The University of Regina's men's hockey team plays at home for the second weekend in a row, as the Cougars will host the Manitoba Bisons on Friday and Saturday at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre.

The Cougars are coming off a critical two-game sweep over Calgary. On Friday, Dillon Johnstone scored in the final minute of the third period to force the game into overtime. After the five-minute extra session solved nothing, all four Cougars scored in the shootout and the fourth Calgary shooter shot wide to give Regina a 4-3 win and the extra point. Saturday's game saw Ryan Sawka score a pair to lead the Cougars to a 4-2 victory.

Regina has now registered nine out of a possible 12 points since Christmas and has moved up to sixth place in the Canada West standings. The Cougars currently sit eight points out of a playoff spot, but have four games in hand on fourth-place Calgary. To qualify for the postseason, Regina would also have to pass Lethbridge, which sits in fifth place with 21 points.

Manitoba comes into the weekend ranked No. 8 in the CIS, up one spot from last week after splitting a two-game set with No. 2-ranked Alberta. The Bisons have been a .500 team since the Christmas break, recording a win and a loss in all four of their weekend series since early January.

Mike Hellyer leads the Bisons with 10 goals and 20 points so far this season, while Hellyer, Ian Duval, and Rick Wood are tied for the team lead with 10 assists. Steve Christie has started 21 of Manitoba's 22 games so far this season and has a 12-7-2 record, a 2.46 goals-against average, and a .919 save percentage.

The Cougars and the Bisons have already met in two Canada West games this season, with Manitoba earning 3-2 and 4-1 wins back in mid-November at Emerald Park. Manitoba also took a 3-2 non-conference win over the Cougars in Whitewood in early September.

The two teams will close out the Canada West regular season against each other on Feb. 26 and 27 in Winnipeg. The Cougars will also play two games against both Lethbridge and Alberta, while Manitoba also has a two-game series at Saskatchewan remaining on the schedule.