WHKY: Storylines abound for CW Championship final

By Brian Swane, special to CW

For the first time in Canada West women’s hockey history, the UBC Thunderbirds and Mount Royal Cougars are facing off against each other for the Catherwood Cup.

The last two teams remaining in the 2023 postseason meet in the best-of-three championship series at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, B.C., March 3-5.

Two wins are all that separate the upstart Cougars and defending champion T-Birds from the ultimate prize in Canada West women’s hockey. Both teams went the distance last weekend to win their respective semi-final series in three games, with UBC holding off the Saskatchewan Huskies in Vancouver and MRU upsetting the Alberta Pandas in Edmonton.

UBC has emerged as a perennial power over the last decade, capturing the Catherwood Cup on four occasions, the first four hockey championships in program history.

The same season that preceded UBC’s first championship triumph, 2012-13, was the inaugural Canada West campaign of MRU women’s hockey. Now the Cougars hope to capture their first title, just as the T-Birds did 10 years ago.

MRU’s only prior appearance in the championship series came in 2020 when the Cougars were swept by Alberta, a loss the Cougars avenged with a gutsy performance last weekend at Clare Drake Arena. MRU fell behind early in Game 3, before rallying to defeat Alberta 2-1 thanks to Sydney Benko’s series-winning goal with just over five minutes remaining in the third period.

That was already the second weekend of postseason hockey for the Cougars, who got past the stubborn Trinity Western Spartans 2-1 in the quarterfinal round at Flames Community Arena. UBC, meanwhile, enjoyed a bye through the quarterfinals by virtue of finishing atop the regular season standings with a program-best 24 wins, going undefeated in 14 games at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

After beating the Huskies 1-0 in Game 1, the T-Birds suffered their first loss in Vancouver, 2-0 in Game 2, before dispatching Saskatchewan 3-0 in Game 3 on Sunday. UBC now has a combined regular season and playoff record of 16-1 at home, but the Cougars have proven themselves to be road warriors, with a combined record of 11-6 away from the friendly confines of Flames Community Arena.

MRU and UBC met twice during the regular season, splitting games in Calgary at the end of November, with the T-Boards soaring to a 2-0 victory and the Cougars scratching out a 1-0 win.

This is only the second playoff series between the T-Birds and Cougars, coming five years after their classic quarterfinal battle in 2018. While that series ended in a sweep for UBC, it featured nearly 72 minutes of bonus hockey, with Game 1 going to triple overtime and Game 2 also needing sudden death after MRU tied the game with just over three minutes to play.

Just one student-athlete who skated in that series remains on either roster: fifth-year Cougars forward Tatum Amy, the 2023 Canada West Player of the Year, who led all skaters with 31 points in the regular season and scored the winner in MRU’s 2-0 Game 1 defeat of Alberta.

Far less experienced but having just as great of an impact is UBC forward Cassidy Rhodes. The Canada West All-Rookie Team forward, who ranked second among all players with 14 goals in the regular season, tallied the series-winner against Saskatchewan.

Other key players include UBC forward Chanreet Bassi, a Canada West First Team All-Star who was second to Amy in the regular season with 28 points, and Second Team All-Star forward Courtney Kollman, who led the Cougars with 12 regular season goals.

Their offensive production will be critical in a series where goals are going to be hard to come by: both teams are giving up less than a goal per game in the playoffs, with MRU having allowed five goals over six outings, while UBC has conceded just two tallies in three contests.

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For all the latest on the CW 2023 Women's Hockey Playoffs, visit Championship Central.