This Week In Cougar Athletics

Friday (all times CST)
Men's Hockey – vs. Manitoba, 7:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Women's Volleyball – vs. Brandon, 7:00 PM (CKHS)
Women's Hockey – at Manitoba, 7:00 PM (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women's Basketball – at Thompson Rivers, 7:00 PM (Kamloops, B.C.)
Men's Basketball – at Thompson Rivers, 9:00 PM (Kamloops, B.C.)
Swimming – at Toronto Grand Prix, Day 1 (Toronto, Ont.)
Track & Field – at Golden Bear Open, Day 1 (Edmonton, Alta.)

Saturday (all times CST)
Men's Hockey – vs. Manitoba, 3:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Women's Hockey – at Manitoba, 4:00 PM (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women's Volleyball – vs. Brandon, 7:00 PM (CKHS)
Women's Basketball – at Thompson Rivers, 7:00 PM (Kamloops, B.C.)
Men's Basketball – at Thompson Rivers, 9:00 PM (Kamloops, B.C.)
Swimming – at Toronto Grand Prix, Day 2 (Toronto, Ont.)
Track & Field – at Golden Bear Open, Day 2 (Edmonton, Alta.)

Women's Volleyball – The Cougars (8-8) moved up to .500 for the season with a critical road sweep over Saskatchewan, defeating the Huskies in five sets on Friday and in three straight sets on Saturday. Now in a three-way logjam for sixth place in the Canada West standings, the Cougars are back at home for the next two weekends as they continue to battle for playoff position. They'll host Brandon (3-13) on Friday and Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport with match time set for 7:00 on both nights.

Men's Hockey – The Cougars will play the first two of four consecutive home games this weekend, as they'll play host to Manitoba this Friday and Saturday at The Co-operators Center. Friday's game has a 7:00 PM start time, while Saturday's game is set for a 3:00 PM afternoon start. Coming off a pair of losses to Saskatchewan in a home-and-home last weekend, the Cougars (3-16-1) will host the No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 to finish off the four-game homestand.

Women's Basketball (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 9) – The Cougars (11-3) took a pair of big home wins over UBC Okanagan last weekend, recording an 86-53 win on Friday and an 82-43 win on Saturday. That clinched a playoff berth for the Cougars as they'll head to the postseason for the 24th consecutive year, continuing a streak that began way back in 1996. The Cougars hit the road for the next two weekends, starting this Friday and Saturday in Kamloops, B.C. against a Thompson Rivers team that will come in with a 4-10 conference record.

Men's Basketball – The Cougars improved their conference record to 10-4 with two home wins over UBC Okanagan on Friday and Saturday. They dominated the Heat for a 92-53 victory to open the weekend set, but had to hold off a late Heat challenge for an 82-77 win on Saturday. This weekend, the U of R will face a Thompson Rivers team that's right in the thick of the Canada West playoff race. The Cougars and the WolfPack (6-8) will meet in Kamloops, B.C. starting at 7:00 PT on both Friday night and Saturday night.

Women's Hockey – The Cougars split with No. 10-ranked Saskatchewan last weekend in a home-and-home, losing 4-1 in Saskatoon on Friday but getting a Jordan Kulbida goal in the eighth round of the shootout to come away with a 2-1 win over the Huskies on Saturday. The Cougars (7-8-2-3) will also face ranked opposition the next two weekends, starting this Friday and Saturday with a pair of road games against the No. 3-ranked Manitoba Bisons. Game times are set for 7:00 on Friday night and 4:00 on Saturday afternoon at the Wayne Fleming Arena on the U of M campus.

Track & Field – The Cougars had their first meet of the 2019 calendar year over the weekend as the teams headed up to Saskatoon to compete in the Sled Dog Meet. Greg Hetterley had the highlight for the U of R, as he won the 1000-metre run in a time of 2:27.94 that gives him the early No. 1 ranking in all of U SPORTS in the event. The Cougars will send a full team up to Edmonton this weekend to compete in the Golden Bear Open.

Swimming (Men's U SPORTS Ranking: No. 10) – The Cougars return to the pool for their first competitive meet since late November, as they'll head east to participate in the two-day Toronto Grand Prix hosted at the University of Toronto on Friday and Saturday. They won't be getting back into the water completely rusty, though – the team spent two weeks in late December and early January training in Arizona.

(Braden Konschuh/U of R Athletics)