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"Just do what we've been good at, which is protect the football and get the football," Milanovich said Friday. "Have explosive plays when the opportunity presents itself, have some balance.

"If and when we get turnovers, turn those into touchdowns. It doesn't need to be anything flashy."

Montreal will have a much different look offensively Saturday with starter Davis Alexander. A hamstring injury limited Alexander to just seven regular-season starts and forced him to miss both contests versus Hamilton.

"Obviously everyone would love to walk into the Grey Cup but you want to play the best," said Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell. "I'm glad we finally get to play this team at their best."

Alexander, in his first full season as the starter, went 7-0 to boost his regular-season mark to 11-0, the best start to a CFL career. However, Montreal was just 3-8 in games he didn't start.

Alexander won his playoff debut last weekend. He passed for 384 yards with a TD and interception and rushed for 32 yards and a touchdown in Montreal's 42-33 in East semifinal victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"There's a different element in terms of mobility at that position," Milanovich said of Alexander. "We're going to do a great job of keeping him in the pocket and limiting those opportunities where he can be explosive outside the pocket."

Alexander, 27, makes just his 13th CFL start Saturday so Hamilton could try giving him different defensive looks or disguising coverages to create indecision or hesitation. However, veteran Ticats safety Stavros Katsantonis cautioned against doing too much of that.

"One of the things coaches have always told us is don't let your disguise be your demise," he said. "Don't hide whatever you're doing for so long that you can't get your job done.

" … if we confuse any quarterback we're playing a little bit to give us an advantage, yeah that helps. But there are times he's going to know exactly what we're in and we're going to have to try our best to be the better team out there."

Hamilton must also concern itself with Stevie Scott III, who accumulated 133 of Montreal's 176 rushing yards against Winnipeg with two TDs. The Ticats allowed a CFL-high 111 yards per game on the ground.

But Hamilton's rushing attack was stellar in its 26-9 road win in Montreal on Sept. 6. Greg Bell ran for a career-best 156 yards and a touchdown as the Ticats rushed for 234 yards.

Hamilton's offence also features Mitchell (5,296 passing yards and 36 TDs, both CFL highs) and 1,000-yard receivers in Kenny Lawler (86 catches, 1,443 yards, league-best 14 TDs), ºÃÉ«tv Kiondre Smith (86 receptions, 1,126 yards, five TDs) and Tim White (84 catches, 1,016 yards, seven TDs). Bell also ran for 1,038 yards and five touchdowns and had 62 catches for 426 yards and a TD.

"They got some deep threats, they got a lot of veteran guys over there," said Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette. "Their quarterback is definitely a veteran, he knows football so they play smart.

"So I think (if) we stop their deep ball threats and we make them play top-down, I think we have a good chance."

Saturday's forecast calls for a high of 7C with a 30 per cent chance of precipitation. But it will be breezy, with winds of 17 kilometres an hour with gusts of 30 km-h.

Montreal practised in cold, rainy conditions Wednesday with head coach Jason Maas calling it one of the club's best sessions.

"Dealing with elements, you're going to deal with them in a game," Maas said. "I think when you're mentally tough and just every single day we know you're going out in it, there's no reservation whatsoever and it's all about figuring it out."

Montreal makes its fourth straight East final appearance and chases a second Grey Cup berth in three seasons after winning the '23 title.

The Ticats host their first division final since 2019 and haven't won the Grey Cup since 1999, the league's longest drought. And with a rabid Hamilton Stadium sellout expected, it's important the home team start strong.

"We have the kind of fans that want to see big plays, they want to see guys smacking pads," Mitchell said. "They want you to play well.

"They're going to go out there and fill that entire stadium so we just want to go play a great game for them."

Ticats defensive lineman Casey Sayles offered a much simpler outlook.

"At the end of the day we're just playing football, we're playing a kids' game," he said. "You just got to go out there and play confident, start fast.

"It's going to go back and forth, I'm sure, two good teams playing. We're excited for it."

-- With files from Daniel Rainbird in Montreal. 

This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Nov. 7, 2025.