Canada West Finals
It’s really too bad the Canada West Finals aren’t Best of Three series - because both of these Finals are going to be bangers. Maybe we could at least get them on different nights?
Regardless - if you’re not at a gym watching a match, you definitely want to be checking both of these ones out.
Men | #2 Trinity Western @ #1 Brandon
7:00 p.m. CST/8:00 p.m. EST
It’s been three-straight Canada West titles, but they won’t be heading into tonights Final in Brandon as favourites, and will have to play against the rabid Bobcat fans in a match that’s guaranteed to be a sell.
Brandon has been the undisputed No. 1 team in the country since they swept the Spartans to open the 2019 calendar in January, and apart from a Game 1 loss to Mount Royal in the semi-finals, they’ve been perfect throughout. However, the Bobcats showed a lot of nerves in their Game 1 loss - a luxury they don’t have in a One-Game Final.
Neither team looked particularly dominant in their semi-final match-ups, so it’s tough to say really who has the advantage in terms of momentum. Obviously Brandon comes into tonights match as the season’s best team, but Trinity Western holds the momentum of three-straight Canada West Championships and a decades worth of program momentum - not to mention the chip on their shoulder after being swept in January.
Trinity Western is probably going to run their offence down the middle to open up clean looks for Loeppky and Kern - so Brandon is going to have to serve much, much better than they did against MRU in order to disrupt the aggressive Spartans offence. If they can do that and control the pace of the game - it’ll open things up for the Bobcats to attack TWU from either pin and the pipe almost at will.
Women | #6 Trinity Western @ #2 Calgary
6:00 p.m. MST/8:00 p.m. EST
In many ways, these are the two teams we expected in the Canada West Finals. There’s no doubt there’s a handful of talented teams in Canada’s strongest conference - but none of them have the consistency across the lineup that either or these teams possess.
This match-up has basically everything you could ask for: two physical and athletic rosters who attack aggressively and efficiently, with neither showing a clear edge on the other. The Spartans did sweep the season series - but that was back in December and a lot has happened sine then.
The Dinos come into this one as defending Canada West Champions - and with the bitter sting of last year’s loss to Ryerson in the National Final still lingering, Seniors like Kate Pexman, Beth Vinell, and Leah Shevkenek have one last kick at the can to do things right.
On the other side of the net is a slightly younger, but no less talented, Trinity Western team that was on the cusp of history with a 16-0 start to the season. They’ve faltered slightly since then - posting a 4-4 record to close the season to close the season. Despite this, they managed to sweep Nationals Hosts Alberta last weekend, dominating the game play throughout the match against the Pandas.