U of R Cougars' men's hockey team making strong push for playoffs
The University of Regina men’s hockey team have moved themselves into a playoff spot after a strong performance in the month of January.
The team went 5-3 in the first month of 2023 and will look to finish strong with just four games left in the regular season.
“I feel like just after Christmas time it was kind of a reset. We came out and won four games right off the bat,” explained Cougars’ defenceman, Carson Sass.
“I think the second half we’ve been coming together as a team and we’re starting to get some results and it’s always exciting going down the stretch in a playoff race. Hopefully we can get it done in the last two weekends here,” said Adam Evanoff, Cougars’ goalie.
This weekend, the team will now split a home and home with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, which will mark the completion of the “U-Prairie Challenge.”
The head-to-head friendly rivalry competition between Saskatchewan’s two USPORTS athletic programs will wrap its inaugural year with both the men’s and women’s hockey teams going head to head.
“Usually it’s a good battle. We’ve had a lot of close games with them over the past few years so we’re hoping to continue that this weekend,” said assistant captain, Brennan Riddle.
Evanoff came to the Cougars’ in 2022-23 after he spent a year playing senior hockey in Loreburn when the U of S decided to go another route with their goalies. A win against what would have been his former squad would mean even more.
“That would be something special,” he said. “I’m not going to focus on the result too much, we’re just going to try and focus on the moment but yeah, obviously it would mean a little bit more,” said Evanoff.
“I think it would be huge for him. I know he was there for a bit, I don’t know exactly what happened but I think it would be good for him to get a win,” said Sass.
“We’re supporting him all the way and he’s been playing great. He’s held us in [games] a good chunk of the season so I’m sure he’ll be ready to go against the U of S,” added Riddle.
Evanoff has been in net for all 5 of the Cougars’ wins in January, which include a stellar performance in the team’s 3-2 overtime victory on the road against the University of Alberta last weekend.
“That was cool. Their barn was pretty rowdy and it was awesome going in there and get one, we needed the win. Hopefully we can take advance of all the points we got and make the playoffs here,” said Evanoff.
Right now, the Cougars sit in the sixth and final playoff spot but only hold a one point lead over MacEwan and Manitoba. Their last four games will be pivotal if they hope to make a post-season run.
“Hopefully we can sneak in and do some damage. I think if we just keep the same mentality, it will pay off in the playoffs. These are kind of desperation games for us so we don’t have to turn that switch on once playoffs come around, we’ll have already been playing desperation hockey,” said Riddle.
The Cougars will hit the road to play in Saskatoon on Friday and back home on Saturday at the Co-Operators Centre. Puck drop is 7:00 p.m. for both games.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.