Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week: Clay Hanus

The Mount Royal University Cougars men's hockey team extended their win streak to four consecutive games after sweeping the UBC Thunderbirds in their home-opening weekend matchup, winning both matches 4-3. Clay Hanus stood out in both games, finishing his Thanksgiving long weekend with two goals and three assists.

On Friday night, the Cougars pulled out an unforgettably impressive comeback victory. After conceding a goal in each period, MRU faced a 3-0 deficit with less than five minutes remaining in the game. 

Thunderbirds player Tian Rask picked up a major cross-checking penalty with just three minutes left in the third period, so Head Coach Bert Gilling took a gamble and decided to pull goaltender Riley Sims to give his team a six-on-four advantage. This soon became a six-on-three advantage when Scott Atkinson picked up a minor tripping penalty, and the Cougars scored just 16 seconds into the powerplay.

After having his first shot stopped by Cole Schwebius, Hanus received the puck at the point once again from Justin Lies and fed Robbie Holmes, who scored his team's first goal of the game. With Rask still in the box, the Cougars were now only down by two goals with a six-on-four powerplay. After two minutes without scoring, the game was looking bleak, but Clay Hanus stepped up to the plate and shined once again.

With another six-on-three advantage, thanks to Jonny Lambos's double-minor spearing penalty, and just 57 seconds left in the game, Connor Bouchard skated through the seams of the UBC defense to find an open Hanus on the right wing, who ripped a slap-shot past Schwebius and knocked his water bottle onto the ice. 

Now in a 3-2 game with less than a minute left, hope filled the arena. The Cougars put on a show in literally the last possible seconds as Hanus skated behind the net and fed Bouchard on the right wing, who went cross-ice to Lies. Lies snapped a perfect shot into the top left corner and buried the game tying goal with nine seconds left on the clock. To top it all off, Zafir Rawji netted the game-winning goal with just three seconds left and after trailing 3-0 for 55 minutes, the Cougars finished their home opener victorious, 4-3.

Hanus led the charge once again on Saturday as the Thunderbirds looked to exact revenge for their Friday night loss. After conceding the first goal of the game once again and ending the first period down 1-0, the Cougars picked up a shorthanded goal halfway through the second period. Hanus blocked a powerplay shot attempt and fed Jayden Wiens, who found Tim Gould on a breakaway opportunity. Gould looked calm, cool, and collected as he scored the team's first goal.

The Cougars did not trail for the rest of the game, and Hanus picked up his second goal of the weekend early in the third period on a powerplay. Hanus parked himself on the point and received a pass up the boards from Holmes, turning that into a blur of a wrist shot past Schwebius and put his team up 3-2. MRU and UBC scored one more goal apiece as the Cougars won 4-3 and swept their opening weekend at Flames Community Arena against the defending Canada West champions.

Hanus and the Cougars will host the Dinos at the Flames Community Arena and live on Canada West TV on Oct. 18 at 7 P.M. for the first Crowchild Classic duo of the men's hockey season, looking to remain undefeated for a fifth consecutive game.

Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week: Aliya Jomha

Not to be outshined by the men's squad, the Cougars women's hockey team also extended their win streak to four games, and Aliya Jomha's gloves were on fire the entire weekend. 

On Friday night, the Cougars earned their third consecutive shutout, beating the defending Canada West Champion UBC Thunderbirds 2-0 in Vancouver. After having to kill numerous penalties in the first period, the Cougars finally earned a powerplay goal in the second period when Athena Hauck cleaned up Breanna Comte's rebound.

Jomha picked up an assist on MRU's second goal of the game, which also came on the powerplay. Jomha sent a perfect back-door pass to a wide open Sydney Benko, who buried the puck into the top-left corner of the net as the Cougars took home a dominant victory.

UBC looked thirsty for revenge on Saturday night as they broke Kaitlyn Ross's shutout streak. Still, they were no match for the electric play of Jomha, who scored two goals and picked up an assist on MRU's way to a 4-3 victory. 

Jomha and Benko led a two-on-three breakout in the first period and even though they were denied on each of their first opportunities, Jomha cleaned up her teammate's rebound to score her first goal of the game and the only goal for either team in the period. 

Jomha struck again in the second period, this time with an assist, when she found Gabby Lindsay streaking out of the penalty box on a breakaway. Lindsay's wrist shot found the back of the net and the Cougars led the game 2-0. 

Jomha's final blow came in the form of her second goal with just two seconds left in the second period. Benko forced a turnover behind enemy lines and fed a wide-open Jomha in the slot, who nailed her shot into the net to give her team a 4-2 lead.

The Cougars conceded one goal in the third period but ended the game victorious by a 4-3 margin, sweeping their first road weekend against the UBC Thunderbirds and extending their win streak to four games. They'll look to make it five on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 P.M. at Father David Bauer Arena and live on Canada West TV as they face the University of Calgary Dinos in the first Crowchild Classic matchup of the women's hockey season.