Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Boasting six different goal scorers – four of them tallying for the first time in their U SPORTS careers – the MacEwan Griffins survived a wild third-period comeback attempt by the Regina Cougars to post a 7-5 win in their Canada West men's hockey home opener Friday night.
Former Edmonton Oil King and Kelowna Rocket David Kope led the effort with three assists, while Boston University transfer Ashton Abel was the difference in between the pipes, making 29 saves to secure MacEwan's third-straight win over Regina in the past two seasons.
"It was nice to see our guys being able to put up some numbers and there were some good goals," said interim head coach Zack Dailey. "A lot of hard work went into those goals, so that's really positive.
"The defensive part will come. It's early in the season. I thought there were a few mental mistakes that we can clean up. But they're a good team, they worked hard and they pushed us. It was a good test, but I was really happy with the way the guys found a way to get it done in the end."
Regina opened the scoring with their first of three powerplay goals in the game as Tyler Heidt sifted a shot through a screen blocker side 10:17 in.
Then, cue up the first goal of the season by a Griffin … and the honour goes to assistant captain Curtis Roach. He roared off the bench like gangbusters and got a point-blank chance on Regina goaltender Curtis Meger before taking a great David Kope diagonal zone pass and going in alone for another try – a beautiful deke that knotted the game 1-1.
"Thankfully, he was talking loud and letting me know where he was," said Kope on the pass of the game that eluded three Regina players. "I just turned and rifled it across the ice to him and he got it, made a nice move and we went up 1-0, so it was good."
After Jayden Davis put Regina back on top at 16:59, it was time for the newcomers to steal the show for MacEwan. Rookie defenceman out of the Regina Pats, Neithan Salame, banged home a rebound off Kole Gable's shot from in tight to tie the game on the PP with just 27 seconds left in the opening frame.
Neithan Salame was one of four newcomers to score his first U SPORTS goal on Friday (Joel Kingston photo).
RIT transfer Merritt Oszytko then notched his first U SPORTS goal just 1:54 into the second to give the Griffins a 3-2 lead when he walked out from behind the net and slammed a low banger far side.
"We brought in a lot of great players," said Dailey. "They're big parts of the team and they're going to help us be more successful this year, so that's kind of the expectation. We brought them in because we know they can play hockey and contribute. It was great to see their hard work being rewarded."
Third-year captain Kole Gable put the Griffins up 4-2 when he rolled off the wall and roofed one off Meger's glove and in before rookie Ethan Strang chased the Cougars' starter 8:49 into the second on a gorgeous breakaway half deke, tucking the puck five hole.
Up three goals, the Griffins had to weather a furious Regina storm for the remainder of the middle frame, but another newcomer stood on his head. Abel held the fort during a crucial moment of the game, making several top stops, including a great pad stop on Matt Culling, who drove wide around the defence.
"I just thought he was solid for us in the second period there," said Dailey. "I thought we had some pressure and we gave up some really, really good scoring chances and he held us in it. I thought he was an anchor for us tonight. I'm happy with his play."
Ashton Abel made 29 saves and was a difference-maker for the Griffins in his U SPORTS debut (Joel Kingston photo).
Abel hasn't seen a lot of action in recent season, buried on the depth chart at Boston University before deciding to transfer close to his Fort McMurray hometown this season.
"Our guys played well, for sure," he said. "It's good to get back in the net. I haven't played a lot the last couple of years, so it's good to be back in between the pipes. I thought we played well. It wasn't pretty towards the end there, but we got the job done, which is what matters."
Regina got within two early in the third when Jayden Davis scored his second of the game, again on the powerplay. But another first year Griffins player, Marc Pasemko, gave the home team more breathing room when he drove wide on the D and stuffed the puck past Regina goalie Adam Evanoff.
The Griffins would need it as the Cougars unleashed a firestorm of pressure late, scoring twice (Matt Culling and Scott Mickoski) to get within one and had another goal called off when the whistle went before it crossed the line.
Oszytko hit an empty net with a minute left from his own zone to ice the victory.
The Griffins officially outscored the Cougars 5-2 playing 5-on-5, but know they need some work on the penalty kill.
"We'll definitely take a look," said Dailey. "I think we were letting too many cross-ice passes through and we didn't do a very good job being in shot lanes. Those are two things we can clean up, but we'll definitely look at the video and be better prepared tomorrow."
The teams meet again on Saturday (3 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV).
