MHKY: Saskatchewan hosts Mount Royal in battle for CW banner
Best-of-three CW Final begins Friday night in Saskatoon
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
March 6, 2025 - There will be a new king of Canada West men’s hockey crowned this weekend in Saskatoon.
The Saskatoon Huskies, who last captured the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy in 2020, will host the Mount Royal Cougars, who are seeking their first conference title, in a best-of-three championship final series at Merlis Belsher Place.
Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. CST. If necessary, Game 3 takes place Sunday at 6 p.m. CST.
Tickets can be purchased online. All the action will be streamed on Canada West TV - Presented by BioSteel, with Friday's Game 1 also featured as the Canada West CBC Game of the Week, streaming free on CBC Gem, CBC YouTube and CBCSports.ca.
Both finalists were pushed to the limit during last week’s best-of-three semifinal round. Saskatchewan knocked the UBC Thunderbirds off their throne, bouncing back from a Game 1 overtime loss to eliminate the 2024 champs in three games. Mount Royal got past the Alberta Golden Bears in a series that also went the distance, rallying for victory in Calgary after trailing late in the second period of Game 3.
Just two points separated these two teams, who each placed atop their respective division’s standings, in the regular season. Saskatchewan finished first in the East with 46 points from a record of 23-5, while Mount Royal was best in the West with 44 points from a record of 22-6.
The course may have been charted for this series four and a half months ago, when Saskatchewan and Mount Royal met for a pair of games in Saskatoon. On Oct. 25, the Cougars won convincingly by a score of 4-0, improving their record to a conference-best 7-0 while sending slumping Saskatchewan to its third consecutive defeat. That loss proved to be an inflection point for the Huskies, who responded the next night with a 4-3 win, beginning a run of 16 wins in 17 games that propelled Saskatchewan to the top of the table.
There is an abundance of offensive talent on both rosters. Between them, the Cougars and Huskies account for four of the top five players in points during the Canada West regular season. Players to watch include Mount Royal blueliner Clay Hanus (31 assists and 43 points, first in Canada West) and Huskies forward Chantz Petruic (20 goals, tied for first), both 2024-25 First Team All-Star selections.
But it’s said that defence wins championships, and that may ultimately prove true, as Saskatchewan and Mount Royal are the stingiest in Canada West, the only teams to allow under 2.5 goals per game during the regular season. Mount Royal is backstopped by Shane Farkas, who led all Canada West goalies both in wins (14) and shutouts (four) during the regular season. Saskatchewan has a tremendous tag-team between the pipes: Roddy Ross was named a Canada West First Team All-Star after having a stellar regular season, but the Huskies turned to Jordan Kooy to get the wins in Games 2 and 3 against UBC.
There is a historical significance to this series, too. Saskatchewan is one of Canada West’s most storied men’s hockey programs, and a championship win would be the Huskies’ 12th all-time and third in the last nine postseasons. Mount Royal is only in its 12th season of Canada West hockey, but has quickly established itself as a program to reckon with, advancing to the semifinal eight of the last 10 postseasons, and now finally breaking through to its first championship final.
Following the Canada West championship series, Saskatchewan and Mount Royal will compete at the University Cup, the U SPORTS men’s hockey championship, in Ottawa from March 20-23.
