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MRU hockey men to salute Canadian military while facing tough Huskies

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The Mount Royal Cougars are in salute mode.

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The men’s hockey team hosts its eighth annual MRU Remembers game in appreciation of the Canadian military during a weekend rematch with the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies at Flames Community Arenas.

It’s perhaps the club’s most vital weekend set of the season with the Huskies (9-3-2) after MRU posted two statement victories over the perennial powerhouse 5-4 and 7-2 in Saskatoon earlier in the Canada West season.

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The No. 6 Cougars (10-3-1) will be sporting decked-out camo-themed jerseys on Friday night in honour of the military.

Calgary’s own naval reserve unit HMCS Tecumseh will open the evening with a performance of the national anthem and have already spent afternoons leading up to the event on campus Friday to promote career opportunities in the armed forces.

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The Royal Canadian Legion Legion will also be present along with HMCS Tecumseh for the opening puck-drop Friday.

There will also be fund-raising activities with proceeds going to the Calgary Branches Poppy Fund that provides assistance to veterans and their families.

A pair of Cougars look to stay hot heading into the all-important weekend as former Swift Current Broncos star Ryley Lindgren and former Grand Prairie Storm captain Connor Blake both own 16 points to their names through 14 games this season.

Sophomore Lindgren leads MRU in goal scoring with nine tallies that goes along with seven assists.

Rookie blueliner Blake has four goals and shares a team-leading 12 assists with ex-Calgary Hitmen Connor Rankin, who sits in fourth behind his teammates with 15 points (3G, 12A).

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Puck-drop at FCA is set for 7 p.m. Friday night and 6 p.m. Saturday evening.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

A massive weekend dawns for the MRU women’s hockey club.

The Cougars and the Saskatchewan Huskies are two of the three teams who are in a three-way tie for third-place in Canada West heading into the final weekend of 2019.

Both teams picked up wins during the opening weekend of the season, with the Huskies picking up their first three points with a 1-0 win on opening day before the Cougars redeemed the loss with a 3-1 win to split the weekend.

MRU and the Alberta Pandas sit at 7-6-1-0 while Sask owns a 7-4-1-3 record. They are all sitting on 23 points.

Third-year star Anna Purschke sits fifth in the conference scoring race and leads the Cougars with 11 points (6G, 5A) through 14 contests so far this season.

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And MRU has been brilliant in the crease. Both MRU rookie goaltenders, in Oswego State transfer Cassie Shokar and back-to-back midget AAA goalie of the year Kaitlyn Ross, sit 1-2 in goals-against average with 0.80 and 1.01 respectively and have the first- and second-best save percentages with Shokar holding a  .966 and Ross a .954 count this season.

Puck-drop in Saskatoon is set for 7 p.m. Friday night and 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

What a difference one year makes.

The Cougars held a 9-3 record after the final weekend of the semester last year, but the hopes of making the playoffs this season seems bleak as the Cougars sit in the eighth and final playoff spot, owning a 4-8 record and face the daunting task of facing the top volleyball nation in the country.

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They’ll need the hiatus heading into the new year to regroup if they want to make playoffs in the toughest conference in the nation.

After the final weekend of play last week, four Canada West teams sit inside the national top-10 rankings.

MRU visits the 9-1 Trinity Western Spartans to start the new year on Jan. 10-11 and has a high hill to climb if it wants to snap a four-game losing skid when it faces the No. 1 school in the nation.

The Spartans have been on a tear since splitting their opening weekend, running the table with an eight-game win streak in which they haven’t dropped a single set in the process.

Mount Royal will rely heavily on senior outside-hitter Trent Mounter, whose two-way play carries the Cougars as he’s tied for second-place in Canada West with 130 kills and sits tied for fourth-place in digs with 64.

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Teammate Matt Saly holds second-place in the digs category with 74 early on.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MRU enjoys a long break and resumes action at the turn of the calendar on Jan. 10-11 when the turn of the new year will see a heavyweight showdown between the nationally top-ranked Trinity Western Spartans (9-1).

The Cougars are perfect no more.

For the first time this season, the No. 5 Cougars head into the weekend with a tick in the loss column after seeing their legendary 10-0 start come to an end last weekend after splitting against the Alberta Pandas last weekend.

MRU sits in first-place in Canada West with an 11-1 record while still holding onto a top-five spot in the national ranking heading into the clash against the top volleyball program in Canada.

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Third-year setter Quinn Pelland leads Canada West with 9.68 assists per set heading into the end of the semester meanwhile senior outside-hitter Chantal Park leads the conference with 0.77 aces per set.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Mount Royal is tied 10th place in Canada West with an even 3-3 record early on in the season heading into a weekend set against the 4-2 Victoria Vikes.

The ballers in blue are currently on a three-game losing skid after opening the season 3-0, while the Vikes are on a three-game hot streak en route to Calgary.

First-year Cougars guard Nate Petrone’s wet jumper has been lights out from beyond the arc for MRU as he sits atop of the Canada West conference in three-point percentage with a 60% count from distance.

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MRU has a balanced offence early on in the season with three players averaging double-digit score counts with fourth-year guard Matthew Guinto leading the pack with 16.7 points per game.

He’s followed by third-year Lincoln Anderson who scores 13.3 points per game while sophomore Adam Pahl contributes 10.8 points per game.

Tip-off at Kenyon Court is set for 8 p.m. Friday night and 6 p.m. Saturday evening.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MRU is currently tied for 12th place with a 2-4 record heading into the weekend as they host the visiting Victoria Vikes.

The Cougars are sitting on a two-game losing skid after getting swept at the hands of third-placed Alberta Pandas last weekend.

Victoria (5-1), on the other hand, sit in fourth-place and look to build on their three-game winning streak prior to their first meeting against the Cougars.

First-year MRU foward Jenika Martens sits in fifth-place in Canada West shooting with a 53.5%  average from the field while trailing teammate Maddison Hooper for the team-lead in points, averaging 10.7 points per game.

Australia native Hooper leads the Cougars with 10.8 points per game.

Tip-off on Kenyon Court is set for 6 p.m. Friday night and 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

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