The hockey team will prepare for the regional play-offs this weekend by facing Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

The Cougars dominated the Utes 8-1 last Saturday in Provo in their fifth meeting of the season.

This will be the team's last match before the regional playoffs in California next weekend.

While most of the teams in their division are taking the week off, the Cougars scheduled an extra match to tune up for the upcoming two-day tournament.

Head coach Ed Gantt said the team will use this week's practice and game to make last minute adjustments in their performance before heading to regionals.

"We figured it would be a good idea to put a game in during that time off so we can stay fresh and stay focused and have an opportunity to try some things out in practice and see how they work in the game," Gantt said.

Junior forward Ben Shapiro said the Cougars will try to improve on minor errors this week to avoid developing bad habits before the playoffs.

"We're going to focus on not making the little mistakes," Shapiro said.

Assistant coach Doug Kimball said the game on Saturday will help the Cougars gain confidence as they prepare to face tough teams next weekend.

"Just playing against a team that we've been able to score a decent amount of goals against helps us get in the rhythm of feeling like we can score against anybody," Kimball said.

Saturday's game will start at 8:30 p.m. in Salt Lake.



Copyright Brigham Young University 14 Feb 2008