CALGARY - The Mount Royal Cougars opened the weekend against the British Columbia Thunderbirds with a heated game. The Cougars ended up making a second period comeback, taking the night 4-1. 

The first period favoured the Thunderbirds as their second year forward Maxwell James earned the first goal of the game just after the 13 minute mark. Thanks to a quick pass from forward Carter Popoff, he was able to sink it past Cougars' goalie Wyatt Hoflin, scoring his fourth goal of the season. 

The Cougars regrouped for a strong second period, putting forth a tough offense. Mount Royal's forward Jamal Watson earned his third goal of the season, unassisted. Shortly after, Ryley Lindgren shot past the Thunderbirds' goalie, Rylan Toth, for his seventh goal of the season, with an assist from defenseman Allan MacPherson. They held onto their lead until the buzzer for the third.

Lindgren was full of energy as he found a second goal for the night shortly after puck drop, an unassisted long-range snipe. Just over a minute later, he earned a hat-trick with an assist from forward Connor Rankin and Connor Blake. The Thunderbirds were making some quick plays to try and win back the night, but just couldn't shake the Cougars defenses. Mount Royal held onto their lead, winning the night 4-1. 

Lindgren now leads the Cougars 16 points for the season, nine goals and seven assists. For the Thunderbirds, Tyler Sandhu leads with 11 points for the season, seven goals and four assists. 

The two teams will face off once more on Saturday, November 23rd, at 3 p.m. MST at Flames Community Arena. It will be broadcasted live on CanadaWest.tv, presented by Co-op.