Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
VANCOUVER – Make no mistake despite looking at the score, the MacEwan Griffins women's hockey team was right there against the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night.
Trailing 4-2, they pulled goaltender Lindsey Johnson with 3:16 left, but weren't successful with the man advantage, allowing an empty-netter and another late tally for an official 6-2 loss.
"I thought that was probably our best game of the season," said assistant coach Izzy Cropper, who was running the bench with head coach Chris Leeming in New Brunswick with Team Alberta. "I don't think the scoreboard reflected how as a coaching staff, we felt, or even how the players felt. I thought that our feet were moving for the majority of the game. We were really physically engaged in the game in the right way. We had some big saves from Jonny. There were a lot of great things that we saw out there and our energy on the bench was really strong.
"When the team works that hard for the entire game, it makes it a lot easier for us to kind of pick out the areas we can make some improvements going into tomorrow and see if we can take another step as a team."
With the result, the Griffins fall to 1-5-1 in the standings, while UBC improves to 7-2-0. The teams will meet again on Saturday (4 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).
UBC was led by Grace Elliott (two goals and two assists), while Mackenzie McCallum had a goal and an assist, and Jacquelyn Fleming chipped in two assists.
The big moment for MacEwan in the game came late in the second period when captain Sydney Olsen scored her first career Canada West goal, rushing in off the point to slam a power-play rebound under the bar.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) November 2, 2024
Captain Sydney Olsen scores her first career goal and it's a big one, cutting the @MacEwanGriffins' deficit to 2-1 after two periods at @UBCWHKY.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/PP0LKpUdiz
"I think the reaction to Syd's goal tells you just about everything you need to know about the type of respect the team has for her," said Cropper of the wild celebration. "We gave them a bit of a reminder back at the bench that even with that goal, we needed to find another level and keep going. None of those players could keep the smile off their face, including Syd.
"It was really special to see how happy everybody was for her. Her work ethic is second to none, so it's great to see her get her first Can West goal."
Tess Collier provided the other celebratory moment for the Griffins, scoring her second of the season, sifting a seeing-eye shot through traffic from her post at the right side of the point.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) November 2, 2024
Tess Collier steps up to scored the second powerplay goal of the night for the @MacEwanGriffins, who trail @UBCWHKY 4-2 in the third period.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/Hv99RGysFs
"Tess is someone who I think does a really good job of simplifying her game," said Cropper. "She does seem to have a little bit of a knack for getting pucks through on that side. I think she's worked a lot on improving her awareness and making faster decisions on the blue-line. I'm really happy to see that continue for her.
"I think it sets a good example that sometimes we just need a simple game and things go our way when we continue to do those things."
Johnson made 27 saves for the Griffins, while Elise Hugens stopped 14 of 16 for UBC.
