CW BioSteel Athletes of the Week: Oct. 27

Oct. 27, 2026 - From playoff races to championship moments, last weekend had it all.

Two conference banners were celebrated on home turf. In field hockey, the UBC Thunderbirds snapped a nine-year drought by clinching their first conference title since 2017. The T-Birds secured the banner with a win over rival Victoria on Saturday, then finished the season with a shootout win on Sunday.

In rugby, the Victoria Vikes completed their undefeated season by earning their second straight conference title. Larah Wright was the driving force in Sunday's gold medal game, scoring three tries in a 67-12 thumping of UBC in the gold medal game. Lethbridge and Alberta also battled in an entertaining bronze medal tilt, with the Pronghorns narrowly holding on to bring home a medal.

Week 8 in football delivered sensational drama on the gridiron, including a stunning Saskatchewan comeback against Alberta. UBC mounted a second-half comeback of its own to defeat Regina, while Manitoba clinched a playoff berth with a 33-11 win over Calgary.

There will be plenty on the line in the final week of the regular season. First place is still up for grabs as the Huskies visit the Thunderbirds on Friday night. Both teams have already secured a home semifinal next Saturday, but UBC can claim first place overall with a win by 11 points or more. Regina will look to clinch a playoff spot with a win at Manitoba. If the Rams fall short, Calgary owns the head-to-head tiebreaker and could sneak into the playoffs with a win over Alberta.

Playoff matchups are now set in Canada West soccer, with the postseason beginning this Friday. The final weekend of the regular season delivered one last incredible moment, as UNBC's Mehdi Bounaaja set a Canada West single-game record with six points, scoring twice and adding four assists in a win over UBCO.

Canada West volleyball and basketball schedules also got underway, making this a jam-packed edition of our BioSteel Players of the Week. Let's get to it.

Football Offensive Player of the Week - Aidan Wiberg (Manitoba Bisons)

Week 8 at CGY: 15 carries, 123 yards rushing, 2 TD; 1 return in 33-11 win

Part of the Herd's twin-billing at running back, Aidan Wiberg broke free for a career-high 123 yards rushing, with a pair of touchdowns. The third-year, Peachtree, B.C. native started slow, with only five yards in the first half, before breaking out in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 40-yard kickoff return.

Wiberg followed that up with a 4-yard TD that started taking the wind out of the Dinos' sails early in the fourth quarter, followed by another 39-yard romp to the house to seal the deal and clinch the Bisons' eighth consecutive playoff berth.

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Football Defensive Player of the Week - Damian Dumas (UBC Thunderbirds)

Week 8 at REG: 5 solo TKL, 1 TKL for loss, 1 INT in 21-17 win

Damian Dumas easily had the game of his young Canada West career in Regina on Friday night. Lined up on defence for the first time as a T-Bird, the rookie out of Delta led all UBC players with five solo tackles, one of them for a loss, while also coming up with his first career interception, getting in front of the ball in the end zone and returning it out 28 yards.

Dumas and the UBC defence put up another stellar effort, limiting the No. 10 Rams to just three points in the second half en route to a 21-17 comeback win as the T-Birds secured a home playoff berth for the first time since 2024.

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Football Special Teams Player of the Week - James Keane (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Week 8 vs ALB: 3/4 FG, 1/1 XP, 41-yard game-winning FG in 21-19 win

James Keane played a pivotal role in Saskatchewan’s 21-19 victory over Alberta, delivering in the most challenging conditions of the season. The second-year kicker went 3-for-4 on field goals and a perfect 1-for-1 on extra points, highlighted by a 41-yard field goal as time expired for the first game-winning kick of his career.

Keane’s clutch performance was the latest example of his consistency this season, as he has converted 77 percent of his field-goal attempts while remaining perfect on extra points (22-for-22).

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Women's Soccer - Gabrielle Linford (Mount Royal Cougars)

Oct. 24 at ALB: 3G in 5-0 win

Oct. 25 at GMU: Came in as a second-half sub in 1-0 win

Gabrielle Linford delivered a standout weekend for the Mount Royal Cougars, helping lead the team to a road sweep of Alberta and MacEwan.

Linford dazzled on Saturday, netting three tallies in a dominant 5-0 win over the Alberta Pandas. She followed up that performance by coming off the bench in the second half on Sunday, making an immediate impact to help lead the Cougars to a 1-0 victory over the MacEwan Griffins.

Linford’s offensive impact and leadership helped Mount Royal secure two important wins, as they now turn their attention to the Canada West playoffs this upcoming weekend.

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Men's Soccer - Mehdi Bounaaja (UNBC Timberwolves)

Oct. 25 vs. UBCO: 2G, 4A in 6-0 win (new single-game CW record + program record)

Bounaaja closed the regular season by putting forth a historic individual performance on Sunday. His two-goal, four-assist effort against UBCO set a new Canada West single-game points record. His six-point outing bested the previous record of five, which had been recorded twice before (Saskatchewan's Brett Levis in 2012, and Calgary's Dominic Russo in 2010).

The six-point outing from Bounaaja also vaulted him into third place in conference scoring, and his eight assists on the season became a new single-season program record.

In 41 career games at UNBC, Bounaaja has struck for six goals and 11 assists.

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Women's Rugby 15s - Larah Wright (Victoria Vikes)

Oct. 25 vs UBC (Gold Medal Game): 3 tries in 67-12 win

Larah Wright was at the centre of Victoria's championship-winning performance, earning Canada West Championship MVP honours after recording a first-half hat trick in the Vikes' 67-12 victory over UBC.

The dynamic wing opened the scoring with a long-range run before adding two more tries off dominant Victoria scrums, helping the Vikes build a 29-5 halftime lead. Wright and her teammates would complete the convincing victory to secure their second-straight CW banner, while also completing an undefeated season.

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Women's Hockey - Jenna Goertzen (Manitoba Bisons)

Oct. 23 vs ALB: shutout win, 14 saves in 4-0 win

Oct. 24 vs ALB: win, 14 saves on 15 shots in 3-1 win

Goaltender Jenna Goertzen continued her hot streak with a pair of victories in the Bisons' first weekend sweep of the Alberta Pandas since Nov. 2010, and the first at home since 2008.

In Friday night's matchup, she picked up her second shutout of the season in a 14-save performance, following that up with another 14-save performance Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 win.

The fourth-year hometown backstop is on a three-game winning streak with two shutouts, and has given up one goal or fewer in four straight, leading to a 1.01 goals against average (first among goaltenders with at least three games played) and a .931 save percentage (second among goaltenders with at least three games played).

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Men's Hockey - Skyler Bruce (Manitoba Bisons)

Oct. 23 at ALB: 3G, 3 SOG in 4-2 win

Oct. 24 at ALB: 1G, 1 GWG, 2A, 1 SOG in 5-2 win

Skyler Bruce had a monster six-point weekend, highlighted by his first career Canada West hat trick in Friday's 4-2 win, following it up with another three-point game on Saturday - the game-winning power play goal, along with a pair of assists.

The former Vancouver Giant made every shot count, with all four of his goals coming on just four shots. Bruce now sits tied for third in conference scoring with eight points, only one back of the current conference leaders.

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Women's Field Hockey - Puneet Litt (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 24 vs VIC: 1 G, GWG in 2-0 win

Oct. 25 vs VIC: 1 G in 2-2 tie (shootout win)

Pushing UBC to their first Canada West title in nine years, rookie forward Puneet Litt scored the game-winning and banner-clinching goal off a penalty corner late in the opening half Saturday against the seven-time defending champion Vikes.

Litt added her second goal of the weekend on Sunday, a critical tally in the 44th minute to get UBC on the board while starting the successful comeback trail. Litt finished the regular season with a goal in each of her final three games.

The T-Birds will now head to Waterloo, Ont. for the U SPORTS National Championship which gets underway Thursday, Nov. 5.

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Women's Volleyball - Maryn Boldon (Trinity Western Spartans)

Oct. 23 vs MAN: 11 kills, 3 aces, 8 digs in a 3-0 win

Oct. 24 vs MAN: 19 kills, 15 digs, 1 block in a 3-1 win

Fifth-year left side Maryn Boldon started the 2026-27 season in impressive fashion, averaging 4.29 kills per set and 3.29 digs per set during a weekend sweep of Manitoba. ​

Boldon had 11 kills and eight digs in Friday's three-set win before topping that effort with 19 kills and 15 digs on Saturday for the No. 5-ranked Spartans.

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Men's Volleyball - Thys Weststrate (UBCO Heat)

Oct. 23 vs BDN: 16 K, 0 E, 22 TA, .727 %, 1 ace, 8 Digs, 3 blocks, 20.0 pts in 3-2 loss

Oct. 24 vs BDN: 10 K, 2 E, 15 TA, .533%, 7 aces, 3 digs, 4.5 blocks, 21.5 pts in 3-1 win

Fifth-year middle Thys Weststrate began the 2026-27 regular season with an impressive all-around performance as the Heat split a weekend series with Brandon.

Over two games against the Bobcats, Weststrate hit a combined .649, notching 16 kills on 22 attempts with no errors on the first night, before earning 10 kills on 15 swings with just two errors in the following match.

The Kelowna, B.C. native's presence in the front row was also evident through his combined 7.5 blocks, highlighted by three consecutive block assists that helped the Heat secure a 25-16 fourth-set win in the 3-1 victory (25-13, 25-12, 23-25, 25-16) over the Bobcats on Saturday. His impact in the victory extended to the service line, as he tied the school single-match record with seven aces.

With eight total aces over the weekend, he sits first in the country and conference in that category while also leading both rankings in hitting percentage.

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Women's Basketball - Hailey Merrigan (Thompson Rivers WolfPack)

Oct. 24 at UNBC: 8 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST, 5 STL in 69-61 win

Stuffing the stat sheet in TRU's first victory to open a Canada West campaign since 2019, second-year forward Hailey Merrigan did it all for the 'Pack.

A force on both ends of the court, she recorded eight points, 11 rebounds as well as five assists and five steals to lead TRU to the 69-61 win over UNBC.

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Men's Basketball - Cason Scott (Thompson Rivers WolfPack)

Oct. 24 at UNBC: 25 PTS, 6 REB, 28 min in 84-71 win ​

Second-year forward Cason Scott picked up right where he left off in year two with the WolfPack, leading the team in scoring in a season-opening victory.

A member of the 2026 Canada West All-Rookie team, Scott was 9-15 from the floor en route to a game-high 25 points in the WolfPack's 84-71 victory over UNBC.

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Women's Wrestling - Julia Daus (Alberta Pandas)

Gold in 50kg at Dinos Open

Fourth-year Education student-athlete Julia Daus was victorious for the first time in her university career this past weekend, earning a gold medal victory at the Dinos Open 50kg division.

She won her first match 12-1, her second match 4-0 by way of pinfall, and the gold medal match 6-2 by way of decision.

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Men's Wrestling - Max Kershaw (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Duals Match Win, Gold in 68kg at Dinos Open, 4 matches, 3 TF Wins, 1 Pin

Max Kershaw turned in a dominant performance in his first collegiate competition, capturing both his dual match and the 68 kg tournament title in Calgary.

The rookie showcased his skill and explosiveness with a highlight-reel suplex in the dual before rolling through the tournament bracket with four straight victories.

Kershaw earned three wins by technical superiority and added a pin, establishing himself as one of the Huskies' top performers of the weekend and a wrestler to watch this season.

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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 18 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.