Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – In an attempt to sweep the rival Golden Bears in a regular season series for the first time in program history, the MacEwan Griffins scored twice on their first three shots of the game on Saturday.
It was a dream start that ultimately wasn't sustainable against a hungry, motivated Alberta squad that had lost the night before and was in danger of falling out of a share of first place in the Canada West standings should they not recover from the 2-0 deficit.
The Golden Bears spent the rest of the game rolling lines with wave after wave of pressure as they scored five unanswered goals to win 5-2.
"They're a first-place hockey team for a reason," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "They skate exceptionally well, they wear you down and come in waves. Unfortunately, we just ran out of gas at the end of the game there."
With the result, Alberta maintained its grip on top spot in Canada West, improving to 14-4-0, while MacEwan dropped back to .500 at 8-8-2 – still a full 10 points ahead of Manitoba for the final playoff spot in the East Division, although the Bisons have two games in hand.
After beating the Golden Bears 4-3 on Friday, the Griffins could certainly have been ripe for letdown in the rematch, but that wasn't the case. The effort and will were there, but some of the details were lacking late in the contest.
"Definitely impressed with our group," said Dailey. "To get that win yesterday, we exuded a lot of energy. Then, we came out here and going into the third period, it's a 2-2 hockey game. They showed up, they competed, they did what they had to to keep it close."
Just seconds after killing off a penalty midway through the first period, Vincent Scott seized some space on a speedy rush across the Bears' blueline and wired a snipe through a defenceman and past Alberta goaltender Tyler Palmer to open the scoring.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) January 5, 2025
Vinny Scott with the snipe!
And the @MacEwanGriffins open the scoring against @GBHKY at the DCA.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/TxMeor60Fo
Less than a minute later, with MacEwan enjoying a 6-on-5 on a delayed penalty call, Hunter Donohoe fed Sean Comrie, who one-timed a point shot through traffic to put MacEwan up 2-0.
"They were good plays by our guys," said Dailey. "That shot by Vinny was a really nice shot – through a D-man and post and in. Then the 6-on-5 there, we had really good traffic and we had a guy shoot a one-timer. Those were two really good goals and gave our group some energy.
"Unfortunately, we ran out of gas and just weren't able to sustain that. Again, this was a team we were playing that's very good, they skate exceptionally well and they just wore us down at the end."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) January 5, 2025
On a delayed penalty call, Sean Comrie makes it 2-0 for the @MacEwanGriffins!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/pQiomKZA3r
Brett Hyland cut the MacEwan lead in half before the first was out when he tipped Elias Carmichael's point blast past Griffins goaltender Brett Epp.
Then it was the Marc Lajoie show as he scored a natural hat trick over the course of 12 minutes and 42 seconds from the late second period into the third.
Sean Tschigerl capped the scoring with the nicest goal of the evening with four minutes left on the powerplay as he one-timed home a cross seam pass from Aidan de la Gorgendiere on a pretty passing play that also included Connor McClennon.
"To be honest, it feels like every goal there's a mistake made that leads to it," said Dailey. "Yes, they made some really good plays, but a lot of our systems we keep stuff to the outside and try to be hard in front of our net, and there was a tip goal, and there was a cross-ice seam on the power play, which shouldn't happen. Definitely preventable, but they're a very good hockey team. They put pressure on us and made some good plays, for sure."
BIG SAVE
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) January 5, 2025
Brett Epp was sharp on this third period stop after a 2-on-1 developed down low. He finished with 35 saves. pic.twitter.com/chAXLoMa0N
Epp finished with 35 saves for the Griffins, while Tyler Palmer stopped 23 for the Golden Bears.
MacEwan heads into a bye weekend and will return to action on Jan. 17-18 in a home-and-home series against Mount Royal University, who are tied for top spot in Canada West with Alberta.
"Talking to our group, we always come to win hockey games," said Dailey. "That's why we're here and that's why we play, but more important to me is how we're playing, and I thought we took a step in the right direction.
"I thought before Christmas, we were not playing good hockey for about four games there. So, I think that we started off on the right foot here and we are playing good hockey. Some things to build on, obviously, and get better, but I thought we did some really good things this weekend."
