Brian Swane, Special to Canada West
EDMONTON – The reigning Canada West and U SPORTS men's hockey champion Alberta Golden Bears begin their title defense this weekend, as playoff semifinal action hits the ice across the Prairies this weekend.
Alberta will host Calgary while the first-place Saskatchewan Huskies welcome Mount Royal in the best-of-three round. The Dinos and Cougars advanced after winning quarter-final series last weekend, while their opponents enjoyed byes.
Semifinal winners advance to next week's championship series, as the road to the 2019 University Cup in Lethbridge continues.
You can watch every CW game all post-season on Canada West TV.
No. 5 Mount Royal (12-11-5 reg. season, 2-1 playoffs) -AT- No. 1 Saskatchewan (25-3-0)
- Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon
- Game 1 – Friday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 7 p.m. CST
- Game 3* - Sunday, 7 p.m. CST
For the second straight year, Mount Royal won a quarter-final series on the road, upsetting the fourth-seeded UBC T-Birds last weekend in three games. The Huskies hit the post-season on a 10-game win streak and are 13-1 in the friendly confines of Merlis Belsher Place during the regular season. Saskatchewan allowed the fewest goals in Canada West, a paltry 1.75 per game, and are deadly on the power-play, scoring more than a third of their goals this season on the PP with a conference-best 39 goals. Mount Royal scored 3.11 times per game during the regular season, averaging a full goal less than the Huskies, but have offensive depth, with 10 players who notched at least six goals. Saskatchewan won all four games against Mount Royal during the regular season.
No. 3 Calgary (18-7-3, 2-0) -AT- No. 2 Alberta (24-3-1)
- Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton
- Game 1 – Friday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 2 – Saturday, 7 p.m. MST
- Game 3* - Sunday, 6 p.m. MST
The Battle of Alberta is a near annual occurrence in the Canada West playoffs, and never fails to deliver intensity worthy of such a historic rivalry. The Golden Bears picked up points in their last 21 games, going 20-0-1, and won 13 straight to conclude the regular season, while Calgary is fresh off a 2-0 quarter-final triumph over Lethbridge. Not only did the Golden Bears rank first as a team in Canada West this season with an average of 4.78 goals per game, Alberta also boasts the conference's points leader in Luke Philp (21 goals, 24 assists). Calgary counters with the terrific goaltending duo of Matthew Greenfield and Jordan Papirny, who each started 14 games and ranked third and fifth in Canada West, with goals against averages of 2.17 and 2.45, respectively. Alberta went 4-0 against Calgary in 2018-19.