MRU men’s hockey team make history with legendary Canada West playoff run
Naomi Campbell, Staff Writer |
For the first time in Mount Royal University Cougars hockey history, the men’s team was set to take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West Finals. Over the span of three days, the Cougars were fired up to get a chance at the Canada West gold medal but ultimately conceded defeat to the Huskies.
How the tables have turned
Game one took the MRU Cougars and their fans through a rollercoaster of emotions. Starting off strong, the first three goals of the game all came from MRU, starting with captain Kyle Walker, followed by fourth year Josh Tarzwell and capped off by Canada West All-Rookie team member Justin Lies. After the first 20 minutes of gameplay, the Cougars held a strong 3-0 lead against the Huskies.
In the second period, though, the Huskies scored two goals to cut the Cougars’ lead to make it a one-goal game. Heading into the third period, MRU needed to hold strong to keep their lead and earn the win, but could not prevent the Huskies from rallying together as they conceded four unanswered goals, leading to a 3-6 Cougars loss.
Even though MRU captain Walker scored the first goal of the game only eleven seconds into the first period, the Cougars were ultimately stumped by the goaltending of Roddy Ross, who made 38 saves on 41 shots in the opening game of the series.
The cats came back the very next day
Winning game two was crucial for the Cougars to stay alive in the finals and force a third game. With their season on the line, MRU showed Canada West hockey fans just how aggressive university hockey can get, especially when the two sides are fighting for a championship.
The Huskies got off to an early lead in the first period with a goal from Trevor Wong. The game stayed 1-0 through the entire second period, as well as the majority of the third. Then, at the 15:16 mark in the third, Walker shot the puck from the blue line, but couldn’t capitalize. Luckily, Teague Patton was standing to the right of the Huskies’ goalie and was able to tap the puck into the net on the rebound, helping to tie the game at a goal apiece.
The rest of the period was scoreless, leading them into a sudden-death overtime (OT). At almost the halfway point of the 20-minute OT, All-Star defenceman Clay Hanus rifled the puck from the boards to the left of the goalie, scoring the golden goal to keep the Cougars alive in the finals.
This win would not have been possible for MRU goalie Shane Farkas, who was on the ice for 68:52 and only allowed one goal against, saving 23 out of 24 shots on net. Farkas stood on his head the whole game and was a vital part in the Cougars winning game two.
It’s all so bittersweet
Going into game three, it was now or never for the men to win that championship title. The first period of play was slow, with no goals or penalties from either team. The second period started to pick up, with a couple of penalties, yet no goals by the end of 40 minutes of play.
The final period continued on this goalless pace until Huskies player Vince Loschiavo opened up the scoring. Ethan Regnier followed suit four minutes later to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead and with their season on the line, MRU pulled their goalie to attack six-on-five. Unfortunately, they couldn’t complete the miraculous comeback and conceded an empty-netter, falling 3-0 to the U of S Huskies and heading back to Calgary as the first MRU men’s hockey team to win silver medals at the U SPORTS level.
U SPORTS University Cup
Don’t lose hope Cougars fans, because even though the men lost in the Canada West Finals, they will be heading to Ottawa to compete against the best collegiate teams across Canada in the U SPORTS University Cup for the first time ever. The Cougars and Huskies will be representing the Canada West conference, alongside six other teams from various other conferences: two teams from the Atlantic University Sports (AUS) Division, three teams from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Division, and the host team—the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The Cougars have a realistic chance at winning the U SPORTS Cup but will have to fight for their lives against the other teams. Heading into U SPORTS, the odds are in favour of the University of New Brunswick (UNB), seeing as they have won the title the last two years, and are the best team across U SPORTS with their undefeated regular-season record. MRU will also have to defeat their Canada West rivals, the U of S Huskies, to secure a U SPORTS National Championship. MRU has had an insane season, so playing aggressively and harnessing their offensive firepower will be the key to success
Fans will have their eyes on stars like Hanus, Bouchard, Lies, and Farkas, but tournaments of this magnitude will require the whole team to step up their game. Keep an eye out for graduating senior Zafir Rawji, whose physicality and mental fortitude make him a menace in high-stakes games. Patton and Tarzwell have proven to be offensive powerhouses this season, supplementing the Cougars’ offence with precise passing and accurate shooting, as has defenceman Remy Aquilon. Fans of hard body-checking should keep their eyes on Michael Ladyman, who also brings fearless shot-blocking every time he steps onto the ice, a valuable skill when it comes to facing the best teams in the country at the 2025 University Cup.
On to the national stage
Losing in the Canada West Finals was a tough blow for the Cougars, but fans should revel in the fact that they made it to the Finals and qualified for the U SPORTS University Cup, which is an amazing accomplishment for the team all on its own, as well as for every Cougars fan to be proud of. With the men heading to Ottawa, you can cheer them on from home by watching through U SPORTS on CBC Gem, CBCSports.ca, CBC on YouTube, or through the CBC Sports app for IOS and Android.
