The Saskatchewan Huskies are ranked third and fourth, based on the results of the annual pre-season coaches’ polls, in advance of this weekend’s start to the Canada West Conference hockey seasons.

The U of S women are third out of nine teams with U-B-C first and Mount Royal second. On the men’s side, the Dogs are fourth out of the nine teams. Alberta got first place votes from every other coach in the Conference while the Golden Bears tabbed Mount Royal as first. The Cougars ended up with the second-most voting points in the poll, followed by U-B-C and the Dogs.

Both Saskatchewan teams open their regular-season this weekend with a two-game series against Trinity-Western…the women in Langley, B-C and the men at Merlis Belsher Place. Following are the news releases from the Canada West Conference…..

WHKY: UBC named favourites to repeat in 2022-2023

Your full 2022-23 team-by-team season preview ahead of Friday’s opener

28 September 2022

CALGARY – Western Canada’s best university hockey players are rearing at the gate. With the puck set to drop on another action-packed season of Canada West women’s hockey, coaches from across the conference have dubbed the UBC Thunderbirds as the favourites to hoist the Catherwood Cup for the second straight year.

The Thunderbirds have the conference’s top two scorers from 2021-22 returning this year, poised to prove their program as an offensive juggernaut capable of winning it all in back-to-back years.

Standing in their way is the Mount Royal Cougars, who finished with the best regular season record last season and captured four of the six major awards from the conference. The team is chasing down its first-ever CW Championship title in women’s hockey, with the talent and ambition to do so despite graduating a couple key players.

The Saskatchewan Huskies round out the top three, the team that beat out the Cougars in last year’s semi-final best-of-three in two tight games. The team is coming off a national bronze medal and has kept playoff star goalie Camryn Drever for another year, who has proved she and the Huskies can rise to the big moments.

It all starts Friday, when the defending CW champs travel to Calgary to take on the Dinos, the Cougars head to Edmonton to tangle with the Alberta Pandas, Regina welcomes MacEwan and Saskatchewan heads to Langley to face off against Trinity Western. All games begin at 7 p.m. local time, except the TWU/SSK match-up, which goes at 7:15 p.m. For the complete schedule, click here.

2022-23 CW WHKY PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Team – Points (First-place votes)

UBC Thunderbirds – 63 (7)
Mount Royal Cougars – 52 (1)
Saskatchewan Huskies – 46
Alberta Pandas – 43 (1)
Calgary Dinos – 38
Manitoba Bisons – 34
MacEwan Griffins – 17
Trinity Western Spartans – 16
Regina Cougars – 15

MHKY: ALB favoured to run it back

Your full 2022-23 team-by-team season preview ahead of Friday’s opener

28 September 2022

CALGARY – The plays that ignite your spirit amid bone-chilling temperatures are set to return for another season Friday. And with Canada West’s top skaters set to hit the ice, coaches from across the conference have weighed in on who they think will be the men’s hockey champion this year.

With 64 points, and first-place votes from every other coach in the conference, it’s the Alberta Golden Bears that are favoured to run it back for their astounding 30th CW title. But a full season of games, and teams hungry to avenge last year’s disappointments stand in their way.

Mount Royal and British Columbia were voted in at two and three respectively, separated by only seven points. The Thunderbirds narrowly edged out the Cougars in the conference semi-finals last season, despite MRU boasting the league’s top two scorers. Both teams appear poised to make their push for first this season as they both chase down their first-ever men’s hockey conference banner.

Alberta will begin its title defence against Mount Royal in Calgary at 7 p.m. Friday. UBC will host Calgary at the same time, while Regina travels to MacEwan. The puck will drop between the visiting Trinity Western Spartans and Saskatchewan Huskies at 7:30 p.m. local time. The full schedule can be found here.