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Is it playoff time already? 

The 2023-24 regular seasons have gone by in a flash. Now it's time to gear up for the toughest tests and the battles that matter the most.

To conclude their regular seasons, MRU's men's hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball teams made their way to British Columbia. With playoff seeding still up in the air, the season finales were crucial for all three squads that were playing away from home. In one of the last versions of Cougars Catchup, I'll present you with what went down over the weekend while also giving you a brief preview of the Canada West playoffs.


Cougars snap long losing skid, sweep the TRU Wolfpack

When it mattered most, Mount Royal's women's basketball team delivered.

In their visit to Kamloops, the Cougars secured two huge victories over Thompson Rivers to solidify their third straight Canada West playoff berth.

In the penultimate regular season game on Friday, Mount Royal blew the Wolfpack out of the water. The Cougars defeated TRU 80-46. The 34-point margin of victory is their second-largest win of the season. 

Julia Summers set the tempo by draining a catch-and-shoot three-pointer just 25 seconds in the game. 

Just a few minutes later, Nora Luca threw a Nikola-Jokic-esque pass to a cutting Tanis Metcalfe who laid it up with ease. 

Barely five minutes into the game, Mount Royal was firmly in the driver's seat. 

The Cougars' offence was clicking while the defence tightened up, forcing the Wolfpack to scramble for answers. MRU led by 22 points going into the half.

Jenika Martens' seven third-quarter points help the Cougars stay ahead by 21 and look to wrap things up in the fourth.

Mount Royal put an exclamation point on the game with the biggest quarter yet. The Cougars only allowed five points, posting 25 of their own to secure the blowout victory.

The team finished the game with four players with points in double figures, shooting a season-best .435 per cent from the field.

On Saturday, the Wolfpack presented a much-improved game. At the end of the first quarter, Thompson Rivers led by one.

The Cougars rebounded with an excellent defensive quarter, forcing the Wolfpack into turnovers and taking highly-contested shots. MRU led by nine at the break.

Early in the third, Julia Summers kicked it out to an open Jenika Martens who knocked down a three to give Mount Royal a crucial energy burst.

The Wolfpack kept themselves in the game and trailed by just seven heading into the final quarter of the weekend. 

In the fourth quarter, Mount Royal came in clutch. Harriette Mackenzie recorded seven of her 16 points to extend the Cougars' lead back to double-digits. To put a stamp on it, Martens hit her second three of the game.

Ultimately, MRU would prevail 65-50 over the Wolfpack. The win clinched a playoff spot and gave the team a final record of 8-12. Nora Luca led the team in scoring with 19 points, tying her career-high.

The Cougars will have to wait for Victoria to play their final two games of the season to know who they will tip off against in the Canada West play-in round. 

As it stands currently, Regina would host MRU in the play-in but depending on the outcome of Victoria's final games, Mount Royal could move up a spot to 10th and take on Lethbridge.

Regardless, the Cougars are heading to the postseason for the third year in a row.


Mount Royal splits shootout results with T-Birds to conclude historic regular season

There was no lack of pressure for the MRU Cougars men's hockey team for their final two regular season games in Vancouver. Going into the weekend MRU and UBC would both be fighting for the first seed in the conference. 

The hockey gods gifted us two incredible games on the ice, hyping up the upcoming playoffs even more.

In Friday's tilt, Tristan Zandee drove hard to the net and squeaked one through the UBC netminder for his sixth goal of the season. Zandee's goal would be the only tally in the opening period.

Early in the second, the Cougars added another. Just as a Thunderbirds' penalty expired, Blake Steveson swatted home a rebound off the end boards.
Mount Royal made it a 3-0 lead a few minutes later, this time converting on the man-advantage. Clayton Hanus let go a whistling wrist shot from the point, going bar down for an extraordinary goal. The snipe was Hanus' 13th of the season, leading all defencemen in Canada West.

The Cougars firmly grasped the momentum halfway through the game. However, the first-place T-Birds would not go down without a fight.

UBC cut the deficit to just one with a couple of second period goals. Just 32 seconds into the third, they would draw even with MRU.

Having swung the momentum fully in their favour, the Thunderbirds scored another to gain their first lead of the contest. 

The Cougars were suddenly on the wrong side of the score and needed to find answers quickly.

Cue Connor Bouchard. 

After MRU goalie Shane Farkas rushed to the bench for an extra attacker, the Cougars worked the puck around the UBC zone looking for an open lane. Bouchard received a pass as he curled around the top of the faceoff circle and directed a shot towards the net. Despite not being the most powerful shot, the puck dribbled through the pads of the T-Bird's goalie and across the line. With just 37 seconds left, the league's best player had tied it up.

Five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime would solve nothing and the two Canada West juggernauts would need a shootout. 

Bouchard and Connor Blake would each score in the Cougars' first two attempts. UBC would keep pace, also putting two goals by Shane Farkas to force the shootout to go to extra rounds. 

Following a huge save from Farkas, Spencer Moe had a chance to win the game. Moe slowly drifted in and wired a snapshot past the glove of the UBC netminder.

UBC recording a single point in the shootout loss meant the Cougars would need to win in regulation to clinch first place.

After going scoreless in the first period in Saturday's rematch, Robbie Holmes scored on a shot from the top of the circle. The Cougars would see their 1-0 lead quickly evaporate when the T-Birds scored two goals in under two minutes. Later in the period, UBC would make it 3-1 and headed into the third with a two-goal cushion over MRU.

The Cougars turned the tables on UBC and mounted their own comeback. Blake Stevenson scored his second of the weekend to cut the lead to one. With under eight minutes to play Connor Bouchard found Robbie Holmes in front for a quick one-timer to tie things up at three.

Once again, 60 minutes of regulation and five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime would not provide a winner and the teams headed to a shootout. 

The shootout would need extra rounds again after the usual scorers were unable to solve the goalies. Blake Stevenson's fourth-round goal kept the Cougars alive but in the sixth round, UBC took the advantage and won the game to clinch first place.

Additionally, Mount Royal's star netminder Shane Farkas was forced to leave the game due to injury late in the third period. Riley Sims entered the game in relief and performed incredibly in a tough situation.

The result slotted MRU into third place in the conference with a 21-6-1 record. The Cougars will host the sixth-place MacEwan Griffins this coming weekend. Mount Royal split the season series with the Griffins with one win and one loss. 


Wolfpack narrowly prevail over MRU in two tight games

Mount Royal's men's basketball team concluded their rollercoaster season with a visit to Thompson Rivers University for a couple of games against the Wolfpack.

In Friday's game, the Cougars led by just one after the first quarter off the back of Daniel Mudler's eight points in just six minutes.

MRU led by as many as 13 in the second half, thanks to consistent free throw shooting and big threes from Thomas Teshome and Aaron Fernandes.

The Wolfpack were able to windle the difference down to nine heading into the second half.

TRU outscored the Cougars by three points in the third quarter and after a huge Wolfpack three-pointer with seconds remaining in the period, the home team held the momentum.

In the fourth, Mulder went back to work, going 3-for-3. However, the Cougars wouldn't get much more offence and were held to just nine points in the quarter. 

After TRU pulled even, Keivonte Watts' shot from deep would not go at the buzzer and overtime was needed. 

In the extra period, the Cougars and Wolfpack would go shot for shot.

With four seconds left, TRU would find a hero. Wolfpack guard Evan Smith knocked down a three to give his team the lead. Despite a scramble to tie it, the Cougars would fall short.

Saturday's season-finale would be another tight one. The Cougars trailed by two after the first quarter. Keivonte Watts' seven points would keep Mount Royal carefully stalking the Wolfpack. 

After another quarter that swayed back and forth, TRU led by just six with one half left in the season.

Sam Barnie starred for the Cougars, scoring a season-high 16 points including four makes from beyond the arc.

MRU would claw back to even the score at 63 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Ultimately, the Wolfpack would pull away, defeating the Cougars 84-80.

Despite the pair of losses, Mount Royal clinched a playoff spot in the tournament next weekend in Winnipeg. Their opponent is yet to be determined as they wait for TRU and Victoria to play their final games in their respective seasons.


Next Weekend

The men's and women's volleyball teams finish off their regular season as they head to Kamloops for a few games against TRU.

The men's and women's basketball teams will have to wait until Feb. 21 to begin their quest to Win The West and will spend the week preparing for the postseason.

On the ice, the men's and women's hockey teams host MacEwan and Manitoba, respectively. Game one for the women's team is Friday at 2 p.m. and game one for the men is at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now.

Catch all of the action live on Canada West TV.