The Cougars men's hockey team is playoff bound in just their second season in the CIS. The men's hockey team is the first of any Mount Royal men's team to make the playoffs in the CIS. Despite being swept by the Lethbridge Pronghorns this past weekend, the Cougars were able to clinch a playoff spot after the UBC Thunderbirds and Regina Cougars lost their games on Saturday.
 
The standings going into the playoffs are as follows:

School	W-L-OL	CPct.	Streak	Pts
Alberta xy	25-2-1	.911	W7	51
Calgary xy	21-4-3	.804	L2	45
Saskatchewan x	17-10-1	.625	W2	35
Manitoba x	12-12-4	.500	W1	28
Mount Royal x	11-14-3	.446	L1	25
UBC x	11-15-2	.429	L1	24
Regina	11-15-2	.429	L4	24
Lethbridge	4-21-3	.196	W2	11

Both Calgary and Alberta get a bye through the first round, so UBC will face U of S in Saskatoon, and Mount Royal will travel to Winnipeg to face Manitoba.
If U of S defeats UBC, the winner of the Mount Royal/Manitoba series will play the number one ranked Alberta. If UBC finds a way to upset the Saskatchewan Huskies, the winner of the Mount Royal/Manitoba series will play Calgary. 
 
Manitoba's Season Breakdown
 
Season Record
 

Overall	Pct.	Conf	Pct.	Streak	Home	Away	GF	GA	Dif
12 - 12 - 4	.500	12 - 12 - 4	.500	W1	6 - 6 - 2	6 - 6 - 2	90	93	-3

 
 
Top-Six Scorers
 

No.	Name	Pos.	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	SOG
20	Aaron Lewadniuk	F	28	14	15	29	+5	40	1	0	91
16	Jesse Paradis	F	28	10	17	27	+10	10	3	1	61
19	Ian Duval	F	23	10	15	25	+11	16	3	1	77
27	Jordan DePape	F	26	10	14	24	+11	20	1	0	72
10	Brendan Rowinski	F	28	5	18	23	+7	8	1	0	57
21	Taylor Dickin	F	26	8	10	18	+5	16	3	0	63

 
Going into the playoffs, Manitoba is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, slightly above their .500 season average. Five of the Bison's players have scored over 20 points this season, and they will need that continued contribution going into the playoffs.
 
For the most part, the Bisons have had a very consistent season, and have not been too streaky. This past weekend they went 1-1 versus the UBC Thunderbirds, but they came out hard and shut down the Thunderbirds when their home-ice advantage was at stake. The Bisons have shown they can win when they are under pressure to perform, and they will need that if they want to improve on their 3-2 playoff record from last season.
 
 
Mount Royal's Season Breakdown
 
Season Record
 

Overall	Pct.	Conf	Pct.	Streak	Home	Away	GF	GA	Dif
11 - 14 - 3	.446	11 - 14 - 3	.446	L1	7 - 5 - 2	4 - 9 - 1	80	111	-31

 
Top-Six Scorers
 

No.	Name	Pos.	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	SOG
9	Devin Gannon	F	28	11	17	28	-1	36	2	1	77
27	Cody Cartier	F	27	14	13	27	+2	22	5	0	77
22	Matthew Brown	F	28	10	14	24	-1	34	4	0	75
16	Eric Galbraith	F	28	10	13	23	-6	18	3	0	97
18	Justin Kirsch	D	27	6	9	15	-7	4	3	0	103
6	Scott McKay	D	27	0	13	13	0	28	0	0	44

 
This is the first time the Mount Royal Cougars have ever made the Canada West playoffs in the sport of men's hockey. It is just the Cougar's second season in the league, and Jean Laforest is looking to prove his team is better than their season record.
 
The Cougars are going into the playoffs with a 5-3-2 record in their last 10. This past weekend was tough for the Cougars, as they were swept by the last place Lethbridge Pronghorns. Two games that Mount Royal fans thought would be easy confidence boosting wins turned into disastrous losses. Going into the playoffs, Mount Royal needs to find a way to rebound from those losses and get back on track.
 
This season it has seemed the Cougars have played up and down to their opponents. The Cougars were able to upset the power house Alberta once this season, and they also stole two off Calgary. One of the wins against Calgary was on the biggest ever CIS regular season stage, as they won the Crowchild Classic at the Scotiabank Saddledome in front of 6016 fans.
 
The Cougars have proven time and time again this season that they will not be a pushover team, and will put up a fight. It will be up to the Cougars to find their high gear again if they want to make it through to the second round of the playoffs.
 
 
Season Series Breakdown (Manitoba Won the Series 3-1-0)


The first two games of the season series between the Bisons and the Cougars were held in Calgary early on in the season. The latter two games were played in Manitoba. All four games were very close between these teams, and there were opportunities in every game for either team to win. Manitoba did a better job at converting on the opportunities given to them, especially on special teams. If Manitoba wants to beat the Cougars, they will need to continue their strong specialty teams play against the Cougars. Mount Royal on the other hand will need to do a better job on penalty-kill and power play if they want to beat the Bisons. All the games played between these teams have been very close, and specialty teams have been the game breakers. 
 
 
Game One - October 18, 2013
 

	1	2	3	F
UofM	1	0	0	1
MRU	0	0	0	0

 
Game one between these two teams started off at a very fast pace. Brendan Rowinski scored the first and only goal of the game. Manitoba was all over the Cougars in the second period, and if it were not for the stellar play of Dayln Flette, the Cougars could have lost by a much larger margin. The third was the Cougars turn to apply pressure, but Manitoba's goalie Dubyk played outstanding and held the Cougars off the score sheet.
 
 
Game Two - October 19, 2013
 

	1	2	3	F
UofM	0	1	1	2
MRU	0	1	 2	3

 
Game two was a bit higher scoring than game one, but still just as tight. The first period of the game started off with a similar defensive pace as the first game the two teams played. The majority of the second period was still very defensive, except for a goal scored by each team within a four-minute span. Mount Royal took their first lead of the game early on in the third, and didn't look back.
 
 
Game Three â€" January 10, 2014
 

	1	2	3	F
MRU	0	2	0	2
UofM	1	1	 3	5

 
The third period of the third game Manitoba and Mount Royal played each other this season made the game seem a lot more lop sided than it actually was. The first two periods were very close with both teams exchanging a fairly even number of chances. Going into the third period, the game was deadlocked at two. Specialty teams were the difference in this game, as Manitoba was able to break the game wide open with two power play goals in the third. They capped it all off with an empty netter. Mount Royal had a 5-on-3 chance to get back into the game, but failed to capitalize.
 
 
Game Four â€" January 11, 2014
 

	1	2	3	F
MRU	0	2	1	3
UofM	1	3	 1	5

 
In the final regular season matchup between Manitoba and Mount Royal, the Bisons were once again able to pull out the win. Both teams started off slowly, but the Bisons were able to pick it up and put away a goal midway through the first. Mount Royal had an opportunity to get back into the game with a late 5-on-3, but once again their power play couldn't convert. Manitoba carried their momentum into the second, and took a three-goal lead before the period was half over. Mount Royal brought the score to within two before the period was out, and brought it to within one early in the third. Mount Royal pushed hard for the equalizer, but their efforts were to no avail, and the Bisons added an empty netter to seal Mount Royal's feat.
 
 
Cougars men's hockey - 2014 Canada West Quarter Final playoff series schedule
 
Game                                               Date                                   Time                   Place        
Game 1: MRU @ U of M               Friday, February 21         6 pm MST          Wayne Fleming Arena
Game 2: MRU @ U of M(A)         Saturady, February 22     6 pm MST          Wayne Fleming Arena
Game 3: MRU @ U of M*            *Sunday, February 23      2 pm MST           Wayne Fleming Arena
* if necessary
(A) Mount Royal will be designated the home team for lineup and line change purposes.
 
Check out all the action at http://www.canadawest.tv