The University of Regina Rams had a nine-point lead at the half, but Alberta outscored them 22-6 in the second half en route to a 29-22 win in both teams' Canada West opener Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

After the Golden Bears took their first lead of the game after a pair of Ed Ilnicki touchdown runs in the third quarter, a 10-yard catch for a major by Atlee Simon (pictured) gave the Rams a slim 22-21 lead midway through the fourth.

But Alberta capitalized following its defence's third interception of the game, taking advantage of a short field with a five-play, 43-yard drive that was completed by an 18-yard Ben Kopczynski pass to Tylor Henry and a successful two-point convert. The Rams took over the ball with 1:27 left and drove 44 yards downfield into Alberta territory, but Tak Landry's hit on Mitchell Picton forced an incomplete pass on third down and solidified the win for the visitors.

Making his first career start, the first-year Kopczynski was 22-for-36 with 278 passing yards for Alberta. Jimmy Ralph had eight catches for 91 yards, while Aundrey Webster finished with six receptions for an even 100 yards. Ilnicki had 16 rushes for 90 yards. Brandon Foster, Reid Knox, and Connor Ralph each had interceptions for the Golden Bears defence, while Samson Abbott and Jacob Narbonne each had a sack for a 13-yard loss. Landry and Tom Tsoumpas tied for the team lead in tackles, both ending up with seven solo and four assisted.

Simon had a career-high 189 yards on 28 carries for the Rams, while Noah Picton was 25-for-37 and finished with 321 yards and two touchdown passes. Andrew Bennett had eight catches for 115 yards, while Richard Sindani had five catches for 102 yards including a 15-yard touchdown reception midway through the second quarter.

Alberta (1-0) will now prepare for its home opener against Saskatchewan, which lost 34-28 to visiting Manitoba on Friday night. The Rams (0-1) will hit the road for their first away test of the season, as they'll take on a UBC team which was railroaded 49-16 by Calgary on Friday night.