THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS
Men’s Hockey – The Cougars (1-4-1) suffered a pair of tight road losses to UBC last weekend. They lost 4-2 to the Thunderbirds on Friday night in a game which they led 2-1 going into the third, and were edged 3-2 by UBC on Saturday. Now finished with their string of five consecutive away games, the Cougars return to The Co-operators Centre for the next four contests including against Alberta this Friday night (7:00) and Saturday afternoon (3:00).
Women’s Basketball – The Cougars continued their winning ways last weekend, defeating Thompson Rivers and Victoria by lopsided scores in Calgary to notch their eighth and ninth consecutive wins of the non-conference schedule. The unanimous No. 1 selection in the Canada West preseason coaches’ poll, the Cougars will host Minot State (NCAA Div. II) on Saturday afternoon (3:00) at the CKHS in their final action before Canada West play begins on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4 at Manitoba.
Rams Football (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 8) – The Rams (4-3) made a valiant comeback effort after spotting No. 2-ranked Calgary a 24-point lead in the first quarter on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium, but eventually fell by a 42-30 score to the undefeated Dinos. They’ll now play UBC two consecutive times – this Saturday’s meeting between the Rams and the Thunderbirds will decide second place in the conference standings and home-field advantage when the two teams match up again in the Canada West semifinals the following weekend. Saturday’s game will kick off at 1:00 PM at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.
Women’s Hockey – The Cougars (4-2-0-0) battled to a weekend split with No. 2-ranked UBC, surrendering a late goal in a 4-3 loss on Friday before Jane Kish’s shutout and a goal by Tamara McVannel gave Regina a 1-0 win on Saturday. Now tied for second place in the Canada West standings with UBC and just one point behind first-place Alberta, the Cougars will head to Edmonton this weekend for games on Friday and Saturday against a Pandas team that’s currently the top-ranked team in the nation.
Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars (0-2) lost twice to a strong Calgary squad that opened up at No. 2 in the first U SPORTS poll of the year on Tuesday, falling in four sets on Friday and in straight sets on Saturday. They’ll continue the Canada West schedule on the road this weekend with an already-familiar opponent – the Cougars and the University of Winnipeg met three times in non-conference action, with Regina taking a pair of four-set wins and the Wesmen winning another in five sets. The Cougars and the Wesmen play on Friday night (6:00 CDT) and Saturday night (6:45 CDT) in Winnipeg.
Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars (0-2) were swept by Calgary last weekend at the CKHS, losing to the Dinos in three sets on Friday and in straight sets on Saturday. The U of R’s Canada West schedule starts with six consecutive matches against teams ranked in the U SPORTS Top Ten, and that string continues this Friday night (7:45 CDT) and Saturday night (5:00 CDT) at Winnipeg.
Cross Country – After sending a small contingent to the Saskatchewan Age Group Championships on Saturday in Yorkton, the Cougars will now gear up for their final meet before the U SPORTS Championships in November. The team will travel to Edmonton to compete in the Stewart Cup, a meet which will be held on Saturday at Goldbar Park in the northeast part of the city.
Wrestling – The men’s and women’s teams open up the 2017-18 schedule this weekend with the Dino Open in Calgary. The women’s team will compete in the Clan Invitational (Burnaby, B.C.) and the Cougar Invitational (Regina) in November, while the men’s team has the Cougar Invitational and the Huskie Invitational (Saskatoon) on the schedule for next month.
Men’s Basketball – The Cougars improved their non-conference record to 4-4 with two wins last weekend at the WolfPack Invitational, defeating tournament host Thompson Rivers by an 84-76 score on Friday and then outlasting UBC Okanagan for a 77-71 victory on Saturday. While the other 16 Canada West teams begin conference play this weekend, the Cougars will have this weekend off before travelling for road games at Manitoba on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4.
Women’s Soccer – The Cougars (1-7-6) came into last weekend needing wins over Winnipeg and Manitoba to sneak into the Canada West postseason. They came through on Saturday with a tight 1-0 win over Winnipeg to keep their playoff hopes alive, but surrendered a goal in the 44th minute on Sunday in a 1-0 loss to the Bisons that ended their season. With only one player in her fifth year on the roster – midfielder Shayla Kapila – the Cougars expect to return the majority of their key contributors to their 2018 squad.
(Braden Konschuh/Cougar Athletics)
