CW BioSteel Players of the Week: Oct. 7

Oct. 7, 2025 - You can feel a chill in the air across the western provinces, but the competition remains red hot as playoff races heat up across multiple Canada West sports.

In football, the prairie powers kept rolling, with Regina and Saskatchewan earning gritty wins at home. In Winnipeg, Manitoba and UBC delivered one of the games of the year — a wild affair that saw the Thunderbirds erase a 28–3 halftime deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead, only for the Bisons to rally back and steal a 35–31 victory.

In women’s rugby, late heroics defined the weekend. Victoria scored a last-minute try to edge UBC in the regular-season finale for both sides, while Lethbridge did the same to sneak past Alberta.

UBC hosted Calgary in field hockey, with the T-Birds coming away with both a regulation and shootout win.

On the soccer pitch, it was a weekend for hat tricks as Victoria's Abby McDonald, Mount Royal's Tamara Djurisic and UBC's Ava Alexander each accomplished the feat. MacEwan's men also broke through for their first ever win against cross-town rival Alberta.

Action on ice is back as the puck was dropped on a new hockey season. In women’s play, Trinity Western swept Alberta with overtime and shootout wins, while UBC opened strong with a pair of victories over MacEwan. On the men’s side, a Canada West Final rematch between Saskatchewan and Mount Royal highlighted the slate, with the teams splitting their weekend series. Calgary and Alberta each came away with two wins apiece.

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

Women's Soccer - Julie Snider (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Oct. 4 at CGY: 7 saves, 0 GA in 0-0 tie

Oct. 5 at MRU: 4 saves, 0 GA in 2-0 win

Making her first and second starts of the 2025 season, Julie Snider was fantastic in goal for the Huskies this past weekend. In critical games against divisional opponents, Snider shut the door, recording 11 saves and no goals against. With a tie against Calgary and a win against Mount Royal, Snider helped lead the Huskies to a four-point weekend to clinch a berth into the 2025 Canada West playoffs.

View WSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Soccer - Matthew Pearse (Victoria Vikes)

Oct. 3 at UFV: 2 Goals, 2 Shots on Goal, 1 Game Winner in 2-1 win

Oct. 4 at TWU: 1 Assist in 1-0 win

On Friday, the Vikes' leading goal scorer added on to his season tally as he scored the only two needed to take down the Cascades in a 2-1 Victoria victory. Pearse is having his best season of his career with eight goals, ranking him 3rd in CW, with three of those goals being game winners.

On Saturday, Pearse added to his impressive weekend statistics when he assisted on a late goal to propel the Vikes to a 1-0 win over the Spartans.

View MSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Rugby 15s - Charli Helland (Lethbridge Pronghorns)

Oct. 4 vs ALB - 3 line breaks, 8 line out steals in 22-19 win

It was an outstanding performance this week on both sides of the ball for Helland, who helped her team to a comeback win over Alberta. Offensively she was a constant threat with ball in hand, with three line breaks and aggressive ball carries. Defensively she forced nine turn overs, including eight at the line out and one at the breakdown.

View RUGBY 15s: Standings | Schedule

Football Offensive Player of the Week - Drew Viotto (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 4 at MAN - 473 yards, 26-of-42 passing, 3 TD in 35-31 loss

UBC's rookie pivot was spectacular, engineering a second half comeback where the T-Birds scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions. His 473 yards passing stands as the third highest single-game total in UBC history.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Defensive Player of the Week - Charlie Parks (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Oct. 4 vs ALB - 5 Total Tackles, 4 Solo, 1.0. Sack, 1 FF, 1 FR in 31-24 win

In a stout defensive performance from the Huskies, Charlie Parks consistently made life difficult for the Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday night.

The fourth-year defensive lineman recorded five tackles in the Huskie win, including a huge third down sack of Trey Reider early in the contest to stop the Golden Bears deep in Saskatchewan territory. On the very next Alberta drive, Parks then came up with the first turnover of the game, stripping the ball from Golden Bears running back Ope Oshinubi before coming up with the recovery as well.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Special Teams Player of the Week - Ty Gorniak (Regina Rams)

Oct. 4 vs CGY- 3-3 FG, made FG from 42, 34, 30, in 18-12 win

Ty Gorniak has been close to automatic this year as a placekicker in his first year with the Rams out of Balgonie's Greenall High School. He continued that in Saturday's win over Calgary, going 3-for-3 on field goals with successful kicks from 42, 34, and 30 yards out.

Gorniak's 87.5% success rate on field goals this year not only ranks first in Canada West and second in the nation, but is also the highest by any U of R kicker in a single season with at least 10 field goals made.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Hockey - Chloe Reid (Trinity Western Spartans)

Oct. 3 vs ALB - 3 shots, +1 in 3-2 SO win ​

Oct. 4 vs ALB - 2 goals, 8 shots, +1 in 3-2 OT win

Chloe Reid sparked the Spartans to a season-opening weekend sweep of the Alberta Pandas. Her weekend was highlighted by a two-goal game in Saturday's overtime win in which Reid scored both shorthanded and on the power play, tallying the game-tying goal with just over five minutes to play in the third period. The fifth-year Spartan finished the weekend with 11 shots and was +2.

View Women's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Hockey - Nathan Sullivan (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 3 vs GMU - 1 G, 1 A, 2 Shots in 4-2 loss

Oct. 4 vs GMU - 2 G, 2 Shots, +2 in 6-0 win

Nathan Sullivan needed all of 29 minutes of elapsed game time to score his first career Canada West goal in Friday night's season opener. Adding an assist on Ty Thorpe's third period power play tally, Sullivan followed up with a second straight multi-point effort Saturday, scoring twice in a bounce back T-Birds win.

The transfer's four points leads the T-Birds in scoring through week one of the season while his three goals are tied for the early Canada West lead.

View Men's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Field Hockey - Mikayla Stelling (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 4 vs CGY - 2 G in a 2-2 tie (SOW)

Oct. 5 vs CGY - 1 G, GWG in a 3-0 win

The fifth-year midfielder was unstoppable in her final home weekend of her Canada West career, scoring three times, including the game winner in Sunday's 3-0 shutout win over the Dinos.

Stelling is now tied for third in Canada West scoring with four goals on the season. The T-Birds head to Victoria next weekend for their final weekend series of the Canada West season.

View Field Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Golf - Ryan Vest (UBCO Heat)

Tied for 1st place at Western Washington Invitational / 7-under par

Vest once again led the Heat at their second NCAA Division II event of the season, the Western Washington Invitational, as he tied for first-place in the individual standings to help UBCO finish 2nd overall in the team standings.

The Vernon native, playing on a familiar course after suiting up for the Western Washington Vikings for a year, finished the three-round tournament at seven-under par 209, leaving him in a four-way tie for first place. Although Vest would lose out in a playoff, it marked the second consecutive tournament he's finished inside the top two on the individual leaderboard.

Women's Cross Country - Lauren McNeil (UBCO Heat)

Oct. 4 - 1st Place - Western Canadian Challenge - 27:33

Lauren McNeil picked up where she left off last season as she won her first race against university competition this year, winning the Western Canadian Invitational on Saturday morning.

McNeil, the reigning U SPORTS Champion, posted a time of 27 minutes and 33 seconds on the eight-kilometer course, over a minute and a half ahead of second-place Marisha Thompson from the Victoria Vikes. The win marks the third time in the last four meets McNeil has won gold for UBCO dating back to last season.

Men's Cross Country - Maximilien Filion (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 4 - 1st Place - Western Canadian Challenge - 24:51

Maximilien Filion continued his blistering start to the 2025 season, claiming first place in the men's university division on Sunday with a time of 24:51, eight seconds clear of the silver medallist. The T-Birds finished fourth in the final team standings.

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.