UQTR, Concordia begin men's, women's title defences as U Sports hockey playoffs heat up

The road to the U Sports championship season is officially underway for men's and women's hockey, as quarterfinal and semifinal matchups across the country will help decide which teams will be playing in the U Sports Championships in mid-March.

In men's hockey, all eyes remain on the University of Calgary Dinos, who finished their regular season on a Canada West (CW) record 23-game winning streak.

The top seed will begin their playoffs on Thursday in a best-of-three semifinals against the Saskatchewan Huskies, who are fresh off of a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 of the quarterfinals over the Mount Royal Cougars.

KALUSKIIII sends Huskies to the next round with a beautiful OT goal!!!!!<a href="https://twitter.com/HuskieAthletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HuskieAthletics</a> 3 | Cougars 2<br>FINAL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HuskiePride?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HuskiePride</a> <a href="https://t.co/BP7mcslVmU">pic.twitter.com/BP7mcslVmU</a>

In the other semifinal, the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears will have their hands full with the next hottest team in U Sports, the No. 3 seed University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds rattled off 12 straight wins to close out their season, then added two more with victories over the outmatched Regina Cougars in the quarters.

The Golden Bears are the defending CW champions, falling to the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes in the final of the 2022 U Sports Championship.

The Patriotes will begin their title defence in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Queen's Cup men's quarterfinals against the Carleton Ravens, who have the hottest goalie in the country.

Mark Grametbauer carries a three-game shutout streak into the Ravens'