One of the youngest teams in the league, the University of Regina Cougars have shown vast improvement since the beginning of the year and will look to put together a strong second half of the season, as a berth in the postseason remains a real possibility.

With ten games remaining on the schedule – two each against the five other teams in the conference – the Cougars (3-11-0) are just five points back of British Columbia (5-8-1) for the fourth and final Canada West playoff spot.

This weekend, the Cougars will have the task of taking down the No. 2-ranked Manitoba Bisons, who enter Friday's game with a perfect 14-0-0 conference record. The two teams also played in Regina just before the Christmas break, with the Bisons recording a narrow 3-2 victory on Nov. 28 before scoring a 4-0 shutout win on Nov. 29. The teams also met in Winnipeg in mid-October, when the Bisons took 5-3 and 4-1 wins over the Cougars.

The trio of Kara McGeough, Kelsie Graham, and Kelcie McCutcheon have combined to score over half of the Cougars' goals this season. McGeough, one of three fifth-year players on the Cougars along with Brooke Einarson and Nicole Gooding, leads the team in goals (5), assists (8), and points (13). Graham has four goals and six assists for the Cougars, while McCutcheon has three goals and four helpers. Second-year goaltender Lisa Urban, who was a member of last season's Canada West All-Rookie Team, holds a 2.34 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage over her last six games.

Led by second-year forward Addie Miles, three Bisons currently rank among the conference's top ten scorers. Miles has amassed nine goals and ten assists for 19 points in 14 games, while Tammy Brade (17 points) and Leanne Kisil (16) are also in the top ten. Nellie Minshull, a possible rookie-of-the-year candidate, is just behind Manitoba's top three with six goals and nine assists. Stacey Corfield has shut the door between the pipes for the Bisons this year, as the fourth-year goaltender leads the league in goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.951) and has registered all 14 of her team's wins.

Game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre. Live statistics will be available for both games at www.reginacougars.com.