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The University of Regina Cougars women's hockey team will hit the road this weekend to kick off their Canada West playoffs. The team travels to Manitoba for a best-of-three quarterfinal series against the Bisons. Games are scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with a third game if necessary on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Cougars wrapped up their regular season last week with a pair of losses against the Alberta Pandas. They dropped a 2-1 decision on Friday night before the Pandas shut the door on Saturday, skating to a 4-0 victory. The Cougars finished the season with a 11-13-4 record, good for 26 points and fifth place.

Second-year forward Meghan Sherven finished the season as leading scorer for the Cougars with six goals and five assists for 11 points. Tori Head was right behind her with five of each for 10 points.

The Cougars received strong goaltending all season from Jennifer Schmidt and Toni Ross. Schmidt finished the year with a 7-7-1 record and a 1.90 goals-against average. She also had three shutouts and is now tied with Andrea Charanduk (2001-06) and Jackie Simonot (2004-08) for first in career shutouts with six. Ross had a 4-9-0 record, including a shutout, and a 2.51 goals-against average.

Manitoba finished their regular season schedule on a winning note last week, picking up 4-0 and 3-1 victories over the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Bisons are led by second-year forward Kyleigh Palmer. She netted 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points this season, good for third place in Canada West scoring.

The Bisons also have two strong goaltenders in Amanda Schubert and Dée-Ana Marion. Schubert compiled a 9-3-0 record this season with a 1.78 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts. Marion also had two shutouts on her way to a 8-5-2 record and a 1.93 goals-against average.

The Bisons took the season series between the two teams this year, with the Cougars' only win coming back on November 2nd in Manitoba. Schmidt turned aside 31 shots in a 1-0 shutout victory before the Bisons came back the next day, picking up a 5-3 win. Manitoba then swept the Cougars in Regina two weeks ago, with a pair of 3-2 victories - in overtime on Friday and regulation on Saturday.

The last time the Cougars and Bisons met in the playoffs was back in 2007 in Regina. The Bisons took the best-of-three Canada West semi-final series 2-1.