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Hockey begins for MRU men

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Mount Royal’s men’s hockey squad opens its 2019-20 Canada West campaign hoping to build off of last year’s success.

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The Cougars finished 12-11-5 on the regular season before beating out the UBC Thunderbirds in three games during the quarter-finals round.

MRU reached the final-four for the fifth straight year but lost in the bronze-medal match during the U Sports national playoffs.

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But they’re going for gold this year with the season starting Friday and Saturday against the host Saskatchewan Huskies.

Second-year defenceman and New York Rangers rookie camp attendee Tyson Helgesen will wear the ‘C’ this season for the Cougars.

The Cougars will see the likes of ex-Calgary Hitmen and senior Connor Rankin along with a handful of other veterans such as fourth-year blueliners Jesse Lees and Jamal Watson who look to guide the relatively young Mount Royal corps over the hump.

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Michigan Tech transfer Chris Gerrie and fourth-year forward will suit up for his second full season with the Cougars, coming off as the returning leading scorer after tallying 22 points (9G, 13A) in 28 games.

Former Lethbridge Hurricanes star Ryley Lindgren posted 10 goals with 10 helpers under his first season in an MRU sweater.

Former Prince Albert Raiders and Kelowna Rockets d-man Lees had a down year last season despite leading the offence among all the blue-liners, tallying a career-low 15 (9G, 6A) points after coming off a legendary 25-point season (11G, 14A) that saw him break all the d-men’s offensive records in his sophomore season.

Ex-Hitmen star Rankin will look to find his offensive ways if he stays healthy this season.

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The fifth-year vet won the scoring title during the 2016-17 season in his second year, finding the back of the net 17 times while tallying 18 assists for a 35-point total in 28 games.

Okotoks Oilers graduate Riley Morris won the starting job in his rookie season last year, posting a 10-5-1 record with MRU, owning a 2.27 goals against average that went along with a .927 save percentage. He earned Canada West all-rookie team honours.

MRU had a strong recruiting season, hauling in its first-ever national champion in Nic Sicoly, the graduated captain of the NAHL Robertson Cup-winning Aberdeen Wings.

Mount Royal also brings in high-calibre recruits such as Tri-City Americans captain Nolan Yaremko, one-time Hitmen and Calgary Flames rookie camp invitee Andrew Fyten, Seattle Thunderbird product Sean Richards and Grand Prairie Storm captain Connor Blake.

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Keegan Iverson will suit up in the navy and white for this season after red-shirting last season after seeing ice-time at the pro level, serving with the Ontario Reign prior to making his commitment to Mount Royal.

Victoria Grizzlies netminer Kurtis Chapman is the lone net-minder in this year’s recruitment class and will have a shot to fight for the back-up slot with Kootenay Ice goaltender Wyatt Hoflin.

Chapman held a 26-9-1 record in his final year in the BCHL, posting a 2.52 goals against and a .933 save percentage.

“I think our group is excited to get the season started. We have only seen two teams in the pre-season, the (Calgary) Dinos and (the Lethbridge) Pronghorns. This will be a good barometer to see how we match up against one of the perennial contenders,” said Cougars head coach Bert Gilling.

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY

MRU’s women’s hockey squad wrap up a successful pre-season against the Dinos ahead of the Canada West opener against the Huskies at Flames Community Arenas.

The Cougars own a 3-1-1 record through exhibition play. They opened play with a 1-1 tie with the Saskatchewan Huskies before winning two straight against the Manitoba Bisons on home-ice.

MRU split a weekend set against the Alberta Pandas, picking up a 2-1 overtime win with 2.2 seconds left on the lock before dropping the rubber match in Edmonton 4-1.

The Cougars host the Dinos for their final pre-season game before the season begins on Oct. 4 (7 p.m.).

MEN’S SOCCER

The boys in blue representing MRU are sitting pretty atop the Prairie Division with a 7-2-0 record at the schedule reset.

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MRU was ranked in the U Sports top 10 this past week for the first time since 2016, earning the No. 10 ranking.

“All the teams grow throughout the season. Rosters become less variable because starting spots are more secure. Second games against teams are more challenging, and they become more fine-edged,” said Mount Royal bench boss Ryan Gyaki.

Cougars rookie Dane Domic seems to fit in just fine as the Croatian sits second in the conference in the scoring race, finding the back of the net four times while setting up seven through nine games.

Sophomore Moe El-Gandour sits fourth in the goal-scoring race as he leads the Cougars with five goals to go along with two assists through eight matches this season.

“We have consistent performances all season long from our guys which allows guys like Dane and Mo show us their magic. The magic in the back is just as vital … the fighting spirit to keep the zero is commendable,” Gyaki said.

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Mount Royal holds the best defensive stats, allowing a Canada West-low seven goals against.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kyran Valley is third among goalies with three clean-sheets to his name that goes along with an eighth-best save percentage of .733, allowing seven goals on 19 shots so far.

Gyaki added, “We have a lot of good performers. We have the luxury of having to rotate different position. It’s easier for guys to step up and for keepers to have good games when every single person on the field is having a good game.”

Mount Royal hosts its final two home games against the Alberta Golden Bears and the MacEwan Griffins with both kick-offs set for 3:30 p.m. at Mount Royal Stadium Field. They have three games left after the weekend.

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“We were at the top of the table midway through the season, but we’re taking it as we finished first in the opening half of the season and now we’re only 2-0-0 in the second half, so we there is a lot to be done,” said Gyaki.

“These guys work hard regardless of what the table says. Every game is difficult in this league. The numbers are deceiving … We just focus on having shots go in.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Mount Royal is still on the hunt.

It’s not quite time to hit the panic button for the winless Cougars women’s soccer squad, but the schedule reset would seem to be the opportune time to turn the tide of the season.

The Cougars look to build off picking up their first point of the season last weekend and look to pick up their first win of the season with eight matches left in the season if they want to reach playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

The MRU women have only Prairie Division competition to be played as they also host Alberta and MacEwan in a pair of 1 p.m. match times before facing the remaining divisional opposition down the stretch.

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