 1 shot in 4-3 SO win

Nov. 8 vs ALB: 2 goals, 3 shots, OT winner in 3-2 OT win

Allee Gerrard delivered in a big way for Mount Royal, helping the Cougars to a weekend sweep over the Alberta Pandas.

On Friday, she scored a beauty goal on the backhand to give MRU the lead in the third period. The next night, Gerrard opened the scoring early in the first and then got her second of the game in overtime to give the Cougars a 3-2 win for their seventh consecutive victory.

View Women's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Hockey - Connor Horning (Calgary Dinos)

Nov. 7 vs SSK: 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 shots, +3 in 4-2 win

Nov. 8 vs SSK: 1 assist, 0 shots, +1 in 3-2 SO win

Connor Horning turned in a big three-point weekend from the back line to help the Dinos sweep No. 3 Saskatchewan this weekend. The fourth-year defender helped spark a big comeback on Friday, scoring the tying goal early in the third before assisting on the game winner late in the period. That marked the first two-point game of the season for Horning and the first since Nov. 18, 2023.

He followed that up by once again aiding a Dinos comeback win as he assisted on the equalizer with less than 90 seconds to play before Calgary went on to win in a shootout and sweep the Huskies.

View Men's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Volleyball - Lauren Attieh (Fraser Valley Cascades)

Nov. 7 at ALB: 25 points, 24 kills, .345 hit %, 55 total attacks, 9 digs, 2 blks in 3-2 win

Nov. 8 at ALB: 14.5 points, 11 kills, 2 aces, 2 blks, 8 digs, in 3-2 loss

Fifth-year outside hitter Lauren Attieh played a big part for the UFV Cascades as they picked up a weekend split with the nation's top-ranked team and gave Alberta its first loss of the season.

Attieh had a match-high 24 kills on 55 swings with only five errors to lead the way to Friday's win, before picking up another 11 kills in a tight five setter on Saturday.

View Women's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Volleyball - Emmett Graham (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Nov. 7 vs BDN: 16 points, 14 kills, .385 hit %, 2 aces, 6 digs in 3-2 loss

Nov. 8 vs BDN: 20 points, 19 kills, .417 hit %, 1 ace, 2 digs in 3-1 win

Emmett Graham produced another pair of impressive matches at home this past weekend against the nationally ranked Brandon Bobcats. The veteran outside hitter totalled 36 points and 33 kills while helped the Dog split their weekend series. It was also a highly efficient outing for the local Saskatoon product, who finished the weekend with a .403 hitting percentage.

View Men's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Basketball - Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Nov. 6 at MAN: 24 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals in 100-63 win

Nov. 7 at MAN: 24 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 53% FG, 40% 3PT in 89-59 win

The reigning national Player of the Year was in peak form this past weekend in Winnipeg, recording back-to-back double-doubles as the Huskies rolled to a pair of wins against the Bisons.

Grassick recorded two identical 24-point, 10-rebound performances while adding a total of 15 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals as the No. 1-ranked team in the country improved to 6-0.

Through six games this season the fifth-year guard ranks first in the conference in both rebounds and assists while averaging the 4th-most points per game.

View Women's Basketball: Standings | ​ Schedule | Leaders

Men's Basketball - Lodie Kenyi (Regina Cougars)

Nov. 7 vs LET: 8 pts, 14 reb, 4 assists, 4 blocks in 70-65 loss

Nov. 8 vs LET: 58 pts, 9 reb, 5 assists in 105-84 win

Lodie Kenyi produced one of the best performances in Canada West history on Saturday, leading the Regina Cougars to a 105-84 victory over Lethbridge to earn a weekend split.

Kenyi dropped a school-record 58 points on 21-29 shooting, good for the second-highest single-game scoring outburst in Canada West history. The fifth-year guard out of Calgary was 6-7 from three-point land and 10-13 from the charity stripe, while adding nine rebounds and five assists.

Kenyi scored 24 of the Cougars' 29 points in the fourth quarter on 7-8 shooting and nine made free throws in the frame. His mark of 58 points sits behind only Richard Bohne's 64-point effort for the Calgary Dinos in January of 1995 in the conference's record books.

View Men's Basketball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Cross Country - Madelyn Eybergen (Victoria Vikes)

1st place at U SPORTS Championships - 27:10.00

Madelyn Eybergen put her skills on display as she rose above a skilled field to win the 2025 U SPORTS Cross Country gold medal. She covered the challenging 8km Université de Sherbrooke course in a time of 27:10.00. The victory was never in doubt as the Kincardine, Ont., product established a strong lead early and powered through to finish a full 14 seconds ahead of her closest competitor.

The first-place finish is the highest of her career at a U SPORTS championship, topping her third-place finish from last year. It also helped lead the Vikes to the team national title, their first since 2001.

Eybergen becomes the first Vikes woman to win the U SPORTS gold medal since Anna Gunasekera in 1991. Eybergen adds the gold medal and First Team All-Canadian honours to her historic season, having won silver at the 2025 Canada West Championship a few weeks ago.

Men's Cross Country - Jaxon Kuchar (Victoria Vikes)

9th place at U SPORTS Championships - 24:45.00

Jaxon Kuchar was the top Canada West finisher at the 2025 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships in Quebec, finishing the challenging 8km Université de Sherbrooke track in a time of 24:45.00. The time placed him ninth overall, earning him Second Team All-Canadian honours.

The performance helped the Vikes to a sixth place finish in the team standings, the top of any Canada West side.

Women's Swimming - Emma O'Croinin (UBC Thunderbirds)

8 first place finishes (4 individual, 4 relay) at the University Cup Pacific

The fourth-year phenom was outstanding in the pool at her home meet over the weekend, with a total of eight first place finishes (four individual, four relay). O'Croinin also set a meet record as part of UBC's 4x100 medley relay.

Men's Swimming - Kai Lilienthal (UBC Thunderbirds)

7 first place finishes (4 individual, 3 relay) at the University Cup Pacific

With seven total first place finishes at the University Cup Pacific, second-year Kai Lilienthal couldn't miss in either individual events (4) or relay (3). The Australian national broke meet records in the 50 metre, 100 metre and 50 metre freestyle. He also broke a meet record as part of UBC's 4x100 metre freestyle relay.

About Players of the Week:

The Canada West Players of the Week, Presented by BioSteel is a weekly celebration of athletic achievements across the conference. Each week, deserving student-athletes are nominated by SIDs from each member institution. Canada West office staff review nominations and select the recipients.

About BioSteel:

BioSteel is a leading sports hydration and nutrition brand, delivering clean, high-performance solutions trusted by professional athletes, top universities, and teams across North America and Europe, including major organizations like the NHL, MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA, and their affiliates. Alongside hydration, BioSteel offers premium protein and sports nutrition products, catering to athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and those striving for a healthier lifestyle. Committed to excellence, BioSteel equips top athletes and active individuals with the essential tools to reach peak performance and sustain wellness every day.

About Canada West:

As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 17 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West’s mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.