MHKY: Puck drops on quarterfinal action Friday

By Brian Swane, special to CW

Short memories are a must for the Canada West men’s hockey quarter-finalists, if they are to make it through the opening round of the 2023 playoffs.

The UBC Thunderbirds host the Regina Cougars and the Mount Royal Cougars welcome the Saskatchewan Huskies in the best-of-three quarter-final round, with games scheduled for Friday through Sunday.

Both series are rematches from the end of the regular season. It was less than a week earlier that UBC and Regina tangled in Vancouver, while the Cougars and Huskies squared off in Saskatoon.

At stake are spots in the semifinal round, where the quarter-final victors will take on the top-ranked Calgary Dinos or second-seed Alberta Golden Bears in best-of-three series scheduled for Feb. 24-26.

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MATCH-UPS

​No. 6 University of Regina Cougars (8-17-3, 19 points) @ No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds (20-6-2, 42 points)

Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – Vancouver, B.C.

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The hottest team in the quarter-final round is UBC, winners of 12 straight. Regina was the latest victim of the high-flying T-Birds, who defeated the Cougars by scores of 4-1 and 6-3, respectively, at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre last Friday and Saturday.

Regina, meanwhile, ended the regular season with a 1-6-1 record in its last eight games, and without a regulation victory since Jan. 14. The Cougars entered play last Saturday controlling their playoff destiny, but only clinched the last postseason berth after getting some help on the out-of-town scoreboard, with MacEwan and Manitoba losing.

UBC is a perfect 4-0 against the Cougars this season, having also won 6-1 and 3-2 in Regina at the beginning of December, a pair of victories that marked the beginning of the T-Birds’ winning streak.

This matchup pits Canada West’s No. 1 power-play in 2022-23, UBC at 27.0%, against Regina’s penalty kill, which at 74.3% ranked second from bottom during the regular season. The Cougars will need to stay out of the box, after being assessed a league-high 530 penalty minutes, an average of nearly 19 minutes per game, during the regular season.

Both the T-Birds and Cougars are in search of their first Canada West championship. UBC has been knocking on the door, advancing to each of the last two championship series. This is Regina’s first time qualifying for the postseason in consecutive years since 2009, which also marked the Cougars’ last trip to the semifinal round.

​No. 5 University of Saskatchewan Huskies (14-10-4, 32 points) @ No. 4 Mount Royal Cougars (19-5-4, 42 points)

Flames Community Arena – Calgary, AB

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After blitzing the Huskies 8-1 at Merlis Belsher Place on Saturday, the Cougars concluded the 2022-23 regular season with a 4-0 record against the Huskies, winning those games by an average score of 5-1.

As evidenced with their performance in Saskatoon, the Cougars are capable of scoring outbursts, thanks in large part to their top line of Riley Sawchuk, Nolan Yaremko and Connor Bouchard. The trio were the top three point-producers in Canada West this season, as Sawchuk totalled 49 (20 goals, 29 assists), Yaremko racked up 46 (18 goals, 28 assists) and Bouchard had 39 (11 goals, 28 assists).

While the Huskies have thus far struggled to light the lamp against Mount Royal, Saskatchewan boasts its own offensive threats, including Connor Hobbs, who ranked first among Canada West defencemen with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists). Forward Jared Dmytriw led the Huskies with 14 goals, while Saskatchewan teammate Jaxan Kaluski tied for third in Canada West with three game-winning tallies.

Both the Cougars and Huskies split duties between netminders this season. MRU could start the series with either Riley Sims (8-1-2 record, 2.00 goals-against average, .910 save percentage) or Jackson Berry (6-2-2, 2.52, .903) between the pipes, leaving Saskatchewan to counter with Roddy Ross (8-4-3, 2.97, .893) or Jordan Kooy (5-6-1, 3.41, .876).

Last year was the first since 2015 that the Huskies did not reach the Canada West championship series, as Saskatchewan was knocked off in the quarter-final round, 2-1 by Calgary. The Huskies have hoisted the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy 11 times in program history, most recently in 2020.

The Cougars are yet to advance to the final since joining Canada West in 2012-13, but have been a semi-finalist six of the last seven postseasons, including one year ago when MRU swept Regina in the quarter-final round before bowing out to UBC in a dramatic three-game semi-final series.