MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Nikki Reimer is the MacEwan Athletics first star of the week after leading the Griffins women's hockey team to their second-straight ACAC Championship.
Reimer was named the ACAC playoff MVP after scoring two goals and two assists and providing excellent defence in a four-game series win over the Red Deer College Queens.
Other athletes recognized this week include second star Sean MacTavish of the men's hockey team and third star Valerie Schlottke of the indoor track team.
All three are making their first appearance of the season on the Three Stars list.
1st star: Nikki Reimer, D, women's hockey
Winnipeg, MB, fourth-year, Science
A week after being named to the ACAC Women's Hockey All-Conference Second Team, the Griffins defenceman was celebrating on the ice with her teammates after beating the Red Deer Queens 3-1 in Game 4 to clinch their second-straight ACAC Championship.
Reimer was a huge reason why, scoring two goals and adding two assists during the four-game series (three of those coming in Games 3 and 4 last weekend). As a result, she was named as the 2018 ACAC playoff MVP.
The fourth-year defenceman, who has now been an all-star in consecutive seasons – making the ACAC First Team in 2017 – after transferring to MacEwan from the University of Alberta, led the Griffins with five points in six playoff games.
Defensively, she plays in all situations and was crucial in shutting down the Queens' attack in the final.
Reimer and the Griffins have now won two-straight ACAC Championship titles.
2nd star: Sean MacTavish, F, men's hockey
Edmonton, AB, third-year, Commerce
The ACAC rookie, who transferred to the Griffins this season after two seasons at NCAA Alaska-Anchorage, was the hero MacEwan was looking for as they faced a tough challenge from the Red Deer College Kings in the ACAC semifinals over the weekend.
MacTavish wasted little time making an impact, scoring the opening goal of the series just 2:51 into Game 1 at Edmonton's Downtown Community Arena. It sent the Griffins off the races on a 4-1 victory.
In Saturday's Game 2 at the Penhold Multiplex, MacTavish really came into his own. With the Griffins trailing 2-0 after the first period, he jumped on an early second-period turnover in the Kings zone and undressed goaltender Mike Salmon. After MacEwan tied the game, MacTavish struck for the winner in the third period when he one-timed a Brett Njaa pass past Salmon.
The Griffins won 4-2 to advance back to the ACAC Championship. The final will be a rematch of the 2017 Championship as the Griffins will again square off against the NAIT Ooks.
Sean MacTavish scored three times in the Griffins' two-game sweep of Red Deer College in last weekend's ACAC semifinal (Matthew Jacula photo).
3rd star: Valerie Schlottke, indoor track
St. Albert, AB, second-year, Science
One third of MacEwan's stellar indoor track sprinting trio, Schlottke wrapped up the ACAC Championship over the weekend with two individual silver medals and a team relay gold.
The second-year athlete's most impressive performance might have been on Saturday when she entered in her very first 600-metre race – a much longer distance than she's used to – and held off two middle distance specialists down the stretch to finish second behind teammate Nikita Case.
The result came a day after she also claimed the silver in the women's 300-metre dash as part of the first podium sweep in the history of ACAC indoor track, joining teammates Case (gold) and Amanda Ntiamoah (bronze) on the podium.
In the last event of the meet, Schlottke ran the second leg of MacEwan's golden 4x400 women's relay run (joining Ntiamoah, Hannah Leggatt and Case) that also set a new ACAC record.
To top it off Schlottke and her teammates claimed MacEwan's third ACAC women's team banner in a row and fourth in the last five years.
Valerie Schlottke netted individual silver medals in both the women's 300 and 600 metres and helped MacEwan strike team relay gold during the ACAC Championship last weekend (Robert Antoniuk photo).
