The Rundown - Week 5

It's a lighter schedule this week with three teams on bye weeks, but the intensity was still dialed up with teams needing wins, teams needing points, and teams looking to extend streaks as we begin November. Depending on results this week, playoff races could get far more interesting as more teams get in on the action. Of course, things could get worse for some teams depending on results as well, but that's why the games are played. After this weekend, there are four weeks left in the first half of the season before the December break, so some teams may be feeling a little heat. Let's see who may be in warmer water this week on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: You'd think that the Regina Cougars, who lead the Canada West East Division, would want to show off their improved play this season with highlight reels of their players making great plays, right? I guess not. Here's the scoring summary for this game.

Cougars goals: Jordyn Blais (2), Shaylee Scraba (2)
Cougars assists: Paige Hubbard (1), Shaylee Scraba (1), Trinity Grove (2), Jules Stokes (2)
Cougars netminder: Arden Kliewer (22/25) in 60:55

Spartans goals: Charlotte Swanton (1), Olivia Leier (1), Kasey Ditner (1)
Spartans assists: Reilley Kellner (1), Kyra Anderson (2), Presleigh Giesbrecht (2), Chloe Reid (2), Presleigh Giesbrecht (3)
Spartans netminder: Kate Fawcett (23/25) in 60:55

Result: 3-2 overtime victory for Trinity Western over Regina.

SATURDAY: Regina was looking to bounce back on home ice after another extra-time loss on Friday, but Trinity Western was looking for a win streak. A win would put the Spartans back in the hunt for a playoff spot while Regina was looking to build on their lead in the division. No highlights because why would anyone want to see those, so here's the scoring summary once more.

Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars netminder: Natalie Williamson (24/27)

Spartans goals: Reilley Kellner (1), Jace Scott (2), Olivia Leier (2)
Spartans assists: Charlotte Swanton (1), Presleigh Giesbrecht (4), Jordyn Matthews (1), Kasey Ditner (2)
Spartans netminder: Mabel Maltais (17/17)

Result: 3-0 victory for Trinity Western over Regina.

FRIDAY: The three-time defending Canada West champions don't make highlight reels despite being one of the best teams in U SPORTS for the past three seasons, so don't bother looking for MacEwan or UBC goals here. The scoring summary is below.

Thunderbirds goals: Grace Elliott (5), Makenzie McCallum (3), Grace Elliott (6), Chanreet Bassi (2), Mia Bierd (2), Ashton Thorpe (2)
Thunderbirds assists: Karine Sandilands (2), Kailee Peppler (3), Kasundra Betinol (1), Sophia Gaskell (2), Jacquelyn Fleming (3), Grace Elliott (6), Jacquelyn Fleming (4), Sierra LaPlante (3), Makenzie McCallum (6), Grace Elliott (7), Meadow Carman (3)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (14/16)

Griffins goals: Sydney Olsen (1), Tess Collier (2)
Griffins assists: Jennifer Andrash (2), Kori Paterson (2), Rian Santos (2), Sydney Jack (1)
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (27/32)

Result: 6-2 victory for UBC over MacEwan.

SATURDAY: The champs looked a lot like their old selves on Friday night, and they were looking to cap off the sweep. MacEwan needs wins and goals as I've stated before, and one of those will certainly lead to the other. Would we see another lopsided score on this night? No highlights again, but the scoring summary is queued up.

Thunderbirds goals: Karine Sandilands (3), Jacquelyn Fleming (2), Mackenzie Kordic (3), Chanreet Bassi (3), Karine Sandilands (4), Sophia Gaskell (2)
Thunderbirds assists: Chanreet Bassi (4), Sophia Gaskell (3), Grace Elliott (8), Chanreet Bassi (5), Karine Sandilands (3), Grace Elliott (9), Jacquelyn Fleming (5), Kasundra Betinol (2), Mackenzie Kordic (5), Madisyn Wiebe (2)
Thunderbirds netminder: Mya Lucifora (10/11)

Griffins goals: Jennifer Andrash (1)
Griffins assists: Rian Santos (3), Kori Paterson (3)
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (38/44)

Result: 6-1 victory for UBC over MacEwan.

FRIDAY: Saskatchewan was looking to erase the goose egg in the regulation win column by hosting Manitoba this weekend, but the Bisons were in it to win it themselves as they looked to improve their standing in the East Division. The Huskies don't do highlights either, so this will be another highlight-free weekend. You do get the scoring summary, though. I guess that will have to suffice.

Huskies goals: Kendra Zuchotzki (1), Sara Kendall (3)
Huskies assists: Jasper Desmarais (2), Sara Kendall (1), Kendra Zuchotzki (4), Taylor Wilkinson (3)
Huskies netminder: Emma Backman (34/37) in 63:10

Bisons goals: Julia Bird (2), Hanna Bailey (1), Norah Collins (4)
Bisons assists: Louise Fergusson (2), Kylie Lesuk (1), Kylie Lesuk (2), Dana Goertzen (2)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (22/24) in 63:10

Result: 3-2 overtime victory for Manitoba over Saskatchewan.

SATURDAY: The Huskies picked up another point in a one-goal decision, but they really need a two-point win. Manitoba had a chance to overtake the idle Alberta Pandas with a win, so they were aiming for the sweep. No highlights as usual, so enjoy the scoring summary.

Huskies goals: none
Huskies assists: none
Huskies netminder: Colby Wilson (24/28)

Bisons goals: Norah Collins (5), Sophia Anderson (1), Seanna Price (1), Sadie Keller (2)
Bisons assists: Camryn Gillis (3), Sadie Keller (2), Camille Enns (2), Sadie Keller (3)
Bisons netminder: Paige Fischer (17/17)

Result: 4-0 victory for Manitoba over Saskatchewan.

No, I'm not doing the stupid East and West Divisions on the standings board. One conference, nine teams, let's see who is best.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	7-2-1-0	16	33	16	W6	vs MRU
Mount Royal	6-1-1-0	14	21	9	W3	@ UBC
Regina	2-1-3-2	12	12	12	L2	@ CAL
Manitoba	4-2-1-1	11	19	10	W4	BYE
Alberta	5-3-0-0	10	16	13	L2	@ MAC
Calgary	4-3-0-1	9	20	18	W1	vs REG
Trinity Western	2-5-1-0	6	12	17	W2	vs SAS
Saskatchewan	0-6-0-4	4	11	28	L10	@ TWU
MacEwan	1-6-0-1	3	7	28	L4	vs ALB

Honour Roll

Each week on The Rundown, I highlight the best performances from the weekend's games. It won't always be the top scorer or the best goalie, but I'll have a reason for who gets picked each week. This week's Honour Roll candidate is someone who helped her team to a sweep as Trinity Western's Olivia Leier is this week's honouree!

You might be wondering why I chose Leier, but she's starting to look like the player she was last season over the last two weeks. She has a four-game scoring streak going that saw Trinity Western win three of four games, she's looking far more confident with and without the puck, and the fourth-year player will be a key player in determining how far Trinity Western goes this season. Yes, she's the Spartans' leading scorer with four points, but the Regina-born forward looked right at home this weekend.

Two goals in two wins over one of the top teams in Canada West? Olivia Leier can boast that she did that, and that effort put Trinity Western three points back of the Dinos. Since I called out TWU in Week 3 for needing scoring threats, the three players named in that section - Leier, Kara Yackel, and Chloe Reid - have responded with four goals and four assists over their last four games. That kind of effort makes a difference, and Leier has half of those goals and points. That's how Olivia Leier added her name to the Honour Roll!

Not-So-Good Byes

We'll have to see how the three teams who were on bye weeks this week fare in their games next week, but the three teams who have had bye weeks so far - Manitoba, MacEwan, and Regina - are a combined 2-3-1 in the games that follow the bye week, and not one of those three teams recorded a sweep. That's not a great record for teams that are supposed to be practicing and resting, but that's what we have so far this season.

Mount Royal, Alberta, and Calgary will look to change those fortunes as they're back in action, but maybe the bye week isn't as beneficial as we may believe it to be. I'll keep an eye on this as we press on.

A New Sponsor

Because you likely spend enough money watching a Canada West TV package, you probably should know that Canada West acquired a new "presenting sponsor" of Canada West TV. No, this won't make watching the webstreams any cheaper. No, you won't see massive investments into the webstream format or broadcasts. And no, you likely will not experience anything to make your experience better. Why do they have sponsors then?

Anyway, BioSteel, the "official Hydration Sponsor of Canada West", will now be peddled on all broadcasts. Yes, that's the same BioSteel that was headed towards bankruptcy and was pulled out of bankruptcy by Dan Crosby. While this infusion of cash for Canada West TV seems like it would be good to market the athletes more, it seems that Canada West TV will be used to market BioSteel more.

I maintain that any sponsors acquired by Canada West should mean that the costs to watch Canada West sports should be reduced, but that's not how university business works, I guess. Enjoy the new mentions of BioSteel on broadcasts now, folks.

It Seems Inevitable

I missed this accolade last week so it's being mentioned this week, but MacEwan netminder Brianna Sank will likely break a record this season after reaching 4000 regular-season minutes played in the Griffins' crease! Up to this point, she has logged 4,043:18 in the blue paintfor the Griffins, making her just the second player in the 25 years of Griffins' history to hit the 4000-minute mark!

It seems like she'll break Sandy Heim's record of 4,184:11 this season, so we'll have to keep a watch on her total. It should be noted that 3331 of those minutes have come in Canada West, so she's logged a lot of minutes against some of the best players in the country. Sank had the weekend off as didn't play against UBC - I'd say she earned that break! - but she could break Heim's record next Saturday at home against the Alberta Pandas. That would be a great time to honour her efforts and contributions to the Griffins program, and I'm hoping she gets a proper ceremony for establishing a new record.

Brianna Sank certainly deserves a tip of the cap for everything she's done for the Griffins, and this writer knows how important she's been over the last few seasons. Congratulations on what looks like a new school record, Brianna, and here's hoping it leads to bigger and better things down the road!

An Hour Back

Sunday marked the day where clocks were changed for Daylight Savings Time in every province except Saskatchewan. I say that because Saskatchewan Time now moves back to being the same as Central Time, so games out west become one hour later for anyone tuning into them. Frankly, this whole time shift thing doesn't make sense any longer and I don't know why we just don't eliminate it altogether, but I have absolutely zero say on that.

Anyway, check the schedule for next week's game times as we get used to new start times again.

Shameless (Self)Promotion

You know how I whine about no one making highlights and no one giving their athletes a bigger stage on which they can be seen?

Well, I'm going to start posting the interviews we do and have done on The Hockey Show with Canada West athletes here. In talking with a couple of people, I realize that Canada West hockey is more than just hockey. It's joining a new school, finding new friends, discovering one's passions, and playing a little puck. We talk about all this cool stuff going on in players' lives, yet there are still people who say "I didn't know that" when I mention something from past player interviews.

Let's start this new feature with the most recent interview we did as Mount Royal Cougars captain Lyndsey Janes joined us this past week to talk about her life, growing up in Fort McMurray, playing at Notre Dame, how she got to Mount Royal University, and so much more! Give that a listen if you missed the chat this week, and get to know the amazing Lyndsey Janes a little more!

The Last Word

The 2024 U18 Women's National Championship runs from November 3-9 in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, and there likely will be a lot of Canada West coaches watching the action and checking their scouting information when it comes to recruiting for the 2025-26 season and beyond. Ontario Red is the defending champion of this event while Quebec finished second and BC took home the bronze medal.

If you don't think this tournament is where players are "discovered", Saskatchewan's Clara Juca and Alberta's Holly Magnus played with Team BC last season and brought home the bronze medal. Calgary's April Klarenbach skated with Team Alberta who finished in fourth-place while Saskatchewan's Avery Gottselig, Trinity Western's Ashley Breitkreuz, and Manitoba's Evangeline Hill all were part of Team Saskatchewan. Mount Royal's Breanne Comte, Saskatchewan's Haley Braun, and Manitoba's Kelsey Huibers skated for Manitoba.

All of these first-year players will have an impact on their programs down the line if they aren't making that impact already. Undoubtedly, there will be NCAA and ACHA coaches watching this tournament as well since they pull players for their programs from Canada all the time, but we need to start boosting the Canadian university system as being a high-quality, excellent place to play, learn, and grow for these athletes. Some of the stars at the tournament will inevitably go south, but the options up north are not only plentiful, but roster spots are available on each and every team for any player who wants to earn one while the schooling is just as good.

The big catch? The cost to watch these games online is absolutely insane. A tournament pass will cost you $99 which is more expensive than the $79 tournament pass to watch all the games in person in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. I guess the option to download the games is the reason for the $20 boost in costs, but there's no way that I'm paying that kind of money to watch a few games.

Hockey Canada just released a document that admits they need to break down barriers to make women's hockey more accessible in this country. That $100 price tag on the streaming of a national championship? That seems like a very easy barrier to take down for a Hockey Canada tournament.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!