The Rundown - Week 3
Once more, this blog is not here to celebrate blowout wins. The recap is there to show the damage, but there will be no long-winded pieces of literature about goals in a blowout win. In saying that, the Cougars pounced on the Dinos when Aliya Jomha scored her third goal of the season at 3:34 unassisted before Courtney Kollman scored her fourth goal 1:10 later to put Mount Royal up 2-0. Calgary would rally, though, as Elizabeth Lang got one back for the Dinos at 9:06 with her third goal of the season, and Alli Borrow would push this game into the intermission at a 2-2 tie when she scored her second goal of the campaign at 17:02. Calgary held the 11-5 advantage in shots through the first period.
Penalties were the story of the second period as a too-many-players penalty on the Dinos in the first minute led to an Anna Purschke power-play goal at 1:10 to push the Cougars into the lead. An interference call later in the period to Rachel Paul allowed the Cougars to capitalize once again as Mackenzie Butz hammered a blast from the point through traffic and past Durante for the power-play goal, and Mount Royal claimed a 4-2 lead that carried into the break.
Mount Royal used early goals in the third period to put the Dinos in a deep hole as Tianna Ko scored her third of the season at 1:31 to end Durante's night in the crease with Calgary down 5-2. It didn't get any easier for Dayna Owen who came into the game for the Dinos as Taylor Sawka scored her third goal at 3:48 for a 6-2 Mount Royal lead. Holly Reuther would get one of those goals back while shorthanded when she forced a turnover at the blue line, skated the puck down the ice, and beat De Beauville for her third goal of the season at 17:06, but Mount Royal would see goals from Courtney Kollman on the power-play at 18:38 and Emma Bergesen on the power-play at 19:57 to close out this 8-3 victory for the Cougars. Zoe De Beauville picks up her third win of the season with a 19-save night while Gabriella Durante suffered the loss while stopping 24 of 29 shots in her 41:31 of work. For the record, Dayna Owen stopped four of seven shots in her 18:29 of relief.
Highlights of this game are below!
I will note that the Cougars held their end of the bargain in terms of moving this game as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls were honoured with a ceremonial puck drop between Tsuu T'ina Nation Councilman Steven Crowchild and manager of Cougar Athletics Rob Godfrey. Four red dresses were also hung beside the MRU bench commemorating Sisters in Spirit, and I wanted to ensure that this was mentioned as the Cougars deserve some kudos for honouring the memory of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and for recognizing the efforts made by Sisters in Spirit. Well done, Cougars!
When the game puck was dropped, the first period belonged to the Cougars as they peppered Durante with shots. Unlike Friday, though, Durante was having none of it as she stopped all 16 shots fired at her in the first period thanks in large part to a two-player advantage for a full two minutes. Ross was far less busy in the Cougars' crease with four stops, but neither goaltender would allow anything behind them as we moved to the second period tied at 0-0.
Calgary got themselves back on track in the second period as they launched ten shots at Ross, but the netminder was content to allow zero past her once again. At the other end, Durante stopped another nine shots from the Cougars, and the netminders were the story as this game headed into the third period still tied at 0-0.
The third period would see the deadlock broken following a sequence of penalties that left Calgary on the power-play just before the midway point of the frame. The Dinos would capitalize when Elizabeth Lang's shot was kicked out by Ross, but the rebound went directly to Holly Reuther who cashed in the rebound at 9:38 for her fourth goal of the season, and the Dinos took the 1-0 lead! Despite pressing late in this game, Mount Royal couldn't find the equalizer as the Dinos bounced back with a 1-0 over the Cougars! Gabriella Durante stopped 34 shots for her third win and first shutout of the season while Kaitlyn Ross stopped 18 shots in the loss.
As an aside, I find it a wee bit disconcerting that the gamesheet and the game summary on Canada West's website both show that the game took place at Flames Community Arena despite it clearly not taking place there. It should also be noted that the gamesheet, the game summary, and the Cougars' own game summary all show Kaitlyn Ross was making the stops in this game, but the recap written by Ellery Platts and Maria Kanatas states something entirely different.
You know how we could solve this problem of who actually played this game? A highlight package. You know who doesn't produce highlight packages for some odd, inexplicable reason? The Mount Royal Cougars. As an aside, Ron Livingston is playing the role of Mount Royal's athletic department in the movie version of this mystery of missing highlights. Here's a short clip.
To say that UBC dominated this game might not be fully selling just how good the Thunderbirds looked. Shay-Lee McConnell scored her first goal of the season at 5:40 when she went between the wickets on Sank. Chanreet Bassi used the same tactic when she turned a giveaway into a five-hole goal at 9:40 for her fourth marker of the campaign. And Ireland Perrott's one-timer on a loose puck in the slot found enough room through Sank at 16:25 for her second goal of the season that marked the end to a short night for Sank as she was replaced by Natalie Bender after the Griffins fell behind 3-0. That score would hold to the break where the T-Birds showed their dominance in holding a 17-2 edge in shots. No, that's not a typo.
The second period saw the onslaught continue as UBC continued to replace the Griffins logo on Bender's chest with puck marks. Hannah Koroll would finally get one past Bender on the power-play for her first of the season when she fired a shot through the humanity standing in front of the screened goal at 6:40 to make it 4-0. MacEwan's efforts were routinely thwarted by a relentless UBC defence, and we'd hit the 40-minute mark with UBC up 4-0 and leading 32-5 in shots. Again, not a typo.
MacEwan played better in the third period compared to the earlier frames as they had chances in the third period, but they couldn't solve Hugens. Grace Elliott scored her second goal of the season with 47 seconds to play as her shot in the slot had enough on it to get past Bender, and the UNC Thunderbirds skated to the 5-0 victory over the MacEwan Griffins. Elise Hugens posted her third win and second shutout of the season with 11 stops in this game while Brianna Sank took the loss in stopping ten of 13 shots she faced. For the record, Natalie Bender made 24 of 26 shots she faced in 43:35 of work in relief of Sank.
MacEwan is really proud of their videos they posted seven years ago, it seems, because they refuse to post new ones of things like hockey highlights or sports highlights or any highlights of anything happening at their school in general. Seven years. For real.
SATURDAY: After a game in which they owned virtually every inch of ice, the Thunderbirds were looking to sweep the weekend series with the Griffins. MacEwan needed to find something positive on which they could build from the night before, and they saw some better play in the third period. Would that be enough to slow down the T-Birds? Reese Hiddleston got the start for UBC while Natalie Bender was back in MacEwan's blue paint after playing in relief the night before for the Griffins.
The first period on Saturday felt similar to the first period on Friday in terms of shot disparity with UBC throwing pucks at the MacEwan net from all over, but Natalie Bender was locked in as she prevented any from finding the twine behind her. Her great work in the crease was rewarded with the Griffins as they went to work on special teams, and the power-play marker that Aryn Chambers scored for her first Canada West goal of her career at 6:40 as the Griffins led 1-0! That score would carry into the break as Bender was sharp with UBC outshooting MacEwan 13-5 in the frame.
The second period saw Reese Hiddleston and Bender go save for save in preventing the score from increasing for either side. Bender stopped ten shots comapred to the six saves Hiddleston made, but neither would concede a goal as we'd move into the third period with the Griffins still leading 1-0.
The third period was all sorts of goal-scoring fun. Rylind MacKinnon notched her third of the season while on the power-play at 5:40, and the T-Birds pulled even at 1-1. 1:23 later, Jayme Doyle broke in on Hiddleston alone and netted her first Canada West goal to put the Griffins up 2-1. Kallie O'Hearn was whistled for a double-minor for a check to the head at the 16:18 mark, and UBC head coach Graham Thomas inexplicably decided to pull Hiddleston for a six-on-four advantage with 3:42 remaining. His gamble failed moments later when Joie Simon netted her first career Canada West goal shorthanded and into an empty net with 3:10 to play to make it a 3-1 game. Ashley McFadden would net her first goal of the campaign on the power-play with 39 seconds to play for UBC, but time expired as they looked for the equalizer as the MacEwan Griffins downed the UBC Thunderbirds by a 3-2 score! Natalie Bender earned her first win of the season and first Canada West win with a 41-save performance while Reese Hiddleston took the loss despite stopping 14 shots.
February 9, 2014 was the last time MacEwan logged into YouTube. This guy was a freshman at their campus the last time they uploaded a video of anything to YouTube. Simply ridiculous.
The two teams weren't all that aggressive through the opening period as both looked for spots to attack only to find that all shots were being turned aside by the two netminders. There wasn't much to report after one period as Saskatchewan led 5-2 in shots, but the score remained 0-0.
The second period saw the Huskies somewhat more aggressive as they generated chances off some sustained offensive pressure, but Fargey was disinterested in allowing goals. Drever, according to the shot totals in the period, appeared to be less busy, but I feel there was some padding of the stats for the home team in this period as the 14-5 edge in shots in this period seemed a little inflated. Regardless, neither team could find twine in this period, so we'd head to the third period seeking goals.
Both teams were more aggressive in the third period as they pushed for that all-important first tally. Again, both goalies were doing their jobs to the letter in denying chances, and the defences were stout when they needed to be. Saskatchewan outshot Manitoba 12-7 in this period, but there were still no goals to report as the final horn sounded so it was off to overtime!
An Ashley Keller tripping penalty early in the first overtime period brought all sorts of excitement as the Huskies had chances, but could not get the puck past Fargey nor the goal line. Shortly after killing off the penalty, a miscue on a face-off outside the Saskatchewan zone allowed Halle Edwards to poke the puck past the Huskies defenders, break in alone on Drever, go forehand-backhand, and slide the puck into the yawning cage past the sprawled goaltender at 4:30 of the extra frame for her third goal of the season and second game-winner of the campaign as the Bisons downed the Huskies 1-0 in overtime! Erin Fargey earned her third win and first shutout of the season with a 34-save performance while Camryn Drever took the overtime loss after making 15 stops.
I read this recap on Saturday morning, and I was a little shocked to see that there was virtually zero information on the game played on Friday and that the image is entirely from a different game not involving the Bisons. The Huskies wore white in this game, not black, so the image is definitely not from October 29, 2021. Was there a staffing shortage on campus where they couldn't get someone to recap this game properly?
I'll let everyone in on a secret that wasn't so secret: I was in Saskatoon for this game. I know they had all their pressboxes full because I was sitting on the concourse broadcasting beside the guys operating the cameras for the scoreboard and the webcast. That means they had video to make a highlight package, so they should have highlights of this game posted, right? Right?
SATURDAY: The Bisons came into the second-half of the two-game set looking for a sweep and the maximum four points after a big win on Friday. The Huskies were looking to rally back after suffering their first defeat of the season. Kimmy Davidson was tasked with stopping pucks for the Bisons in her first start of her Canada West career while Camryn Drever was back in the Huskies' net looking to avenge the loss from one night earlier!
Manitoba came out of the gates looking like the team who had a mission as they were aggressive on the forecheck and were pestering the Huskies' transition all period long. This resulted in more chances, and it would be one of the chances that they'd turn into a score. Trechelle Bunn fed Ashley Keller at the right hash marks, and she roofed a shot over Drever's left shoulder under the bar at 6:40 for her fourth goal of the season and the 1-0 lead for the Bisons. Despite the Bisons outshooting the Huskies 8-6 in the period, that would be the only goal either side would record as we'd move to the second period with the Bisons up a single.
The second period felt a lot like the first as the Huskies seemingly played with little urgency. Again, it resulted in quality chances for Manitoba, and the Bisons would make them pay when Katie Chatyrbok's wrap-around attempt was stopped by Drever, but Samantha Sichkaruk was left wide-open on the backdoor to bang home the rebound at 13:06 for her third goal which doubled Manitoba's lead to 2-0. Towards the end of the frame, the Huskies began to find ways to generate chances as they seemed to come to life, but the horn would send Saskatchewan into the break trailing 2-0 on the scoreboard and 18-15 in shots.
You had to figure the Huskies weren't happy with their performance to that point, and that the third period was going to be an everything-to-the-net period. It was definitely that as the Huskies were all over Manitoba for the entire stanza. Using their speed, they attacked off the wing. Using their muscle, they attacked from the slot. Using their passing, they found open players. The only problem was a goaltender named Kimmy Davidson who was putting on a bit of a clinic. Saskatchewan did find a flaw, though, as Sophie Lalor's shot from the face-off dot appeared to knuckle-puck on Davidson as she got a piece of it, but not all of it with the blocker as it landed in the net to draw Saskatchewan within one goal on Lalor's second tally of the season. As time ticked down, Drever went to the bench, but the Huskies could not find the equalizer as the Bisons withstood the pressure to escape with the 2-1 victory! Kimmy Davidson picked up her first career Canada West win with a 29-save effort while Drever came up on the short end once again despite stopping 19 shots.
The recap is better, but only slightly. The picture? Not Saturday's game. It's not even a game from this season. I'm a little shocked by this effort considering how many media staff the Huskies had on-hand for the weekend set.
Oh, and you wanted highlights? So did I. I even spoke to Linda Walker on the pregame radio show as Linda does colour commentary on the Huskies' Canada West TV broadcasts. They had cameras set up and rolling, they had full play-by-play commentary, and they have not one single, solitary highlight from this game. Honestly, the lack of highlight packages that Canada West schools seem to be endorsing makes it really hard for me to promote the athletes who make this game incredible. Follow Ted Lasso's advice about highlight packages.
The first period saw both teams testing the defensive system of the opponent as there were a handful of shots and a couple of chances. Neither Oswald nor Kliewer were willing participants when it came to goals, so we'd head to the second period with Alberta holding a slight edge in shots at 7-5.
The home team used a couple of power-plays to up their shot totals in the second period, but it was an Ireland Sorestad cross-ice pass tape-to-tape to Lilla Carpenter-Boesch that allowed Carpenter-Boesch to score her first goal of the season past Oswald on the power-play at 7:28 that put the Cougars out in front 1-0. Kliewer denied everything she faced in the second frame as that score held through the break, and we'd move to the third period with Regina leading on the scoreboard, but tied 16-16 in shots with the Pandas.
The Cougars were doing everything they could to ensure victory, but a late penalty to Jordan Kulbida was the break Alberta needed. On the power-play, Allison Reich's wrist shot eluded traffic and Kliewer to find the back of the net for her first Canada West goal at 18:10 that tied the game at 1-1! With no further goals in the period, we'd be off to overtime to find a winner!
The first overtime period solved nothing, so we'll jump to the three-on-three period. Kliewer was busy as she denied Danica Namaka on a breakaway, but Madison Willan wouldn't be denied moments later when she beat the Regina netminder for her second goal and the overtime game-winner as Alberta prevailed in extra time by a 2-1 score! Halle Oswald stopped 21 shots to record the win while Arden Kliewer made 31 saves in the overtime loss.
Yeah, so these highlight packages that teams were, at one time, supposed to produce might be something that Canada West isn't enforcing any longer. I can't get anyone to actually confirm this yet because Canada West won't speak to me directly, but how can it be that Calgary is the only school who did a highlight package this weekend? Regina is apparently allergic to highlights as well based on their lack of new videos on their YouTube channel.
SATURDAY: Alberta is aiming to play a lot of free hockey, it seems, as they have three games to their name with none ending in regulation. They do seem to score the important two points, though, so they have that going for them. Regina would like to hand them a regulation loss in the Queen's City before they leave, though, so Saturday's game was a big one for both teams. Kirsten Chamberlin was in the Alberta net for this game while Arden Kliewer was back in the Regina net looking to avenge the overtime loss from the previous night!
Regina got this one started early as Lilla Carpenter-Boesch scored her second goal in as many days when she found space past Chamberlin from the left hash marks to make it 1-0 at the 2:06 mark. That lead evaporated 5:22 later when Brooklyn Tews loaded up the cannon and hammered a point shot throught traffic and past Kliewer for her first goal of the season to even things at 1-1. The score would remain deadlocked through to the horn as the Pandas carried a 6-3 lead in shots to the second period.
The second period was more defensive play, but the Cougars did get a chance to put more pucks on Chamberlin with a pair of power-play oportunities. Unfortunately, neither would convert, and Kallie Clouston's first Canada West goal at 5:32 made things a little worse as the Pandas took the 2-1 lead. With no other goals scored, that 2-1 lead would need to be protected in the third period by Alberta if they hoped to escape with a clean win.
A Taylor Anker penalty early in the third period was the catalyst the Cougars needed to tie the game. Jordan Kulbida ripped a one-timer off a feed from Megan Long on the power-play that found twine behind Chamberlin for her second goal of the campaign at 6:17, and the game was tied once more at 2-2. Despite 11 Alberta shots and seven Regina shots finding their way to the nets, the Kulbida goal was the only one to light the lamp behind a netminder. Alberta and Regina would need extra time to solve this one for the second night in a row!
The four-on-four overtime produced no goals, so we'll jump to the three-on-three overtime period. On a two-on-one, Danica Namaka fed Payton Laumbach, and Laumbach made no mistake in firing home the overtime game-winning goal at 3:19 for her first goal of the season as Alberta escapes with the 3-2 overtime win! Kirsten Chamberlin earned her first win of the season with 22 saves while Arden Kliewer recorded a second-straight overtime loss despite stopping 22 shots.
Look, I'll make this point here and now: highlights allow me to show off the athletes by giving them this stage. Not many people go scouring through YouTube for Canada West highlights very often based on the number of hits some of the schools have on previous highlight packages, and maybe that discourages them from doing it. But if schools aren't going to make highlight packages, I can't post them here to show off the talented hockey players who make those programs great. As much as I try to shame everyone into doing it on these articles, it seems clear the message isn't being received.
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba | 4-1-1-0 | 10 | 18 | 14 | W2 | vs REG |
| Mount Royal | 3-1-1-1 | 9 | 25 | 9 | L1 | @ MAC |
| UBC | 4-2-0-0 | 8 | 25 | 8 | L1 | BYE |
| Alberta | 0-0-3-1 | 7 | 9 | 7 | W2 | vs CAL |
| Calgary | 3-3-0-0 | 6 | 16 | 21 | W1 | @ ALB |
| Saskatchewan | 2-1-0-1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | L2 | @ TWU |
| MacEwan | 2-4-0-0 | 4 | 8 | 16 | W1 | vs MRU |
| Regina | 1-3-0-2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | L5 | @ MAN |
| Trinity Western | 0-4-0-0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | L4 | vs SAS |
Clarity
Just a reminder that for the standings shown above, the records are regulation wins-regulation losses-extra time wins-extra time losses. With Canada West women's hockey shifting back to a two-point system, regulation wins and extra time wins factor into the tie-breaker procedures. And just so we're clear on the tie-breaking procedures, this will help.
Road Trip To A Gem
I decided that, after being cooped up for way too long at home thanks to the pandemic, I needed a break from the mundane routine that I had been following. With the Bisons heading out to Saskatoon this past weekend, I decided to load up the radio gear, point the wheels west, and head out on a road trip to see the Bisons and Huskies battle at Merlis Belsher Place.I know it's entirely unreasonable to suggest any of the schools in Canada West should get new arenas based on the fact that on-campus sports facilities are luxuries for schools, but the $41 million invested in Merlis Belsher Place is worth it if any schools are thinking about replacing their barns. The amenities, the sightlines, and the overall design work amazingly well.
I want to make mention of both Saskatchewan Huskies video guru/equipment manager/jack-of-all-hockey-trades Dave Westbury and Saskatchewan Huskies head coach Steve Kook who allowed me to see the insides of this amazing facility, and they truly have a gem in Saskatoon. From NHL-style dressing rooms and video rooms to full medical rooms to a player's lounge that I could truly live in, the Huskies are doing things right when it comes to taking care of their players.
I won't reveal any details here of what I saw as per my promises to both Steve and Dave on the tour, but Merlis Belsher Place needs to be visited by hockey fans. The building's facade is a breathtaking display of architectural design for what amounts to a "school rink", but the treasures contained inside are just as impressive, if not moreso. If you get a chance to take a trip out to Saskatoon for a game, I highly recommend going. Not only is the facility incredible, but the hockey action on the ice is pretty darn entertaining too!
The Last Word
It should be noted that U SPORTS will release their first Women's Hockey Top Ten rankings this Wednesday, and I want to inject a few grains of salt into this early excitement for some teams. That's not to say that there shouldn't be excitement over the rankings if your favorite team is named, but we need to keep things in perspective.I'll get it on the record that the AUS has already completed eight games for every team in their conference while the majority of Canada West has played six games. UNB, Saint Mary's, and StFX will likely all be named as Top Ten teams due to having six wins through eight games. Manitoba and Mount Royal may be named after their strong starts to the season in Canada West.
But that's what is known thus far so this is where the asterisk appears in this section.
The RSEQ has played two games total for all its teams thus far, and both McGill and Carleton got off to 2-0 starts. Concordia and Montreal, the two powerhouses in that conference, started the season 0-1-1 and 0-2-0, respectively, yet there's no reason to believe they won't be competing for a playoff spot or more when the regular season ends. Don't put too much faith in any rankings of RSEQ teams just yet. McGill and Carleton may be the two best teams in the conference when all is said and done, but two games into this season doesn't warrant confetti and streamers.
Beyond that, the OUA begins their regular season on the same day the rankings come out - Wednesday, November 3. Not one of the OUA teams have played a single minute of regular season action yet, so the ranked OUA teams will be projections on how the "experts" believe those teams will do this season. Until those results bear weight, they're virtually meaningless in the same vein as the Canada West coaches' poll.
There will be ups, downs, wins, losses, streaks, and a pile of other variables that will come into play across all the conferences and affect many, if not all, the teams in those conferences. Have fun with the rankings when they're released, but know that rankings this early, with every team in Quebec and Ontario having barely played, basically mean you know who to cheer for or against early in this season depending on your allegiances to those teams.
Wanna know who is the best in the conference where you're situated? Go see the teams play. Judge for yourself. Enjoy the hockey. At the end of the day, the rankings are nothing more than points of pride for teams to brag about until the U SPORTS National Tournament. Smile, discuss, and debate the rankings, but don't write them in ink with two conferences barely playing any games yet.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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