Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Since the late '90s, hundreds of hockey players from all over the world have worn MacEwan silks as both the Griffins men's and women's programs have built storied histories.
Eight total championships.
Ten Player of the Year awards.
A total of 85 conference all-stars.
And thousands of other meaningful contributions, memories and friendships built to last a lifetime.
All of that history will converge together next month as the MacEwan Alumni office and MacEwan Athletics department are partnering to host inaugural alumni hockey games.
The Dec. 7 event at the Downtown Community Arena will feature a women's alumni game at 2 p.m., followed by a men's alumni game at 3:30 p.m., with a dinner afterward.
"I graduated in 2020 and we've yet to put something on like this for MacEwan hockey alum and I think it's a really great initiative, considering the number of championships we've won," said former Griffins women's hockey player Carley Jewell, who is co-organizing the event with fellow alumni advisory council member and former Griffins men's hockey goaltender Chris Wray.
"I think hockey's a pretty big program at MacEwan, so the first one, you want to be a part of it."
Registration is open until the end of this week HERE
Only a few spots remain, but former Griffins, alumni and their families are encouraged to come out and cheer them on. Fans get in to watch with a donation in the amount of your choice with proceeds going to the Adopt a Griffin program.
A full crew of alumni is expected for both women's and men's games. Things might even get competitive, said Nolan Yaremchuk – a current assistant coach with the Griffins men's team – who was a part of MacEwan's men's hockey dynasty with three-straight ACAC Championships from 2017-19.
"Extremely excited," he said of playing in the alumni game. "We've done a pretty good job of keeping in touch with one another, but obviously times are changing, and you don't get to see each other as much, especially on the ice.
"I imagine it's going to be a little bit more competitive than not, I would hope."
Leadership group Taylor Bilyk, left, Brett Njaa, Ryan Baskerville, Cam Gotaas and Nolan Yaremchuk celebrate with the 2018-19 ACAC Championship banner - the Griffins' third-straight title (Len Joudrey photo).
Jewell noted they already have alumni signed up from out of province and even from Europe as Switzerland Dominique Scheurer – a three-time ACAC all-star – plans to attend.
"There are quite a few people attending from out of town, so it's amazing to see the draw that we have," said Jewell, who was the ACAC Player of the Year in 2017-18 and a key member of three-straight Griffins championship teams from 2017-19. "One of our players who played for us from Switzerland is coming in – Domi. Then we have a big core from Manitoba coming. As well, I think we have one our players from the women's team coming in from Swift Current.
"Lots of draw, which is nice to see everyone buy in and want to come back and participate."
Memories will be shared, and friendly rivalries renewed.
"For me, I feel like I'm still connected to the school because I'm still coaching there, but I think for some of the other players, it will just be nice to come back to that rink," said Yaremchuk. "It will be fairly nostalgic. It will bring back some good memories.
"It's going to be an afternoon event that leads into an evening event … for some of us, at least," he added with a chuckle.
If somehow, they could get their hands on that ACAC Championship trophy that some of the boys were seen carrying around campus in the aftermath of their 2019 title run, you can bet it would be part of the festivities.
The women's alumni also have so many special connections, much of which happened off the ice.
"I think when we look back on some of the moments and we start to think about getting back together, it's so fun to chat about the championships we won," said Jewell. "At the end of the day, the relationships we built when we were there and have those core memories that happened off the ice is going to be a lot more what some of those conversations will be – those good times.
"I think that's what a lot of the girls are really looking forward to, reinvigorating some of those memories they got to experience when they played."
