Declan Riley / For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Chantal Ricker scored twice as the Griffins came out on top in a chippy, hard fought battle with a 4-2 win over the SAIT Trojans on Saturday.
After a win in last night in Calgary, the Griffins were eager for a series sweep and it showed in their play as MacEwan won to up its record to an ACAC-best 12-1-3.
"We've been hit by a bit of an injury bug here, so we've had some players that are D playing forward, and players in positions they aren't used to and I thought they stepped up relatively well," said MacEwan head coach Lindsay McAlpine.
SAIT struck first when Brittany MacDonald's long wrist shot beat Natalie Bender just 1:18 into the contest, but the Griffins were determined to right the ship and the Trojans' lead was short-lived.
Just over three minutes later, Raven Beazer buried the puck in tight, scoring her second of the season to get MacEwan on the board.
Though the remainder of the first was left scoreless, the Griffins still battled hard with SAIT. Multiple Griffins showcased their abilities, especially Captain Sydney Thomlison with solid defensive play in her own end. The Griffins closed out the period with 19 shots on net.
Halfway through the second period, the Griffins swooped in and took the lead when Ricker scored a finesse goal from behind the net in a tangle of sticks.
But Ricker was not finished, scoring again just over two minutes later – a tip-in from the point during a powerplay.
"I told my dad I was only going to get one point tonight, but three's pretty good, right?" remarked Ricker, who was named player of the game.
Nearly three minutes after that, Dominique Scheurer broke the game wide open, giving the Griffins a 4-1 lead on a pass in front, leaving Trojans goalie Elisha Oswald swimming in the blue paint.
In the third the Trojans started to march back. With just over 13 minutes left, Madison Casavant got SAIT back within two as she buried her third-shot attempt after being left all alone in front of Bender.
Bender made 18 saves for her fifth win of the season, while Oswald stopped 46 of 50 for SAIT, which now falls to 2-13-1-0 on the campaign, four points back of the final playoff spot.
The Griffins will next face Red Deer College (9-4-2-0) on Thursday in Red Deer (7 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m., Downtown Community Arena).
