THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS

Home Events
Women’s Basketball – vs. Thompson Rivers, Thursday (6:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Basketball – vs. Thompson Rivers, Thursday (8:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Women’s Basketball – vs. UBC Okanagan, Friday (6:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Hockey – vs. UBC, Friday (7:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre
Men’s Basketball – vs. UBC Okanagan, Friday (8:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Wrestling – at Cougar Open, Saturday (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at CKHS – Gym 1
Women’s Volleyball – vs. Alberta, Saturday (1:00 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Volleyball – vs. Alberta, Saturday (2:30 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Hockey – vs. UBC, Saturday (7:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre
Women’s Volleyball – vs. Alberta, Sunday (1:00 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Volleyball – vs. Alberta, Sunday (2:30 p.m.) at CKHS

Away Events
Women’s Hockey – at UBC, Friday (7:00 p.m. PST) in Vancouver, B.C.
Track & Field – at University of Saskatchewan Quad Meet, Saturday in Saskatoon, Sask.
Women’s Hockey – at UBC, Saturday (7:00 p.m. PST) in Vancouver, B.C.

Women’s Basketball (CIS Ranking: No. 5) – The Cougars kick off the second half of the Canada West schedule with a rare Thursday/Friday home series, as the U of R hosts Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport. First-year guard Janine Guijt is expected to make her debut this weekend for the Cougars, who currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the Prairie Division with an 8-2 record.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars (2-8) restart the conference schedule with a pair of home games against Pacific Division opponents at the CKHS. Thompson Rivers (6-4) visits on Thursday night, while UBC Okanagan (2-8) comes in on Friday. Both games have an 8:15 p.m. scheduled start following the conclusion of the women’s games. This marks the first of two consecutive home weekends for the Cougars, as they’ll host Winnipeg on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18.

Men’s Hockey – A road split at Lethbridge last weekend kept the Cougars (9-9-0) at the .500 mark on the season and two points up on Manitoba for fourth place in the Canada West standings. Andrew Hayes had a 20-save shutout against the Pronghorns on Friday to set a school single-season record with his third shutout of the year, but Lethbridge salvaged a weekend split with a 4-1 victory on Saturday. The Cougars are back at home this weekend with two games against UBC (5-10-3) at The Co-operators Centre. Game time is set for 7:00 on both Friday night and Saturday night.

Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars had a 1-2 record at the New Year’s Classic in Edmonton over the weekend, finishing off the non-conference tournament with a comeback five-set victory over Mount Royal on Sunday in a match that saw Desiree Ates pile up 28 kills. The Canada West schedule starts up at home this weekend for the Cougars, who host Alberta on Saturday and Sunday at the CKHS beginning at 1:00 both afternoons.

Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars played in the EBWM Invitational in Saskatoon last weekend, sweeping Sherbrooke 25-20, 25-21, and 25-16 on Saturday to place third in the tournament. They’ll now turn their attention back to Canada West action as the Cougars host No. 3-ranked Alberta on Saturday and Sunday (2:30 p.m.) at the CKHS.

Wrestling – The Cougars went to Edmonton last weekend for the Golden Bear Invitational. Kristine Longeau placed second at 72 kg to lead the women’s team to a third-place finish in the overall standings, while the men’s team was led by Sean Belisle’s fourth-place performance at 90 kg. The men’s and the women’s teams host the Cougar Open this Saturday in Gym 1 at the CKHS beginning at 10 a.m. Matches are expected to continue through 5 p.m.

Women’s Hockey – The Cougars (10-6-2) lost 3-2 in a shootout to Lethbridge on Friday, but came back with a 2-1 win on Saturday to secure a three-point weekend. The weekend featured the first CIS goal for Kylee Kupper and the first CIS points – both assists – for rookie blueliners Michela Esposito and Nikki Watters-Matthes. The Cougars will travel to Vancouver this weekend for a two-game road set with No. 5-ranked UBC, which currently sits in first place in the Canada West standings with a 14-3-1 conference mark.

Track & Field – Like they’ve done for several consecutive years, the Cougars will make the short trip north this Saturday to Saskatoon for a meet hosted by the University of Saskatchewan. It’s normally a dual against the Huskies, but this year’s format will see Alberta and Calgary join the field to make it a quad meet. After Saturday’s meet, the Cougars will prepare for the Golden Bear Open the following weekend in Edmonton.

(Courtesy Braden Konschuh – Cougar Athletics)