¡Campeonas!

As you're likely aware if you've passed elementary school social studies, Spain is not part of Canada in any way, shape, or form, but we got to see two former U SPORTS players crowned as champions today in the Liga Iberdrola de Hockey Hielo! I have been following the progress made by Club Gel Puigcerdà as the scheduled rolled forward thanks to former Calgary Dinos forward Annalise Meier and former Dinos and Mount Royal Cougars forward Courtney Kollman playing for them. As you can see by the image above, the season ended today with CG Puigcerdà standing at center ice with the championship trophy hoisted, so it appears that Meier and Kollman helped CG Puigcerdà conquer Spain this year!

CG Puigcerdà finished the season in second-place in the LIHH with a record of 15-3-0-0 for 45 points. They were six points back of league-leading SH Majadahonda, but they did score the most goals, have the best goal differential, and were the second-most penalized team as Puigcerdà employed a speed game that saw the team close out on defenders quickly whenever possible. As a result, they surrendered the second-fewest goals as they wrapped up the 18-game schedule on February 1 with a 2-0 win over Kosner Huarte as playoffs loomed.

For her part, Courtney Kollman dominated the league with 41 goals and 76 points in just 22 games total. She finished three goals ahead of CHH Txuri Urdin's Eva Aizpurua, and a whopping 20 points ahead of Aizpurua in the overall scoring. Kollman also led the LIHH at +70 which shouldn't be surprising considering her point total.

Annalise Meier had a fantastic season as well after starting the campaign rather slowly. She picked it up in the second-half of the season, finishing with 15 goals and 32 points in 21 games to land in seventh-overall in scoring. Meier chipped in at both ends of the ice as well as she patrolled the blue line as a defender, but Meier became another important player for CG Puigcerdà down the stretch.

The top-four teams in the LIHH qualified for the LIHH championship meaning that CG Puigcerdà would square off against third-place CH Jaca who finished with a 10-7-0-0 record. February 21 saw Puigcerdà record a 3-1 win with Kollman scoring off a Meier pass, and the best-of-three series ended one week later with Puigcerdà downing Jaca by a 2-0 score with Meier scoring off a feed from Kollman.

Majadahonda only needed two games to eliminate Txuri Urdin by 4-0 and 3-1 scores, so the LIHH Final would feature the top-two teams in the league as they met in the best-of-five series for all the marbles!

Game One on March 7 went Puigcerdà's way as they scored a 2-0 win with neither Kollman nor Meier scoring, but Paula Gimenez had a goal and an assist for the victors. Game Two on March saw both teams ratchet up the offence as Judith Pareja capped off the hat trick at 6:15 of overtime to give Puigcerdà a 6-5 overtime win! Kollman had two goals and a helper in this one while Meier picked up two assists to help Puigcerdà take a 2-0 series lead, but the series would move to the northwest corner of Madrid for the next three games.

Coming into the game, Majadahonda was 9-0 at home including two wins over Puigcerdà on November 15 and 16, but their backs were against the walls in Game Three. Perhaps Puigcerdà smelled the blood in the water or perhaps Majadahonda didn't prepare enough, but the game today saw the ice tilted early. 1:03 into the game, Paula Gimenez gave Puigcerdà a lead and it was 2-0 at the 8:28 mark when Carla Iglesias found the back of the net with Meier getting a secondary assist. Gimenez struck again at 15:54, and the rout was on.

Gimenez would record the hat trick at 12:01 of the second period to make it a 4-0 game, and Kiera O'Hare would cap off the scoring at 2:40 of the third period as CG Puigcerdà combined that strong offence with solid defence to win Game Three and the championship with a 5-0 victory! CG Puigcerdà are your 2025-26 LIHH champions!

"The girls played a spectacular game," CG Puigcerdà head coach Jaime de Bonilla said after the game. "They have worked very hard all season and today they showed what a great team they are. They played with a sixth gear throughout the game!"

The coach was also quick to recognize the support of the Puigcerdà, thanking them by saying, "This title is also for the fans, who have always supported us. Their support has been key to getting here".

The team will be honoured tomorrow in Puigcerdà with a procession beginning at 12:30pm that will make its way through the village of Puigcerdà, ending at the City Hall where the celebration will continue. Considering that the CG Puigcerdà women's team only began playing in 2006, their rise to the top of the LIHH in capturing their first LIHH title is very impressive and the work done to improve Spanish hockey cannot be overlooked as they get set for more fun!

From April 12-18, Puigcerdà will host and the Spanish national team will take part in the IIHF Division-1B Women's World Hockey Championship! Spain will play host to Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Latvia, and South Korea as these countries seek promotion to the Division-1A championship next season by winning this tournament. With incredible players such as Eva Aizpurua, Paula Gimenez, Maria Serna, and goaltender Ainhoa Salillas playing in the LIHH, Spain's chances of winning are as good as any country!

For now, though, Puigcerdà will celebrate its local heroes as CG Puigcerdà are the 2025-26 LIHH champions for the first time in their history! Congratulations on winning the championship, ladies, and I'm hoping we can talk Courtney and Annalise this summer on The Hockey Show and hear about this amazing Spanish adventure! ¡Buen trabajo!

Until next time, mantén tus palos sobre el hielo!

Two U SPORTS Netminders!

The PWHL's Ottawa Charge went off the board today as they searched for another netminder among the free agent ranks. They already have former UNB Reds netminder Kendra Woodland on their roster, and they doubled the number of former U SPORTS netminders under their watch as they signed former Mount Royal Cougars stopper Kaitlyn Ross to a 10-day Standard Player Agreement! I won't try to deceive anyone here by saying that I had a little fun Photoshopping Kaitlyn into action with the Charge, but she'll travel to Vancouver to meet the team this weekend before practicing and potentially dressing for games over the next ten days. Head coach Carla MacLeod is already familiar with Ross's body of work, so this looks like a good fit for both the goaltender and the PWHL team!

Woodland was signed by the Charge back in November to be the team's third-string goaltender behind Gwyneth Phillips and Sanni Ahola who are both Olympians. Woodland could easily push those two to be better because the former UNB Reds goaltender was one of the best in Canadian university hockey during her time in Fredericton.

"I'm just so proud of her," UNB head coach Sarah Hilworth told CBC's Sam Farley in November. "I know how tirelessly she's worked for this opportunity, and to earn a spot with Ottawa is such a proud moment for her... Ottawa's got a good one, that's for sure."

Woodland has yet to log a second in the Charge crease, but she's keeping Phillips and Ahola on their toes in practice. She has dressed as the backup netminder on a handful of occasions, wearing her recognizable #70 on her jersey. The one thing that Woodland didn't do was give up, and her training and patience paid off this season with a roster spot with Ottawa over other talented stoppers.

"It's been quite the journey in the last year and a half," Woodland said. "It hasn’t been easy, but it's definitely paid off up to this point."

Woodland will now have another player who has put in a lot of hard work joining her for the next week-and-a-half as former Mount Royal Cougars netminder Kaitlyn Ross signed with Ottawa today. Ross, as we know, helped Mount Royal to a 2023 U SPORTS National Championship where she was nearly unbeatable, and Charge head coach Carla MacLeod got to watch a lot of her during Carla's time as the Calgary Dinos' head coach. Adding Ross only makes Ottawa's crease better.

With Sanni Ahola on LTIR with an illness that has been affecting her since before the Olympics, the Charge have been filling the third netminding role with goalies such as Sarah Coe and, now, Kaitlyn Ross. Ahola's timetable is undetermined as to when she'll return, so it's conceivable that Ross could be signed through to the end of the season after this ten-game spell. Time will only tell, of course, but it would be pretty cool to see Woodland and Ross on playoff roster!

We'll have to watch and see what happens after the Charge commented on Ross's signing by saying that she "will help solidify depth in goal while rookie Sanni Ahola remains home in Ottawa for rest and maintenance." If Ross is just being signed to accommodate the Charge through the western portion of their road trip that includes a stop in Minneapolis against the Frost and a stop in Winnipeg for the Takeover Tour against Montreal, I'd hope the Charge keep Ross's number handy in case there's a goaltending need beyond this ten-game contract. After all, she's a big-game goalie.

As one of the lone people who pays any attention to U SPORTS women's hockey across this continent, seeing Ottawa sign two U SPORTS goalies tells me that Carla MacLeod believes in U SPORTS hockey. It's exciting to see Kaitlyn get this opportunity, and my hope is that she can turn it into something longer term than just ten days.

Congratulations to Kendra Woodland and Kaitlyn Ross, two amazing U SPORTS competitors and goalies, on landing with the Ottawa Charge!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 703

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, hits the UMFM airwaves tonight once again as we settle in for some more hockey talk. With the weekend we just had and the Paralympics coming to an end this weekend, it's been an outstanding week of sledge hockey from all over the globe, and our hosts will chat about some of that tonight among the many topics they'll cover. Want in on the chat? Get your radios and internet-connected devices ready tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason offer their thanks to Sledge Hockey Manitoba and Team Manitoba for allowing them to be part of the Cross Border Classic last weekend that was an incredible exhibition of hockey! From there, the two hosts discuss the Paralympics and Canada's chances at a para ice hockey gold medal, Matthew Tkachuk being the dumbest hockey player alive, the PWHL's struggles in Ottawa, the Ottawa Senators earning a draft pick back, the DEL with great numbers, players going pro, and more! It's another busy show with a lot to go over from all variations of hockey being played across the globe, so make sure you tune in tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason express their gratitude before chatting about medal chances, stupid comments, moving arenas, playing politics, full rinks, big opportunities, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Huge Win By Any Measure

Having heard about some of the experiences that Team Manitoba's parahockey players have endured in trying to practice and play here in Manitoba, I have a better understanding about why accessibility matters. Manitoba's sledge hockey players are begging for resources and ice time so they can play more often, but those pleas often finds silence when it comes time to hitting the ice. I can't imagine what it was like for the two para athletes above when it came to mastering their chosen sport as Polina Rozkova and Agris Lasmans did something that no other Latvian has ever done: win a medal at the Paralympic Games!

That's not to say that Rozkova and Lasmans aren't great curlers. They won a 2023 World Paracurling Championship gold medal and have participated in every World Championship that has taken place since the last Paralympic Games in Beijing. They're recognized as one of the best mixed doubles curling pairs on the planet, and they brought that skill and tenacity to Milano-Cortina where they captured the bronze medal over the USA duo of Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer with an 11-10 score in an extra end. As stated, the Latvians are good!

This win should be celebrated back in Latvia as if it were the biggest victory in the country's history in any activity. I say that because Latvia, in 2013, had just a single curling rink in the entire country, and that number has grown to two rinks in the last 13 years. Imagine wanting to curl in Latvia as an able-bodied person only to find out one has to travel to Riga or Ventspils to do so. Now add in those who have a disability who want to curl, and you can see why this bronze medal is the most significant medal ever won in Latvia's history.

The commitment shown by Rozkova and Lasmans to improve in their sport will never be questioned as they've overcome some significant hurdles to earn a bronze medal against the best paracurlers in the world, but consider that USA has 185 curling clubs, China has built some 500 ice rinks in the last four years, and Canada has nearly 1000 curling clubs. Having just two rinks in a country of 1.86 million people already puts them at a disadvantage, so seeing Rozkova and Lasmans on the podium is nothing short of incredible!

Rozkova and Lasmans will likely return to their homes in Latvia following the Paralympics, but they should be greeted with all the fanfare that celebrities get. They have a significant chance to be leaders not only for paracurling, but for all para athletes across Latvia thanks to to their win. Winning a medal despite Latvia's lack of rinks should put Rozkova and Lasmans alongside the likes of ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and NBA star Kristaps Porziņģis.

I don't know enough about Latvian culture to know if their Paralympians are held in high regard, but Rozkova and Lasmans have a chance to change that perception if that's how it is. Making history for one's country should always keep someone in regard, and Polina Rozkova and Agris Lasmans have proven they are among the best paracurlers on the planet, and they have the hardware to show for it.

Perhaps them being recognized by the country will lead to more opportunities at curling rinks for disabled folks who want to try the sport. Perhaps them being recognized by the country will lead to more fully-accessible curling rinks being built in Latvia. Perhaps them being celebrated will lead to better opportunities for all disabled people in Latvia. That's why this medal is a huge win: it could change a lot when it comes to accessibility for people of all abilities.

Congratulations to Polina Rozkova and Agris Lasmans, Latvia's first-ever medallists at any Paralympic Games, and let's hope this is the catalyst for seeing Latvia be a bigger player on the parasports world!

Jumping To The Big Leagues

With a number of players seeing their seasons end in Canadian university hockey, a few players have made the jump to the professional level to see if they can make an impact before the seasons at the higher levels finish. Every year, there are a pile of players who look to breathe new life into the hockey dream by signing a contract in one of the lower professional leagues, and we saw four Canada West players do that over the last few days. All four were solid players for their teams while skating at the university level, and they'll look to contribute to what could be long playoff runs by the teams that wanted them. Let's find out who signed contracts this week!

With UBC's shocking exit from the Canada West playoffs two weekends ago, it didn't take the Canada West Goaltender of the Year long to find gainful employment as UBC Thunderbirds netminder Brett Mirwald signed with the ECHL's Allen Americans! That contract was made official on Sunday - one week after Saskatchewan eliminated UBC - as Mirwald will head to Texas to join the Americans. Mirwald was 11-1-2 with UBC this year, posting a 2.27 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and two shutouts in his second season with the T-Birds.

The Saskatoon-born Mirwald played 19 games with Moose Jaw before landing with the Vancouver Giants where he was 38-31-8 in his two seasons with the Giants, posting a 3.13 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Mirwald showed solid improvement this season behind a very veteran Thunderbirds team, and it appears he'll be given a shot at claiming the backup netminder spot behind Americans starter Marco Costantini. Mirwald will need to play well to do that, but we saw him put in some incredible work in the UBC net this year.

Calgary's playoff run ended the same week as UBC's did, but it appears that loss will hurt them a little more as the Canada West winner of the UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for Sportsmanship and Ability is on the move. Dinos forward Adam Kydd signed a contract with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones on Sunday, and he'll look to help the Cyclones in their push to claim the third- or fourth-place spot in the ECHL's Central Division. Kydd, who led Canada West in assists, should arrive in Ohio this week where he'll look to crack the lineup.

Kydd had an outstanding season this year with the Calgary Dinos, notching eight goals and adding 33 helpers to finish second in Canada West scoring. He was, by far, the best offensive player that the Dinos had this year statistically, but winning the award for Sportsmanship and Ability shows that he's talented and has great character. Those are the kinds of players that ECHL teams need in their communities, and Adam Kydd should help the Cyclones on and off the ice.

Saturday saw the Manitoba Bisons lose a promising player as forward Blake Swetlikoff made the jump to the ECHL with the Greensboro Gargoyles. Swetlikoff has six goals and eight assists for the Bisons this season, finishing seventh in team scoring. He had a couple of power-play points as the rookie skated with the advantage, but his lone minor penalty all season was proof that Swetlikoff plays at a high level without costing his team goals. Swetlikoff landed with the Bisons after playing 32 games with the Idaho Steelheads last season.

Swetlikoff split five seasons in the WHL with Spokane, Lethbridge, and Kamloops with his best WHL season coming in 2021-22 where he scored eleven goals and 18 assists in Spokane. Swetlikoff signed with the Idaho Steelheads in September 2024, and got the opportunity to attend training camp with the AHL's Texas Stars. He would be returned to Idaho where he recorded seven assists in 32 games with the Steelheads before making the move to the University of Manitoba in the fall to reunite with head coach Gord Burnett who coached Swetlikoff when he was younger as the two remain friends.

The final player in the foursome above took a bigger step than the previous three as UBC Thunderbirds captain Chris Douglas signed an amateur tryout contract with the AHL's Rochester Americans for the remainder of the season! The winger is coming off a solid campaign where he scored 16 goals, 19 assists, and 35 points to finish tied for sixth-place in Canada West scoring which were all career-high totals for Douglas. He also played 124 games for the Thunderbirds, showing his versatility, endurance, and fitness as he skated in 26-or-more games in each of his last three seasons with the Thunderbirds.

The Richmond, BC native had a solid WHL career with the Red Deer Rebels as he increased his point total in every season except his final year where he was limited to just 23 games. However, 43 goals and 98 points in 250 WHL games was something that UBC head coach Sven Butenschon couldn't pass up, and Douglas joined the Thunderbirds in 2021-22 where he scored 12 goals and 15 points in 20 games as a rookie. Four seasons later, he finished his career with 57 goals and 120 points, catching the eyes of the AHL's Rochester Americans.

No one will fault these four men for signing contracts that keep the hockey dream alive. That's exactly why they're still playing, and they can always return to school to finish their degrees if and when they decide that they accomplished as much as they could in the game. The one thing that can't be stressed enough is that these four men were offered the chance to play professional hockey here and now, and all four chose to answer the door when opportunity knocked.

As we saw with Blake Swetlikoff who left Idaho for Manitoba, maybe this opportunity won't be right when everything is measured. What should be clear is that Swetlikoff took another opportunity despite the first one not working out to his liking. For Swelikoff, Kydd, and Mirwald, the door to return to their university teams might still be open if they want to return. For Douglas, he's getting the biggest shot of the four after he graduated out of the Thunderbirds' program.

Where these oppotunities lead next will be determined by the effort and hard work these four men put into following those dreams. Knowing they all had that drive and dedication to both their educations and the sport could mean that one or more of these players beats the odds. And that would be awesome to see!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!