Regardless of a tough loss in the Canada West Championship, the Mount Royal University Cougars men’s hockey team earned their shot to compete for a national championship after a roller coaster of a season.
The tournament took place at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
It consisted of eight teams in a single-elimination bracket style to crown a national champion.
Before the tournament kicked off, the Cougars fell to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West finals in a crushing defeat.
The Huskies swept the series at the Flames Community Arena.
The Cougars have fallen to Saskatchewan for the second straight year in the finals.
Cougars head coach Bert Gilling says the loss is not easy to swallow.
The Canada West championship title was a goal the team had from the start of the season.
“There’s a lot of disappointment for it. The fortunate thing is we’ve earned the right to go to nationals, and for this group, we have one more chance to get some hardware,” said Gilling.
Many Cougars were part of the team that lost to the Toronto Metropolitan Bold in a fifth overtime during last year’s national tournament.
That experience is something the team leaned on as they entered this year’s games.
“These are all the best teams in all their respective leagues,” said Gilling. “It’s the top teams in the country. They’re all generally going to be tight, hard-fought games.”
Shots up, scores down
The Cougars opened the University Cup with the tournament’s first game, entering as the fifth seed against the fourth-seeded Windsor Lancers.
The tournament marks the second straight year the Cougars will compete for the University Cup.
Both teams came out with intensity, setting a fast and physical tone early. Despite strong chances from both sides, Windsor carried a slight edge, taking the lead headed into the second period.
In the middle frame, third-year forward Tristan Zandee found the back of the net, tying the game early in the second.
After two back-and-forth periods, the game remained up for grabs in the third period.
But the Cougars’ championship hopes began to slip away as the Lancers tallied two quick ones to open the third. The 11-second back-to-back strike created a gap the Cougars were unable to close.
Windsor was able to hold on to a 4-3 victory, giving the Cougars their second heartbreaking finish of the season.
Despite the loss, Mount Royal dominated offensively, firing 41 shots on net— more than doubling the shots from Windsor. Lancer’s goaltender Max Donoso proved to be the game changer, delivering a standout performance to secure the victory.
Beyond the tournament result, the game marked the end of an era for the program. Four Cougar veterans played their last game in the white and navy.
Goaltender Riley Sims, forwards Josh Tarzwell and Spencer Moe and their captain, Kyle Walker, each joined the team during the 2021-2022 season and have since been instrumental to the Cougars success over the past five seasons.
As the team now turns to the offseason, they face the challenge of moving past another gut-wrenching finish without their core leaders. Still, the Cougars leave the season with plenty to be proud of.
“We do take a lot of pride in representing all of the Mount Royal University community, alumni, faculty, students and student athletes,” said Gilling. “When we put that jersey on, we know what we’re representing.”