Male Athlete of the Week

The MRU men's hockey team split their home-and-home series against the University of Alberta Golden Bears this past weekend. The Cougars travelled to Edmonton on Friday for a battle at Clare Drake Arena and defeated the Golden Bears 4-3 in overtime after coming back from being down 3-1. On Saturday, Alberta avenged their loss and won 5-2 at Flames Community Arenas, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season.

The Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week is Cougars men's hockey star Clayton Hanus. The second-year defenseman was the overtime hero in Friday night's crucial road win over the Golden Bears. Hanus also contributed an assist in Saturday's home game. The blueliner currently ranks second in points among defensemen in Canada West with six, including three goals. He also possesses a plus-minus rating of +4 and has been a critical piece on the Cougars' stacked backend.

Hanus joined the Cougars halfway through the 2022-23 season and is a business student at Mount Royal.

Female Athlete of the Week

The Cougars women's soccer team registered a significant 2-0 win on Saturday afternoon against the University of Victoria Vikes. After a previous loss to the Vikes earlier in the season, Mount Royal showcased an impressive effort at home and secured a commanding clean-sheet victory. On Sunday, MRU visited the MacEwan Griffins to resume a match that was suspended in September. The first-place Griffins defeated the Cougars 3-1.

The Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week is Sydney Danielewicz. Honoured before the match against Victoria as one of three graduating Cougars, Danielewicz scored the second goal of the match to secure their victory over the Vikes. The goal was the forward's third of the season, which puts her tied for second on MRU's women's soccer team. Danielewicz also leads the Cougars with 29 total shots in 2023.

The local Calgarian will be graduating from Mount Royal with a degree in science and is a two-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.