WHKY: Semifinal Preview ​

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Feb. 26, 2026 - There will be new champs in Canada West women’s hockey this year, after the Manitoba Bisons eliminated the defending champion Alberta Pandas in the postseason quarter-finals last week.

Four teams are now left vying for the Catherwood Cup, as the Bisons visit the Mount Royal Cougars while the UBC Thunderbirds host the Trinity Western Spartans in best-of-three series running Friday through Sunday.

Semifinal winners advance to the championship series, scheduled for March 6-8. All postseason games will stream on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel, with recaps and highlights available over on WinTheWest.ca.

UBC Thunderbirds vs Trinity Western Spartans

Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – Vancouver, BC

The Thunderbirds had a bye through the quarterfinal round, after finishing atop the standings with a program-best record of 26-2-0 for 52 points. They won all 15 of their games at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre by an average margin of 2.47 goals.

Trinity Western knows something about winning on the road, however, after sweeping the Calgary Dinos in the quarterfinals last week at Father David Bauer Arena. It was the first-ever Canada West playoff series victory for the Spartans, who defeated Calgary by scores of 5-1 in Game 1 and 4-2 in Game 2.

The underdog Spartans are now looking to buck a historical trend, which has seen them drop 16 consecutive conference games to UBC, dating back to 2022. The Thunderbirds and Spartans met six times in 2025-26, with UBC going 6-0 while outscoring Trinity Western 20-7. This will be the first ever playoff meeting between these West Division rivals.

UBC forward Grace Elliott led Canada West this season with 24 goals, including an incredible 12 game-winners, while teammate, Annalise Wong ranked first in the conference with 27 assists. The Thunderbirds will also be bolstered by the return of forward Vannessa Schaefer, fresh off winning bronze with Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Forwards Kyra McDonald and Chloe Reid were Trinity Western’s top scorers during the regular season, recording eight goals and 11 assists apiece, however it was their teammate Kyra Anderson who starred in Calgary last week. Anderson, a third-year forward, scored the winning goal in both games against the Dinos and added two assists to total four points for the series.

Mount Royal Cougars vs. Manitoba Bisons

Flames Community Arenas – Calgary, AB

The Bisons ended Alberta’s dream of repeat last week, upsetting the host Pandas in the quarterfinal round. The teams split the first two games before Manitoba won Game 3 by a score of 6-2 at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton.

Now Manitoba will look to keep rolling on the road, against the Cougars, who had a bye through the quarterfinal after finishing first in the East Division 2025-26 standings with 40 points from a record of 19-7-2.

It’s a match-up of strength-versus-strength, pitting the second-highest scoring team in the conference, Manitoba (2.54 goals per game in the regular season) against the second stingiest team in Canada West, MRU (1.65 goals against per game).

Mount Royal and Manitoba faced off four times during the regular season, with the Cougars winning three of the games, including both at the Flames Community Arenas. This will be the teams’ second playoff series against each other in the last three years, following their meeting in the 2024 quarterfinal, which saw the host Cougars sweep while outscoring Manitoba 11-1 over the two games.

Several players who competed in that series remain key members of the current Manitoba and Mount Royal lineups, including Manitoba forward Aimee Patrick (25 points in the regular season, most among any player outside of the Thunderbirds) and Mount Royal’s Kiana McNinch (+16 rating during the regular season, also tops among non-UBC skaters).