The University of Regina's men's hockey team plays host to the No. 8-ranked Manitoba Bisons this weekend at The Co-Operators Centre, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night.

The Cougars (6-13-1) are coming off a road weekend against UBC which saw them lose 5-3 in regulation on Friday and 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday, while Manitoba (10-4-4) has won three times in its last four games – including twice over Lethbridge last weekend – and is jockeying for playoff position in the tight Canada West standings.

This weekend will mark the home debut for Cougar defenceman Theran Yeo, who sat out the first semester after transferring to the U of R from UBC. Yeo actually played his first games as a Cougar last weekend against his old team, getting power play minutes and registering seven shots on net over the two games.

Fourth-year forward Dillon Johnstone had a two-point night on Friday and is now tied for the Cougar lead with five goals and has a team-high 11 points on the season. Rookie forward Lucas Isley also has five goals on the year.

Manitoba's Blair MacAulay comes into the weekend third in the conference scoring race with 28 points through the team's first 18 games. MacAulay, who trails only Alberta's Chad Klassen and Derek Ryan, has 12 goals and 16 assists this season. Jeremy Schappert is tied for third in scoring among Canada West defencemen, while goalie Steve Christie is second in the conference in both goals-against average (2.03) and save percentage (.924).

The two teams have already played four Canada West games against each other this season, all in Winnipeg. The Cougars took a 5-2 win back on Oct. 8, but the Bisons have won the other three matchups. Regina and Manitoba also played a non-conference game in Regina on Sept. 11, which the Cougars won by a 3-2 margin.

After this season, the Cougars will finish off their conference schedule with a pair of road games at Alberta, two at home against Lethbridge, and two away against Calgary.