Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – It would have been easy to fold up the tents and pack it in after the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team was trailing the Alberta Golden Bears 4-0 midway through the second period on Saturday night.

But they showed something, a resolve that will serve them well as the Canada West season moves along.

The Griffins refused to wilt, storming back to 4-3 and 5-4 before the Golden Bears finally sealed a wild one with an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left and won 6-4.

"I was really impressed with the pushback of our group," said MacEwan head coach Zack Dailey. "We want to be known as a team that competes hard no matter what the score is, so I was really proud that even though we were down by three going into the third, we still believed we could come back, and we made a good effort at doing that."

After Alberta's Ty Nash, Marc Lajoie, Josh Prokop and Connor McClennon gave the Golden Bears a 4-0 advantage, the Griffins finally hit the scoresheet at 13:47 of the second period when Loeden Schaufler's initial shot was stopped, but Spencer McLean buried the rebound.

GOAL��
Spencer McLean jumps on a rebound and buries to get the @MacEwanGriffins on the board at Clare Drake!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/pMveuVOt65

— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 6, 2024

Kadyn Chabot, who drew the second assist on the opening goal, brought the Griffins within two just 50 seconds into the third when Sean Comrie jumped on a turnover just inside the line, fed him down low, and he made no mistake.

GOAL��
Sean Comrie feeds Kadyn Chabot, who sneaks in his second of the weekend to bring the @MacEwanGriffins within two early in the third.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/vRbEf4vzby

— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 6, 2024

Then Sam Simard won a faceoff draw back to Marc Pasemko at 7:25 and he one-timed it past Alberta goaltender Ethan Kruger. 

GOAL��
Perfect faceoff execution.
Just how they drew it up - Simard to Pasemko. @MacEwanGriffins climb back to just 4-3 down.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/t0pwovvADq

— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 6, 2024

4-3. Game On.

Aidan de la Gorgendiere restored a two-goal advantage for Alberta at 9:55 and the game seemed all but over when Comrie was whistled for a high-sticking infraction with 4:30 to go.

Chabot didn't believe that, though, as he stole the puck from Lajoie along the wall and went in on a partial break short-handed, wiring it past Kruger.

It completed a four-point weekend for Chabot.

GOAL��
Great steal, sniper finish as Kadyn Chabot scores his second of the game - this time short-handed - to pull the @MacEwanGriffins within one of @GBHKY late, but the home side hits an empty net for a 6-4 final.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/1UoIWzGQ6J

— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 6, 2024

"We lost a little bit of scoring and guys need to step up and fill in for that," said Dailey of all the goals that went out the door last season with the departures of Ethan Strang, Jordan Taupert and Kole Gable. "I think he did a good job of that. I'm impressed with him. He's somebody who's capable of doing that and he definitely helped our team this weekend."

Alberta's Lajoie hit an empty net to seal the result.

Kruger finished with 23 saves for Alberta, while Eric Ward, who came into the contest 8:44 into the game after starter Brett Epp left with an injury after stopping three of four shots, made 20 saves for the Griffins.

"Difficult for him – putting a goalie into a situation where they don't expect to play and 10 minutes in they're expected to now lead their team," said Dailey. "So, we definitely put him in a tough spot. I thought that he competed hard for our group. I thought that he gave us a chance to win, as well. 

"Again, it just shows the resiliency of our group. We're here to compete no matter what the circumstances are. We're going to give our best effort and see where it gets us."

The Griffins hit the road next weekend, bound for a pair of games in Regina.