Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Fresh off beating the defending Canada West champs – topping UBC 5-1 last Saturday – the Griffins will look to keep rolling as they head into a home-and-home series against another perennial contender, Alberta.
Their schedule certainly doesn't get any easier against the Golden Bears. Alberta is coming off a bye week, where they've had extra time to stew over their first loss of the season their last time out – a 4-1 setback at UBC on Oct. 26.
Prior to that, however, Alberta had rattled off seven-straight wins to start the season, including two victories over MacEwan Oct. 4-5.
The Griffins split their series vs. UBC last weekend, losing 6-1 on Friday before winning 5-1 on Saturday, despite being outshot 33-15, as Carson Ironside stopped 32 in his Canada West debut.
"I thought defensively we were pretty good, but certainly we need to push more in the offensive end," said MacEwan head coach Zack Dailey. "I thought we passed up some opportunities to shoot and get pucks to the net. Definitely some positives to take away. I thought when we had the lead, our game changed in a positive way.
"Definitely some stuff to fix, but I was happy with the effort and, obviously, the outcome last weekend."
On Tap
Friday: MacEwan at Alberta, 7 p.m., Clare Drake Arena, Canada West TV
Saturday: Alberta at MacEwan, 5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV
Standings
MacEwan: 4-4-0, 3rd East Division
Alberta: 7-1-0 1st East Division
Last meeting
Oct. 5: MacEwan 4 at Alberta 6
Last game
MacEwan: W, 5-1 vs. UBC on Nov. 2
Alberta: L, 4-1 at UBC on Oct. 26
Zack Dailey's coach's quote:
"One of our biggest things is win or lose we try to put weekends behind us and just focus on what's happening. But that being said, any time you beat a really good hockey team, hopefully there's a confidence in your group that what you're doing works. As long as we stick to a plan and everyone's on the same page, we can beat anybody.
"We have a good group, a good team, but we're playing a really good team, as well, that is absolutely rolling right now. What we're trying to do is put in a good effort. If we do that and we execute what we're going to do, we'll have some success this weekend."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Carson Ironside – In his Canada West debut last Saturday, he made 32 saves, including several point-blank shots and breakaways. He started the year as the Griffins' third goaltender after transferring from the NCAA but has a chance to earn more starts if he keeps playing like he did that night. What does he have in him for an encore against Alberta?
Alberta: Sean Tschigerl – Even though the Golden Bears had a bye last weekend, the rookie forward is still leading Canada West in scoring with six goals and 15 points in eight games. The former Calgary Hitmen assistant captain, who spent parts of six seasons in the WHL – finishing it with Lethbridge in 2023-24 – has only one of those points against the Griffins – an assist on Oct. 5. So, for those keeping track, he has 14 points in his last six games.
