Courtesy: Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella/Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

Listen" Coach's Show with Brandin Cote

Off to Ottawa

Mar 13, 2025 | 7:50 AM

“Every team there is going to be a challenge.” That was Brandin Cote’s response to the question about the other schools that will compete at the 2025 University Cup in Ottawa from March 20^th to 23^rd. The Huskie head coach and his staff are preparing for the competition yet making sure the players are focused on continuing the level of play that led to the 2025 Canada West title.

“It’s always been about us”, he said. “If we execute our plan and structure to the best of our ability, we can beat any team.” When asked if there was an aspect of the team’s game that had to be sharpened for the tournament, Cote responded, “We’ve been a great defensive team all year, but we want to defend hard and fast. We’ll have the puck more. When we have the puck, we don’t have to play defense”.

Cote was asked about injuries following a physical Canada West final series against the Mount Royal Cougars that went the full three games. “Chase (Bertholet) and Ben (Tkachuk) and Liam (Keeler) are going through concussion protocol. They are all progressing. They should all be available for us, at nationals. Rhett Rhinehart got a little banged up, but we’ll get him up and running.”

Goaltender Jordan Kooy was under the weather for the Canada West championship but is ready for the University Cup. Roddy Ross, who shared the starts with Kooy in the regular season, started for all three games of the Canada West final. Ross had a tremendous bounce back series after taking the loss in game one of the semi-finals against the UBC Thunderbirds. “He (Ross) knew right away, our guys had his back”, Cote said. “He knew if he had another opportunity, he was going to take advantage of it. That perseverance is an unbelievable story.”

Brandin Cote chatted with HuskieFAN’s Wray Morrison on The Coach’s Show.

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The eight-team University Cup begins on March 20^th in Ottawa with a pair of quarterfinals. Following two more quarterfinals on the 21^st, the semifinals will be played on the 22^nd. The bronze medal final and championship game are set for March 23^rd at TD Place Arena. All Huskie games can be heard on the free HuskieFAN app.

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

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