Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Back to work after enjoying the rest that comes with a bye weekend, the Griffins men's hockey team will look to extend a two-game winning streak when they welcome the Manitoba Bisons to the Downtown Community Arena this weekend.
The teams have created a terrific rivalry over the past three seasons as they battle tooth-and-nail for playoff positioning, and things are no different in 2024-25.
Other home action on tap includes Griffins women's soccer hosting Trinity Western in a Canada West quarter-final match on Friday (6 p.m., Edmonton Scottish). See the full preview for that game here.
And the MacEwan men's basketball team is hosting a four-team preseason tournament, inviting cross-town rival Alberta, Trinity Western and Lethbridge to the David Atkinson Gym this weekend.
MEN'S HOCKEY
On Tap
Friday: vs. Manitoba, 7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV
Saturday: vs. Manitoba, 1 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV
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Standings
MacEwan (2-2-0): 3rd East Division
Manitoba (1-3-0): 4th East Division
Last meeting
Feb. 3, 2024: MacEwan 3 at Manitoba 4 (SO)
Zack Dailey's coach's quote
"They're a good team. The coach there did a good job recruiting in the off-season and brought in a lot of really good players, so it's going to be a tough challenge.
"We believe if we play the correct way, it doesn't matter who we're playing, we're going to be successful. Just looking to be simple, play hard and make it really hard on the other team."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Spencer McLean – The Griffins' last member from their ACAC era (which ended in 2020) is in his sixth year at MacEwan (fifth of eligibility) and is a man reborn, playing top-line minutes and is tied for third in scoring on the team with four points in as many games.
"It may just be opportunity," said Dailey of McLean, who had 15 career points in 64 games prior to 2024-25. "He's getting a little bit more opportunity than he's had in the past and he's taking advantage of that. He's always been someone who comes in and works every day and does things correctly. I'm happy to see him take advantage of the opportunity and hopefully he keeps running with it."
Manitoba: Skyler Bruce – The Winnipeg native played parts of five seasons in the Western Hockey League, finishing with a flourish, recording 37 points in 40 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings last season. So, it's no surprise that even as a rookie he's tied for the Bisons' team scoring lead with three goals and five points in four games.
Notable
The Manitoba Bisons haven't made the Canada West playoffs since 2019-20, but they've been in a group with MacEwan the past few seasons competing for the sixth and final spot. The Griffins won out in a battle with Manitoba and Regina last season to make the post-season … Under a new divisional format, the same teams will be battling for one of three spots in the East Division, along with Alberta and Saskatchewan, who are currently 1-2 in the division … Loeden Schaufler is set to play his 72nd and 73rd career games this weekend, which would tie and pass Jordan Taupert, who has currently played the most CW regular season games by a Griffin (72) … Kadyn Chabot needs two powerplay goals to tie Kole Gable for the most by a Griffin in the program's Canada West era (9) … After scoring the game-winning goal in both of MacEwan's wins at Regina Oct. 4-5, Marc Pasemko is the program's career CW leader in that category with 5.
Mawien Monydhar, left, Cornelius Glasgow and the rest of the Griffins men's basketball team will host a four-team preseason tournament this weekend in the David Atkinson Gym (Jefferson Hagen photo).
MEN'S BASKETBALL
On Tap
MacEwan preseason tournament
Friday: Lethbridge vs. Alberta, 5 p.m., David Atkinson Gym
Friday: Trinity Western at MacEwan, 7 p.m., David Atkinson Gym
Saturday: Trinity Western vs. Alberta, 2 p.m., David Atkinson Gym
Saturday: Lethbridge at MacEwan, 4 p.m., David Atkinson Gym
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Mike Connolly coach's quote:
"It's a chance to play at home. I think it's a very good tournament. Trinity Western is a very improved team from last year. They beat Simon Fraser, they beat Western – they've already had some big wins. So, it will be good to play against a team like that and get prepared.
"Our second game on Saturday is against Lethbridge, one of our provincial rivals. So, it will be great to get going, get some intensity up, get some passion going as we prepare for Mount Royal coming in (for their home-opening weekend Nov. 1-2).
"It's just about playing well, playing defensively, playing together. We're still ironing out some stuff, but I think our efforts are good and we're starting to play better together."