Box Score The Canada West men's hockey quarterfinals have officially commenced with a 4 - 1 victory for the Mount Royal University Cougars as they faced off against the MacEwan University Griffins.

"It's the best time of the year and it's nice to be at home for the first round," said head coach Bert Gilling. 

Friday evening marked the first game of a best-of-three series as the Cougars host the Griffins this weekend. The winner of the quarterfinals will advance to the semi-finals next weekend. 

The Cougars concluded the regular season by securing the third-place position within the division, scoring 108 goals, and winning 21 games. Meanwhile, the Griffins finished in the sixth-place spot, tallying 86 goals and nine wins. 

Josh Tarzwell of the Cougars opened the scoring in the first period, finding the net before colliding with Griffins goalie Ashton Abel. 

The Cougars secured a 2 – 0 lead over the Griffins at the end of the first period with Tim Gould adding to the score. 

Nearing the end of the second period, Kurtis Smythe of the Cougars managed to extend their lead to 3 – 0 by sneaking the puck into the corner of the Griffins net.

During a power play advantage, Ethan Strang of the Griffins managed to find the net, scoring his team's only point of the game deep into the third period.  

In the last few minutes of the game, the Griffins pulled their goalie. However, Jaden Senkoe of the Cougars gained control of the puck and managed to secure an additional point for his team. 

Acknowledging the team scored in crucial moments, Gilling praised his players solid effort on the ice. He highlighted goalie Riley Sims success in net. 

"I just think that we got some key goals at key times," he said. "I was really happy for Riley Sims. I thought he played really well in net for us. First time he had played for a while, and he looked good."

Moving forward, Gilling stated that the team's goal is to build upon this win. 

"We're just trying to stack up wins right now," he said.  

Griffins head coach Zack Dailey said the Cougars will seize any opportunity given to them.

"I just don't think we did a good job putting pressure on their defence," he said. "They're a very fast team, a very skilled team. If you give them time and space, they're going to pick you apart."

Dailey said their focus is less on structure and more on finding additional energy to carry them through the game. 

"It's not a whole bunch of system and structure stuff," he said. "It's just finding a little bit more energy and skating a little bit better."

The Cougars will face off against the Griffins again Saturday evening, with both teams vying for a spot in the semi-finals. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.