Happy Halloween!

As you're probably aware, today is October 31 - better known as Halloween - on the calendar. HBIC Headquarters will be a landing spot for candy collectors tonight, but I'm not sure there will be many kids stopping by thanks to the weather seen this week. There's a blanket of snow on the ground, the temperatures are dropping into the minus double-digit numbers tonight, and I suspect a lot of kids will opt for shorter candy-collecting trips tonight rather than freezing in the cold. I'm hopeful everyone will bundle up, but I suspect there will be fewer kids than other years when it comes to getting a handful of candy on my doorstep from this writer.

The thing about Halloween is that I give out candy that I'd want to receive. I stocked up on mini chocolate bars this year to hand out, and I'd be thrilled to get a Kit Kat, a Coffee Crisp, an Aero, or Smarties in my pillow case - yes, I'm old school - as I was navigating the neighbourhood. I know people hand out all sorts of different stuff, but stuff like candy corn or boxed raisins makes it seem like people hate kids. Or Halloween. Or both.

For those planning on handing out toothbrushes or raisins or candy corn, I'm just joking. Raisins are a good snack at times, toothbrushes are practical and useful for ensuring good oral hygiene, and candy corn makes for excellent packing material when shipping packages. All three serve their intended purposes when needed, so there's nothing wrong with receiving these on Halloween.

With only two NHL games and an NCAA game being played tonight in terms of games I can watch, HBIC is closed to focus on making Halloween awesome for anyone who arrives on my doorstep. Handfuls of candy will be handed out as that forecast of smaller crowds traversing the wintery landscape seems to be accurate. I should note that the first candy-collecting child showed up at 6:13pm CT - they got one each of the four named chocolate delights above. If you're first to the door, you get the benefits!

Happy Halloween, folks, and enjoy the candy!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Gibson With Some Robbery

Every year, there are a handful of players whose names continually pop up in trade rumours, and it seems that the man to the left - Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson - is one of those players who has been in those rumours a lot in recent months. Back in July, it was reported that Gibson wanted out of Anaheim via a trade, going as far as reportedly telling Frank Seravelli that "he's not going to play another game in Anaheim". Trade destinations varied depending on who one believed, but it turned out that GM Pat Verbeek convinced Gibson to return to the ice for the Ducks this season where things have been going maybe better than expected as the Ducks are out to a 4-4-0 record after winning three-straight games. It seems that it was a good decision to have Gibson in net against the Penguins tonight as well!

With the game tied 1-1 late in the first period, the Pittsburgh Penguins had all their best players on the ice for the power-play they were executing. The Ducks were trying to keep the game tied as the seconds ticked down before the intermission, but the Penguins had other ideas as they moved the puck around with precision before it got to Sidney Crosby's stick. And that's when this happened.
That might be one of the greatest saves seen in this early season that Gibson makes on Crosby, and it literally was a prayer as he threw his stick in the path of the puck and somehow deflected it away rather than fishing it out of the net. Gibson had no business making that save, but the teams went to the dressing rooms still tied at 1-1 thanks to the stick of John Gibson!

There was a downside to the save in that Gibson seemed to injure himself on the play, forcing Lukas Dostal to take over for Gibson at the start of the second period. Gibson's injury will likely be re-evaluated in the morning, but it's being reported that he suffered an upper-body injury at this time. No one wants to see anyone get hurt, especially on a play like that, but Gibson's status will be updated by the Ducks in the coming days.

The good news is that Lukas Dostal came in and helped the Ducks claim victory over the Penguins by a 4-3 score thanks to Mason McTavish's shorthanded goal with 13 seconds remaining in the game, pushing the Ducks' winning streak to four games. It's hard to believe that the Penguins launched 42 shots at the Ducks' net and only scored three times, but an absurdly-low shooting percentage seems to be the story for the Penguins early in this season. The Ducks, meanwhile, improve to 5-4-0 after winning all four games on their road trip, so things may be looking up for the plucky Ducks.

For a player that was rumoured to possibly be heading to Pittsburgh in a trade this summer, it appears that John Gibson had the last laugh with that miracle paddle save in denying what appeared to be a sure goal for the Penguins. Let's just hope that the injury he suffered in that sequence doesn't keep him out long term because it looks like Gibson has all the right moves at this point in his season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Week 5

With three teams watching from the comfort of a bye week, just six teams were in action across two provinces for this fifth week of action in Canada West women's hockey. British Columbia played host to two series as the UBC Thunderbirds hosted the MacEwan Griffins - two teams on polar-opposite streaks - while the Trinity Western Spartans hosted the Saskatchewan Huskies as these two teams were looking to get on a roll. The other series took place in Calgary as the always-steady Mount Royal Cougars hosted the upstart Manitoba Bisons as both teams were looking to put some space between themselves and the teams behind them. Wins and points for all six teams could have serious implications on the standings, so let's check out what happened this weekend on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: We'll start in Vancouver with the conference-leading Thunderbirds hosting the team at the other end of the standings in the MacEwan Griffins. There's no denying that MacEwan was going to have their hands full when it came to taking points off UBC, but the T-Birds had a chance to open up a big gap between themselves and the rest of the field. Lindsay Johnson was tasked with slowing down UBC while the Thunderbirds had Elise Hugens in their crease.

This game didn't start well for MacEwan as they were down a player just 11 seconds in, and they found themselves down a goal 33 seconds in when Chanreet Bassi went over Johnson's shoulder on the power-play to make it 1-0 for UBC! Johnson, however, settled in after that goal was scored and made some big saves in key moments to keep the Griffins close. The only problem was that UBC wasn't allowing much to get through to Hugens off the sticks of the Griffins. When the first intermission hit, that 1-0 score held while UBC held a 12-1 advantage in shots through the opening frame.

It seemed like MacEwan was going to even the score as UBC couldn't solve Johnson early, but they'd find a second goal when Cassidy Rhodes was sent in on a breakaway and she beat Johnson at 7:55 to make it 2-0 for the Thunderbirds! Sophia Gaskell scored her second goal of the season at 11:49 to make it 3-0, but the Griffins would get one back on a late power-play when Ali Macauley beat Hugens with her shot at 16:11 to make it 3-1! That score would carry into the break, and UBC held a 26-8 edge in shots.

Grace Elliott put UBC back up by three when she dented twine at 1:13! Exactly five minutes later, Jenny Andrash scored her second goal of the season when she beat Hugens at 6:13! Jaylyn Morris took advantage of a power-play by scoring her third goal at 8:50 to make it 5-2, and Madisyn Wiebe potted her sixth goal 42 seconds later to make it a 6-2 game! The final ten minutes saw UBC kill off two more penalties, and the final horn would sound on a 6-2 victory for the Thunderbirds over the Griffins! Elise Hugens picked up her sixth win of the campaign with an 11-save evening while Lindsay Johnson made 35 saves in the setback.

UBC and highlights are like oil and water - they just don't mix. We'll go with more Wes McCauley highlights, though, because at least he's entertaining when it comes to scoring or calling back goals.


SATURDAY: MacEwan seemed to be able to skate with UBC one night earlier for about 30 minutes before UBC finally scored in bunches to take Friday's game. The Griffins needed the same effort for 60 minutes on Saturday as they looked to hand UBC a loss. The Thunderbirds, though, were looking for another sweep to keep their winning streak going. Brianna Sank was in the MacEwan net while Reese Hiddleston got her first start of the season for the T-Birds.

HBIC isn't here to glamourize blowouts, but the first period was similar to the one the night before as Sophia Gaskell scored her third goal at 15:19 to put UBC up 1-0. That score would hold into the break as the ice felt tilted towards the MacEwan end with UBC holding a 17-5 lead in shots after one period.

The first 14 minutes saw that 1-0 lead hold, but UBC decided that they needed more so they went and got a handful of goals. Cassidy Rhodes added goals four and five for her season total at 13:54 and 18:01, respectively, to make it a 3-0 lead for the Thunderbirds. Chanreet Bassi would add one more goal before the break at 19:55, and UBC held a 4-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 35-9 margin in shots through 40 minutes of play.

Karine Sandilands made it a 5-0 game at 7:46 of the third period. Chanreet Bassi added her second of the game and fifth of the season at 14:16 for the 6-0 lead. Grace Elliott would score her fifth of the season at 17:19, and that score would stand as the final score with UBC defeating MacEwan by a 7-0 count. Reese Hiddleston earned her first win and shutout of the season with an 11-save performance while Brianna Sank likely deserved a better fate than a loss after she stopped 43 shots.

Once more, here's Wes McCauley wearing a GoPro camera as one of the referees during the Stadium Series game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on January 29, 2014!

FRIDAY: The Bisons arrived in Calgary fresh off a sweep of the Griffins and looking like a rejuvenated team. The Cougars, meanwhile, had been waiting for a couple of weeks to get back onto the ice after a bye week, so they would be well-rested and likely well-prepared. Would these two prairie foes put on a show on Friday? Meagan Relf was in net for the visitors in her fourth-straight start while Kaitlyn Ross was between the pipes for the Cougars.

The opening frame was fast-paced as both teams look to set the tone in this game. Chances at both ends were thrwarted by the netminders, but the tie would be broken just past the midway point of the period when Kaia Borbandy found room past Relf to score her first goal of the season as Mount Royal grabbed the 1-0 lead at 12:40! The final seven minutes saw both sides continue their efforts to find goals, but the horn would sound with the cougars up 1-0 and leading 14-6 in shots.

The second period was a good period if you're a Cougars fan because they brought their game in spades. Emma Bergesen wired one home on the power-play for her second of the season at 1:09, and MRU was up a pair of goals! The roof sort of caved in for Manitoba near the midway point as Allee Gerrard scored her fourth goal of the season at 9:28 followed by Sydney Benko getting her second goal at 10:42 which came before Athena Hauck scored her second goal of the season at 11:15! Mount Royal scored three times in 1:47 to push this game to a 5-0 score. A couple of penalties late in the period would be killed off by Mount Royal, but they hit the break fully in control of this game with a 5-0 lead and a 33-18 margin in shots.

The third period saw Manitoba push to find goals as Mount Royal went into defensive mode, but the Cougars were doing a good job at preventing the Bisons from getting good looks at the net. They would finally break the goose egg at 14:54 when Camryn Gillis dented the twine for the first time this season, but Kiana McNinch would add her fourth goal of the season 1:25 later to restore the five-goal lead! Mount Royal would prove to be the victor at the final horn with their 6-1 win over Manitoba. Kaitlyn Ross earned her fourth win of the campaign after stopping 28 of 29 shots she faced while Meagan Relf made 35 stops in the loss.

Mount Royal is only producing hype videos this year, it seems, despite having the defending U SPORTS National Women's Hockey program representing the school. You'd never know that was the case based on how many highlights you see of these women who brought the first national title to the school, but I guess it's a new season so that distinction no longer exists? As Eddie Murphy asks...

SATURDAY: If you're a Cougars fan, you want to see more goals coming in bunches like they did on Friday. If you're a Bisons fan, you want to see less defensive breakdowns, more saves, and more goals from your squad. Clearly, the Bisons had a longer list of things to improve in an 18-hour span, but all fans were hoping for a closer and more spirited game on Saturday. Emily Shippam was guarding the Bisons' cage in this one while Kaitlyn Ross was between the pipes for the Cougars for the afternoon contest!

Manitoba found itself struggling with penalties in the opening frame as they were whistled for four infractions in the period to Mount Royal's single penalty, so it seemed like one team carried most of the play. Manitoba's first penalty would be cut short when Mount Royal's Allee Gerrard redirected a Breanne Trotter pass past Shippam at 4:27 for the power-play goal and her fifth goal, and the Cougars went up 1-0! Manitoba settled in, though, and they locked down the defensive zone to prevent any further goals as they killed penalties, and the first period would end with Mount Royal leading 1-0 and holding a 9-1 edge in shots.

The second period saw Manitoba push back as they brought their offence to the ice, but Ross was solid early on to deny the equalizer. That would prove important as Mount Royal began to pin the Bisons in their own end at times, and we'd see Athena Hauck clean up a Jordynne Hojnicki rebound at 8:37 for her third goal as Mount Royal went up by a pair. 18 seconds later, though, Camille Enns cut the deficit back to one goal with her second goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game! Some more pressure later in the period by the Cougars allowed them to restore the two-goal advantage when Jordynne Hojnicki's blast from the point eluded the humanity in front of the Bisons' net to find twine for her first Canada West goal, and the Cougars were up 3-1 at 15:48! The two-goal cushion would hold until the break as Mount Royal led 3-1 with an 18-15 advantage in shots.

Manitoba, however, wasn't going to go away quietly as they continued to press. Ross and the Cougars' defence was able to withstand a few early opportunities, but Ashley Keller found the back of the net for her third goal at 13:39 to make it a one-goal game at 3-2! The Bisons continued to press when given chances, and Dana Goertzen would beat Ross with 3:05 to play for her second goal and, more importantly, a tie game at 3-3! The last three minutes would tick down with no further goals, so we needed some free hockey to decide this game as overtime loomed with a 3-3 tie on the screboard and Mount Royal up 26-24 in shots!

There was some early excitement in overtime as Mount Royal was forced to kill a penalty off, but Manitoba would also be whistled for an infraction which ended their early advantage. On the tail end of the Manitoba penalty, Breanna Trotter would find room past Shippam while on the power-play for her first goal of the season, and it was the game-winner in the 4-3 Mount Royal overtime victory over Manitoba! Kaitlyn Ross picks up her fifth win of the campaign after stopping 26 shots in 63:26 of work while Emily Shippam helped Manitoba grab a point with a 24-save effort 63:33 of time.

No highlights again, but the Mount Royal four-point weekend is a...

FRIDAY: Trinity Western has had considerable success at home against Saskatchewan, and they were looking to continue that success with another strong game on Friday. Saskatchewan, however, was looking to prevent their single loss on the season from being doubled by the Spartans. Both teams were looking to add points to their totals to move up the standings, so this series had meaning for both teams! Colby Wilson was in the Huskies' net on Friday while Kate Fawcett got the start for the Spartans.

To say the first period started at a torrid pace might be an understatement, but it seemed very un-Saskatchewan-like to see as many shots getting to the net in their zone. I'll credit Trinity Western for showing good pressure and a commitment to putting shots on net, and that helped midway through the period when a Presleigh Giesbrecht shot ended up behind the net where Katherine Chadwick picked it up and wrapped it around the post on the far side before Wilson could slide across for the save as Trinity Western grabbed the lead at 10:29 on Chadwick's first goal in TWU colours! Aside from an early Spartans' penalty, it was a fairly clean period in terms of ink on the scoresheet, but Trinity Western took the 1-0 lead into the break despite being outshot 16-13 by Saskatchewan.

The period needed just 93 seconds to find another goal as Chloe Reid elected to keep on the two-on-one for the shot that was stopped, but she cashed in her own rebound for her second goal of the season at Trinity Western took the 2-0 lead! Saskatchewan looked to push back, but Katherine Chadwick would kill that momentum when she was left all alone in front of Wilson for the easy score at 4:07 to push the TWU lead to three goals which borught an end to Wilson's night as she was replaced by Camryn Drever. The Huskies picked up the pace after the goalie change as they realized they needed goals in a hurry, but Ella Boon would deliver another dagger as her point shot eluded the traffic in front of Drever to get by the goalie at 18:41, and Trinity Western carried that 4-0 lead into the second intermission despite Saskatchewan still holding a 26-22 edge in shots.

The third period saw the Spartans do everything in their power to keep the Huskies off the board as they went into defensive mode, but a late power-play goal by Kelsey Hall would break Fawcett's shutout at the 18:24 mark. It was too little and too late on this night, though, as the Trinity Western Spartans continued their success against the Huskies with a 4-1 win! Kate Fawcett was good on 39 shots to pick up her third win of the season while Colby Wilson stopped 13 shots as the goalie of record in the loss despite playing just 24:07. Camryn Drever stopped eight of nine shots she saw in her 35:53 of work.

Trinity Western can always be counted on for highlights of their goal-scorers, so here is that highlight package of the Spartans.


SATURDAY: The Huskies were looking to purge the previous game from their minds with a good effort on Saturday. The Spartans were looking for the sweep as they had a chance to hit double digits got points in just their eighth game of the season! Wins were still important for both teams early in this season, and this game was all about seizing opportunity. Camryn Drever was in net for the Huskies while Mabel Maltais looked to close out the weekend with a win!

The teams came out fairly even to start the game, but a pair of power-plays just past the midway point gave Trinity Western a couple of great chances that passed without incident. Those kills may have energized Saskatchewan because they'd find the first goal with minutes to play in the frame when Kara Kondrat found the puck in a goalmouth scramble and went shelf for her second goal of the season at 17:44 to put the Huskies up 1-0! That score would hold for the final two minutes of the frame as the Huskies went into the rooms with the lead, but the Spartans held a 15-9 margin in shots.

The Spartans started the period down a skater thanks to a late penalty in the first period, but a turnover along the board at center ice allowed Michela Naccarato to skate in all alone and she went five-hole on Drever shorthanded for her first of the season just 59 seconds into the frame for the 1-1 tie! The play settled down a little with neither side looking to fall behind, but the Huskies would explode for goals in a five-minute span late in the period. Jesper Desmarais finished off a two-on-one with Sara Kendall at 13:16 for the 2-1 Saskatchewan lead! Isabella Pozzi scored her second goal of the campaign at 14:47, just seconds after TWU's Kate Klassen clanged iron, and Mallory Dyer navigated to the slot where she went shelf at 18:22, putting Saskatchewan up 4-1! The Huskies took the three-goal cushion to the rooms despite the Spartans holding a 26-18 shot count.

The third period saw both teams continuing to pour on the pressure as pucks were counted as shots all over the ice. Trinity Western pressed for the entire frame, but it would only be a Brooklyn Anderson slapshot that found twine on the power-play for her fourth goal at 14:24 that made any difference. When the final horn sounded, the Saskatchewan Huskies claimed a 4-2 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans! Camryn Drever picked up her fourth win of the season with a 45-save night while Mabel Maltais suffered the loss after stopping 27 shots.

Again, here are the Spartans' goals. If you didn't know better, you'd think they shutout Saskatchewan twice since clipping their opponents' goals never happens. In any case, enjoy both goals shown here!

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	9-0-0-1	19	53	13	W8	vs MRU
Alberta	6-1-1-0	14	25	8	W5	@ SAS
Saskatchewan	6-2-0-0	12	22	13	W1	vs ALB
Mount Royal	4-2-2-0	12	27	13	W4	@ UBC
Trinity Western	4-3-0-1	9	22	24	L2	vs MAN
Manitoba	2-5-0-1	5	18	37	L2	@ TWU
Calgary	1-6-1-0	4	14	22	L4	vs REG
Regina	1-6-0-1	3	9	31	W1	@ CAL
MacEwan	1-9-0-0	2	14	43	L9	BYE

Wear The Gear

You've likely heard about Adam Johnson today as he was the young man who was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in the EIHL yesterday when he was clipped with a skate in the neck area. Johnson was rushed to the hospital where he later died, and the magnitude of that tragedy has been weighing on me today when I think of Canada West women's hockey where neck guards are often seen lying on the ice during the play.

In no way am I trying to relate Johnson's tragic death with anything in Canada West, but I had to wonder if he may have been saved had he been wearing a neck guard. For a piece of equipment that costs around $50 maximum, it seems like everyone should be wearing one after the near-death experiences of Clint Malarchuk, Richard Zednik, and Ben Street in the NHL, but this "freak accident" seems less infrequent when one considers that Jenni Hiirikoski suffered a cut to the neck from a skate in SDHL last season, Army's Eric Huss suffered the same injury in the NCAA, and Vitaly Sitnikov's neck was clipped in the KHL. If you're counting, that's four leagues with a neck being cut in the last decade, and this is where I mention Teddy Balkind, a Connecticut high school player, who died when his neck was cut during a collision.

While a neck guard is mandatory for play in U SPORTS women's hockey, it's not mandatory for U SPORTS men's hockey where collisions are far more common. I know equipment isn't a sexy topic to discuss, but the $20 neck guards some players wear seem to end up on the ice rather than staying on the player. If the neck guard is on the ice, it isn't doing what it was intended to do, and Hockey Canada's rules state that a penalty should be enforced for any player who engages in the play while not wearing one. That's the right call for safety, and I fully support Hockey Canada's stance on this.

The Rundown rarely weighs in on men's hockey in Canada West, but it might be time for conference to adopt neck guards for its players. I'd rather players be on the safe side of things than the sorry side of things after reading about Johnson's passing. The university hockey programs in Canada would be wise to adopt the safer option sooner than later for the safety of the men who wear their uniforms.

Rest in peace, Adam. You're gone far too soon, and this type of accident shouldn't happen to anyone else.

A Breather For MacEwan

The Griffins are on a bye this week which should give them time to work on a number of things that really could help them. Whether it be special teams, a breakout of their zone, or watching film on Trinity Western who they play in two weeks, this should be a nose-to-the-grindstone couple of weeks for the Griffins if they're going to make things interesting.

As you can see on the standings board, they're three points back of the final playoff spot that Manitoba currently holds. A couple of big wins against Trinity Western will put them right in the middle of the race once again, and that's not a tall task for a team who has shown reliable goaltending, an ability to skate and find chances, and depth of scoring as ten players have recorded a goal this season.

It won't be easy - nothing ever is in Canada West - but MacEwan needs to get their engines going if they're going to make it a race for the playoffs. Forget the games against UBC like everyone else has, and move forward with solid preparation for the rest of the conference. This season isn't close to being over if points are earned in two weeks.

Hurt By Her Defence?

I read Ian Kennedy's article on UBC in The Hockey News this past week, and I can't deny that anything he wrote is wrong. UBC is rolling once again this season with only an overtime loss as the tarnish on their season right now, but he wrote a paragraph about goaltender Elise Hugens that spoke of improving her numbers to get closer to last season's numbers she posted. The key in this is that Hugens didn't win the Canada West Goaltender of the Year award last season; that went to Halle Oswald who played 25 games - eight more than Hugens - but finished second to Hugens in both goals-against average and save percentage.

It got me thinking about why Hugens hasn't received more honours in her three years of stopping pucks for UBC, and it might be due to the action she doesn't see when standing in the crease. Here's the proof from the last three seasons:

• Elise Hugens: 759 saves in 39 games, or 19.46 shots/game.
• Halle Oswald: 908 saves in 43 games, or 21.12 shots/game.
• Camryn Drever: 967 saves in 39 games, or 24.79 shots/game.
• Kaitlyn Ross: 767 saves in 36 games, or 21.31 shots/game.
• Arden Kliewer: 1150 saves in 38 games, or 30.26 shots/game.

Hugens is facing 1.66 shots/game less than Oswald over the last three seasons, but she actually faced more shots than Oswald last season per game - nearly half a shot more at .48 shots/game. The problem is that Canada West doesn't track quality of shots - shots taken in the high-danger zones vs shots taken outside that area, for example - so a numerical analysis isn't enough to justify Oswald's winning the award last season.

I feel fairly confident in saying that UBC's defence prevents less high-danger shots which may explain why Hugens has yet to win an award despite some of her statistic superiority, but I have no idea how Canada West is voting on which goalie is better when all of Hugens, Oswald, Drever, and Ross have been phenomenal for each of their teams over the last three seasons. Until Canada West can start providing better statistics than the 1970s' flavours of goals, points, plus-minus, saves, GAA, and save percentage, figuring out which players have the biggest impact on their teams' successes is nothing more than pulling names out of a hat.

I'll say this, though: Hugens' season last year was one of the best I've seen since the days of Lauren Taraschuk, Jessica Vance, Kirstin Chamberlin, and Tory Micklash. Those goaltending legends were in a class unto themselves when it came to the statistical side of stopping pucks, and I have zero reservations putting Hugens among those names of honoured goaltenders based on her numbers.

The Last Word

It's still early when it comes to predictions and projections, but it seems like the point total needed to earn a playoff spot in Canada West will likely be around 21-24 points. We just passed the quarter-season mark for all teams, and we're starting to see distinct lines emerging in the standings when it comes to who will be in, who will fight for the last couple of spots, and who may get the early roles as spoilers. Again, I cannot stress that it's still early and things can change, but that point total seems fairly reasonable.

Last year's cutoff for playoffs was 26 points, and the 2021-22 season was around 22 points if a 28-game schedule had been played. The 2019-20 season saw the cutoff at 30 points, but I suspect that may be a little high for this year's teams. Obviously, I'll keep an eye on that projection as we move forward as it can move based on who does what in the standings, but a total of 22 points is what every team should be shooting for right now if they hope to make the postseason.

The scary part? UBC can hit that total next week against Mount Royal.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Just Be Consistent

This quiet street corner is found in Leksand, Sweden. The town of 6000 residents doesn't boast many major business hubs, but they are a proud sporting community with the hockey teams and baseball teams. While the baseball team is currently awaiting warmer weather for them to gather on the diamond once more, the SHL and SDHL teams from Leksand are playing their seasons. If you've been following this blog, I've been trying to keep everyone updated on the successes of the former Canada West players who are suiting up for Leksands IF's women's team, so let's get everyone caught up today as Leksands IF hit the ten-game mark in the 2023-24 SDHL season.

If there was one thing that we learned from head coach Jordan Colliton's preseason chat with local reporters in Sweden, it's that she felt she had brought the right people in after players last season clashed with Colliton's view on how the game should be played. The additions of Tatum Amy, Autumn MacDougall, Lore Baudrit, Taylor Leech, and Courtney Vorster as imports were going to set the team on a new direction where their local stars - Ida Press, Ella Albinsson, Fanny Brolin, and others - would thrive alongside this talent.

The team got off to an 0-2-0 start after falling 3-2 to Djurgården and 6-3 to Linköping. They'd respond the following week with a pair of wins over SDE and AIK to even their record at 2-2-0, but another pair of losses to Frölunda in the shootout and to HK71 dropped them to 2-3-1 through the first six games. For a roster that saw half its personnel changed in the off-season, one can accept there may be some bumps in the road before chemistry is found among linemates and everyone thinks and plays the game at the same speed.

A 3-2 win over Brynäs was an example of how well this team can play, and that was followed by a 2-0 loss to the juggernaut Luleå squad. The key in that loss to Luleå is that Leksands IF showed they can skate with one of the better teams in the SDHL as they competed for the entire 60 minutes. However, a 4-1 loss to an improved MoDo team followed by a 2-1 loss today to SDE on a late goal by former UBC forward Mathea Fischer pushed their record to 3-6-1, leaving one searching for answers about consistency through the first ten games.

The good news is that Leksands IF sits just three points back of SDE who are in fifth-place, and they play the woeful AIK squad on Saturday. There are hardly any wins that are "must-win", but defeating an 0-9-0 team is something Leksands IF simply has to do. Beyond that game, Frölunda and HV71 await Leksand, and those two teams sit directly above and below Leksand in the standings. All three games could help boost Leksand back to .500 and, more importantly, push them higher in the standings. Perhaps the highest priority for Colliton and Leksands IF is finding consistent play at both ends of the ice over this next three-game stretch.

Personally, I'd like to see some urgency in the defensive zone as Leksands IF are the only squad in a playoff spot right now that has surrendered 30-or-more goals in the first ten games. They're giving up 3.00 goals-per-game, so they'd need a big offensive night every night if they're going to be successful. As we know, teams go through scoring slumps at times, so tightening the screws defensively seems like the best way to improve their standing in a hurry.

In terms of scoring, Leksands IF is in the mix with 25 goals-for, so they're competing in games. Being a scrappy teams usually means a lot of tightly-contested matches, but scorers are scoring. Norwegian-born Emilie Kruse Johansen leads the team with eight points, Shay Maloney leads the team with five goals, and Anna Purschke has six points. There may be some adjustment to the skill and speed of the SDHL game for players like Amy, MacDougall, and Vorster, but the lineup has virtually everyone chipping in. There just isn't a bonafide offensive star that has emerged at this point on which the team can lean if they need a big goal late.

Ellen Johnson's 2.36 GAA and .902 save percentage are both respectable, but I'd like to see that save percentage up around the .910 mark if Leksands IF is going to make a push. Emma Polusny is more of a concern as she's 0-5-0 with a 3.06 GAA and a .868 save percentage, so playing her regularly doesn't make much sense until she can figure out why pucks are avoiding collisions with her. While those stats for the goalies also reflect the defensive play, goalies still have to make saves. As it stands, Johnson is making more of them, so she should be Leksand's starter against better competition.

Colliton stated in her interview that the rebuild would continue this season, and perhaps we're seeing that as the team figures itself out and what its identity is. She said, "We are in the middle of that process and it can take as long as it needs to. But I'm really looking forward to the season and I'm excited about the steps we've taken, already in pre-season. I want to keep building something, and achieve more than last year."

Leksands IF finished 9-15-2-6 last season for 37 points. Being 3-6-0-1 after nearly one-third of this season doesn't appear that the right steps have been taken to change their fortunes, and extrapolating that ten-game record would see a 36-game record of 11-21-0-4 which is a 37-point season. That projects to being an eighth-place finish this season which would be short of their sixth-place finish last season. Pushing three wins onto their total over the next three games will do a lot of good if they are to improve, but that's going to take a concerted, consistent effort from everyone on the ice and the staff behind the bench.

With 26 games remaining in the SDHL season, Leksands IF may be down, but they certainly aren't out if they can find a way to string together a few wins two or three times in those 26 games. Consistency will be the key, and it's a hallmark of all good teams.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 579

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with a slightly different show tonight as our hosts will be unified in their wardrobe! There's a team out there that both Teebz and Jason kept an eye on this season, and the two hosts decided to show their support of the team by contacting the team. Details on what happened next will be released tonight on the show, and it's a fun story that shows how hockey can unite people separated by thousands of miles! There will be other chatter to go along with this fun story, so make sure you're settled in for another fun episode of The Hockey Show!

Like Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight, it seemed like one needed a hundred screens to keep up with all the action on Tuesday night that, surprisingly, was only offered in the US. Teebz and Jason will discuss having hockey shown this way in both the US and Canada, why this should be a Saturday goal for the league every week, and where things didn't work so well. Beyond that, the two hosts will chat about the story of their new favorite team, the Pride Tape fallout and Travis Dermott's defiance of a stupid ban that's now been rescinded, two goalie goals that were scored last week, the change behind the bench for the Bisons women's hockey team last weekend and what the future holds, the new PWHL logo, and more! It's a busy show with hockey stories being discussed in all manners, so make sure you tune into The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player is pretty awesome if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. If you use the TuneIn app, you won't be disappointed. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat about getting new clothes, fixing bad ideas, improving good ideas, scoring from goalies, absences of coaches, design of logos, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: October 26, 2023: Episode 579

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The First Ever

As you know, this blog stops for goalie goals no matter what else is going on. Of course, if there's some once-in-a-lifetime historical moment, I might push the goalie goal story to the next day, but the young man to the left created a once-in-a-lifetime moment with his goal tonight. That young tendy is Riley Brown from Winnipeg who is currently stopping pucks for the Prairie Hockey Academy's U17 Blue team, and they were at home to play the Notre Dame Hounds this evening in an otherwise non-descript, midweek CSSHL game. Normally, I'd never write about CSSHL games at the U17 boys' prep level because there are so many teams, but Riley Brown is now part of CSSHL history thanks to his efforts tonight against Notre Dame.

If you clicked on the picture, you likely already know why Riley's appearing on HBIC. If you didn't, here's the video of why Riley is being talked about tonight by this writer because he did something special!

Brown's goal was scored at 18:15 of the third period with Prairie Hockey Academy on the power-play to push the score to 6-3 in favour of Prairie Hockey over Notre Dame! Brown would also record the win after stopping 23 shots in the 6-3 final, but it would be the goal that stood out as Riley Brown becomes the first goaltender in CSSHL history to score a goal!

Brown improved to 4-3-1 tonight with the win, but he's officially the highest-scoring goal-scoring goalie in league history at this moment. He's won his last four games after starting the season 0-3-1, so he's picked his game up to sit with a 3.55 GAA and an .887 save percentage. He can also say he contributed in one of those wins by scoring an insurance goal, so that's pretty awesome.

Enjoy this moment, Riley, as you're the first goalie in league history to record a goal which will now be the measure that every other goalie tries to equal. Might there be more for Riley? Time will tell as there's still a lot of time left in this season and his career, but the first one put him in the record books which is pretty incredible. Great goal, Riley! Keep up the great work!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Lot Of Hockey

I'll be upfront with you by saying that my efforts to blog about anything related to hockey tonight will be zero thanks to all the hockey that's being broadcasted tonight. I'll be jumping around via the various streams I use to watch games from all over North America as a new one will start every 15 minutes following the puck drop between the Maple Leafs and Capitals. As the ad above shows, all 32 NHL teams are in action tonight with 16 games being played!

I should note that if there's a goalie goal, I might have to update this entry as I'll stop everything for a goalie goal. In saying that, though, I do want to post something as the NHL seems to have come to its senses regarding Pride Tape and its usage across the NHL. For a league that wanted to avoid controversy, the uproar that they caused with an ignorant policy was palpable, but it seems they realized their blunder and reversed their policy today via the following statement.

I'm not here to celebrate the NHL reversing their policy, so I'm going to leave this posted without much commentary. Again, I'll credit Travis Dermott for having the courage to defy the NHL and make them reconsider their inane policy, and I'll tip my cap to the many people behind the scenes that finally came to their senses when it comes to banning personal beliefs being manifested in hockey tape.

I'll let Shrek handle my commentary on the NHL's reversal of policy.

At least the donkeys running the NHL figured out how to schedule 32 teams being in action on the same night. It shows they're not entirely brain-dead when it comes to entertaining its fans. With that, I'm off to watch hockey as I'll be watching a pile of games tonight!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

TBC: The Awesome Game

With our having Dave Hill on The Hockey Show last week to talk about his new book, I figured I should probably actually review the book at some point considering I read it for the interview. Normally, I'd post the review prior to the interview, but book went on sale on Tuesday and I chatted with Dave on Thursday. Obviously, I don't want to overshadow his publisher who wants to push the book, so Teebz's Book Club will make its appearance today as TBC is proud to review The Awesome Game, written by Dave Hill and published by Penguin Random House. Hill's book is a journey through a handful of countries as he seeks the age-old answer to why hockey isn't more popular in America, but it's in that journey across the globe that he discovers the power that hockey has in bringing people together in a number of ways!

For those who don't know Dave Hill or perhaps have heard his name associated with something other than writing, Dave works as a comedian, radio host, musician, and actor when he's not writing books. Every week, Dave hosts The Dave Hill Goodtime Hour, a livestream and podcast that is part of the Maximum Fun network, and he spends his evenings in various places as the lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band known as Valley Lodge. In fact, you probably know one of Dave's songs without even realizing it as Valley Lodge's song "Go" is the theme song for HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver! As stated, Dave has also penned other books such as Parking The Moose, Dave Hill Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and Tasteful Nudes. Dave was born in Cleveland, loves hockey and hockey jerseys, and currently resides in New York City with his girlfriend.

I'll admit that I wasn't sure what to expect from The Awesome Game when I first started reading the book, but Dave Hill's voice comes through loudly as you read as if he were telling you these stories in person. Reading the chapters about his adventures in Katowice, Poland, growing up in Cleveland, and his first game of roller hockey in Nairobi, Kenya all have funny moments that made me laugh, but it's rather remarkable how many places Hill went to seek the answer about hockey not being popular in the US.

Make no mistake that Dave Hill speaks to some legends to get answers in The Awesome Game as well. He had a conversation with Russian legend Slava Fetisov about hockey's popularity in the US, he put the question to Islanders royalty in chatting with Bryan Trottier, he had lunch with former NHLer Len Frig, and he chatted with both Finnish Olympian Venla Hovi and another author of hockey books in Stephen Brunt. Each of these discussions is enlightening when you hear the views on hockey's popularity from each of these well-known hockey people, and I'm glad Hill was able to include these perspectives from those who may have deeper insight on the game.

A funny passage in The Awesome Game was from the chapter where Hill attended a Finnish Liiga game between HIFK and Kärpät where he discovered one player wearing a metallic gold helmet. Hill writes,

"Something else that confused me was the fact that one player on each team wore a shiny gold helmet. Naturally, I assumed that each of these players must be some sort of jerk, but upon further research, I discovered the gold helmets are worn by the top scorer on each team. Finnish hockey legend Teemu Selänne refers to this helmet as a 'Hit Me Helmet,' which makes sense as even I, normally a man of peace, had a near-Pavlovian urge to take a swing at the guy in the gold helment the moment I saw him. The wearer of the gold helmet changes from game to game, depending on which player is on top, which of course now has me wondering whether it's the same helmet being passed around the team or they break out a new one each time the helmet changes hands. These are the things that keep me up at night."

This is the kind of stream-of-consciousness writing you'll find in The Awesome Game and, as stated above, it's like listening to Hill tell these stories in person. Having that style makes Hill's stories more credible in this writer's view because it feels like he's telling you everything he experienced while throwing in those funny little asides.

Overall, The Awesome Game was a fun read about a number of hockey experiences in countries I really want to visit after having read the book, so I think Dave Hill's writing hit home. More than inspiring me to travel and watch hockey, though, there were some great human interest stories in The Awesome Game that should be read - the Ice Lions in Kenya, hockey fans in Poland, life in the nosebleed section at Madison Square Garden - to really show how hockey brings people together no matter where one calls home. Hill's comedy bring the stories to life, his descriptions add some colour to the scene you may in your head, and he's dedicated to the game of hockey, so it's pretty easy to see that The Awesome Game is absolutely deserving of the the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

The Awesome Game is available at book stores and libraries across the land, and the material contained within the covers is pretty easy to read. There are a few instances of foul language in the book, and the writing is a little more advanced than children's books. As a result, I recommed this book for older teens and adults, but I'm pretty sure that all hockey fans will enjoy The Awesome Game!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Week 4

Interprovincial rivalries were on full display this week in three of the series while the fourth was about two teams needing to find their way back into the win column. While some teams have jumped out to a solid position in the standings that has allowed them a little breathing room, others are beginning to climb the standings and jockey for positions as the season unfolds. Without question, there are teams that need wins and points, but there are also teams looking simply to create an identity. Eight teams took to the ice this weekend with six looking for provincial bragging rights early in the campaign as we check out all the action on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: While both MacEwan and Manitoba needed points this weekend, there was a bigger stir in the Manitoba capital as head coach Jon Rempel was not behind the bench on Friday for the Bisons after he was reportedly given the weekend off. One had to wonder how this would affect the home team, but the Griffins weren't concerned with who was or wasn't on the bench as this game got underway. Brianna Sank was in net for MacEwan while the Bisons opted to start Meagan Relf!

Manitoba ran into penalty trouble in the first minute, and the Griffins made them pay. Makenna Schuttler's first goal of the season came on the power-play at 1:43, and the Griffins led 1-0 early in this game. The Bisons seemed a little out of sorts as they took another penalty minutes later, and the Griffins would strike again just after the penalty expired as Allee Isley notched her second goal of the season at 6:34 to put the visitors up 2-0! The home side seemingly woke up around the midpoint of the period, though, and they pushed back hard. They'd be rewarded for their increased pressure when Rachel Gottfried teed up a puck that found its way through traffic past Sank at 13:53, and the Bisons cut the deficit to 2-1. The teams exchanged power-plays late in the period, but the intermission would see the 2-1 score hold as MacEwan led 12-9 in shots.

The second period saw Manitoba resume its pressure on MacEwan as they turned the puck up ice whenever possible. Sank was solid all period in keeping Manitoba at bay, but Camille Enns' shot found room past the screen to get by Sank at 8:49 to tie the game at 2-2! An infraction-free period with action at both ends of the ice was certainly entertaining, but this game would hit the second break tied 2-2 with Manitoba taking a 20-17 edge in shots.

Whatever coaches Jordy Zacharias and Amanda Schubert said between periods seemed to hit home as the Bisons dominated the early portion of the period. Aimee Patrick struck just 25 seconds into the frame, and then she added a second goal at the 3:20 mark to put Manitoba up 4-2! Just 28 seconds later, Samantha Sichkaruk notched her first goal of the season to make it a 5-2 game as the Bisons absolutely suffocated the Griffins in their own zone for the opening four minutes of the period. Manitoba would be whistled for a penalty shortly after, and Jesse Jack converted on the power-play to make it a 5-3 game at 4:57. A late goal by Ashley Keller would round out the scoring as she picked up her first goal of the season with 24 seconds to play, but the Manitoba Bisons claimed their first victory of the season with a 6-3 win over the MacEwan Griffins! Meagan Relf picked up her first win with a 20-save performance while Brianna Sank stopped 27 shots in the loss.

You may have noticed that this recap saw me call the Manitoba team by their proper name. I will gladly call the Bisons by their right name when they play as well as they did on Friday. There were still mistakes, but this is the best performance in terms of effort and winning puck battles that I've seen in two years. They were down, they rallied back, and they imposed their will on their opponents just like the bison did in the image below. If this how they approach games going forward, get out of the way when the Bisons play!

SATURDAY: Both teams were back for an afternoon tilt in Winnipeg, and one had to wonder if Manitoba could ride the momentum from a big win the night before or if there may be a letdown that would allow MacEwan to capitalize. MacEwan certainly played well enough the night before to earn points if not for one defensive lapse at the start of the third period. Brianna Sank was back between the pipes for the Griffins for this game while Meagan Relf was back in the Manitoba crease!

Manitoba jumped out to a very quick lead when Brianna Sank lost the puck behind her net while players battled for it, and that allowed Dana Goertzen to find Kylie Lesuk who potted the puck into an undefended side of the net just 28 seconds into the game for the 1-0 Manitoba lead! Once again, though, the MacEwan power-play rallied the visitors as Kori Paterson got her stick on Joie Simon shot to deflect it down past Relf at 10:53 to tie the game at 1-1! It seemed like that score would hold, but Jesse Jack had other plans as she beat Relf with nine seconds to play in the period, and MacEwan took a 2-1 lead into the break after outshooting the Bisons by a 9-7 count!

Once again, Manitoba used some incredible pressure coming out of an intermission to add to their goal total. Kate Gregoire went five-hole on a breakaway just 52 seconds into the frame to make it 2-2, and Sarah Dennehy found the back of the net on the power-play at 2:39 as Manitoba led 3-2. Two minutes later, Ashley Keller added her name to the scoresheet as she found room past Sank, and the Bisons were up 4-2 just 4:47 into the second frame. A four-minute double-minor against the Bisons later in the period was killed off by some aggressive penalty killing, and the Bisons took that 4-2 lead into the intermission after jumping ahead 26-15 in shots.

The third period saw both teams play a little more physical as both worked through some frustrations. The power-plays wouldn't strike, but Maria Ayre's goal at 17:15 made things a little more interesting as MacEwan trailed 4-3. Manitoba, however, would withstand a final push from the Griffins down the stretch to claim a sweep over the Griffins with a 4-3 win! Meagan Relf earned her second victory of the weekend after stopping 15 shots while Brianna Sank made 31 stops in the setback.

Seeing the offensive outburst from the Bisons this weekend gives me hope that we're not going to see a timid team any longer. Again, there are things that need to be fixed which is understandable, but seeing the talent using hard work and effort to win games is exactly the trademark of Bisons teams in the past. If this continues next week, the Bisons may scare a number of teams once again.

We'll move west down the Trans-Canada Highway into Saskatchewan where the Huskies hopped on a bus for a trip south to Regina to meet the Cougars. This is the first instance in the U-Prairie Cup between these two teams, so the stakes were a little higher as both teams wanted wins and points in that interprovincial competition as well as for the Canada West standings. Camryn Drever was in the Huskies' crease while Arden Kliewer was defending the Regina net.

Both teams were fairly content to test the other's defence early on, but not much was hitting the net. Regina's Julianna Giacobbo was whistled for the only two infractions in the period, and the Huskies made the Cougars pay on Giacobbo's second offence as Mallory Dyer found the puck that bounced off Paris Oleksyn, and Dyer buried it for the power-play goal at 16:34 to put Saskatchewan up 1-0! That would be the only tally of the first period as the Huskies held the lead and had an 8-7 edge in shots after 20 minutes.

If there was any belief that one team may have an advantage in this game, the second period looked a lot like the first period where it was evenly played with both sides finding chances. At the 7:40 mark, the Huskies added a second goal as Isabella Pozzi's shot glanced off Kara Kondrat to get by Kliewer to make it 2-0 for Saskatchewan. A late penalty called on the Huskies didn't hurt their lead as they hit the second intermission holding a 2-0 lead and a 19-17 count in shots over the Cougars.

A much more defensive period was the atmosphere in the third period as Saskatchewan locked down their zone while Regina wasn't giving up any free passes. Arden Kliewer would be summoned to the bench late as Regina pushed for goals, but Kelsey Hall hit the empty net with ten seconds to play to ice the game and give the Huskies a 3-0 win over the Cougars! Camryn Drever earned her fourth win and second shutout of the season with 23-save blanking of Regina while Arden Kliewer stopped 21 shots in 58:07 of work in the loss.

The win pushes the Huskies to a 5-0-0 record. They remain the lone undefeated team in Canada West as Saskatchewan is off and running!

SATURDAY: The back-half of the U-Prairie Challenge moved back to Saskatoon as the Cougars met the Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place. Despite the score one night earlier, it was clear these teams were evenly-matched based on all other stats. Could the Cougars break through that Huskies defence on Saturday night? Would we see the Huskies stand tall once again? Arden Kliewer was back in the Regina net while Colby Wilson was the starter for Saskatchewan.

Another period where both sides had chances was played out through the first 16 minutes, but we'd see one of the goose eggs broken when Shaylee Scraba's shot was stopped by Wilson, but Kaitlyn Gilroy jumped all over the rebound to score her first of the season at 16:34 as Regina went up 1-0! The two sides exchanged power-plays in the opening frame that didn't help either side, so we'd hit the break with the Cougars up 1-0 in goals and 9-7 in shots!

The second period saw Saskatchewan push back despite giving up two power-plays to Regina's lone infraction, but Arden Kliewer was on her game in the middle frame. She made a couple of big saves to keep the Huskies off the board despite their pressure, and we'd reach the second intermission with Regina still holding that 1-0 lead despite Saskatchewan holding a 22-16 edge in shots.

Saskatchewan dug in again during the third period as they pushed for an equalizer, but Kliewer wasn't having any of it. Later in the period with Regina killing a power-play, a Saskatchewan turnover just inside their own blue line saw Lauren Focht pick up the loose pick and she wired a puck past the glove of Wilson for the shorthanded goal and the 2-0 lead at 13:24! Despite a furious effort in the remaining six minutes of the game, the Huskies simply could not solve Kliewer on this night as the Regina Cougars picked up their first win of the season with a 2-0 blanking of the Saskatchewan Huskies! Arden Kliewer stopped all 34 shots for her first win and first shutout this season while Colby Wilson took the loss on a 20-save night.

Don't sleep on the Regina Cougars. They'll pounce if you're not ready to play as they hand Saskatchewan its first loss this season!

FRIDAY: We'll just keep heading west on the Trans-Canada as we roll into Calgary where the Dinos were hosting the Pandas in the first half of the two-game series. Calgary needs to find a consistent game they can play through 60 minutes as they seem to be able to score, but defensive lapses erase that success. Alberta, meanwhile, is a well-oiled machine again this season as they looked to extend their winning streak. Halle Oswald was back in the Pandas' net while Gabriella Durante was between the pipes for the Dinos!

We only needed a couple of minutes to open the scoring as Jada Johns' wrist shot beat Oswald at the 3:49 mark to put the Dinos up 1-0, marking the third-straight game where the Dinos scored the first goal. They'd double their lead nearly four minutes later when Courtney Kollman picked off a pass and broke in Oswald, beating her through the five-hole at 7:08 as Calgary went up 2-0. Alberta seemed to snap out of whatever slumber they were in after Kollman's goal as the Pandas began to play as expected. Izzy Lajoie setup Natalie Kieser on a two-on-one, and Kieser buried the puck at 12:07 to close the gap to 2-1. Calgary would get one more power-play in the latter part of the period, but the Pandas would kill that off as the teams hit the intermission with Calgary up 2-1 and leading 12-10 in shots.

The second period saw a parade to the penalty box begin and end with Calgary infractions, but both teams played shorthanded at times. The Pandas, however, made sure to capitalize on their opportunities as Sara Kazeil scored her first of the season on the advantage after sneaking in from the point where Cassidy Maplethorpe found her for the goal at 12:57 to make it 2-2! That final penalty to Calgary that I noted also came into play in the scoring as Izzy Lajoie's deflection on the power-play just got by Durante with eight seconds left in the frame as Alberta carried the 3-2 lead into the intermission while outshooting Calgary by a 27-20 count.

The third period was a little less penalty-filled, but Calgary was called for a pair of indiscretions, and the second one would hurt. Izzy Lajoie would find her way to the front of the net where her shot would get past the screen and Durante for her third goal of the season, and the ;ower-play marker at 15:21 pushed the score to 4-2 in favour of the Pandas. With no other goals recorded in the final four minutes, the Pandas skated to the 4-2 win over the Dinos! Halle Oswald picked up her fifth win on night where she stopped 22 shots while Gabriella Durante suffered the loss despite making 34 saves.

Every week, it seems like someone steps up for the Pandas to help them win another game. Izzy Lajoie had herself a night with two goals and a helper as the Pandas win again!

SATURDAY: The series shifted north to Edmonton as the Dinos and Pandas met at Clare Drake Arena for the second of two games. Calgary is doing things correctly by establishing leads early, but they've let those leads slip away in each of the last three games. Alberta, meanwhile, has shown that they're lethal on the power-play once more this season. Calgary wants to end their trend while Alberta wants to prolong theirs as Gabriella Durante was in net for the Dinos while Misty Rey got her first start for the Pandas at home!

The first period saw Calgary bring the fire as they pressured Alberta and had a number of shots and second chances, but Rey was equal to the task. Back-to-back penalties to Calgary didn't hurt the Dinos, but they also couldn't capitalize on a late power-play. At the end of 20 minutes, the score remained 0-0 as Calgary held a 12-9 edge in shots.

The Pandas flipped the script in the second period as they put every puck they could on net. Just before the midway point, Izzy Lajoie broke the stalemate she found room past Durante for her fourth goal of the season at 9:08 as the Pandas went up 1-0. Despite a couple of power-plays, the Pandas could find no other goals while Calgary's lone power-play opportunity was unfulfilled as well. At the second break, Alberta held that 1-0 lead and a 26-16 advantage in shots.

Calgary killed off a penalty in the early part of the third period as they looked to build some momentum, and they'd catch a break when the puck pinballed around the Alberta net before Josie McLeod poked it home behind Rey at 10:40 to tie the game at 1-1! Once again, though, penalties would hurt the Dinos as Jadynn Morden continued her torrid start to the season with another power-play goal - her eighth tally of the campaign already! - at 14:52 to put the Pandas back up by a goal! Despite a late penalty on Alberta, the Dinos would get no closer as the Alberta Pandas downed the Calgary Dinos by a 2-1 score! Misty Rey picked up her first victory of the season with a 21-save performance while Gabriella Durante was on the losing end of this game after stopping 36 shots.

Alberta posted football highlights from this weekend of an away game played in Manitoba, but they don't post women's hockey highlights with that game being played at home. What does it take to make a highlight reel outside of a desire to showcase your athletes?

FRIDAY: The final hop down the Trans-Canada takes us into Vancouver where the Trinity Western Spartans visited the UBC Thunderbirds. UBC has been cruising along as they claimed sole possession of first place in Canada West last week, and they intended on keeping it with another strong performance this week. Trinity Western, meanwhile, looked to keep their momemtum going after starting the season without a regulation loss in four games. Karsyn Niven was in the Spartans' crease for her first-ever Canada West start while Elise Hugens was between the pipes for the Thunderbirds.

There were a pile of goals in this game, but it didn't hit blowout status. We'll still work through this quickly due to the number of goals, though, as Grace Elliott kicked things off at 2:14 with her third goal of the season, and Jaylyn Morris made it 2-0 with her second of the campaign at 14:34. UBC controlled virtually all of the offensive stats despite TWU having a couple of good rushes as UBC took a 2-0 lead and an 11-2 shot count into the first intermission.

Olivia Buckley's first of the season made it 3-0 for UBC 5:49 into the middle frame before Trinity Western finally got one back as Brooklyn Anderson snuck one under Hugens' pad at 9:11 for her third goal to push the score to 3-1. That celebration was short-lived, though, as UBC responded 43 seconds later when Chanreet Bassi scored her second goal of the campaign on a rebound to restore the three-goal UBC lead. Kara Yackel added her name to the scoresheet for the first time this season at 13:14 as she hammered home a one-timer to cut the lead to 4-2. Makenzie McCallum would open that three-goal gap before the end of the period as she deflected a shot past Niven at 15:28 for her fifth goal of the season. We'd hit the second break with UBC leading 5-2 and holding a 26-8 edge in shots. Not a typo.

Cassidy Rhodes needed just 11 seconds to make it 6-2 as she turned a defensive-zone turnover by the Spartans into her first goal of the season, and McCallum added her sixth goal at 4:22 to round out a busy night of scoring in Vancouver. With no penalties in the final frame, the horn would sound on a 7-2 UBC Thunderbirds victory over the Trinity Western Spartans! Elise Hugens picked up her fifth victory with an 11-save effort while Karsyn Niven lost her first Canada West start despite making 29 saves.

No highlights from UBC again. Why celebrate the reigning champs?

SATURDAY: The series shifted south as the two teams headed to Langley where Trinity Western hosted UBC in the second game of the two-game set. One had to wonder what it would take to slow the Thunderbirds down after three-straight wins of five-or-more goals while the Spartans wanted to climb back into the win column by defeating their archrivals. Kayla McDougall was in the crease for the T-Birds while Kate Fawcett was the starter for the Spartans.

I'd like to say that the first period was an even period between two teams focused on not allowing the other to get good scoring chances, but I'd be lying if I laid that on you. Just before the midway point, Cassidy Rhodes sniped her second goal of the season at 9:43, and Madisyn Wiebe scored her fifth goal at 17:50 to make it 2-0. Kara Yackel got one back on the power-play with ten seconds left in the period, and the teams went to the rooms with the T-Birds up 2-1 in goals and up 20-6 in shots.

I'm hoping the stats in this game are verified because the second period saw UBC with a pair of power-plays to TWU's lone advantage, but neither would find goals through the middle frame. I make the point about the stats, though, because, as per the gamesheet, Trinity Western apparently didn't record a shot in the period even with that power-play. After 40 minutes, the 2-1 UBC lead held as the score, but the shots showed a 33-6 difference between the two teams.

The third period was a little closer than the first two as UBC defended their lead well, but still found chances. TWU was called for a late penalty that allowed Rylind MacKinnon an empty-net power-play goal for her fifth of the season at 19:07 to make it 3-1 before Sierra LaPlante scored 12 seconds later for her first goal. When the dust settled, the UBC Thunderbirds had claimed a 4-1 win over the Trinity Western Spartans! Kayla McDougall earned her second win of the season with an 11-save night while Kate Fawcett likely deserved a better fate after stopping 39 shots.

No highlights. Why do I even bother with this?

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	7-0-0-1	15	40	11	W6	vs MAC
Alberta	6-1-1-0	14	25	8	W5	BYE
Saskatchewan	5-1-0-0	10	17	7	L1	@ TWU
Mount Royal	3-2-1-0	8	17	9	W2	vs MAN
Trinity Western	3-2-0-1	7	16	19	L2	vs SAS
Manitoba	2-4-0-0	4	14	27	W2	@ MRU
Calgary	1-6-1-0	4	14	22	L4	BYE
Regina	1-6-0-1	3	9	31	W1	BYE
MacEwan	1-7-0-0	2	12	30	L7	@ UBC

Schedule Quirk

As you can see above, three teams are on a bye week which, frankly, never made sense to me and still doesn't to this day. In any case, there will be just three sets of recaps next week instead of the normal four. The good news is that we'll start seeing the number of games played even out among most of the teams so statistical comparisons and analysis will be a little more telling since most teams will have played the same number of contests. Nonetheless, three teams are on bye weeks next week, so The Rundown will be a little shorter.

Retraction Needed

Last week's edition of The Rundown had me predicting that MacEwan would miss the playoffs based on the fact that the adjusted power-play percentage they were sporting was a negative value - they had given up more shorties than they had scored with the advantage. I am here to state that the math was incorrect on that as I had forgotten that Saskatchewan had been awarded a shorthanded goal when they weren't, in fact, shorthanded.

Because of me forgetting about this and Canada West not verifying stats submitted to them, I want to retract my statement about MacEwan's playoff chances based on their special teams. Add in the fact that they were 3-for-11 this past weekend, and MacEwan's adjusted power-play efficiency is actually ok. It's not the best in the conference by any means, but there's something to build on if the Griffins are going to work on it.

Bench Boss Absences

Losing one coach in a season is pretty rare for any of the U SPORTS conferences, but the number of coaches who have left or are on leave from their posts make up nearly half the conference. The five coaches who are still standing where they did one year ago seem pretty safe, but it's crazy to think that Howie Draper, Carla MacLeod, Jean LaForest, and, now, Jon Rempel are all somewhere else on Fridays and Saturdays rather than coaching their teams.

Prior to this season, Lindsay McAlpine was the last coach to step away from her team in 2022 after she was named as MacEwan's Associate Athletic Director. Danielle Goyette left Calgary in 2021 to take a position with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Michelle Janus was relieved of her duties at Lethbridge in 2019.

While turnover in any sport happens from time to time, this is the first time I can recall more than one team replacing a head coach with an interim or new coach. We'll have to keep an eye on what Rempel's status is as the weeks progress, but we'll wait for the University of Manitoba and Bisons Sports to issue a statement about what direction the women's hockey program is headed.

First Goal Woes?

I mentioned that Calgary had lost three games when scoring the first goal - two against Mount Royal and one against Alberta - over the last two weeks. Again, the general trend in Canada West is that teams win about 75% of the time when they score first, but the Dinos have fallen below that trend's number.

Of the 180 minutes played in those games, the Dinos held the lead for 60:42 of that time - 33.7% of those three games. Calgary really needs to keep its foot on the gas pedal once it scores against good teams because they seem to stop scoring once they get those leads. They're also 1-for-11 on the power-play in those three games, and Calgary really needs to kick it up a notch when they have the advantage to help their even-strength scoring. In short, Calgary's gotta score more after scoring the opening goal!

The New-Look Griffins

If you happen to take in a game that features MacEwan as the visitors, pay close attention to their uniforms because they're different than all of the other Canada West teams in terms of their design. As you can see to the left, they have a solid burgundy torso with a white hemstripe, but the sleeves are almost completely white outside of a sleeve stripe. This unique design wasn't actually what MacEwan ordered, but the first round of jerseys showed up with the burgundy replaced by a red colour similar to the Detroit Red Wings, so they went back to Adidas for some recolouring. In the rush job to get the jerseys ready for MacEwan, it seems Adidas missed the burgundy on the forearms that had been ordered, leaving MacEwan with the jerseys seen above.

The strange part? I actually like them better with the white sleeves as they're completely unique in terms of their design! I'm not saying that MacEwan is going to have the jerseys replaced again, but I'd keep these jerseys if the decision were mine. They looked sharp this weekend while the Griffins played the Bisons! Big stick-tap goes out to Dwayne for the info on these jerseys because I had no idea!

The Last Word

The Bisons climbed back into the hunt for a Canada West playoff spot thanks to their inspired play this week. Again, I want to make it clear that there are still mistakes that can be cleaned up and systemic issues that can be improved, but this was the first time in two years that I've seen this team combine talent and a relentless work ethic to play a complete 60-minute game. Frankly, it was some of the most entertaining hockey I've seen from the Herd in some time.

With two of the three teams chasing them sitting idle next week, the Bisons have a chance to put some breathing room between themselves and the rest of the field chasing them if they can defeat the defending U SPORTS National Champions. Mount Royal will certainly be more of a test for the Bisons than perhaps MacEwan was, but, if the old saying is true, you've gotta beat the best to be the best. And while no one is handing out championships in Week 5 of the season, adding points to their total will certainly put pressure on the other teams chasing the Bisons to step up their games.

While things certainly didn't go well in the first four games of the season, the Bisons have shot at leapfrogging two more teams next week with a second weekend sweep. It won't come easy and Mount Royal certainly won't roll over for the visitors in those games, but a couple more inspired games from the Bisons could really change the entire look of the standings.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!