Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – An ability to turn the page has been crucial to the success of the Griffins men's hockey team this season.
They'll definitely be doing that with the caveat they're taking a learning experience out of last Saturday's gut-wrenching 3-2 overtime loss to Alberta where they gave up a 2-0 lead with just over three minutes left.
"You're never going to be perfect," said head coach Zack Dailey. "Hockey's a game of mistakes. If you look at most goals, it's linked to a mistake that's made. At the end of games, especially with leads, you have to take all the risk out of your game, make sure you're doing things correctly, keeping it simple and you have to have a huge emphasis on the details – blocking shots and stuff like that.
"I think that if we can do those things, especially at the end of periods, end of games, it's going to help us be successful."
The Griffins are now off to B.C. this weekend where they'll visit Trinity Western for a pair of games.
Meanwhile, both MacEwan basketball teams are returning to action off a bye week, which came right after their home-opening weekend Nov. 1-2.
They'll visit the Calgary Dinos for their first road trip of the season as both teams eye their first victory of 2024-25.
Check out previews below on all the road action this weekend.
MEN'S HOCKEY
On Tap
Friday: at Trinity Western, 8:15 p.m. MT, Canada West TV
Saturday: at Trinity Western, 8:15 p.m. MT, Canada West TV
Last meeting
Nov. 11, 2023: MacEwan 4 at Trinity Western 3
Last game
Nov. 9: Alberta 3 at MacEwan 2 (OT)
Nov. 9: Trinity Western 1 at Saskatchewan 7
Standings
MacEwan (4-5-1): 3rd East Division
Trinity Western (2-8-0): 4th West Division
Zack Dailey's coach's quote:
"If you can pick up points out of (the division), that's huge for us. They've shown that they can play. They beat Regina and they've been playing some good hockey. They're a confident group, so we need to make sure we're at our best if we want to be successful.
"If we play the correct way, we're in hockey games, and if you're in hockey games, anything can happen. We hope our group has a little bit of confidence in our game plan and ability, know that if we're simple, and work hard we can play with any team."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Kadyn Chabot – The last time the Griffins visited Trinity Western, approximately a year ago, Chabot produced a four-point weekend, including scoring the game-winner on Night 1, and the Griffins completed a weekend sweep of the Spartans. The second-year forward is currently leading MacEwan in scoring with five goals and 10 points in 10 games.
Trinity Western: Leon Sommer – Named to the Canada West All-Rookie team in 2023-24, the goaltender, who was a member of Austria's World Junior team in 2021-22, is again the workhorse of the Spartans. No goalie in the conference has faced more shots (293 in eight games) and he is rocking a respectable 4.02 GAA and .898 save percentage.
Notable
Rookie Ethan Sundar had a goal and two assists against Alberta last weekend and was named MacEwan Athletics' third star of the week … Former Griffin Curtis Roach was the first MacEwan player to record four points in a Canada West game (a program record that's since been matched by Samuel Simard last season) when he pulled off the feat against Trinity Western during the 2021-22 season.
Sarah Burnell celebrates a point against Mount Royal in the Griffins' last action. After a bye week, they'll return to the court for the first time in 13 days this Friday in Calgary, Burnell's hometown (James Maclennan photo).
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
On Tap
Friday: at Calgary, 6 p.m., Canada West TV
Saturday: at Calgary, 4 p.m., Canada West TV
Last meeting
Nov. 19, 2022: MacEwan 54 at Calgary 80
Last game
Nov. 2: Mount Royal 78 at MacEwan 58
Nov. 9: Calgary 44 at Alberta 53
Standings
MacEwan (0-2): 9th Prairie Division
Calgary (2-2): T5th Prairie Division
Katherine Adams' coach quote
"We're really excited to play. It feels like Can West action is up and going. We competed and built some good momentum off our first weekend against Mount Royal and had to sit and watch teams play last weekend, so we're geared up. We're ready to go, excited to get playing again and getting into the swing of things."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Unity Obasuyi – The second-year forward was the Griffins' best player in their first series of the season Nov. 1-2 vs. Mount Royal, scoring 21 points in their home opener and adding 12 points in the rematch.
Calgary: Myriam Kone – The third-year guard from Edmonton is currently second in Canada West in scoring, averaging 19.3 points/game. A Canada West third team all-star in 2023-24, Kone has been a picture of consistency, scoring between 14 and 24 points in every game so far.
Notable
Katherine Adams played for the Calgary Dinos prior to her coaching career … The Griffins have several players with Calgary connections, including Sarah Burnell, who is from there and previously played for St. Mary's University in the ACAC … Maggie Smith, who hails from Cochrane, previously red-shirted for the Mount Royal Cougars … Ava Regier is from Airdrie and Celine Quigley previously played for the Calgary-based SAIT Trojans in the ACAC.
Milan Jaksic recently reached 500 career points and 300 career rebounds (James Maclennan photo).
MEN'S BASKETBALL
On Tap
Friday: at Calgary, 8 p.m., Canada West TV
Saturday: at Calgary, 6 p.m., Canada West TV
Last meeting
Nov. 19, 2022: MacEwan 65 at Calgary 89
Last game
Nov. 2: Mount Royal 88 at MacEwan 74
Nov. 9: Calgary 78 at Alberta 59
Standings
MacEwan (0-2): T8th Prairie Division
Calgary (4-0): T1st Prairie Division
Mike Connolly's Coach Quote:
"It's a big weekend playing the No. 3 team in Canada. It will be a good test for our guys to play with one of the best this year in the country. We will need to be attentive to our defensive game plan to allow us opportunities to have success. They are a very talented team with lots of scoring on the roster. They have many guys who shoot the ball at a high level while playing together in their team concepts.
"It's a great opportunity for us to stack up good minutes, which will be building blocks to prepare for games in the future."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Job Janda – One of three Calgarians on the Griffins, the team captain will have plenty of familiar faces in the stands to watch him this weekend. Janda leads the Griffins in scoring after their first weekend, averaging 13.0 points/game and is co-leading the team in rebounding (8.0/game).
Calgary: Nate Petrone – The reigning Canada West first team all-star enters the weekend as the conference's scoring leader, averaging 24.5 points/game. The fourth-year guard's top output of the season came in Game 1 on Nov. 1 when he put up 30 points on Saskatchewan.
Notable
Milan Jaksic's last basket against Mount Royal on Nov. 2 put him over 500 career points (501), as he became the seventh player in the program's Canada West era to reach the milestone … He also reached 300 career rebounds on the nose, becoming just the third player in the program's CW history to do so. He has a shot at catching program record holder Denzel James, who had 339 rebounds in three U SPORTS seasons from 2014-17 … Besides Janda, Damilola Osuma and Dele Osuma also hail from Calgary.
