Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
SASKATOON – After Brianna Sank parried a hot shot away with her shoulder in the fifth round of the shootout, it was Shaelyn Hopkins' chance to shine.
The third-year defenceman bucked a trend, shooting low, back against the grain of her deke, and beat Saskatchewan goaltender Colby Wilson to deliver a 3-2 victory for the Griffins in Canada West women's hockey action on Saturday.
"There were nine shooters that went before anybody else scored," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming. "Hoppy came in and fired a shot low because everyone else tried to go high on their goalie. It caught her off guard and earned us the win."
Officially, Sank stopped Kendra Zuchotzki, Jayde Cadieux and Ava Bergman, while Sara Kendall missed the net high and Brooklyn Stevely shot wide as Saskatchewan failed to score on five shootout attempts.
Wilson only stopped Sasha Malenfant, while Jennifer Andrash and Sydney Jack both shot wide and Claire Hobbs made a nifty deke to beat the goalie but hit the crossbar.
But Hopkins sealed it on her attempt to lift the Griffins to their second win in their past three games. They're now 4-17-3 and building some nice momentum to carry into next season.
SHOOTOUT VICTORY!
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 2, 2025
Shaelyn Hopkins scores the winner in the fifth round of the shootout after Brianna Sank makes a big shoulder save as the @MacEwanGriffins win 3-2 over @HuskieWHKY!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/qwd6b2Zdxe
They also played spoiler, eliminating Saskatchewan (5-13-6) from the playoffs with the victory.
"There's definitely some elation, but they're also tired and banged up," said Leeming. "We played three players short this weekend due to some injuries. There was a lot more opportunity for people to step up and get some ice time, and contribute towards the win."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 1, 2025
Jennifer Andrash opens the scoring, tipping in Shaelyn Hopkins' powerplay point shot midway through the first!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/HsEEoxv9iL
Andrash opened the scoring for MacEwan midway through the first period when she tipped Hopkins' powerplay point shot past Wilson.
It was the first time the Griffins have scored on her in four meetings this season as she posted 1-0 and 3-0 shutouts against them Nov. 29-30 in Edmonton before blanking them again 1-0 on Friday in Saskatoon.
But the Griffins' offence got gritty, had traffic in front and it paid off again on their second goal of the first period. Tess Collier's point shot with 1:40 left in the first was tipped in by Rian Santos.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 1, 2025
Another point shot and another tip!
Tess Collier's shot is redirected in by Rian Santos to give @MacEwanGriffins a 2-0 lead over @HuskieWHKY after 20 minutes. Brianna Sank has 11 saves for MacEwan so far.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/QhuTxqTNO3
"It was big for us to get up two goals," said Leeming. "There aren't too many times we've been in that situation. They came back and built some momentum for them. They scored a couple powerplay goals and that's how they generated most of their offence."
Indeed, Saskatchewan got two second period PP goals by Bronwyn Boucher and Cadieux to tie the score.
"But we came out in the third period determined to go for the win," said Leeming. "They bent but they didn't break. We gave up a couple more scoring chances than we would have liked, but we also created a lot more because we had over 30 shots in today's game."
Saskatchewan only slightly outshot the Griffins – 36-33 – as Wilson stopped 30 and Sank saved 34, giving her a .944 save percentage in the contest, not including the shootout.
"She showed up today and did what she's capable of doing for us," said Leeming. "That gives us a lot of confidence. If we do make a mistake and give up a Grade A scoring chance, she's there to help us stay in the game. I thought she had a really good game today."
The Griffins have four games remaining in the 2024-25 season – a home-and-home vs. Calgary Feb. 7-8 and a home doubleheader vs. Regina Feb. 14-15.
