Sitting with the top record in the Canada West conference, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team has been awaiting a match-up with the Mount Royal University Cougars for a while.

After being eliminated in the first round of playoffs last season by Mount Royal, the Dogs will get their first chance at avenging the three-game series loss, when they host the Cougars on Nov. 27 and 28 at Rutherford Rink.

It’s been a near perfect season thus far for the Huskies, only losing two games — by a combined three goals. When the latest Canadian Interuniversity Sport rankings were unveiled on Nov. 24, the Huskies found themselves in an unfamiliar position — all alone at the top.

This is the first time since Nov. 6, 2012 that the Huskies were the top ranked team in the country. Their hard work has been rewarded, as the 12–2 Huskies received six of 12 first-place votes and compiled 143 of a possible 300 points to snag the top spot in the rankings.

Although they should be proud of the work they have done so far, there is still a lot of time left in the season. In fact, this will be the final game for both teams before they head into their extended Christmas and final exam break. After such an outstanding first half to the season, the Dogs will aim to finish on a high note and maintain their top spot throughout the December break.

Shutting down the potent Cougars offence will be one of the keys to the weekend series. Mount Royal’s Tyler Fiddler leads the CanWest scoring race with 20 points in just 14 games. The Cougars also feature the leading goal-scorer in the conference, as Matthew Brown has found the back of the net 11 times so far this year. Playing on a line together, the Huskies will have to be aware at all times when this dangerous duo steps on the ice.

It shouldn’t cause too much grief for the Huskies, however, as they have allowed the second least amount of goals in the CanWest, with 34 — or an average of 2.4 per game. Having one of the top goalies in the conference helps too, as Jordon Cooke has been having a stellar year between the pipes. Cooke has the top save percentage in the conference at 0.924 and is third in goals against average, boasting a 2.48 GAA.

The green and white also feature three of the top 10 players in plus/minus in the CanWest. Connor Cox, Jordan Fransoo and Zak Stebner all sit with a plus-nine rating, which is good enough for a fourth place tie. This is just another testament to the strong defence the Huskies have played so far this year.

Offensively for the Huskies, they will rely on their depth to provide them with enough goals for the weekend. Even though Andrew Johnson and Levi Cable have played well — with 14 and 11 points respectively — you have to figure the Cougars’ game plan will be to shut down the biggest offensive threats for the Huskies. This will allow players like Josh Roach, Logan McVeigh, Kohl Bauml and Michael Sofillas to find some open ice and hopefully have a successful weekend.

Although only six points in the standings separates them, this will be a very intense and tightly contested match-up. On paper, the teams appear evenly matched, sporting nearly identical power play and penalty kill numbers as well as similar goals for and against. Mount Royal also finds themselves ranked in the CIS top 10, as they snuck in and will enter the weekend ranked 10th.

Catch all the action live at Rutherford Rink on both Nov. 27 and 28, as this will be the final chance to see the Huskies in 2015. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on both nights of what should be a pair of very entertaining games.

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Image: Jeremy Britz / Graphics Editor