Spirits were high at a recent up-tempo practice for the Mount Royal University Cougars men’s hockey as they look to begin the 2025-26 season on a high note.
The Cougars head to Saskatoon to battle the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday.
The Cougars lost in the Canada West finals in March to those same Huskies, but did punch their ticket to the national championship University Cup, before dropping their highly eventful quarterfinal match against host Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).
A chance at redemption
The weekend marks an early opportunity for the Cougars to avenge their loss in the finals against the Huskies, something that head coach Bert Gilling is looking forward to.
“I think we’re two of the top teams in the league. I think it’s a great way to start out the season, but respecting those guys, they’re the champions right now,” said Gilling.
“We saw them celebrate at our expense last year when they got the trophy. This year, they get to celebrate a banner [raising] at our expense.”
Lineup changes
The Cougars lost some impactful players who graduated from the program, including U Sports Player and Defenceman of the Year, Clay Hanus, Robbie Holmes and Zafir Rawji.
“What those guys brought to us, you just don’t replace them,” said Gilling. He believes that it will take a group effort to replace those contributions, and will look for the now second and third-year players to take another step.
Only three rookies will join the Cougars this year: Bowden Singleton, Ethan Buenaventura and Ryan Nolan. All three are players that Gilling says have made a good first impression with the team and should be impactful players for the Cougars.
They are joined by Alex Isaac and Adam Oates, who come to the Cougars from other U Sports programs. That experience is something Gilling is excited to add to the team.
“[They are] a couple defencemen that have a couple of years experience. They’re veteran good players. So we feel like it’s solidified our team,” said Gilling.
Seasons expectations
With so few lineup changes, Gilling thinks the group can take a step forward and once again be a championship contender.
“We had a taste of it, but now we want to win it. That was a big part of the motivation for staff and players to come back… having those experiences gets us excited for this year,” said Gilling.
“The experience of having gone through it will help us earlier this year. We’ve talked about trying to raise the standard from what it was last year to a championship standard this year,” said Gilling.
The Cougars’ six preseason games provided Gilling with a benchmark of where his Cougars squad stands entering the regular season. A 4-2 record is a good start, but Gilling certainly sees room for improvement.
“We gave up a few more goals than I would have liked. [There were] lots of good reminders and teaching points that lead into the regular season.”
The Cougars’ first game at home is Oct. 11 at the Flames Community Arena, as crosstown rival University of Calgary visits for the first time.
Before that, however, the Cougars have to head back to Saskatoon, which Gilling is excited for.
“We are trying to send a message right away around the league that we feel like we’re going to be a contender again. We’re all looking forward to the weekend.”
