Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
-With files from Huskies Athletics
SASKATOON – Although the goal was an after-thought and a case of too little, too late when Aryn Chambers sifted a point shot through traffic and past Saskatchewan goaltender Camryn Drever with 2.3 seconds left on Friday to bust her shutout bid, it could prove to be important.
MacEwan may have lost 4-1 in U SPORTS women's hockey action, but they have a fine moment to build on for Saturday's rematch (4 p.m. MT, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
"Big time," said Griffins head coach Lindsay McAlpine. "Credit to our girls who never stopped. At that point in the game, we know we're not coming back for a win, but again competing for a full 60 minutes – things we talk about regularly – I think they executed well on that."
They executed well on a number of things in the game – most notably, their trademark defence – but not as well on others.
"We struggled to capitalize on Grade A chances," said McAlpine. "We had a couple of partial breakaways or point blank shots in front of the net that we didn't put in and that changes the outcome of a game really quickly."
Drever finished with 16 saves for Saskatchewan, while Natalie Bender made 33 stops for MacEwan.
"We gave up shots, for sure, as we expected against one of the top Canada West teams, but I thought we did a relatively decent job of keeping them to the outside," said McAlpine. "They capitalized on some powerplay opportunities and, to be honest, I thought the score flattered them tonight."
Saskatchewan was led by senior Bailee Bourassa, who scored the first hat-trick of her U SPORTS career while playing in her final home regular season weekend.
Part of what made the night so special for Bourassa was her involvement in the night that was. Bourassa helped organize Play for a Cure night — the 13th in program history. The Huskies honoured Rhodes McNairn, a patient treated by Bourassa who is a full-time nurse, and he was in attendance to see a historic night for the Weyburn, Sask. product.
"I can definitely say this will be a game I'll never, ever forget," said Bourassa. "I'm kind of at a loss for words. I couldn't have asked for a better night for anyone.
"Every battle and every play I went into tonight, I just thought of Rhodes and his battle. I just said 'I have to do this for him.' I just can't believe it worked out the way it did. It was honestly so special."
With the result, the Griffins fall to 6-9-0-0, while the Huskies improve to 10-5-2-0.
MacEwan remains two points back of Calgary for the final playoff spot, but now has only one game in hand. To make matters more urgent, Regina knocked off Manitoba 5-2 on Friday, pulling them even with the Dinos, but they've played two more games than MacEwan has.
Either way, Saturday's contest at Saskatchewan is turning into a must-win for the Griffins, who have only four regular season games remaining after that one.
"Obviously, limiting their scoring chances will be important and trying to slow them up," said McAlpine of what they need to do to have success against the Huskies. "They're a really fast team. They play with a ton of pace, so everything we can do to shut them down in that area we'll need to do."