THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS

Friday  (all times MDT)
Women’s Soccer – vs. MacEwan, 12:00 PM (Edmonton, Alta.)
Women’s Basketball – at Calgary, 6:00 PM (Calgary, Alta.)
Rams Football – vs. Saskatchewan, 7:00 PM (Mosaic Stadium)
Women’s Volleyball – vs. Winnipeg, 7:00 PM (CKHS)
Women’s Hockey – vs. Saskatchewan, 7:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Men’s Hockey – at Saskatchewan, 7:00 PM (Saskatoon, Sask.)
Men’s Basketball – at Calgary, 8:00 PM (Calgary, Alta.)


Saturday (all times MDT)
Cross Country – at Stewart Cup, 12:00 PM (Calgary, Alta.)
Women’s Basketball – at Calgary, 5:00 PM (Calgary, Alta.)
Men’s Hockey – vs. Saskatchewan, 7:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Women’s Volleyball – vs. Winnipeg, 7:00 PM (CKHS)
Men’s Basketball – at Calgary, 7:00 PM (Calgary, Alta.)
Women’s Hockey – at Saskatchewan, 7:00 PM (Saskatoon, Sask.)


Sunday (all times MDT)
Women’s Soccer – at Alberta, 2:00 PM (Edmonton, Alta.)


Women’s Soccer – The Cougars (3-9-2) finished the conference schedule on a strong note, defeating Winnipeg 2-0 on Friday and following that up with a 0-0 draw with Manitoba on Saturday to lock up the sixth and final playoff berth in Canada West’s Prairie Division. The Cougars will now prepare for a Canada West play-in match this Friday afternoon against MacEwan in Edmonton, with the winner to advance to a Sunday quarterfinal against Alberta.


Rams Football – The Rams saw their postseason hopes slip away with a 58-6 road loss to No. 3-ranked Calgary on Friday. The team will close out its 2018 season this coming Friday at Mosaic Stadium, as the Rams will honour their graduating fifth-year players as part of Senior Night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 (SaskTel maxTV 48/348).


Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars (0-2) lost two four-set matches last weekend to Trinity Western, a team that’s ranked No. 4 in the nation in the first poll of the year. Both of those matches followed similar scripts, with the teams splitting the opening two sets and Trinity Western taking the third and the fourth to come away with the win. The Cougars will host their home openers this weekend against the University of Winnipeg at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport. Start times are set for 7:00 on both Friday night and Saturday night.


Women’s Hockey – The Cougars (3-2-0-1) battled the No. 2-ranked Manitoba Bisons tough at home last weekend, losing 4-2 on Friday and 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday. Currently in fifth place in the Canada West standings with 10 points, the Cougars will face second-place and No. 8-ranked Saskatchewan (3-1-2-0) this weekend. The U of R and the Huskies will play on Friday night (7:00) at The Co-operators Centre with the return game scheduled for Saturday night in Saskatoon.


Men’s Hockey – The Cougars (2-3-1) put together a four-point road weekend, winning 3-1 on Friday and getting a natural hat trick from Zak Zborosky in a 6-3 win on Saturday. The U of R is back in action with a home-and-home against No. 3-ranked Saskatchewan (5-1-0) which will see the two provincial rivals meet on Friday in Saskatoon and on Saturday night (7:00) in Regina at The Co-operators Centre.


Women’s Basketball – The Cougars closed out the non-conference schedule at the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic in Toronto, starting out the tournament with a loss to host Ryerson but recording wins over York and Western the next two days. The U of R finishes non-conference play with a 5-3 record and will start the Canada West slate this weekend with road games at Calgary on both Friday and Saturday.


Men’s Basketball – The Cougars had last weekend off after completing a non-conference schedule that saw them go 6-1 in seven games against U SPORTS opposition. They start Canada West play this weekend, and the Cougars will have a stern test right off the hop as they’ll head to Calgary to square off with a Dinos team that won the U SPORTS championship last season. The U of R and Calgary will play on Friday and Saturday following the conclusion of the women’s games on both nights.


Cross Country – The Cougars will travel to Calgary this Saturday for the Stewart Cup, the teams’ last meet before Queen’s hosts the U SPORTS Championships on Nov. 10. The Cougars will field a full team on the men’s side and will also field a full team on the women’s side for the first time since the season-opening Cougar Trot back in mid-September. The races begin at noon on Saturday at Canmore Park in northwest Calgary.


(Braden Konschuh/UofR Athletics)