MRU Cougars aim to 'take that next step' in women's hockey finale
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The Mount Royal Cougars have been circling the championship, stalking the title the last few seasons in Canada West women’s hockey action.
So the message is clear for the Cougs as they head to the best-of-three final series — beginning Friday — on the West Coast.
“Take that next step,” said Cougars head coach Scott Rivett. “Over the past three seasons, I think our program has really grown, and we feel those experiences have helped us prepare for this moment.
“At the end of the day, to take the next step, our team will have to be at their best at puck-drop. Over the past few weekends, we have demonstrated that the moment isn’t too big for us and they can perform when it matters the most.”
For the first time in Canada West women’s hockey history, the Cougars and the UBC Thunderbirds are facing off against each other for the Catherwood Cup.
The last two teams remaining in the 2023 playoffs meet in the championship series at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver.
Mount Royal Cougars @ UBC Thunderbirds (CanadaWest.tv)
The Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre — Vancouver
- Game 1 – Friday, March 3 – 8 p.m.
- Game 2 – Saturday, March 4 – 8 p.m.
- Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, March 5 – 4 p.m.
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. Then came one-goal losses to the Saskatchewan Huskies in last year’s semifinal.
“I think there was a little disappointment the way last season ended for our group, so they were motivated to try and get back to the final again this year,” Rivett said. “There a certain amount of satisfaction knowing we accomplished that, but the larger goal was to ultimately win a CW championship, so the team is focused on that now.”
Last weekend, 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 post-season hockey for the Cougars, who got past the stubborn Trinity Western Spartans 2-1 in the quarterfinal round at Flames Community Arenas. 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 FCA.
MRU and UBC met twice during the regular season, splitting games in Calgary at the end of November, with the T-birds soaring to a 2-0 victory and the Cougars scratching out a 1-0 win.
“UBC was the top team in the conference for a reason” Rivett said. “They are a highly skilled, physical team who play well as a group and have as good of goaltending as anyone we face. We are going to have to be at our best and play our style of hockey in order to upset the defending champs.”
This is only the second playoff series between the T-Birds and the 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.
Following the series, both teams will head to Montreal for the 2023 U SPORTS women’s hockey championship March 16-19.
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