The University of Regina men's hockey team is set to open their 2014 conference play this weekend with a home-and-home against the Saskatchewan Huskies.

The Cougars will travel to Saskatoon for a game on Friday, then host the Huskies on Saturday night at the Co-operators Centre. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

The Cougars enter the weekend sporting a 2-6 non-conference record, with their most recent contest being a 3-1 win over NAIT last weekend.

Regina is led by head coach Todd Johnson, who enters his third season with the team. Joining Johnson on the coaching staff are Russ Nielsen, Jeff Lawson and Rod McLeod.

The Cougars, who finished the 2013-14 season with an 11-15-2 conference record, will lose fifth-year forwards Dillon Johnstone, Craig Cuthbert, Tyler Murray and Ryan Sawka.

Leading the group of returning players for the Cougars is fifth-year forward and team captain Liam Brennan. Assistant captains for Regina will be Jordan Reeve, Troy Hunter, Tyler Henry and Brock Appleyard.

Also entering their fifth year of eligibility are forwards Tyler Penny and Carter Selinger.

Cody Fowlie, the Cougars leading scorer from a year ago, will highlight the team's scoring attack along with Selinger, Henry and Penny.

Rookies Dylen McKinlay and Tyler Giebel will look to make an immediate impact for the Cougars on the offensive end after strong pre-season performances. 

Other forwards who will be looking to play large roles for the Cougars are Ian McNulty and Sanfred King.

Anchoring the blue line for the Cougars along with Reeve will be Mark Schneider, John Sonntag and Brody Luhning. Johnson also expects rookie Devon McMullen to see a lot of action on defence.

Nothing changes between the pipes for the Cougars, as Andrew Hayes and Lucas Gore are expected to split time in net.

"The preseason has shown us that the rookies we've brought in will play an important role in our success this year," head coach Todd Johnson said. "We have a lot more depth than we've had in previous years which will make competition for playing time more intense, and that's going to help make our team better."

Following this weekend, the Cougars are to travel to Winnipeg for a pair of Canada West games against the Manitoba Bisons.