Cougars Lock in Finals Spot with Tournament Schedule Announced

Our Assiniboine Cougars Women’s Hockey Team have locked in their Finals berth for the 2019-20 American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Championships, hosted in Frisco, Texas from March 25 - 29, 2020. The ACHA released the finals tournament schedule today, Thursday March 5, with the Cougars facing off against the United States Naval Academy, Mercyhurst University and Northeastern University.

The tournament is a twelve-team, pool-play format with the top team from each three-team pool advancing to the single-elimination semi-finals. After the final rankings were released, the top four teams from each region were placed in pools according to their regional rankings.

The Cougars are ranked number 1 in the West Region which puts them in Pool A and will line up their first three games of the tournament against United States Naval Academy ranked fourth in Southeast region, Mercyhurst University ranked third in the Southeast Region and Northeastern University ranked fourth in the Northeast region respectively.

The Cougars tournament schedule is as follows:

Cougars Head Coach Tony Bertone believes the line-up will be an excellent opportunity for the team to test themselves against skilled opposition in high-pressure situations.

"The team has had a successful regular season, and we're looking forward to challenging ourselves against opposition we haven't previously played against", said Bertone.

The Cougars will have a target on their back as defending National Champions and a 31-0-0 undefeated streak, however, Bertone says they're not focusing on the title and the team will take each game one step at a time.

Every time the team takes to the ice, I ask the girls to implement the plays and processes we practice in training, to do their best and have fun. If we take home the Championship again that's great, but our Cougars hockey is about allowing our students to play a sport they love while also focusing on their education

Assiniboine Community College will host the Cougars Den, where students and the public can watch a livestream of the games and cheer on our Cougars in the preliminary rounds from the 25-27 March. This watch party will be located at the Victoria Avenue East campus and is free to attend.