MHKY: Semifinal Preview
Get ready for a Crowchild Classic series between MRU and Calgary, and an epic rematch between Saskatchewan and UBC
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
Feb. 26, 2026 - The 2026 Canada West men’s hockey postseason continues this week with the semifinal round, as the UBC Thunderbirds host the Saskatchewan Huskies, while the Mount Royal Cougars host the Calgary Dinos in best-of-three series. Games 1 and 2 are set for Friday and Saturday, with Game 3s scheduled for Sunday if necessary.
In last week’s best-of-three quarter-final series, Saskatchewan defeated the Alberta Golden Bears 2-0 and Calgary swept the MacEwan Cougars.
Semifinal winners advance to the championship series, to be hosted by the highest remaining seed on March 6-8.
Catch all the action on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel, and view recaps and highlights of every playoff game over at WinTheWest.ca.
Mount Royal Cougars vs. Calgary Dinos
Flames Community Arenas – Calgary, AB
- Game 1 – Friday, February 27 – 7 p.m. MST
- Game 2 – Saturday, February 28 – 7 p.m. MST
- Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, March 1 – 7 p.m. MST
The Crowchild Classic has come to the Canada West postseason, as the crosstown rival Cougars and Dinos face off in the semifinal round for the second time in three years. Calgary swept Mount Royal in 2024, but the Dinos held home advantage for that best-of-three series; this time the action will be contested on Mount Royal’s ice at the Flames Community Arena, where the Cougars are 12-1-2 in 2025-26.
The Cougars (20-6-2) had the most points in the East Division during the regular season, earning themselves a quarterfinal bye. They were the second highest-scoring team in the conference, averaging 4.57 goals per game.
While Calgary (19-8-1) was only three points back of Mount Royal, the Dinos finished third in the division, and had to go on the road for a quarterfinal series against the MacEwan Griffins. Impressively, Calgary swept the Griffins, winning Game 1 by a score of 6-4 and Game 2 by a score of 4-1 at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton.
Mount Royal is red hot, with six straight wins and just one regulation loss over its last 17 games. Calgary, meanwhile, has rebounded from a late-season slump and is heating up at the right time, with four consecutive victories.
The Cougars went 4-1-1 against the Dinos during the regular season, but there was little separating these teams: in their six head-to-head meetings, two games went to a shootout and three of the other four contests were decided by one goal.
Calgary is led by its captain, Adam Kydd, who finished second in the Canada West points race (8 goals and 33 assists), just ahead of Mount Royal forward Connor Bouchard (11 goals, 28 assists).
UBC Thunderbirds vs Saskatchewan Huskies
Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – Vancouver, BC
- Game 1 – Friday, February 27 – 7 p.m. PST
- Game 2 – Saturday, February 28 – 7 p.m. PST
- Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, March 1 – 7 p.m. PST
Semi-final match-ups don’t get much bigger than a battle between the last two Canada West men’s hockey champs: Saskatchewan captured the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy for the 12th time in program history last year, while UBC won its first conference title in 2024.
To make things even juicier, this is a rematch of the 2025 semifinal round. Twelve months ago, Saskatchewan got past UBC 2-1, winning Games 2 and 3 after dropping the opening game in overtime at Merlis Belsher Place.
Since then, the Thunderbirds have been on a mission, losing just twice in regulation this season and finishing with the most points (49) in Canada West. They scored the most goals (5.29 per game) and tied for fewest goals allowed (2.39 per game) in the conference.
While UBC had a quarterfinal bye, the Huskies hosted the Alberta Golden Bears in Saskatoon, and swept the best-of-three series, successfully beginning their title defence with wins of 5-0 and 3-2.
UBC and Saskatchewan played each other just twice during the regular season, with both games coming in November at Merlis Belsher Place. The host Huskies won the first game, 3-2 in a shootout, before the Thunderbirds responded with a 7-4 victory 24 hours later.
This series features eight of the top 11 point-producers during the regular season. UBC forward Sasha Mutala paced Canada West with 46 points, while fifth-year Huskie Chantz Petruic tied for the conference lead with 18 goals.