Cougars highlights

The regular season final countdown is in full swing

Autumn McDowell
Sports Editor

Men’s hockey:

Thank God the men’s hockey team already clinched a playoff spot, because they suffered two back-to-back losses last weekend at the hands of the Alberta Golden Bears.

Granted, Alberta is ranked first in Canada West and second in the CIS for a reason, and their experience definitely showed during the weekend series, as they took it to the Cougars 6-0 and 2-0.

The Cougars were out shot 95-43 on the weekend.

Regina will look to get back to their winning ways in their final two regular season games this weekend against the University of Manitoba at home. Puck drops at 7 p.m. on Friday, and an awkward time of 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

Women’s volleyball:

After holding one of the worst records in campus sports this season, the Cougars women’s volleyball team finally struck a little bit of luck against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies last weekend.

Not to take anything away from their victory, but the Huskies are one of the only two teams that are below the Cougars in the standings.

Still, the Cougars were finally able to register two back-to-back victories for just the second time this season – the first was against Thompson Rivers, who haven’t won a single game all year.

Thanks to the strong play from second-year outside hitter Tori Glynn on both nights, the Cougars walked away with a four-set victory on Friday, and a five-set win on Saturday to boost their morale.
The Cougars (5-15) will close out the season this weekend against the Calgary Dinos (9-11) in Calgary.

Men’s volleyball:

Tied for dead last out of 12 teams in Canada West, the Cougars men’s volleyball team continued their losing streak last weekend with back-to-back losses against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

Including a tournament in early January, the team has now lost 13 consecutive games.

The Cougars shocked the world in the first set, as they actually registered a 25-23 set win against the No. 4 Huskies. But, the excitement would be short lived as the Cougars went on to lose the next three sets in a row – that’s more like it.

Saturday night was even worse for the Cougars, who lost three sets in a row to the visiting Huskies.

The Cougars (2-18) have an opportunity to close out their season with a win when they take on the Calgary Dinos (6-14) this weekend in hostile territory.

Track and Field:

After their impressive showing at the Sled Dog meet in Saskatoon on Jan. 25-26, the Cougars continued their winning ways at the Bison Classic in Winnipeg last weekend.

The Cougars had another of its members auto-qualify for the CIS Championships as fourth-year Connor MacDonald hit the CIS standard in high jump.

Fourth-year Karissa LePage and third-year Matt Johnson continued their domination on the indoor track, both setting new Cougars records in the 1500 metre race; Lepage also set a new record in the 3000m.

Overall, the Cougars took home eight golds, seven silvers, and two bronze medals last weekend.

Next up for the Cougars is the Kinsmen meet at the Regina Fieldhouse on Feb. 8 followed by the CanWest Championships, also in Regina, on Feb. 22.

Photo by Marc Messett