MacEwan Athletics 

EDMONTON – A cross-town rivalry series will lift the lid on the new MacEwan men's hockey season as the Griffins look to build off of the program's first Canada West playoff berth last February.

The Griffins and Alberta Golden Bears will meet an Oct. 4-5 home-and-home series to kick off the 2024-25 campaign with MacEwan's home opener going Oct. 4 (7 p.m.).

SEE THE FULL 2024-25 SCHEDULE HERE

"We are excited to get going," said head coach Zack Dailey. "We took a good step last year and we are looking to take another one this year. 

"Being harder to play against and having more consistency in our play are some of the things we will be focusing on."

All Griffins home games are played at the Downtown Community Arena.

Fans will have to wait until the second semester before witnessing a rematch of last season's opening round playoff series as the Griffins only meet Mount Royal University in one home-and-home series (Jan. 17-18).

That's because Canada West men's hockey has gone to a two-division format in 2024-25 with MacEwan, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Regina and Manitoba in one division, and MRU, Calgary, UBC and Trinity Western in the other.

The top three teams from each division will earn playoff spots (division leaders get byes, crossing over in the quarter-finals in 2v3 matches).

As a result, the Griffins will play an unbalanced schedule. They have six games each against Alberta and Regina, four against Manitoba and Saskatchewan and two against each of the teams in the other division – hosting UBC and visiting Trinity Western – with home-and-home series against Calgary and MRU.

"The schedule is out of our control," said Dailey. "We will be focused on our effort and attitude every day and making sure we are prepared to play, regardless of our opponent." 

The U SPORTS national championship – the University Cup – will be held March 20-23 in Ottawa. To qualify, the Griffins would need to make the Canada West final.