A look ahead at Cougar athletics for the year
Top 10 sporting events to attend on campus
Bryce Forbes
Sports Editor
It’s the kickoff to another school year full of sports for the Mount Royal Cougars — the last one before they make their historic move to the Canada West Conference and the CIS.
With that in mind, here are 10 sporting events to look forward to over the next eight months at Mount Royal.
Men's and women's soccer kicks off Sept. 2. The Reflector Archives
P.S. At every home opener, there will be a draw for a brand new iPad. That’s right, the athletics department is giving away five iPads just for attending.
Sept. 24 — Soccer Home Opener: Not only is this the first iPad giveaway, it’s the first chance for both soccer teams to improve on their bronze-medal finishes from last year.
They take on Medicine Hat College.
Oct. 7 — Men’s Hockey Home Opener: Fresh off their 13th ACAC championship, the team takes on Briercrest with their eyes on number 14. (iPad giveaway)
Oct. 14 — Women’s Hockey Home Opener: The Cougars take on their old foe, the SAIT Trojans, in their season opener. Two years ago, the Cougars swept through the Trojans in the playoffs, on their way to the ACAC Championship. Last year, it was the other way with the Trojans finishing on top of the ACAC. (iPad giveaway)
Oct. 21 — Volleyball Home Opener: The only Cougars to win a national championship last year take the court to start defending it when the women’s volleyball team takes on Grande Prairie. It’s a rematch of the ACAC finals. (iPad giveaway)
Oct. 22 — Basketball Home Opener: In the last home opener of the year, both basketball teams take on Medicine Hat College. (iPad giveaway)
Nov. 19 — Men’s Hockey: It’s the first time SAIT and Mount Royal will be back on the ice together since their epic five-game championship series last year ended in controversy.
Mount Royal used an ineligible backup goaltender in game five, and the Cougars only won the championship after a tribunal ruled in witMRU’s favour.
Dec. 26 — World Junior Hockey Championship: It’s true this is not part of the MRU schedule, but it’s easily Calgary’s biggest sporting event of the year. While Team Canada games are in Edmonton, Calgary will host the championship round.
Feb. 17 — Men’s hockey: In their last game of the regular season, the Cougars battle their rivals in SAIT.
This game will likely have playoff implications with one of the two teams winning the past seven ACAC titles.
Feb. 17 — Basketball: While the men’s hockey team will be battling SAIT, the two teams will also face off in basketball as well. The special part — it’s Pack Your Bags night with a free trip given away to a sunny, warm destination.
Feb. 18-19—ACAC Badminton Championship: MRU will host the year-end finals for badminton, trying to win their first title since 2008 when Darren Hong and Laura Fong won mixed doubles.
