MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Men's hockey student-athlete Kole Gable is the MacEwan Athletics first star of the week after leading the Griffins to a playoff-clinching victory over the Manitoba Bisons.
MacEwan's captain scored his first Canada West hat trick and finished with four goals in the two-game series as the Griffins qualified for the U SPORTS playoffs for the first time in program history.
Women's basketball player Makenzie Reeve and women's hockey player Jennifer Andrash were named the second and third stars, respectively.
It's the first appearance of the season on the Three Stars list for all three student-athletes.
Kole Gable, seen in action against UBC earlier this season, scored four goals in a weekend series against Manitoba (Jacob Mallari photo).
1st STAR: Kole Gable, F, men's hockey
Fort McMurray, AB, fourth-year, Commerce
Entering the weekend needing just one point to clinch the first Canada West playoff spot in program history, the Griffins got the job done with an exclamation point in a 7-2 win over the Manitoba Bisons last Friday.
And captain Kole Gable was front and centre in the efforts, recording the first hat-trick of his U SPORTS career.
He was also named Canada West men's hockey player of the week.
Gable scored MacEwan's first, second and fifth goals of the contest and had six shots as the Griffins clinched sixth place in the conference.
In Saturday's rematch, the former Swift Current Bronco scored again – this time short-handed – in MacEwan's 4-3 shootout loss.
For the season, Gable finished fourth in Griffins' scoring with nine goals and 19 points in 24 games.
The Griffins are on a bye week during the final weekend of the regular season as they watch which team will end up finishing third in the conference and become their first-round playoff opponent on the Feb. 16-18 weekend.
Makenzie Reeve had one of the hottest shooting nights in program history when she went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the Griffins' contest at UBC Okanagan on Saturday (Robert Antoniuk photo).
2nd STAR: Makenzie Reeve, F, women's basketball
Sherwood Park, AB, third-year, Child & Youth Care
Reeve just couldn't miss from beyond the arc in Saturday's contest at UBC Okanagan, going 5-for-5 on threes to lead the Griffins with 17 points in a 78-56 loss.
That's tied for the fourth-best performance by a MacEwan player in a Canada West game. Only Kendall Lydon (7-for-10 in 2017), and Mikah Reed (6-for-12 and 6-for-17 in two different 2023 games) have scored more three-pointers in Griffins' history. Lydon also had a 5-for-5 game in 2016.
Reeve added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in MacEwan's 78-56 loss.
On Friday, she finished with five points, four rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes of work during MacEwan's 80-55 setback.
For the season, Reeve is averaging 4.5 points/game (tied for fourth on the Griffins), 4.2 rebounds (fourth) and 1.5 assists (second).
The Griffins will close out the 2023-24 regular season this weekend with a pair of games vs. Victoria (Friday, 7 p.m. and Saturday, 3 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
Jennifer Andrash had two assists in two games for the Griffins as they took three of a possible four points out of a series against Manitoba (James Maclennan photo).
3rd STAR: Jennifer Andrash, F, women's hockey
Richmond, BC, third-year, Science
Contributions came from across the board for the Griffins as they earned three of a possible four points against the Manitoba Bisons on the weekend, but Andrash stood out for her contributions to MacEwan's fifth win of the season.
With 9:36 remaining in a one-goal game Saturday, she sent an incredible cross-crease pass onto the tape of Maria Ayre for a back-door tally that would stand up as the game-winner in a 3-2 triumph over the Bisons.
Andrash also had an assist in Friday's 4-3 overtime loss and finished the weekend with two shots and a +1 rating.
The Delta Hockey Academy product finished tied for second in scoring on the Griffins with four goals and eight points in 26 games.
