The University of Regina men's hockey team fell to Mount Royal University 5-1 in Canada West action at The Co-operators Centre on Friday night.

Jamie King had two goals and an assist for MRU, which also got goals from Sebastien Pare, Connor Collett, and Jeff Barrett. Skyler Hladun (pictured) replied for Regina, which falls to 3-11-1 with the loss.

Mount Royal (10-5) jumped out to an early lead, as King squeezed a shot under Lucas Gore's blocker to give the visitors a 1-0 lead just 97 seconds in. Tyler Eskesen and Billy Marshall collected assists on the play.

Regina answered less than three minutes later, as Steven Hunter took a feed from Troy Hunter and sent a lead pass to Hladun who broke in on a breakaway. He faked and went to the backhand, beating Cam Lanigan and tying the score at 1-1.

The scoring continued just over two minutes after Hladun's marker, as Mount Royal dug the puck out of a scrum along the boards and put another quick shot on net. Pare's attempt beat Gore high, and MRU reclaimed the lead.

MRU would add another before the end of the opening frame, as Tyler Jewitt slipped a smooth backdoor pass to Collett who tapped it in from the doorstep.

Liam Brennan had an opportunity with 10 seconds left in the first period, as Lanigan came out to play the puck but it slipped off the end of his stick. Brennan collected the loose puck and turned to fire it over a sprawling Lanigan, but the puck sailed over the net.

Regina dominated possession of the puck for the majority of the second period, but momentum shifted when Hladun was whistled for slashing. The visitors did not take long to capitalize with the man advantage, as Tyler Fiddler found Barrett open in front and he converted, stretching the lead to 4-1.

Mount Royal added another midway through the third period as Eskesen won a faceoff back to MacKenzie Johnston. The first-year defender from Swift Current gathered the puck and launched a long pass over the heads of the Regina defenders and right to King, who had snuck behind the Cougars defence. King poked the puck to the right, avoiding a poke-check from Gore, and dumped the puck into the open net for his second of the night.

Lanigan was stellar in net, stopping 38 shots on the night. Gore stood his ground between the pipes, registering 28 saves for Regina.

The second game of this two-game set will come on Saturday afternoon, with puck drop scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at The Co-operators Centre.