Game Information
 
Date: Friday, Nov. 29 & Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 7:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Venue: Merlis Belsher Place
Watch: Canadawest.tv
Get in the Action: Tickets
 
SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's hockey team will wrap up their first half of the season this weekend, as they look to close the calendar year with a pair of wins over the Mount Royal Cougars.
 
In what will be the final matchups of the regular season between the two clubs who met on opening weekend in Calgary earlier this year, there is lots at stake for the Huskies and Cougars this weekend as they inch closer towards the postseason.
 
The Huskies, who are on their way towards their 13th consecutive Canada West playoff appearance, are hunting a top-two finish in the standings, which would grant the team a bye to the conference semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons.
 
Entering the weekend, Saskatchewan and Mount Royal are each part of a three-way tie along with the Alberta Pandas for third in the Canada West with 23 points, trailing only the Calgary Dinos and UBC Thunderbirds with 27 points and 26 points respectively.
 
The Huskies will be back on home ice after picking up four of a possible six points last weekend in a home-and-home against the Regina Cougars. After Saskatchewan fell in a shootout on Friday night in Saskatoon, the team bounced back in the provincial capital with a 4-3 victory.
 
Meanwhile, Mount Royal is fresh off a pair of impressive wins on the West Coast. The Cougars defeated the Thunderbirds 2-1 in overtime and 1-0 last weekend, recording five points over the series to soar up the Canada West standings, snapping the team's two-game losing skid.
 
Saskatchewan and Mount Royal split their season series last season, with both of the teams winning two games apiece. The Cougars and Huskies also split the pair of regular-season tilts in Saskatoon, with the Huskies bouncing back with a 1-0 victory in the second game of the back-to-back after falling in the series opener last season.
 
10 Things
 
1: The Huskies will play host to the CJWW Denny Carr Secret Santa Foundation on Saturday night, allowing fans the opportunity to donate toys or non-perishable food items for the drive to support the local charity, which supports the cities less fortunate. The Huskies, who are partnering with the charity for the fourth-consecutive season, are proud to partner with the local initiative, which assists 800 families and 3,000 residents annually in Saskatoon.
 
2: History is in favour of the Huskies this weekend, as the program holds a 9-5-0-0 record against the Cougars over the past five years, which includes a 4-2-0-0 record on home ice against the conference foe.
 
3: Saskatchewan has finished the regular season ahead of Mount Royal in every season since 2012-13 when the Cougars joined the Canada West in women's hockey.
 
4: Three Huskies scored their first goals of the season last weekend in the team's 4-3 win over Regina on Saturday night. Chelsea Debuscherre opened the scoring with her first tally since Oct. 20 of last season, while Kate Ball and Elizabeth Salyn also tacked on goals of their own, each recording their first of the 2019-20 campaign, helping the Huskies edge their provincial rivals in the Queen City.
 
5: This weekend will serve as the Cougars first trip back to Merlis Belsher Place since last season's playoffs when Rachel Lundberg's series-winning goal with ten seconds remaining in the third overtime frame helped the Huskies move past the visitors.
 
6: Huskies forward Bailee Bourassa equalled her single season-high in goals with five after her three-goal weekend. Bourassa, who leads her team in points with ten, is on pace to surpass her career-high of 16 points, which the Weyburn, Sask. native set last season.
 
7: The Jessica Vance history watch will continue this weekend. Vance, who won her lone start against Regina last weekend, is tied for third in career shutouts in conference history with 17. The netminder trails only a pair of Panda goaltenders in Lindsey Post (31) and Dana Vinge (19) in the Canada West record books.
 
8: The Huskies and Cougars have split their last three series in Saskatoon, dating back to Nov. 25, 2017. Saskatchewan's last sweep came in the 2016-17 season when they recorded consecutive 3-2 & 3-2 victories over Mount Royal at Rutherford Arena.
 
9: The Cougars penalty kill unit is sitting at 88.2 per cent this season, which is second in the Canada West. Mount Royal also leads the conference with three shorthanded goals this season, with no team scoring more than one. Forward Kate Scidmore, who is second on the Cougars with four goals this season, has two of her team's three shorthanded tallies.
 
10: Scidmore has one of the three hattricks in the conference this season, after scoring three goals in the Cougars 6-1 victory over Regina on Oct. 26.
 
Scouting the Cougars
 
Mount Royal, who has reached the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, is chasing their first semifinal appearance in program history, which has eluded the club since they joined the Canada West eight seasons ago.
 
Anna Purschke leads the Cougars in scoring this season with 11 points, which is tied for sixth in the conference. It's been a breakout season for the fourth-year forward, as she has already established a new career-high in points just 14 games into the season. Purschke scored two of the three goals for Mount Royal against Saskatchewan on opening weekend.
 
2018-19 Canada West Rookie of the Year Breanne Trotter has missed the Cougars last four games. Trotter, who registered 20 points in 28 games last season, is averaging 0.5 point-per-game in 2019-20, with five points in ten games.
 
A pair of rookies have been lights out between the pipes for the Cougars this season. Cassie Shokar and Kaitlyn Ross sit one-two in goals-against-average and save percentage in the conference. Shokar, who was the netminder for both of Mount Royal's wins over UBC last weekend, sports a 0.80 goals-against-average and 0.966 save percentage, which are both tops in the Canada West.