One city, one rink: The Crowchild Classic returns
Naomi Campbell, Staff Writer
Over the past 12 seasons, Mount Royal University (MRU) and the University of Calgary (UofC) have met on neutral ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome to battle it out in one of the most intense games of the season. The Crowchild Classic pulls friends, family, fellow students, and even the general public from all over Calgary and the rest of Canada. On Thursday, Jan. 29, the two teams will go head-to-head in hopes of bringing home bragging rights and adding two more points to the win column of the season. Last year’s match-up sold out the Scotiabank Saddledome with a record-breaking 13,139 fans. With tickets selling out more than two weeks before this year’s game, the two schools are looking to set yet another record in 2026.
Men’s hockey
The MRU men’s hockey team is heading into this year’s Crowchild Classic coming off a 4-0 loss to the UofC Dinos in last year’s clash as they aim to return to the win column for the first time since their shootout win in 2024. Heading into this Crowchild weekend, the Dinos hold the number one spot in the Eastern Division, with the Cougars sitting in the middle of the pack after a shaky start to their regular season.
Veteran fourth-year defenceman, Remy Aquilon, has taken the year by storm, with a noticeable jump in his game and confidence alongside it. Aquilon plans to leave everything out on the ice heading into his final Crowchild Classic.
“It is my last year, so I want to leave everything I got out there,” Aquilon said. “I think the coaches have been super well, and the team is super tight this year, with a lot of depth as well. That helps, as well as playing with good players, so I’m pretty excited and want to give it my all.”
The Crowchild Classic is as memorable a game for the athletes as it is for students at MRU and UofC. After breaking the U SPORTS attendance record last year the game is the biggest moment of their regular season, but the fans are what make it an energised party. One of Aquilon’s favourite moments comes from his first year and speaks volumes about the energy from the fanbase littered throughout the stands.
“In my first year, I can’t remember what song it was, but they were playing it, and then it turned off, but everyone was still singing,” Aquillon said. “It was still so loud.”
For rookie Alex Izyk, he goes into the night not knowing what to expect other than the stories he’s heard from his fellow teammates. From playing in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), he never had the opportunity to play in the Saddledome, but he has played in some larger tournaments and arenas in his time in junior hockey.
“Coming into the team, the guys tell you just how exciting it is, and how the schools rally around it, with the cultures, the fun of it, and the bit of shenanigans that goes along with it,” Izyk said. “Other than the playoffs, it’s the biggest game of the year. So it’s pretty exciting, and the adrenaline, it’s a game like no other in U SPORTS, so I’m excited for that.”
Izyk has been an integral part of the team’s defensive core, but has found his way on the forward lineups as a left winger. Izyk’s ability to step up to play different positions is his way of showing adaptability and team-first mentality on and off the ice.
“Obviously we have some pretty good [defence], and I was like, ‘if you ever need me up front and there’s not much room back there, I’m happy.’ I’m glad to play forward,” Izyk said
Similarly, Tanner Komzak and Ty Gibson are heading into this weekend with only teammates’ stories. Gibson, who previously played for the Everett Silvertips in the WHL, jumps back onto Saddledome ice, which should fit to be a familiar space for him. For Komzak, who played his junior career in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and the BCHL, the Saddledome is a new arena he can add to his collection of ice surfaces he’s played on. Yet the size and fan energy won’t be too different after playing in one of the nicest arenas, with the University of North Dakota, over the last two seasons.
The Cougars roster for the 2025-26 season is stacked with veteran players, icons that spent the last four to five years building MRU’s now-legendary reputation. Defencemen like Team Captain Kyle Walker and Michael Ladyman, goalies Shane Farkas and Riley Sims, and forwards Spencer Moe and Blake Stevenson leave their hearts and souls on the ice at Flames Community Arena every season. With it being their last and final Crowchild and one of the last at the Saddledome, alongside Aquilon, the plan to come out on top is strong for every one of them.
The teams have met four times this year, splitting their matchups in a heated race to the CanadaWest Playoffs. Both Izyk and Aquilon shared their insights from the previous meetings heading into the weekend.
“We’ve wished for a better outcome both weekends. We’re always hoping for the sweep every time, and I think that last game kind of gave us a taste of what we can do,” Izyk said.
“It’s tough because I thought we played pretty well both games. Just the one game we lost in the shootout. So it’s unfortunate, but we always bounce back the next game,” Aquilon said.
This Cougars group has worked hard to earn a playoff position in CanadaWest. With the grit and determination to make a run at finals once again, this would be for redemption after losing in game three to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2024-25.
The Cougars hold the top spot in Canada West’s East Division, but will need to handle business against the Dinos
at the Crowchild Classic to stay in the lead. Photo courtesy of Instagram / @dinoswhky
Women’s hockey
The MRU women’s hockey team has had a groundbreaking start to their season, sitting first in the Eastern Conference and second in the CanadaWest league, just behind the University of British Columbia. They head into the Crowchild weekend after losing last year’s tilt 1-2 in a shootout.
Fifth-year veteran and Team Captain Kaia Borbandy is showing up to the weekend with excitement for her final Crowchild Classic.
“I’m really looking forward to soaking in my last Crowchild, taking in the atmosphere for the last time, and just enjoying the experience with my teammates. Every year feels unique, but this year I just want to take it all in and enjoy playing in front of such a passionate crowd,” Borbandy said.
In those five years, she has been fortunate enough to play with her younger sister, Abbey Borbandy, for the past two seasons. The two play different positions, with Abbey on defence and Kaia as a forward, but are known to play off of each other’s energy and share tips and tricks from their opposing skillsets on the ice.
“Even though we play different positions, we always seem to find each other on the ice. We feed off each other’s energy and play in a connected way that’s hard to describe. I know I can always lean on her, both on and off the ice,” Abbey said.
Second-year forward Lyvia Butz is no stranger to the atmosphere of the Crowchild Classic, as her sister MacKenzie Butz played her entire university career with MRU as one of the top defensemen.
“I was pretty young, so I don’t really remember it that well, but I just remember the atmosphere being crazy. It was so cool, and now just the roles are reversed, she’s in the alumni box watching,” Lyvia said.
For the female athletes, this is one of the biggest stages they’ll ever have the chance to play on. Lyvia believes the atmosphereat her first game last year was very different from any game she’s played in.
“We kind of started out with a smaller crowd, but then as the game went on it got packed in there, just got loud. I’ve never had anything like that before, so that was different, and even just the nerves before, kind of like past tournaments, like big games,” Lyvia said.
With the women having met UofC four times this season, MRU has won three out of four games.
“I think we should probably stick to like our normal weekend because not getting too anticipated for it and just getting focused on the crowd, the new atmosphere, and just sticking to our game, playing like we have been, which will hopefully get us the win this year,” Lyvia said.
“Coming off a few really strong weekends, I think our group is in a great place. We’re ready to have a strong couple weeks of practice, and I feel confident in our ability to win the Classic on Thursday night. If we continue playing the way we have been and keep building, we’ll put ourselves in a great position” Kaia said.
The women started the season with a larger group of rookie players, after losing key members of their U SPORTS National Tournament-winning team, like goalie Kaitlyn Ross and forwards Athena Hauck and Aliya Jomha. With new additions and tough veteran losses, the women have not let that affect how they show up and prove to the other teams that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Rookie Isa MacPhee has taken the league by storm as a top reliable defenceman, playing 21 of 22 games this season, putting up her first CanadaWest goal on Jan. 10, to put the Cougars ahead 3-2 for a beautiful regulation win to start off the 2026 half of the season. Keyana Bert has also been a strong addition to the forward core this year, playing alongside Lyvia Butz and connecting with her for a handful of points to put the Cougars ahead of the Dinos all season.
Veteran forward Allee Gerrard and second-year defenceman Breanne Comte have been a part of the large growth inside of Cougars Women’s hockey program on and off the ice. Gerrard was a part of the U SPORTS championship team back in 2022-23, and has accumulated almost 50pts in her career in under 100 games.
Comte joined the roster in 2024-25 and made her mark on the blue line. She finally banked her first CanadaWest goal against the University of Saskatchewan on Jan. 17 in a 5-1 regulation win. Comte is known for being a stay-at-home defender, but finally added a new stat to the scoresheet.
After falling short to the University of Alberta Pandas in the CanadaWest semi-finals, the Cougars are aiming for redemption, with hopes of winning their first CanadaWest Championship.
With the Crowchild Classic only two weeks before the end of the regular season, the playoff atmosphere between these two teams is evoking equal parts excitement and stress — more than some other high-stakes matchups, according to Kaia Borbandy.
“I definitely feel more nervous and anxious for this game than I do during the playoffs. There’s always that thought in the back of your mind that everyone is watching, which can feel overwhelming, especially early in the game,” Borbandy said. “Playoffs feel different; the focus is entirely on winning and building momentum game by game. During playoffs, nothing else matters except the end goal and it’s a different type of hockey all around.”
The Crowchild Classic is one of the biggest games of the season for these two teams, and you won’t want to miss it. If you didn’t get tickets, you can tune into CanadaWest TV and CBC Sports on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 4:30 p.m. for the women’s game and 7:30 p.m. for the men’s game.
