Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Moustaches everywhere during Movember range from the Pencil to the Walrus, from the Chevron to the Handlebar, and from the Horseshoe to the … Wispy.
The MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team is a microcosm of society, featuring a wide variety of styles, too. Some are a little better than others as the team continues its participation in the longstanding fund-raiser for men's health issues.
So who has the best?
"That's tough," said this year's organizer Brett Smythe. "A lot of guys cheated a little bit – they started a little early – but we've got a lot of good 'staches on the team this year. I think (Payton) McIsaac's got a good one, Cam (Gotaas)'s got a good one, but I think they started a little advanced."
Who has the worst?
"There are a few guys, myself included," Smythe admitted of the lighter wispy version he's sporting. "Me and (Joseph) Karpyshyn are struggling, but we're doing our best. It's there, it's just hard to see it."
All in good fun for the Griffins who are eager to help out a cause embraced by all of MacEwan's men's teams, who have a combined goal of raising $5,000 this November.
Check out the link to donate here.
While many MacEwan student-athletes are growing their 'stache in honour of someone they know who is battling or has battled cancer, for Smythe it's his former hockey teammate Ty Bettac. The two played together with the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Drayton Valley Thunder from 2013-15.
"He was diagnosed a few years ago and he's cancer free now, so that's really good to see," said Smythe of his friend, who has raised more than $16,000 via the Movember fund-raiser since 2018 (you can find his fund-raising page here).
"It kind of hits home how it can really happen to anyone. No one's really safe from this and we're all trying to fight it and stop this from happening."
So, the Griffins are eager to do their part.
"Any time you can help out with a great cause like that and help people who are in need, it's a great thing," said interim head coach Sean Ringrose. "It's extremely important to do. We like to do that as a team and be able to help. All the guys on our team have great character and they enjoy helping out people in need. It's an issue that hits home with just about everyone."
On the ice, the Griffins (7-3-0-0) are preparing for a weekend series against Portage College (0-9-1-0). They'll host the Voyageurs on Friday (7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, ACAC TV) before travelling to Lac La Biche, Alta. on Saturday for the rematch (7 p.m., ACAC TV).
Coming in red hot on a four-game winning streak, the Griffins dearly want to keep rolling. Their great challenge will be to not take anything for granted against winless Portage.
"Last year, we didn't have the best mindset and they ended up taking one from us last year," said Smythe of a shocking 4-3 loss in Lac La Biche last October. "The returning guys are really trying to drill that in everyone's mind that we can't take this weekend off.
"Especially with NAIT coming up, we can't have any bad habits going into that game because they're having a great season. It's going to be a huge weekend, not only this weekend but the one after."
In short, the Griffins need to do what made them so successful in sweeping SAIT last weekend – attention to detail within Ringrose's system and a compete level that stretches the full 60 minutes.
"We've got to take a mature approach into this weekend, for sure," said Ringrose. "We can't get caught looking at the standings to see where they are. There's four games left before the break and we need all the points we can get.
"Even though we might be ahead of them in the standings, we need to make sure we're continuing to work our game. We've been playing really well the last few games and taking a step forward. We can't afford to take a step back at this point."
