CALGARY - The Mount Royal University Cougars emerged victorious from a tough battle for the next spot of the playoffs against the University of Regina Cougars. They capitalized on an early goal and defended it through three periods to win the match 2-0. 

For Mount Royal, Anna Purschke led with six shots on net followed by Morgan Ramsay and Tatum Amy with two shots and one goal each. For Regina, captain Jaycee Magwood led with five shots on net followed by forward Merissa Zerr with two.

The two teams were showing some fresh energy following the previous night's game, the Cougars ready to defend the ice. Eight minutes into the period, Mount Royal's Breanne Trotter took a long range shot from the blue line which swept past every skater to land in the net. Regina regrouped to prevent any further opportunities, successfully defending a power play in the late minutes of the period. 

Spirits were high in the second as both sides fought hard for an advantage. Several power plays were awarded on each side, but no goals were made as the Mount Royal's goalie Kaitlyn Ross and Regina's Jane Kish fiercely defended their zones. One close opportunity for the Cougars was nearly successful, but Kish dashed their hopes with a tough block to finish off the period. 

Regina was battling hard in the final period, pushing on the Mount Royal defenders to make a goal work. In the final minutes of the third, an empty net showed its face to Mount Royal's forward Morgan Ramsay who fired it in, nearly following it into the zone in her excitement. This marked her first goal of the playoff season, unassisted. The Cougars managed to defend their lead until the final buzzer, officially moving onto the next round of playoffs. 

Cougars head coach Scott Rivett spoke of his team's energy and praised their skilled opponents. "We knew it was going to be a tight checking series, goals were going to be hard to come by. We're going to have to work hard full-time and keep playing well defensively...At the end of the day, we'll play what we can get. You've got to beat the best to get where you want to go."

For Regina, head coach Sarah Hodges spoke highly of her team's performance. "We worked hard… We're all happy with the effort and the way they played. We played well enough to win both games, but it's how it goes."

The Cougars will move onto the next stage of the playoffs to battle against the next team to emerge victorious from the quarter-finals.