Box Score
CALGARY – A 'Battle of the Cougars' matchup never disappoints. 

The Mount Royal University Cougars defeated the University of Regina Cougars 2-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the Canada West women's hockey quarterfinals.

Making their first postseason appearance since 2022, the Regina Cougars were hoping to shock the FCA crowd while facing off against a strong and experienced MRU group. 

"We have quite a few players who have never experienced playoff hockey at all," said Regina head coach Brandy West-McMaster. "This first game was a big learning experience for all of us."

Mount Royal looked to establish the physical advantage in the first period; however, the officials were having none of it. MRU was called for four penalties in the opening 20 minutes, allowing Regina to apply pressure in the offensive zone.

U of R tested MRU netminder Kaitlyn Ross but the veteran stood tall and kept the puck out.

"I thought we adjusted well after the penalties," said MRU bench boss Scott Rivett. "We were able to use those early kills to generate some momentum for us."

Lyndsey Janes nearly opened the scoring after she broke in all alone on Regina goalie Arden Kliewer but rang a shot off the post. Determined to find the back of the net Janes, was fed a pass by Jerzey Watteyne in the high slot before shooting a wrist shot that whistled past the blocker of Kliewer.

Despite registering only five shots and spending a good chunk of time shorthanded, the MRU Cougars entered the second period with a 1-0 lead.

The offensive momentum completely shifted over to Mount Royal's side and Arden Kliewer had to be sharp. The fourth-year goaltender made numerous important saves, including a point-blank stop on Breanne Comte.

Kliewer could only do so much to keep her team down by just one. 

"Nothing new from Arden. We've relied on her a lot this season for the extra energy boost off her big save and dramatic saves at times," said West-McMaster.

Rookie forward Lyvia Butz made a sensational move, deking through the Regina defence and narrowly missing the net. Despite missing, Butz stayed with the play and found herself with the puck down low again. The rookie made an impressive pass in front for Lyndsey Janes to tap it past the outstretched pad of Kliewer. 

"It's not easy to score. I think we did a great job of sticking with it in the offensive end," said Rivett.

With Janes's clutch performance, Mount Royal was in position to finish the job in game one.

With little time to dwell on the defeat, Regina will look to force a deciding game three while MRU has the chance to move onto the semifinals. Puck drop for game two is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets to game two can be purchased online and fans can stream it live on Canada West TV – Powered by BioSteel.