Game Information
 
Date: Friday, March 1, Saturday, March 2 & Sunday, March 3 (if necessary)
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Saskatoon, SK 
Venue: Merlis Belsher Place 
Get in the Action: Tickets
Watch Live: Canadawest.tv

[DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES]

SASKATOON – Merlis Belsher Place will play host to the Canada West Championship in the arena's inaugural season as the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team welcomes the defending conference and national champion Alberta Golden Bears to town in the latest installment of a historic rivalry.
 
Saskatchewan will enter the championship fresh off a convincing sweep over Mount Royal. The Huskies opened up the series with a 5-1 victory, before finishing off the Cougars on Saturday night with a 7-3 win. With the victory, they punched their ticket to the 2019 University Cup in Lethbridge, AB, as well as their appearance in this weekends best-of-three championship series.
 
Meanwhile, Alberta picked up a series sweep of their own at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, as they eliminated the Calgary Dinos to advance to their seventh consecutive conference championship series. The Golden Bears defeated their provincial rivals by scores of 3-1 and 6-3. Alberta will take the ice on Friday night on a 15-game winning streak.

Saskatchewan and Alberta are no strangers to one another come playoff time, as the two programs have now met in 13 of the past 18 Canada West Championships dating back to the 2001-02 campaign. 
 
The Huskies and Golden Bears split their season series in the 2018-19 regular season, with each team picking up two wins in their four matchups this season. Alberta ended the regular season with 13 straight victories, and the team has not lost since falling 4-3 in overtime to Saskatchewan at Merlis Belsher Place on Friday, Nov. 30. The Golden Bears rebounded with a 4-2 win over the Huskies the following night to help kickstart their lengthy winning streak.

5 Things
 
1: Levi Cable enters the series as the conference leader in post-season goals, as the fourth-year forward now has 12 career playoff goals after a five-goal weekend. Cable registered a hat-trick on Saturday night to help the Huskies sweep the Cougars.
 
2: Saskatchewan is 15-1 at Merlis Belsher Place this season, with their lone loss on home-ice this season coming against Alberta back on Saturday, Dec. 1.
 
3: The Huskies and Golden Bears dominated the Canada West all-star teams, with the two programs combining for 9 of the 12 possible selections.
 
4: The last time a team other than the Huskies or Golden Bears won the Canada West Championship was in 1995-96 when the Calgary Dinos won the conference title.
 
5: Saskatchewan has won two of the last three conference championship series that they have hosted in Saskatoon.

By the Numbers

4 – Alex Forsberg's four-point night helped the Huskies pick up the 5-1 win in game one, as the second-year forward registered two goals and two assists.
 
5 – Zach Sawchenko and Taran Kozun each set a new Canada West single-season shutout record, with each goaltender recording five during the regular season. Kozun was named the Canada West first-team all-star goaltender, while Sawchenko received second-team honours.
 
10 – The Golden Bears received 10 of a possible 15 first-place ballots in the U SPORTS national rankings and enter the weekend as the number-one ranked team in the nation. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan slots in behind Alberta and UNB, as the third-ranked team in U SPORTS.
 
13 – Alberta forward Luke Philp is in the midst of a 13-game point streak, with 12 goals and 15 assists since Jan. 5, 2019.
 
Scouting the Golden Bears
 
Ian Herbers, who returned to the Alberta Golden Bears after spending three seasons as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers, is in the midst of his fourth year as the bench boss for the program. Hebers, who already has three Canada West championships and two University Cup's to his name, will be looking to add to his resume this weekend.
 
Luke Philp was the conference scoring champion, as he led the Canada West in both goals with 21, and assists with 24, in 24 regular season games.
 
Canada West first-team all-star Jason Fram was a dominant force on the blueline in his third season with the Golden Bears. The former Spokane Chiefs captain averaged over a point-per-game this year, with 30 points in 28 games. 
 
Zach Sawchenko has been nearly unbeatable between the pipes for the Golden Bears. The second-year netminder, who spent all four seasons of his WHL career with the Moose Jaw Warriors, sports a 16-2-1 record with a 1.46 GAA and 0.926 SV%.