Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – All three games of their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men's hockey semifinal series went to overtime last year.
For even more recent evidence of how close things are between the MacEwan Griffins and Red Deer College Kings, two of their four 2019-20 regular season meetings were decided in overtime, too.
It's fair to say the result could go either way when the rivals meet for the third-straight year in an ACAC semifinal series – Game 1 on Friday (7 p.m., in Red Deer, ACAC TV), Game 2 on Saturday (6 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, ACAC TV) and Game 3, if necessary, on Sunday (5 p.m., in Red Deer, ACAC TV).
"I think if you look back at the history we've had with them in previous years, there's not a lot separating the programs," said MacEwan head coach Mike Ringrose whose team beat the Kings 2-0 in the 2018 semifinal and 2-1 in the 2019 semi, en route to two of their three-straight ACAC Championships. "They do a very good job. They're a strong program in our league. We've been fortunate to get through them the last two times.
"We know with our group in particular that we're going to have to have our best stuff. They've got some dynamic pieces, especially up front that we've got to be aware of and do our best to shut down."
The Kings have two players – Chase Thudium and Tyler Podgorenko – who average a point a game or better, while three players (Thudium, Scott Ferguson and Jacob Wozney) had at least five powerplay goals for the ACAC's top man-advantage unit that hit at 24.3 per cent during the regular season.
The Griffins counter with the second-best penalty killing unit in the ACAC (89.6 per cent), the top overall offence – led by top-five league scorer Cam Gotaas (40 points) and 32-point man Bryan Arneson – and one of the best goaltenders in the ACAC (Marc-Olivier Daigle).
"Our PK's been very good and their powerplay is one of the biggest strengths of their team," said Ringrose. "They do a great job of getting pucks to the net. They've got a couple of wrinkles there that you need to be aware of. Special teams will be critical this weekend for sure."
MacEwan took three of four regular season meetings between the teams, winning 3-2 in double overtime on Oct. 11, falling 6-4 on Oct. 12, triumphing 4-2 on Jan. 10 and netting another double OT victory (4-3) on Jan. 11.
The Kings (20-6-2-0) managed to finish a point ahead of the Griffins (20-7-1-0) to place second in the standings and earn a first-round playoff bye. MacEwan needed to win a tough quarter-final playoff series over Concordia on Sunday to advance to the semifinals – which could benefit them in the long run.
"Winning in the playoffs is different than winning in the regular season," said Ringrose. "The game that's played comes with just a little bit more intensity, a little bit more physicality.
"For our first-year guys, that was their first time experiencing that. So, having been through a playoff series and understanding the differences there is going to help them prepare for this weekend. I like to think it's going to be a benefit to us heading into the series against Red Deer."
Andrew Kartusch has three goals and an assist in three playoff games for the Griffins so far this month (Joel Kingston photo).
Second-year defenceman Andrew Kartusch led the way with a strong series that included scoring the game-winners in both Game 1 and 3.
"I feel like playing on that edge is one of the strengths of my game right now and I guess my offence, too, right now," said the reigning ACAC rookie of the year. "Hopefully in this series I can do those to the best of my abilities and help the team get two wins to move on to the final round."
The Red Deer product will be going against several players he grew up playing with and against in the central Alberta city, including one of his best friends Ryley Smith, who had 18 points in 24 games for the Kings this season.
Friendships will get parked at the door during the series, however.
"Whoever I'm playing on the ice, they're my enemy," said Kartusch. "I'm going to play them just as tough as anybody else I'm going to play throughout the season. It doesn't matter to me. I'm just going to go out there and play my game."
It's a game which is built for playoff hockey as well as any player on the Griffins.
"He's big and strong and he competes exceptionally hard," said Ringrose. "He's a great leader in our dressing room and a good role model for our first-year guys for what it takes to compete and be physical and play that playoff brand of hockey on a nightly basis.
"I was happy to see him find the success he did last weekend. Here's to hoping he keeps it going."
For Kartusch and the Griffins to keep rolling, they'll need to embrace the learning opportunities they had last weekend in getting up to playoff speed. They can expect the veteran Kings to be hungry after losing Game 3 of the semifinals to the Griffins in overtime a year ago.
"They're a very, very veteran team," said Kartusch. "I think they only lost two guys last year. I think just sticking to our systems, playing as a team and staying disciplined (will be key). I feel like our discipline needs to be on point this weekend. If we're taking penalties, their powerplay's going to punish us.
"It's the best time of the year, so we just need to have fun and enjoy the moment."
