This Week In Cougar Athletics

Home Events – Friday
Swimming at Colleges Cup, 5:00 to 6:30 PM (Lawson Aquatic Centre)
Women's Basketball vs. UNBC, 6:00 PM (CKHS)
Men's Hockey vs. Alberta, 7:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Men's Basketball vs. UNBC, 8:00 PM (CKHS)

Home Events – Saturday
Swimming at Colleges Cup, 9:00 to 10:30 AM / 3:00 to 4:30 PM (Lawson Aquatic Centre)
Men's Hockey vs. Alberta, 3:00 PM (The Co-operators Centre)
Women's Basketball vs. UNBC, 6:00 PM (CKHS)
Men's Basketball vs. UNBC, 8:00 PM (CKHS)

Away Events – Friday
Track & Field at Bison Classic, Day 1 (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women's Hockey at Alberta, 7:00 PM MT (Edmonton, Alta.)
Women's Volleyball at UBC, 7:00 PM PT (Vancouver, B.C.)

Away Events – Saturday
Track & Field at Bison Classic, Day 2 (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women's Hockey at Alberta, 2:00 PM MT (Edmonton, Alta.)
Women's Volleyball at UBC, 7:00 PM PT (Vancouver, B.C.)

Swimming (Men's U SPORTS Ranking: No. 9) – The Cougars host the Colleges Cup this Friday and Saturday at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. One of the major tune-up meets on the schedule, the competition will feature four Canada West teams including the Cougars, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Manitoba. The first session is set for Friday evening from 5:00 to 6:30, while the second session is Saturday morning (9:00 to 10:30) and the final session is slated for Saturday afternoon (3:00 to 4:30).

Men's Hockey – The Cougars registered a huge late-season road sweep at Manitoba last weekend, coming back from a 3-0 deficit on Friday for a 5-4 shootout win before cruising to a 6-3 win on Saturday. The U of R currently holds the sixth and final Canada West playoff spot with four games to go, as the Cougars have 19 points and are two up on seventh-place UBC. The Cougars' last four games of the conference schedule are against the top two teams in Canada West, including at home this weekend against No. 4 Alberta at The Co-operators Centre. Game time against the Golden Bears is set for 7:00 on Friday night and 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. Prior to Saturday's contest the Cougars will honour Dawson MacAuley and Landon Peel, the team's two fifth-year players.

Women's Basketball – The Cougars came up with a road sweep over Manitoba, winning 98-81 on Friday before holding on for a 67-65 victory on Saturday to improve to 8-8 on the season. The Cougars now rank seventh in Canada West in RPI and could clinch a playoff berth as soon as Friday with a victory over UNBC and some help on the out-of-town scoreboard. Game time against the Timberwolves is set for 6:00 on both Friday night and Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport, with Saturday's game set to be the last regular season game in a U of R uniform for fifth-year veterans Michaela Kleisinger, Avery Pearce, and Alexi Rowden.

Men's Basketball – The Cougars came out on the wrong end of two close scores last week at Manitoba, falling 72-69 to the Bisons on Friday before suffering a 79-74 defeat on Saturday. Still very much in contention for a home play-in game, the Cougars rank No. 9 in Canada West RPI heading into this weekend's home series against UNBC. Game times are set for the usual 8:00 PM on both Friday and Saturday, with Greishe Clerjuste and Samuel Hillis to be honoured as part of Senior Night prior to Saturday's game.

Women's Hockey – The Cougars defeated Manitoba 3-0 last Friday to win their seventh consecutive game, but had the streak snapped on Saturday after the Bisons held on for a 2-1 win. The U of R has collected 20 of a possible 24 points in eight games so far in January and the Cougars continue to sit in fourth place in the Canada West standings. The Cougars have just four games remaining on the conference schedule, including two this weekend on the road against No. 5-ranked and Canada West-leading Alberta.

Track & Field (Women's U SPORTS Ranking: No. 7) – After a weekend off from competition for most of the squad, the Cougars will send a full team to Winnipeg this weekend for the Jim Daly Bison Classic. This weekend will serve as the first of two final meets before championship season begins, as the Cougars will also compete at the SPIRE Division I Classic in Ohio next weekend before the Canada West and U SPORTS Championships later this month.

Women's Volleyball – The Cougars played Saskatchewan tough at home last weekend but lost both matches, falling to the Huskies in four sets on Friday and in the full five sets on Saturday. The U of R has six matches remaining in Canada West play, including this weekend with a pair of contests in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds.