Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
CALGARY – If someone told the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team they'd be in the mix for a playoff spot on the final weekend of the season, they'd have no doubt taken it.
Even if the caveat came with the fact they'd have to get at least a point against the No. 1 team in the country on the hottest winning streak in Canada West history to get into the dance, they'd have taken it.
This is a squad in only its second season in Canada West, after all. Hardly anyone gave them a chance.
They'd have taken it.
So, even though their playoff bid fell short on Saturday night with a 6-3 loss to the Calgary Dinos – who extended their conference record winning streak to 23 in a row – the Griffins can hold their heads high.
"If you take a step back and look at the season as a whole, I think it's quite successful," said Griffins interim head coach Zack Dailey, whose squad earned wins over perennial contenders Alberta, Mount Royal, UBC and Saskatchewan this season. "We exceeded outsiders' expectations of the group. I know inside the group, our expectations were a little bit higher, but it's a big step forward for our program. We've beaten some really good hockey teams. We've proven that we can play with the top teams.
"So, yes, it's definitely disappointing being this close and not being able to make the final push here, but if you look at the whole picture, it's something to be proud of."
The Griffins entered the final weekend of the Canada West season tied with Regina for the sixth and final playoff spot. Even though the Cougars lost twice to UBC, MacEwan couldn't get the point they needed in either game against the Dinos, who are on the biggest heater the league has ever seen.
MacEwan finishes seventh with a record of 9-18-1, tied with Regina (8-17-3), but the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, not wins, so the Cougars, who beat the Griffins in three of four contests this season, advance. They'll meet third place UBC (20-6-2) in a best-of-three quarter-final next weekend.
No. 4 Mount Royal (19-5-4) will host No. 5 Saskatchewan (14-10-4) in the other quarter-final, while No. 1 Calgary (25-3-0) and No. 2 Alberta (20-5-3) have first round byes and awaiting the winners of those two series.
On Saturday, the Griffins put it all on the line and had a solid rebound from an 8-1 loss to the Dinos on Friday in Edmonton.
"I was really proud of our effort," said Dailey. "I think it was a good response to last night when we got outworked and outcompeted. Tonight, our backs were against the wall and our guys left it all out on the ice. I was really proud of them."
M��| GOAL!��@MacEwanHockey captain Kole Gable snipes one off the face-off on the PP to cut the deficit against @UCDinos.
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 12, 2023
The Griffins trail 3-1 after 20 minutes. If they can get the game to OT, they will make the @CanadaWest playoffs.#GriffNation #rallytime pic.twitter.com/IZFnBvlbRT
Kole Gable scored in the first period to balance out three Dinos tallies when he sniped a shot past Calgary goaltender Carl Stankowski after Zach Webb won the draw right to him in the slot.
Following two more Calgary goals in the second period, Marc Pasemko finished off another Webb pass off a rush to keep MacEwan in striking distance.
M��| GOAL!��
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 12, 2023
Marc Pasemko gets a much-needed goal for @MacEwanHockey late in the second period as they go to the dressing room trailing 5-2 to @UCDinos.@CanadaWest #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/os3Al3IQhE
But the Dinos never gave an inch, going up 6-2 8:43 into the third before Jordan Taupert slammed it in off the back bar with 6:01 remaining to round out the scoring table.
M��| FINAL
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 12, 2023
Jordan Taupert scores a late PP goal and @MacEwanHockey fights valiantly to the finish, but they'll come up short as a 6-3 loss to @UCDinos ends their @CanadaWest season. Stay tuned for a wrap-up recap.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/Wa3n3NYVTR
"They're a fantastic team," said Dailey of the Dinos. "Even our best effort won't lead to wins every night, but what it will do is give us a chance to win. And I thought they did their best job. It was a great response. I'm super proud of this group."
Graduating seniors Cameron Trott, Curtis Roach, Nicolas Correale, Cameron Reagan, and Merritt Oszytko played the final game of their university careers.
"Every single guy left their footprint on this program, and they left it in a better spot than when they got here," said Dailey. "It was really impressive careers that these guys put together. They're going to be missed, certainly. We appreciate their leadership, their professionalism. They really helped our group this year."
