Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics

CAMROSE – Bryan Arneson scored two powerplay goals and Cameron Reagan recorded a four-point night with a goal and three assists as the MacEwan Griffins solved the UAlberta-Augustana Vikings for the first time this season, beating them 4-2 in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men's hockey action on Friday.

The Griffins had lost two previous meetings with the Vikings in the first semester – 3-2 and 4-3 setbacks Oct. 24-25.

"They're a veteran group over there and they work hard and compete and battle," said MacEwan interim head coach Sean Ringrose. "It's a tough team to play against. They make you earn it. If you're not willing to play hard and play the right way, it's going to be a tough game for you. They showed that against us in the first half."

And they showed that in the early part of Friday's game as the Griffins struggled to exhibit the form that had them entering the weekend on a four-game winning streak.

"I thought we made a few mistakes in the first and second period and Daigs (Marc-Olivier Daigle) had to be sharp for us," said Ringrose of his goalie who finished with 34 saves. "Our penalty kill again had to be sharp. We took a lot of penalties. We weren't doing a great job breaking out of our own end.

"Our powerplay had a couple opportunities and scored a couple of goals, which was huge for us. We got out to an early lead."

Thanks to Reagan, the Griffins hit the scoresheet first as he flew down the right wing and beat Curtis Skip short side.

Arneson struck before the first period was done, walking in off the point and sniping one in through traffic for a 2-0 Griffins' lead.

"He's got a great shot and if he's able to get that shot away in a good scoring position, he's a threat to score all the time," said Ringrose. "He really showed that tonight on the powerplay."

The Vikings cut the lead in half on Travis Mayan's second period powerplay goal and then tied the game 3:27 into the third period when Lukas Biensch got on the scoresheet.

However, Reagan was at it again and he had a little help. Just over two minutes later, the D-man rushed the puck up the ice and in an attempt to get it into the zone, it deflected off a defender's stick and landed in the middle of the slot. Ryan McKinnon sped in and wired the game-winner off the post and in.

"When they tied it up there, they were coming on with some momentum," said Ringrose. "For us to get that goal and bounce back right away was huge for us. It shifted the momentum in our favour, and we were able to build off that and have a real strong third period."

That's when he noticed the Griffins playing the way they're capable of as they hemmed the Vikings in and took control of the contest. Arneson added an insurance marker with 9:39 left, again on the powerplay, as he wired home a gorgeous cross-seam pass from Reagan.

"It's always great when your team's not at their best and they're able to find a way to win the game," said Ringrose. "That's what we were able to do tonight. We knew we didn't have our best. Things weren't going our way tonight and we were still able to pull it out and get the win."

Skip finished with 37 saves for the Vikings

The teams will meet in the rematch on Saturday (6 p.m., Downtown Community Arena).