THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS

Rams Football – The Rams (2-5) were eliminated from postseason contention after a 46-27 loss to Calgary last Saturday, a game in which the U of R trailed by just eight points in the fourth quarter before two late majors by the No. 3-ranked Dinos put it out of reach. The Rams finish off their Canada West schedule this Saturday at home against Saskatchewan (4-3). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.

Women’s Hockey (CIS Ranking: No. 6) – The Cougars (5-1-0) won their fifth straight to start the conference schedule on Friday night with a 2-0 victory over UBC, but finally lost their first of the season after dropping a tight 3-2 decision to the Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Jennifer Schmidt was named the Canada West First Star of the Week after her 41-save shutout on Friday for the Cougars, who will be back at home this weekend against Mount Royal on Friday night (7:00) and Saturday afternoon (3:00).

Women’s Soccer – Tayler Firth scored the match’s only goal and Stephanie Possberg had a shutout as the Cougars (5-5-2) finished the Canada West schedule with a 1-0 win over UNBC last Saturday at the U of R Field. The Cougars qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive year and will match up against No. 5-ranked Victoria (10-2-0) on Friday night (6:00 p.m. PDT, www.canadawest.tv). The winner advances to the Canada West Final Four, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.

Men’s Hockey – The Cougars (3-3-0) lost 5-4 on Friday night despite leading 3-0 after the game’s opening six minutes, but recovered for a 1-0 win on Saturday thanks to a goal by Troy Hunter and a 30-save shutout by Andrew Hayes. In sole possession of third place in the early Canada West standings with six points, the Cougars return to the ice this weekend for a pair of road games at Mount Royal (2-4-0). Both games will be webcast at www.canadawest.tv.

Volleyball – Both the men’s team and the women’s team start the Canada West schedule with four consecutive away matches starting this weekend at Brandon. Friday’s women’s match starts at 6:00 p.m. (CDT) with the men’s match to follow, while the women start things off on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (CDT). All four matches will be webcast live at www.canadawest.tv.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars completed a three-game tour of NAIA opponents in Montana over the weekend, losing to the University of Great Falls on Thursday night before setbacks to MSU-Northern on both Friday and Saturday. The Cougars continue non-conference action on Tuesday night against Williston State College at the CKHS before hitting the road for three games at a tournament hosted by Brock starting on Thursday.

Women’s Basketball – The Cougars went 1-2 at the Pandas Hoopfest in Edmonton, losing to defending national champion Windsor and St. Francis Xavier before defeating New Brunswick by a 66-46 margin on Sunday to close out the tournament. Now 4-2 in non-conference play, the Cougars will have their final tune-up games this weekend against Manitoba, Lakehead, and Winnipeg at the Bison Invitational hosted by the U of M.

Cross Country (Men’s CIS Ranking: No. 9) – After two weekends off, the Cougars return to action this Saturday at the Stewart Cup in Edmonton. The race will mark the final event for the school’s cross country teams before the CIS Championships, which will be held in London, Ont. on Nov. 9.

Wrestling – The men’s and women’s teams travel west this weekend to compete in the University of Calgary Open on Friday and Saturday. After this weekend, the women’s team will get ready for the Hargobind Invitational hosted by Simon Fraser on Nov. 2 and the men’s team returns to the mats on Nov. 7 with a dual at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.

(Courtesy U of R Athletics)