Feb. 20, 2024 – The drama of the Canada West playoffs officially returned last weekend with a riveting round of quarter-final hockey action. Both Mount Royal men’s and women’s teams swept their way into the semifinals but a pair of opening round series went the distance, including the Calgary Dinos women’s team roaring back to defeat Saskatchewan on the strength of two shutouts from Gabriella Durante. On the men’s side, the Alberta Golden Bears pulled out their own dramatic victory over the Huskies, using a game three OT winner from Daneel Lategan to steal the series.
Elsewhere, volleyball also finished regular season action with the race for playoff berths and positioning coming down to the final night.
Here are your Canada West Players of the Week.
Women’s Hockey – Gabriella Durante (Calgary)
With her team’s back against the wall, Durante put up a wall and recorded a pair of shutouts to lead the Dinos past the Saskatchewan Huskies and into the Canada West semifinals.
The fourth year Calgary product made 22 saves in a 2-1 defeat in game one on Friday, a loss that left the Dinos on the brink of elimination in the best-of-three series. Durante took the challenge head on, refusing to allow a single goal the rest of the way to backstop a Dinos comeback.
She turned aside 28 shots in Saturday’s 2-0 game two victory to even the series, then turned aside 31 shots in an identical 2-0 win on Sunday to clinch the series win.
The Dinos will advance to take on top seeded UBC next weekend, and Dinos fans have to like their chances of an upset with Durante tending the twine. By the numbers, she posted a 0.67 GAA during the opening round with a sparkling 0.976 save percentage.
Men’s Hockey – Tyler Preziuso (Alberta)
When the Alberta Golden Bears needed a big play with their season on the line, Preziuso answered the call.
The third year Victoria, B.C. product had three goals and an assist in the Golden Bears dramatic quarter-final series win against the Saskatchewan Huskies, with each point more clutch than the last.
With his team on the brink of elimination and trailing after 40 minutes in game two, he scored the game-tying and game-winning goals to help the Golden Bears extend the series with a 3-2 comeback win.
The forward was clutch again in an instant classic of a game three, assisting on an Alex Thacker game tying tally in the second period. Preziuso then scored the game tying goal in the third period that pushed the game to overtime, setting up a series winning tally from Daneel Lategan.
Preziuso and the Golden Bears advance to take on top seeded UBC next week in the Canada West semifinals.
Women’s Volleyball – Light Uchechukwu (Manitoba)
Uchechukwu and the Bisons finished off a dominant regular season with a weekend sweep of Saskatchewan, with the fourth year Winnipeg product showing she’s already in strong playoff form.
She struck for a game high 22 kills and 26.5 PTS in a 3-1 win on Friday, hitting for an impressive .391 kill percentage while adding three service aces and 13 digs.
The outside hitter was just as impressive the following night in another 3-1 victory, tallying 18 PTS after drilling 16 kills with just three errors on 31 swings. She hit for a .419 kill percentage while adding nine digs and four blocks.
Uchechukwu has been a big factor behind the Bisons success this season, sitting twelfth in the conference with 2.84 kills-per-set. The Bisons finished second in the conference with an impressive 20-4 regular season record and will host the UBCO Heat in a best-of-three quarterfinal series this weekend.
Men’s Volleyball – Gavin Moes (UBC)
Moes continued his strong Canada West debut season, totalling 46.5 PTS and 42 kills over a weekend split with Brandon.
He opened with 22 kills on 44 swings in Friday’s five-set defeat, adding four digs and three blocks. He then struck for a game high 19 kills on Saturday, adding 10 digs and five blocks to help UBC triumph in five sets.
The second year outside hitter from Barrhead, Alta. has made a seamless transition to the university game after spending his rookie season with the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (ACAC). He finishes the regular season ranked ninth in Canada West in hitting percentage (.271) and 11th in kills-per-set (3.18).
Moes and the T-Birds concluded the regular season with a 16-8 record and will host Saskatchewan in a best-of-three quarter-final series this weekend.
