Box Score
HALIFAX, N.S. – An end of an era for Mount Royal.

The #4 seed University of Windsor Lancers downed the #5 ranked Mount Royal University Cougars 4-3 in the University Cup quarterfinal from Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

The Cougars left it all out on the ice against the Lancers but ultimately fell short.

In the first, Mount Royal thought they had the icebreaker when Dawson Milliken redirected a shot but the officials ruled the play a high-stick. After a quick video review, the call on the ice was confirmed.

Windsor was the team to get on the board, late in the first period. Alex Cunningham pounced on rebound to put it past the leg of Cougars netminder Shane Farkas. 

The Cougars were keen to find an equalizer coming out of the intermission and did just that less than three minutes into the second. A swift steal from Jayden Wiens put the puck on a platter for Tristan Zandee in the slot. Zandee wired a quick shot through the fivehole of Lancers goalie Max Donoso to make it a 1-1 game. 

The relentless forecheck in the offensive zone was exactly how the Cougars had been so successful during the Canada West season.

"Great job by [Wiens and Zandee] on that play," said MRU head coach Bert Gilling. "That's what we want the identity of our team to be – a puck pressure team that forces teams to turnover pucks and counter attack them."

The game remained 1-1 heading into the final 20 minutes. 

Windsor capitalized on some sloppy defensive play from Mount Royal earlier in the third. Jacob Boucher scored to make it 2-1 with a shot from almost the exact same spot as Zandee's goal.

11 seconds after Boucher's goal, Brady Hinz tapped it in on the backdoor to make it 3-1 for the OUA finalists. 

It was a backbreaking sequence for the Cougars who now found themselves down two with less than a full period left.

"It was very disappointing. The first one was just rushed defence, they got zone entry a little too easy," said Gilling on the quick two goals from Windsor. "And then on the second one, our backchecking forward just didn't tie up their guy's stick."

"That was just all a part of the frustration because those areas have been points of emphasis for weeks now."

Mount Royal was determined not to go down without a fight. Partway through the period, Josh Tarzwell made a spectacular cross-crease pass to find Connor Bouchard all alone. Bouchard made no mistake putting the puck into the open cage to cut the deficit to one. 

Bouchard, who has cemented himself as the greatest player in program history, was named the Cougars' player of the game.

The frustrating game continued for Mount Royal when the Lancers restored the two goal lead once again. Alex Cunningham, who was named Windsor's player of the game, got his second of the contest after another instance of the Cougars not tying up their opponents sticks around the crease.

In a last ditch effort, Farkas headed to the MRu bench for an extra attacker with three minutes left. 

After Clay Hanus' blast from the point, Tarzwell jammed in the loose puck in the crease to give the Cougars life with two minutes to go.

But just as it was in their loss to Saskatchewan in game two of the Canada West final, the Cougars couldn't find that last goal and listened to the final buzzer down a goal.

The Lancers move on to the semifinal. Mount Royal's season is over.

Another heartbreaking defeat and the end of an incredible run for this group. For the nine graduates, it is the final time they will wear the blue and white. Although it ended in disappointment, there is so much to be proud of for a club that established a brotherhood and achieved success that no other MRU team has in U SPORTS. 

"My heart goes out to all our players from the standpoint of that we all had higher expectations this year then how it ended," said Gilling on the conclusion of the season. "In saying that, this group breathes Cougar Hockey. Three straight 20-win seasons, two straight regular season divisional titles with arguably the toughest schedule."

They've gotten Mount Royal to championship contender level. Two straight Canada West final appearances and two straight national championship berths. Those are things that the men's hockey program has never achieved before. And these guys did it in back-to-back years," Gilling continued.

The nine graduates of Kyle Walker, Riley Sims, Josh Tarzwell, Spencer Moe, Clay Hanus, Shane Farkas, Blake Stevenson, Michael Ladyman and Remy Aquilon have all left the program better than they found it. 

As the hockey landscape changes, the loyalty of this group can't be understated. After losing last year, they all came back because they wanted to win so badly for Mount Royal. And although they fell short, their imprint on the program and culture is insurmountable.

"In this day and age, there's not much loyalty anymore. Anybody can move to different directions and places. The biggest compliment I can give and the thing I am forever grateful to our guys, particularly those nine, is they were loyal to Cougar Hockey," said Gilling.