Players Bench Athletes of the Week: January 16 – 22

Female Athlete of the Week

Mount Royal’s women’s volleyball team showcased some of their best play of the season during the weekend as they went up against the U SPORTS seventh-ranked UFV Cascades. In Friday’s game, the Cougars started red-hot and took the first set with ease. However, UFV rebounded to win the next three sets and prevailed victorious. In Saturday’s rematch, MRU played one of their best games of the season. Mount Royal took a 2-1 lead, trouncing the Cascades in the first and third sets by double-digit points. The Cascades were able to rally back from their struggles, forcing a fifth set and ultimately defeating the Cougars once again.

The Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week is Jessica Osczevski. The Cougars captain could not be contained by the Cascades in the weekend’s games. Osczevski recorded a total of 28 kills including a season-high 16 on Saturday. Along with her masterful offence, the outside hitter was exceptionally reliable on defence, routinely digging touch passes and meeting the Cascades attackers at the net. Osczevski also added three service aces, ranking her second in the conference with 45. The tremendous weekend from Osczevski highlighted her career year and cemented her as one of the best players in Canada West.

Osczevski, a fifth-year from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., is enrolled in MRU’s education program and is a four-time Academic All-Canadian.

Male Athlete of the Week

The MRU Cougars men’s hockey team extended their winning streak to nine games with two victories over the University of Regina. Three second-period goals in Friday’s tilt propelled the Cougars to a 5-1 win. The convincing victory was followed by a 3-0 shutout win by MRU with the Cougars excelling at even strength and on the man advantage. After sweeping Regina, Mount Royal has moved up to third in the Canada West standings, leaping over the Alberta Golden Bears and sitting just behind the Calgary Dinos days before the Crowchild Classic. Since flipping the calendar to 2024, the Cougars have allowed just a single goal in four games.

The Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week is Connor Bouchard. The superstar winger continued his historic season by registering five points over the two games against Regina, extending his point streak to 19 games. On Friday, Bouchard opened the scoring with a quick wrister from a near-impossible angle. The former Tri-City American added two more primary assists in the win. On Saturday, Bouchard was held without a goal for the first time in seven games but that would not stop him as he tallied two assists in the shutout win. A five-point weekend extended the forward’s league lead in goals (20), assists (28) and points (48). Bouchard sits just one point from tying his former linemate Riley Sawchuk for the Cougars single-season point record. 

The second-year from Cochrane, Alta., is enrolled in Mount Royal’s open studies program.