Tristen Frei Excels at the Next Level for the U of R Cougars

University of Regina men’s hockey player Tristan Frei was named the Canada West First Star of the Week on Tuesday after notching six points in two wins over the UBC Thunderbirds on the weekend.

“Obviously it’s super special to be recognized, I’ve worked hard to get to this point of the season,” Frei said Tuesday. “Of course I’ve got to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me prepare to play to the best of my ability.”

Frei powered the Cougars to a huge 6-1 win at The Co-operators Centre on Friday night, registering two goals and two assists. The rookie forward assisted on Cody Fowlie‘s first period goal before scoring what would eventually be the game-winner, putting home a rebound for his second of the season. Frei beat UBC’s Matt Hewitt again just over two minutes later, deflecting in a saucer pass from Colton Sparrow to put the Cougars up 3-1. The Regina product added another assist on Tyler King‘s third period marker to complete the four-point night.

Frei’s hot play continued on Saturday evening, as he helped the Cougars to a 4-3 win by assisting on a J.J. Coleshaw marker in the first period and netting the game-winning marker midway through the third.

“It’s nice to see Tristan get rewarded for his hard work, he puts in the extra time both on and off the ice and doesn’t quit,” Cougar head coach Todd Johnson said. “It’s a well-deserved recognition for him, because he’s played with the same level of skill and intensity every game so far this season.”

Frei’s big weekend moves him into sole possession of top spot on the Cougars with 10 points in 12 games. He is also fifth among Canada West rookies in scoring.

“Once you string together a couple wins it definitely builds confidence as a team,” Frei added. “The individual recognition is nice but at the end of the day it’s a team game and we’ve got to go into Calgary with the right attitude so we can hopefully snowball these wins into something bigger.”

Frei and the Cougars are on the road this weekend to take on the 7-4-1 Calgary Dinos.