GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence men's hockey team will begin it's quest for a Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League Championship on Thursday as they prepare for the first round of the conference tournament. 

The Argos, the #2 seed in the conference, will face off against the #7 seed Utah Valley, who is hosting the tournament in Provo, Utah, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The #4 seed in the conference Weber State will host #5 Utah State preceding the game. #3 Montana State will face off against #6 BYU later Thursday evening. The University of Mary is the top seed and has a bye for the first round.

"We're really excited," head coach Jeff Heimel said. "We spend most of the year preparing for the postseason. We're seeing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have an opportunity to qualify for the postseason. That's important."

The Argos are prepared to face off against top-level competition. Of the seven teams in the conference, five are ranked in the Top 7 of the entire West Region. The University of Mary is the #1 seed, Montana State is #4, Weber State is #5 and Utah State is #17. BYU is also ranked #17 in the region.

"We look at it one game at a time," Heimel said. "They don't need to know anything except who we're playing that night. For us to look past the first game and who the potential next game is not a winning formula. The teams here are too talented for us to be thinking too far ahead."

The team that wins the conference tournament will receive an automatic qualifying bid in to the ACHA West Regional Tournament. Seeding for the regional tournament will be released after the conference tournament is completed.

The tournament could decide the postseason fate for the Argos. The top two seeds in the entire West Region will be given a bye during Regionals and will directly qualify for the National Tournament. Mary and Providence are currently the top two seeds in the entire West Region.

"It's a huge weekend," Heimel said. "We have to take care of business. I don't know enough about the computer rankings work predict what's going to happen there. All I know is if we win and take care of business, we're going to finish where we need to finish. If we win, everything takes care of itself. That's the easiest way of thinking about. If we go out and win then we don't have to worry about any of that stuff."

Despite the stakes at play, the Argos are coming in relaxed and focused. The Argos had last week off, giving the team plenty of rest in anticipation of a busy weekend.

"I think the team is in a great place," Heimel said. "We're going to be ready. When we're disciplined and buy into the team, we've usually had success."