Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The MacEwan Griffins let one slip away.
Playing the Regina Cougars, a team they've beaten three times this year, the Griffins were outworked and outplayed in a 3-2 shootout loss on Saturday at the Downtown Community Arena.
"I felt all weekend they outworked us, and tonight we were too slow and didn't execute near good enough," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey.
"The result tonight was disappointing. They were first to races for pucks and they won more puck battles, and any time you're second in those categories, it's going to be a tough night."
Kadyn Chabot and Liam Hughes scored for the Griffins, while Brett Epp made 32 saves in the loss for the Griffins who dropped to 7-5-1-1.
Cougars' Eric Pearce and Jackson Doucet each scored their first goals of the season and they also both scored in the shootout, while Adam Evanoff made 21 saves as Regina improved to 2-12-0.
It looked like it may be an easy night for MacEwan as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 38 seconds into the contest. The Griffins capitalized on a bad turnover and Chabot wired a shot past Evanoff on their first shot of the game.
GOAL
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 24, 2024
Kadyn Chabot gets @MacEwanGriffins on the board just 38 seconds into the contest vs @ReginaCougars.
After 20 minutes, the teams are tied 1-1.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/lgWXH12bdG
But instead of it giving the Griffins energy, it sparked the Cougars, who were able to tie the game in similar fashion as they jumped on a turnover by MacEwan behind the net and the puck came out to Pearce in the slot, who made no mistake at the 7:48 mark.
"They (Regina) compete hard, and we didn't do a good enough job alleviating their pressure," said Dailey.
MacEwan took a 2-1 lead just 2:59 into the second period on a power play snipe from Hughes, who has tallied goals in back-to-back games.
Hughes made his return to the lineup after missing the previous eight games and found a way to make an impact.
GOAL
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 24, 2024
Liam Hughes scores for the second time this weekend off a pretty passing play. The @MacEwanGriffins lead the @ReginaCougars 2-1 late in the second period.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/MFhETwrlao
"Liam has patiently waited for his opportunity to get back in the lineup, and credit to him, he found a way to contribute after not playing for several weeks," said Dailey.
"Another guy, who I thought had a strong weekend was Epp. He was really good. He was working hard to get back in the lineup and he gave us a chance to win both games."
The Griffins held a 2-1 lead going into the third period, but it didn't last long, as Doucet jumped on a turnover and walked into the slot and beat Epp over the glove to tie the game at 2-2.
"Regardless of who we play, if we have a lead going into the third period, we need to close it out, and it's disappointing to let this one slip away, and not be able to keep the lead," said Dailey.
"Something we talk about all the time is consistency, and it's easier said than done, but that's what separates the good teams in the league and their ability to be consistent every shift. For stretches there was too much up and down with our group and our game wasn't where it needed to be."
In overtime, the Griffins, who have earned two wins in the extra session this season, came close on a chance in the final minute but weren't able to beat Evanoff.
After Pearce gave Regina a 2-1 lead in the shootout, Evanoff made a nice glove save on Hughes to snag the win for Regina.
"This is a wakeup call for us this weekend. We had too many passengers, and it's unfortunate, because it was a big game," said Dailey.
"We weren't ready to handle their pressure and make plays under pressure. Regina's record doesn't show how good they are. They work really hard.
"We've got to give Regina a ton of credit. They put a lot of pressure on us, and a lot of guys weren't at their best tonight."
MacEwan will travel to Saskatoon next weekend and battle the Saskatchewan Huskies in a weekend series to end the first semester of play.
