Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Suddenly, it's a three-horse race for the final playoff spot in the Canada West men's hockey standings.
After Regina (5-11-3) beat Manitoba (7-10-1) twice last weekend, they've climbed back to level with MacEwan (6-12-0), both three points back of the Bisons for sixth place.
That provides a little bit more drama to this weekend's series between the Griffins and Cougars in Regina on Friday (6 p.m. MT) and Saturday (2 p.m. MT). At the same time, Manitoba visits Mount Royal (14-3-3).
"They're in the exact same spot as us and looking at it the same way," said Griffins interim head coach Zack Dailey of the Cougars. "It should be a lot of fun. It's meaningful games, which is always fun to be a part of. We expect to see their best hockey and hopefully we put our best foot forward, as well."
The teams met twice on the opening weekend of the season in Edmonton, splitting the series with the Griffins winning 7-5 on Sept. 30 and the Cougars claiming a 7-3 win in the rematch. Regina went a ridiculous 7 for 12 on the powerplay in that series. MacEwan's PK has dramatically improved since then and the Cougars have only seven goals in a game once since, so much has changed from that lid-lifting weekend.
"Obviously, you have to watch video and see what worked and what didn't work, but I think more importantly, we're watching video of their recent games as teams improve throughout the season," said Dailey. "Our focus is just playing the right way, bringing energy, managing the puck, and not turning it over too much, and making it really hard on the goalie by getting guys and pucks to the net. That's our game plan and what we're focused on.
"Obviously, the results are important, but what we're focused on is the process and what we need to do to get the results."
For the first time since the midway point of the first semester, the Griffins were able to dress a full complement of healthy bodies on defence when they returned to action from the break with a pair of games against Calgary last weekend. Sean Comrie and Hunter Donohoe returned, while veteran Cameron Reagan returned to the program from the ECHL.
"It's nice to be able to dress a full lineup finally," said Dailey. "I think having Cam in there has helped, as well as Hunter and Sean. Now, it's just kind of getting comfortable. They've got their feet underneath them; now we need to continue to get better.
"It's probably better because we can even out the minutes and we don't have guys playing 27 minutes, which is pretty unrealistic to ask them to maintain that. Just putting guys in spots where they'll be able to succeed is something we can do with six D."
