The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the studio where we can avoid Alberta clippers and other weather systems that may be raging outside as the Great White North gets a little whiter. It's the perfect season for hockey around these parts, and we're going to talk to a guest tonight whose experiences have taken her from player to coach to advocate, and we'll hear about some of the challenges she faces in building provincial and national team programs. Did we mention she's a fantastically awesome person too? We'll chat about all of that stuff and much more with one of this country's best coaches when it comes to parahockey tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason are proud, honoured, privileged, humbled, and pleased to welcome Team Manitoba Parahockey head coach and Team Canada National Women's Parahockey assistant coach McKenna Wild to the show! McKenna spends her workdays as a Recreational Facilitator for Manitoba Possible, but her nights and weekends see her on the ice as the head coach, director, and everything in between for the Manitoba provincial sledge hockey team. We'll chat about her time playing hockey, some of the challenges that the provincial team faces, some of the achievements they've made, growing the game both provincially and nationally, some upcoming events, and more! It should be a fantastic show as we learn about the provincial and national sledge hockey programs from McKenna Wild, head coach of Team Manitoba, tonight on 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 UMFM website's streaming player works well 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 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! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason sit down with McKenna Wild to discuss her hockey career, switching over to sledge hockey, coaching, building teams, accessibility and advocacy, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
If there's one thing that I can honestly say about having a radio show is that we, at no point in time, have ever claimed to have any influence on anyone when it comes to the game of hockey. We don't have the same reach or market share as a TSN radio nor a CJOB locally, so seeing local news stories covering something we were talking about on The Hockey Show just a couple of weeks ago seems pretty cool. Of course, coverage matters and a few of these outlets did what seems like the bare minimum, but that's why we devote our show and I devote space on this blog to stories like these that need a bigger audience.
Two weeks ago, we were honoured to welcome Sledge Hockey Manitoba Vice-President and Manitoba Junior Express coach Shay Hawthorn, Sledge Hockey Manitoba Intermediate Representative and Manitoba Intermediate Express coach Les McRae, and Manitoba Intermediate Express player Austin McRae to the UMFM studios where we spoke about the sport of sledge hockey, also called parahockey, in detail as they looked to grow the game in Manitoba. It was an incredible chat, and it's something that we've pledged to continue doing so they can get the same coverage as stand-up hockey.
One of the topics we spoke about that night was getting more kids involved in the game and the prohibitive costs of doing so. Sleds are, by far, the most expensive piece of equipment that players own, and a growing child means that sleds may not even last an entire winter! There were some solutions put forth by Shay, Les, and Austin, but they all agreed that more help was needed if the sport was to grow as freely as it potentially could with those barriers removed.
Shay had suggested that the "First Shift Program" would be a good way for kids to try the sport, and she was hopeful we'd see Hockey Canada or the Winnipeg Jets help both Sledge Hockey Manitoba and Manitoba Possible do more. After all, it takes equipment, ice time, and opportunity to get kids on the ice for any flavour of hockey.
Obviously, we can take zero credit for this story nor any of the developments that led to the story, but this is exactly the kind of attention that the sports of blind hockey and parahockey need if they're going to gain any traction in this province. More people talking about it should get more people involved, and we heard on The Hockey Show that Sledge Hockey Manitoba wants to continue its positive growth. I'd imagine Blind Hockey Manitoba wants to see their numbers boosted as well, so let's keep talking about these sports!
Again, The Hockey Show is going to hold true to our pledge by having another guest this week on the show who is knee-deep in the sledge hockey world both at the provincial and national levels. Her interview should be a good one, and our hope is that more people will take notice of all the good things being done in Manitoba for both sledge hockey players and fans no matter what age one is.
With the 2025 Para Cup being played in Dawson Creek, BC right now, the final preparations are being made by the four teams at the tournament for the upcoming Paralympic Games. Canada has defeated both China and Czechia in jumping out to a 2-0 record, and they'll square off against the team that everyone is looking to beat in Team USA tomorrow. As we heard from Shay and Les, there's hope that there will be a Manitoba-born-and-trained national team player one day, and it could be Austin if he continues to improve his game!
Programs like the First Shift Program should help the game grow in Manitoba, and I'm excited to see more media outlets talking about the sports of sledge hockey and blind hockey. We'll continue our discussion this week on The Hockey Show as we want to see the sport take off in Manitoba, and we'll continue to cover the game as Sledge Hockey Manitoba has more events throughout the hockey season.
And if we can bring Blind Hockey Manitoba in for a little chatter in the future, we'll welcome them to the UMFM studio as well!
Hockey is for everyone on The Hockey Show, and it was awesome to see a handful of news outlets covering the First Shift Program for both sledge hockey players and for blind hockey players this week. My hope is we'll see more coverage by news outlets going forward!
Full marks to anyone who can identify the goaltender in question to the left. He played his last professional game in the ECHL during the 2023-24 season, but it appears he's trying to gain employment in that league again. If you're wondering, he's a former NHL netminder who played for three teams, but has just 40 games to his name despite those three stops. The 32 year-old was drafted 190th-overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, he won an AHL Calder Cup championship in 2017-18, and he's one of 26 goalies in NHL history to record a shutout in his NHL debut. He seemed like he could have been a good goalie, but his path led elsewhere.
If you're still wondering who the goaltender is and you haven't turned to the Google machine for answers, the man pictured above in the Bloomington Bison uniform is Garret Sparks. The reason I'm posting about Garret Sparks today is that he was released by the Bison after serving as their EBUG - emergency backup goaltender - for the last eight days! Imagine having a former NHL goalie as your EBUG!
It seems that Sparks hasn't spoken to any media about landing with the Bison as their EBUG. I went hunting for interviews and newspaper stories, and there is nothing outside of the announcement by the Bisons on their website and across their social media. You would think someone in Indiana would want to sit down and chat with Sparks about his career, but he spent November 25 until today waiting for his number to be called. It never happened as he saw no action.
Maybe that's for the best considering that Sparks struggled in his two games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the five games he played with the Wheeling Nailers in 2023-24. He was 0-1-0 in those two games with the Penguins, sporting a 3.70 GAA and an .862 save percentage, but four goals on 29 shots isn't good enough for an AHL roster spot. He was sent to Wheeling where he went 0-3-1 with a 4.00 GAA and an .843 save percentage, allowing 16 goals on 102 shots. Those totals weren't good enough for an ECHL roster spot either.
I have no idea where Sparks played last season as there's nothing to indicate that he even played beer league hockey, but it seems that the Bison were willing to have him sit in the stands as their EBUG this season. I'm not saying he would have seen any action even if there was a need for him to dress, but it seems the Bison were willing to roll the dice in the event there was a need for him to suit up.
The last time that Sparks played meaningful hockey for more than ten games was in the 2022-23 season when he went 7-4-3 for the Orlando Solar Bears, but he still had a 3.45 GAA and an .887 save percentage. It's not to say that he can't make stops, but he just needs to do it more frequently than what he's done in the last few stops. Honestly, Sparks as a potential EBUG would be a pretty good goaltending option had the Bison needed him in a pinch.
All of that, though, is now in the "what if" bin since Sparks was released today by the Bison. I'm not saying that Sparks needed to take someone's job, but it seems unlikely he would have unseated one of Dryden McKay or Callum Tung in the Bison crease. They're having solid seasons individually despite the lack of scoring from the Bison, so maybe Sparks just wanted to throw the gear back on, practice with an ECHL team again, and see if he still had the moves.
The good news is that Garret Sparks is a free agent again in case anyone else needs an EBUG with NHL experience on his résumé.
With the MacEwan Griffins having Black Friday and the weekend off, there were eight teams who in action across the three provinces this weekend. The only province not to have hockey action was Saskatchewan, both both teams were playing elsewhere. There were some intriguing matchups this week as playoff positions could be solidified while other teams could climb back into races if they were to win games. Officially, everyone still has a shot at the playoffs, but it's the ability to capitalize on opportunities that are given that will determine if a team is in or out in February. Let's see if anyone answered when opportunity knocked this week on The Rundown!
FRIDAY: The Battle of Calgary was back for another weekend as the Munt Royal Cougars dropped in at Father David Bauer Arena looking to weave their magic against the Calgary of Dinos. The Cougars came into this game with points in eleven-straight games, and they were looking to keep that going in an effort to jump into first-place in the East Division and to help the school in its effort to win the Crowchild Classic. The Dinos had won four-straight games coming into the weekend, and they wanted to remain atop the division while gathering points for the Crowcild Classic as well. These teams split games in October with the road team winning each game, so a sweep by either side this weekend could prove important in the standings.
Dinos goals: Hannah Reagh (4), Evelyn Lawrence (4)
Dinos assists: April Klarenbach (2), Alex Spence (9), Hannah Reagh (2)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (32/35)
Result: 4-2 victory for Mount Royal over Calgary.
SATURDAY: With their win one night earlier, Mount Royal went up 2-1 in the season series against Calgary and, more importantly, moved ahead of the Dinos in the standings. They came home to Flames Community Arena looking for the sweep, but the Dinos were looking to take a second game off the Cougars in the Mount Royal barn. Would the Cougars take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series or could the Dinos even things up for the always-circled-on-the-calendar Crowchild Classic game on January 29 at the Saddledome?
Cougars goals: Sydney Benko (8), Julia Duke (6)
Cougars assists: Jordynne Hojnocki (1), Kiana McNinch (6), Isa McPhee (6)
Cougars netminder: Scout Anderson (21/22)
Result: 2-1 overtime victory for Mount Royal over Calgary.
FRIDAY: There's always some narrative that says that two teams that battle hard over the course of a number of games tend to develop animosity towards one another. I don't buy that narrative mainly because the results on the scoreboard usually speak the loudest, but there's no denying that the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds will give as much as they get from each other. The Huskies were in Vancouver for a weekend set with the Thunderbirds with both teams looking to add points in the standings.
Thunderbirds goals: Mia Bierd (5), Grace Elliott (14), Annalise Wong (4), Kailee Peppler (1)
Thunderbirds assists: Presley Zinger (5), Vanessa Schaefer (7), Annalise Wong (14), Hanna Perrier (4), Jaylyn Morris (7)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (19/20)
Result: 4-1 victory for UBC over Saskatchewan.
SATURDAY: We'll talk about what happened at the end of Friday's game down below, but these two teams reconvened at Thunderbird Arena on Saturday to close out this weekend. UBC was one step closer to securing a playoff spot with their win on Friday while the Huskies were trying to hold on their playoff spot with a win on Saturday. Both teams wanted to close out the weekend with a win, and my hope was that we wouldn't get the same ending as Friday.
FRIDAY: The Trinity Western Spartans headed to Alberta looking to squash the Pandas' hopes of catching them in the standings. A sweep by the Spartans would almost guarantee a second-place finish in the West Division, but the Pandas knew the stakes as well. Two wins would put them right back in the thick of things for that second-place finish, so they knew what they had to do against the Spartans.
Spartans goals: Presleigh Giesbrecht (4), Kara Yackel (6), Ella Boon (1)
Spartans assists: Kyra McDonald (6), Ella Boon (4), Kyra McDonald (6)
Spartans netminders: Kate Fawcett (8/13)
Pandas goals: Hailey Crothers (2), Annie King (3), Raegan Yewdall (2), Abby Soyko (6), Raegan Yewdall (3)
Pandas assists: Janay Williams (2), Taylor Breen (1), Natalie Kieser (4), Abby Soyko (5), Leighanna Rizarri (1), Holly Magnus (8), Holly Magnus (9), Holly Magnus (10), Riley Smith (1)
Pandas netminders: Mackenzie Dojahn (22/25)
Result: 5-3 victory for Alberta over Trinity Western.
SATURDAY: With the gap between the Spartans and Pandas a little smaller, both teams know the importance of a win on Saturday. I'm not sure that either coach was excited about the third period turning into a track meet where the Spartans, at one point, led 3-2 with just over 12 minutes to play, but that's hockey. In any case, the Spartans were looking for a split on Saturday while the Pandas were aiming for a sweep to close out November and the gap between the two teams.
Result: 2-1 victory for Alberta over Trinity Western.
FRIDAY: If Manitoba has any hope of joining the playoff picture in the West Division, they need to start winning games in regulation. They had yet to do that this season, but they were playing the only team they had beaten this season in the Regina Cougars after beating them on the opening night of the season in a shootout. The Cougars could jump back into a playoff spot with a couple of wins and some help, so they were looking for a good ending to their November. Would we see an underperforming team finally snap its losing streak or would we see a team grab the opportunity to jump into a playoff spot?
Bisons goals: Sarah Harbus (2), Aimee Patrick (3), Julia Bird (3), Kelsey Huibers (2), Brenna Nicol (1)
Bisons assists: Aimee Patrick (5), Izzy Mann (1), Dana Goertzen (4), Sophia Anderson (2), Aimee Patrick (6), Sadie Keller (1)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (24/26)
Result: 5-2 victory for Manitoba over Regina.
SATURDAY: Manitoba's performance on Friday may have restored hope for the faithful that there was a shot at a third-straight year for playoffs, but they still had work to do on Saturday. Regina started the game slow and paid for it in the end, but they had a shot a splitting the weekend series and improving on their 1-1-1 record in Winnipeg for tie-breaking purposes. Would we see the first Bisons sweep of the season or could the Cougars restore the gap between them and Manitoba in the East Division standings?
Cougars goals: Olivia Leggett (1), Shaylee Scraba (2), Kaitlyn Gilroy (4)
Cougars assists: Kaylee Dyer (4), Felicia An (1), Pippy Pritchard (4)
Cougars shootout scorers: Makena Kushniruk
Cougars netminder: Natalie Williamson (26/29) in 65:00 plus 1/3 in the shootout
Bisons goals: Aimee Patrick (4), Julia Bird (4), Aimee Patrick (5)
Bisons assists: Louise Fergusson (4), Alyssa Rasmuson (3), Hanna Bailey (3), Julia Bilous (1)
Bisons shootout scorers: Julia Bird, Alyssa Rasmuson
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (21/24) in 65:00 plus 2/3 in the shootout
Result: 4-3 shootout victory for Manitoba over Regina.
Don't even ask about divisions. I'm not interested in that setup. It's one conference, nine teams, and we'll see who is best in the west.
CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY
School
Record
Points
GF
GA
Streak
Next
UBC
14-1-1-0
30
49
13
W2
@ TWU
Mount Royal
8-2-5-1
27
39
21
W3
@ MAN
Calgary
10-4-1-3
25
39
27
L2
BYE
Trinity Western
3-7-5-1
17
36
33
L3
vs UBC
Alberta
6-6-0-4
16
33
40
W3
vs MAC
Saskatchewan
3-6-3-2
14
21
31
L3
vs REG
Regina
3-6-2-3
13
22
31
L4
@ SAS
Manitoba
1-7-2-4
10
22
39
W2
vs MRU
MacEwan
2-11-1-2
8
14
40
W1
@ 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. There were some solid performances from a handful of players, but no one had a bigger weekend that Manitoba Bisons forward Aimee Patrick who had a five-point weekend in helping Manitoba pick up four points! Her third goal of the weekend may have been the biggest as she scored with 34 seconds to play to force overtime, helping Manitoba earn a 4-3 shootout. Aimee Patrick led the Bisons to two big wins over a rival, and that's how she adds her name to the list!
The fourth-year forward had a solid season with 21 points last season where it seemed like she was breaking out as a star in Canada West. She started off slow this season with a goal and four assists in her first nine games, but she's responded with four goals and two assists in her last five games. The Bisons need her leadership and scoring, but Patrick is the proof in the pudding that going to the net results in goals. Her play around the net has resulted in more goals for both her and her teammates as the nopower forward is finding her groove!
The key here is that Manitoba only has three wins on the season, and all three wins have come against the Regina Cougars. However, Manitoba is 3-1-2 at home, Patrick has seven points at home, and the Bisons have three wins and eight points at home. I'm not saying there's a direct correlation between her play and how the Bisons fare, but the Bisons haven't earned points in only one game where Patrick had multiple points. This weekend was the most productive of her career so far, it ended with the Bisons picking up four points, and that's why Aimee Patrick made the Honour Roll this week!
Not A Good Look
I've been accused on social media before of having a bias against the UBC Thunderbirds, but I might be the only person not affiliated with the school who has celebrated their accomplishments this season while also scouring the stats to find that their players are doing better than what their recorded stats say. I can honestly say the accusations don't bother me all that much. I know the truth.
What does bother me is this kind of behaviour at the end of a game.
There was a scrum in the corner as the horn sounded and the final whistle blew, and things escalated from there as both Saskatchewan's Bronwyn Boucher and UBC's Kailee Peppler were singled out for two counts of head contact as punches were thrown. Full cages and helmets won't allow for much damage, but the calls were made in any case. Everyone else on the ice received a ten-minute misconduct for their parts in the scrum, but you may notice something on the UBC side of the image that requires some discussion.
At the very top of the penalty summary, you can see the coach, Graham Thomas, being assessed a game misconduct while #77, Olivia Buckley, was given a two-minute minor for leaving the bench and a game misconduct for that decision. Buckley was in the penalty box when she exited the box and beelined for the scrum. That's a problem for the vast majority of hockey leagues around the world, and Canada West is no different as they use Hockey Canada's rules.
Hockey Canada's Rule 10.4 states right at the top that "Players may only leave the Penalty Bench at the conclusion of their penalty or at the end of a period, as directed by the Timekeeper or Referee" which is what should have happened here considering that time had expired. Let's go to the rulebook to ensure the officials got it right.
It seems they missed a minor penalty assessed to Buckley, but the officials got this one right. Because both Buckley and Thomas were assessed game misconducts, Canada West also suspends them for the next game as well. As such, Saturday night saw both Buckley and Thomas in street clothes as neither were on the bench for UBC.
I'm going to guess that Buckley learned her lesson about staying in the box with the suspension imposed to both her and Graham Thomas, but this kind of behaviour from both teams is just a bad look. I get that emotions run high and frustration can set in, but there's no need for anything close to this sort of extracurricular activity. Every single player has to be back in class on Monday, and I'm thankful no one was seriously hurt with all the sparring on the ice.
Let's be better, Huskies and T-Birds. You're both good teams that don't need to be starting a street fight every game despite the animosity.
A Scary Moment
Regina Cougars forward Cassidy Peters had a good night on Friday with a goal and an assist against Manitoba in their 5-2 loss to the Bisons. It's always nice to see a second-year player having a good day at the office, and it seems like Peters will have a solid Canada West career... if she's able to return to the ice this season and beyond.
Early on Saturday night, Peters fell head-first into the boards at Wayne Fleming Arena and it didn't look good. Trainers and medical personnel worked on securing her head and neck before she was finally moved off the ice after a considerable amount of time. My thoughts are with Cassidy today as she recovers from this injury, and my hope is she is back in action sooner than later. She's a good player, a better person, and this was a setback no one wanted to see.
At the time of writing this article, no updates had been given.
One Of Us
If you missed the news, former Calgary Dinos head coach and current Ottawa Charge and Czechia national team head coach Carla MacLeod has been battling a medical issue. She released a statement about it.
I'm a big fan of Carla for her work both as a player and as a coach, but she's an incredible human being on top of being an exceptional hockey person. I'm pulling for Carla in her battle against cancer, and I'm glad she's not going to miss any coaching for treatments for breast cancer. I know she's going to beat it as much as she loves beating the USA in hockey, but I can't wait to see Carla kick cancer's ass as well!
Technology Upgrade?
There were two key moments in the Saskatchewan-UBC game on Saturday where goals were called back. I'm not here to call out the officials who worked this game for the decisions they made with respect to those goals, but there are goals every year in Canada West hockey that should be reviewed as they could have big effects on scores and points in the standings. We need a review system!
The two goals this weekend in question both were scored by the Huskies, and one was wiped out for apparent goaltender interference where it was hard to see any interference while the other was waved off as the Huskies scored with time expiring. On review, the interference committed by a Huskies player looked like contact initiated by the netminder long before the goal was second, and the second goal appeared to have been scored with 0.1 seconds remaining. The end result was a 1-0 UBC win and two points for UBC.
Again, no one is faulting UBC as they have nothing to do with the calls made by the officials, but how much longer will this conference operate without something like video review for goals? We all know how hard it is to score goals in Canada West, so why are we taking them off the board if they appear to be legitimately good goals?
Finding Scoring Spots
I made a big deal about the Bisons shooting just 4.0% this season when it came to their success and it was showing in their total wins and points as they were generating shots on net, but getting nothing to show for those shots. This week, the Bisons shot an impressive 11.1% over their two games, and they won both. I'm not saying that they need to shoot about 10% for the rest of the season, but finding the back of the net more often seems to have a positive effect on both the number of wins and points they have. Imagine that!
In all seriousness, what I liked from the Bisons this weekend is they went to the net with purpose. Passes were being completed to players driving to the net, and the recipients were burying those chances. Players creating screens were battling to get second chances, and they were causing chaos all weekend for the Regina goalies. This is how all teams score the majority of their goals, and it seems the Bisons bought into this idea with 8 goals on 72 shots.
Credit to both the coaching staff and the players for attacking the net this weekend, but one weekend of good hockey won't make up for earlier in the season if this doesn't continue. The Bisons could find themselves in the thick of a playoff race if they continue to play as they did against Regina. Both games saw the Bisons score three or more goals for the first time since opening night, so replicating this weekend's efforts moving forward should be the goal!
Another Record Rewritten
Grace Elliott's impressive season continued with her 15th goal in 16 games this season, but that 15th goal scored on Saturday put her alongside two of the best to have ever worn the UBC jersey. That goal was her 116th point in her career, putting her at the same total as UBC program record holders Tatiana Rafter and Chanreet Bassi!
Knowing how much she enjoys scoring against Trinity Western, it seems inevitable that Grace Elliott will be the top scorer in UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey history next weekend... unless the Spartans can find some way or any way to slow her down!
The Last Word
There's one weekend left in the first half of the Canada West season. All teams will have passed the midway points of their season, and the only team who has a head start on preparing for January are the Calgary Dinos who have the bye next week. Mathematically, the UBC Thunderbirds can clinch a playoff spot in the West Division next weekend against Trinity Western. Mathematically, both Calgary teams could clinch playoff spots by mid-January. For the other six teams, the marathon of the season is now going to be a sprint to the finish.
We'll see who goes into the holiday and exam break with festive spirits! Will it be your team closing out 2025 on a winning note?
The player to the left shall not be named in today's article for any reason. He hasn't earned that respect by any measure after being acquitted for charges of sexual assault in the Hockey Canada trial. You all know his name so me repeating it here isn't necessary, but I want to make it clear that his name will never be used in any way since it became apparent that the Vegas Golden Knights are desperate for a goaltender regardless of past allegations and involvement in alleged crimes. As he plays with the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights, it's becoming more and more evident that his abilities to stop pucks at an NHL level has evaporated, leading me to ask the obvious question: for what reason would Vegas keep him on their depth chart if he's not good enough?
The goaltender in question has played in three games for the Henderson Silver Knights to date, logging a 1-2-0 record with a 3.07 GAA and an .839 save percentage. He allowed four goals on 16 shots yesterday against the Ontario Reign, losing the game 4-3, and I have to admit that I enjoyed watching him struggle to make saves and track pucks at the AHL level. Knowing he'll eventually be recalled by the Vegas Golden Knights only makes me enjoy this fall from grace even more because, as I've said repeatedly, playing professional hockey is a privilege. Someone wearing #79 should remember that.
If you don't believe me that NHL teams are going to feast on his poor goaltending, consider this power-play goal by Ontario's Andre Lee.
Either he has no periphreal vision or he simply doesn't read plays, but the Henderson stopper didn't even try to prevent the pass to Andre Lee who simply needed to redirect it home. Cole Gutman telegraphed the play from the face-off dot, and the netminder didn't even try to block the centering pass. Is this NHL level netminding?
In all three games he's played, the formerly-accused has struggled with traffic in front of him and deflected shots - two things of which he'll see a lot if Vegas promotes him. He's squarely up to shooters when facing them, but his angles are terrible and his fundamentals are mediocre at best. Here's an example of him not holding the post.
If he's going to cheat off his post on potential wrap-around attempts, NHL shooters will feast on that. It shows a lack of confidence in his lateral movement and not respecting the puck carrier enough to believe they can find holes in his goaltending. Again, that's hardly what you want to see in an NHL goalie, so why is Vegas even entertaining this option? He's not even good enough at the AHL level!
Look, Vegas can try to pretend that the acquitted is still an NHL-calibre netminder, but the reality is that he's simply not. They can do the right thing here, say they tried to give him a chance, but that his play simply wasn't good enough to warrant a NHL roster spot. They can play him in Henderson until there's some marked improvement, but they'd be better off just waiving him for the purposes of terminating his contract. At least they may save some face that way.
He's a terrible goaltender with abhorrent character and brutal statistics. Just waive him and wave good-bye to a problem, Vegas.
It has been a pleasure to have had the opportunities to read some great books over the last week that has allowed us to interview great authors on The Hockey Show. While I'm completely aware of the need for these authors to promote their books to help sales, it's been a better experience getting to know the people writing these books through our conversations. That holds true for today's book review as Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Certified Beauties: More of Hockey's Greatest Untold Stories, written by James Duthie and published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. If you were a fan of James Duthie's book, Beauties, this is the second book that he's written that deals with all the stories that hockey players trade behind the scenes about their craziest experiences and often hard-to-believe moments off the ice. If you need a good hockey story, Certified Beauties has a pile of them from the players themselves!
You already know James Duthie from his hockey work on TSN, but there's a lot more to James Duthie than just his TV work. James is an eight-time Canadian Screen Award winner, he has co-hosted Olympic Daytime coverage, he'll be heading to Milano-Cortina for men’s hockey coverage at another Olympic Games, he is an Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame inductee, he holds the key to city in Ottawa, he hosts TSN's coverage of The Masters and the CFL, he appeared in Goon 2 as some character named "James Duthie", he's a Carleton University grad, and he's the author of of a number of books including two that I have reviewed here on HBIC in The Guy on the Left and Beauties, and a third book today. James and his family live in Aurora, Ontario.
For everyone that has sat through a hockey interview where the same clichés and statements have been made by countless players, you know it gets a little repetitive. That's where Certified Beauties comes in because I'm quite certain the stories told by the players in this book haven't been heard by fans anywhere. Some may be known, but there are so many entertaining, funny, and heartfelt stories in Certified Beauties that you'll likely find yourself wanting to read the next one as soon as you finish a story! That happened to me!
The players who contributed stories are many with the likes of Kevin Bieksa, Darcy Hordichuk, Blake Coleman, Sam Gagner, Emma Maltais, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, and Ray Whitney to name a few, but there were some amazing chapters about Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau and Gardiner MacDougall and the UNB Reds that truly illustrate how good the game of hockey can be when great people set their minds on making the world a better place. For all the laughs that are contained within the covers of Certified Beauties, the chapters that tugged on the heart strings will remain with you.
I do want to make a special mention of the chapter that is entirely devoted to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau because it's their family and friends who contribute the stories about them to Certified Beauties. From these stories, you can tell that these two men were special in their own ways. It's hard to know that these two incredible men who cherished their time away from the game with the people they loved more the game of hockey were taken from us at such a young age, but the words used to describe them by their families and friends will give you new persepctive on these two wonderful men.
You might be wondering what kind of stories are found in Certified Beauties, and I'm here to say that the stories you'll read range from funny to "that couldn't possibly have happened". For example, Duthie has a funny story from current Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving about his time playing in the now-defunct Western Professional Hockey League for the Waco Wizards. He writes,
"The lights go out for the opening night introductions. Dramatic music plays. High above the rink, the wizard is hooked up to a wire and descends dramatically toward ice. He's waving his wand, pumping up the crowd. And then, 20 feet above centre ice, he passes out."
Can you imagine seeing a mascot descending from the rafters, pumping the crowd up, and then he just passes out? And the show must go on, so the opening night ceremony just continues until they finally realize that the wizard, lying at centre ice, has suddenly stopped being a willing participant! What did Brad do? What did his teammates do? Thankfully, there's a happy ending to Treliving's story, but Certified Beauties is packed with fun stories like this!
Overall, Certified Beauties can be rated as a beauty as the chapters are short with funny and heartfelt stories, so it makes it easy to put the book down if one needs a break. Duthie doesn't editorialize in the book often if at all, allowing the players' stories to shine through as though they were telling them to readers themselves. As such, it's an enjoyable read with some chuckles and the occasional tug at the heart strings, and, for these reasons, it's easy to award Certified Beauties with the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!
Certified Beauties was released on October 21, 2025, so you can find it on bookstore shelves and library shelves right now, assuming that there are copies remaining. This book would be a perfect Christmas gift for your older hockey fan as it does contain some strong language at times. Due to this, Certified Beauties is strongly recommended for older teens and adult hockey fans. However, the book is an excellent read with great stories, and Certified Beauties by James Duthie is highly recommended for your hockey fans and your bookshelf!
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with another guest who has made waves nationally, internationally, and certainly within his hometown of Ottawa. He was recently here in Winnipeg for a big event, and he'll be off to other places soon with the work that he does for TSN as one of their top sportscasters and program hosts! Before he does that, though, he'll talk to our hosts about his new book, some of the fun he had in writing it, his recent Winnipeg experience, and much more in a fun chat with one of this country's best media people tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
You may have been expecting more sledge hockey talk tonight, but we had a few scheduling quirks happen, allowing us to pivot to the gentlemen to the left! Teebz and Jason are proud, honoured, privileged, humbled, and pleased to welcome TSN's James Duthie back to the show! James appeared back in 2015 when he was promoting The Guy On The Left, and we're having him back tonight to chat about his new book, Certified Beauties published by HarperCollins! James has collected a ton of great stories from hockey players about some of the more memorable things they've done while playing the game, and the result is an incredible book full of laughs, smiles, a few tears, and some wild moments. We'll talk to him about some of these stories, the characters who gave him stories, some of his non-hockey work, and we lob a few fun, softball questions his way for a laugh! It's a busy hour with James Duthie talking about his new book, Certified Beauties, tonight on 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 UMFM website's streaming player works well 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. 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! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason sit down with one of Canada's most decorated sportscasters in TSN's James Duthie to talk about his new book, Certified Beauties and discuss some of the stories he was told, some of the people he interviewed, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
It's been said many times that goaltenders are a different bunch of people from the rest of the players that make up hockey teams. Usually, this is in reference to goalies being a little superstitious when to comes to their routines on gameday, but you have to have an appreciation for guys who are willing to stand in front of a piece of rubber moving at three-digit speeds. The man to the left isn't Bruce Wayne nor is he Batman, but he could be considered a superhero in some circles for the number of times he's helped his teams win. That man's name is Austyn Roudebush, and the 32 year-old netminder from Toledo, Ohio went ahead and set a new record in the SPHL that will certainly take another player a long time to break.
Roudebush wasn't drafted by an NHL team nor did he play high level junior hockey. His college experience was playing with Adrian College's club team in the ACHA where he went an unfathomable 57-3-4 in four years where he never had a GAA over 2.00 in any year. Roudebush dominated throughout his college career that included a 22-0-0 final year in 2017-18 where he posted a 0.91 GAA, eight shutouts, and a .955 save percentage. How Roudebush flew under everyone's radar with those kinds of numbers is still a mystery to me.
Despite the NHL not calling, Roudebush pushed forward with his career, signing with the Mentor Ice Breakers in the Federal Prospect Hockey League in 2019-20 where he went 11-11-2 in 27 games in his first professional season. The asterisk on those numbers is that Mentor went 15-30-3 that season, meaning that the other four goaltenders used by Mentor that season went a combined 4-19-1. It seem not so far-fetched to suggest that Roudebush might be some sort of superhero based on those numbers.
The catch is that Roudebush also played his first games in the SPHL that season with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs where he went 5-2-2 with a 2.50 GAA and a .927 save percentage. It was clear that Roudebush could play at the SPHL level as he was solid in his first 13 games, but he bounced around 2020-21 with stops in Knoxville and Birmingham in the SPHL and Tusla in the ECHL. He went 13-4-0 with Knoxville with a 1.62 GAA and .943 save percentage which was a stark contrast from his 0-2-0 record in the Tulsa where he had an 8.12 GAA and a .690 save percentage. Tulsa wasn't a good fit for Roudebush.
2021-22 saw Roudebush return to Roanoke where he has spent the last five seasons. In that time, he's amassed an impressive record of 95-46-19, helped Roanoke win the SPHL championship in 2022-23 where he was named as the 2023 President's Cup Most Valuable Player, and posted three-straight seasons of 24 wins or more. Clearly, he found his groove in Roanoake where he has 100 career wins, but it was his 99th win in Roanoke that put him on a new level in the SPHL.
On Friday night, Roudebush stopped all 37 shots in Roanoke's 5-0 shutout win over Macon to earn his 112th career win in the SPHL, moving him past former SPHL netminder Peter Di Salvo who totaled his 111 wins with seven SPHL teams from 2013-22. That 112th win put Roudebush at the top of the list for wins by a goaltender in the SPHL, and he went ahead and added his 113th win on Sunday in a 3-2 win over Macon once more! How cool is that for Austyn Roudebush?
What's even more impressive is that Roudebush is also second in games played with 200 SPHL contests under his belt, and he ranks second in career shutouts with 15 including the one he recorded over Macon in his record-breaking game. Austyn Roudebush is making a name for himself in a league to which a lot of people never pay attention, and I'm happy to see him get his name in the record book because Austyn Roudebush has had an outstanding hockey career!
He's still adding accolades and achievements, but consider this résumé: three ACHA All-Conference selections, three All-American nominations, ACHA National Player of the Year in 2018, 2018 ACHA National Champion, 2023 President's Cup champion, 2023 President's Cup Most Valuable Player, and now he added winngest goaltender in SPHL history with many years of hockey still to play in his career.
If you don't know his name by name, Austyn Roudebush's name should now be more familiar to you after he broke the SPHL record for careers win by a goaltender. Before he's done, I would expect more records to be beside his name in the SPHL record book, and he might even earn himself a statue one day outside of the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia when his career finally comes to an end.
Before that retiremnet talk happens, though, Austyn Roudebush still has lots of pucks to stop for the Rail Yard Dawgs in Roanoke!
It's hard to believe that this guy played in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, but it seems like Alexandar Georgiev's time in the NHL is done after his struggles in recent seasons. While there's always a chance that he could return, the Buffalo Sabres and Georgiev agreed to terminate his contract, allowing him to become a free agent. In doing so, Georgiev is heading home as he's signed a two-year deal with Spartak Moscow as he looks to re-establish his game that once made him a potential starter in the NHL. One has to hope that this move to Russia will help because he certainly wasn't having a good time moving between three teams in the last calendar year.
The 29 year-old netminder joins a Spartak Moscow team that's in the middle of the Western Conference standings despite beating Ak Bars Kazan 1-0 today. Artyom Zagidulin grabbed the shutout by stopping 31 saves, and it looks like he'll have some serious competition for the crease with Georgiev finding his way onto the roster. After coaching changes that saw Alexei Kovalev and Igor Kravchuk leave and Oleg Kvasha promoted from the junior ranks as the Spartak Moscovites are looking to catch Dynamo Moscow who have a five-point advantage.
It's not like Spartak has been getting stellar goaltending all season long. Zagidulin has played in 21 games, going 6-9-0 with a 3.40 GAA and an .891 save percentage. Comparatively, Georgiev posted an 0-2-0 record with the AHL's Rochester Americans while sporting a 3.57 GAA and an .896 save percentage, so it's not like Spartak signed Dominik Hasek to a deal. In theory, this seems like Spartak simply looking for a better goaltending situation by default by signing a guy who has, in the past, shown to be capable of providing that.
Of course, the big question will be whether or not Georgiev can find the magic that made him an NHL All-Star in 2024 or even how he played during the 2022-23 season when he was 40-16-6 with a 2.51 GAA and a .919 save percentage with Colorado - easily the best numbers of his career. He's only a few seasons away from that year, so it's not like age has caught up to him that quickly. Is it a work ethic situation? Is it complacency? One may never know unless Georgiev can improve his numbers and make his way back to North America.
As it stands, Spartak Moscow sits in sixth-place in the KHL's Western Conference, just one point up on eighth-place SKA St. Petersburg and four points up on ninth-place CSKA Moscow. They need a big push to help them climb back into the top-four teams in the conference as they look to catch both Dinamo Minsk and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Getting some solid goaltending could be the catalyst for that push, and there's hope that Alexandar Georgiev can be that goalie.
Adding a former Vezina Trophy candidate is always a good way to bolster one's team, but Spartak Moscow's signing of Alexandar Georgiev may end up being a wash if their goaltending doesn't improve with him between the pipes. If they want to make a deep run towards the Gagarin Cup, they're going to need a better Georgiev than the one that showed up for the Rochester Americans this season.
Former NHL goalies landing in the KHL usually only happens with those born in Russia, but we've seen a handful of Canadian and American goalies who have opted to jump to the KHL rather than playing in the AHL. After being acquired by the Winnipeg Jets from the Florida Panthers last season, Chris Driedger spent most of his time with the Manitoba Moose after spending most of the previous two seasons with Coachella Valley and Charlotte. Rather than possibly being signed to another two-way deal, Driedger signed with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL this summer, possibly looking to get his NHL career back on track.
It was a bit of a struggle last season for Driedger. He played just 20 games in Charlotte where he posted a 10-6-4 record with a 2.96 GAA and an .878 save percentage before being acquired by Winnipeg where his time with the Moose saw him go 1-3-0 in five games with a 3.30 GAA and an .872 save percentage. Those aren't exactly glowing numbers for any goalie to have, but, in his defence, Driedger has played better in the past. The only problem is that he didn't show that side of his game after posting an 8-9-2 record in the KHL where he had a bloated 3.05 GAA and a pedestrian .897 save percentage.
Announced earlier today, those numbers saw Traktor Chelyabinsk and Chris Driedger agree to end his contract with the club, making him a free agent once again. Are there any teams that need a goalie?
It seems there is, and it might be a team with whom Driedger is already familiar. With Connor Hellebuyck on the shelf for the next 4-6 weeks thanks to arthroscopic surgery on his knee, the Jets were forced to recall Thomas Milic who was having a solid season with the Manitoba Moose. In his absence, Domenic DiVincentiis will likely handle the load of the starts with Norfolk's Isaac Poulter slotting into the backup role after being recalled from the ECHL's Admirals.
The catch in this, though, is that the Moose have won six-straight games, so they're not exactly needing goaltending help at this point. The case can be made that they should have a more veteran presence on their roster to help DiVincentiis, but we'll have to see what the Jets are planning when it comes to their young netminders in Milic and DiVincentiis. After all, once Hellebuyck gets back on the ice, Driedger's contract may cause a logjam in the crease.
Frankly, Driedger's numbers over the last two seasons likely won't have him landing on an NHL roster, and there aren't many AHL teams hunting for goalies at this point in the season. Outside of possibly Utica or Springfield, there simply aren't a lot of roster spots where Driedger can land. With his numbers where they were in the KHL, the Jets could sign him and assign him to the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals who could desperately use an upgrade in between the pipes as Alex Worthington and Logan Stein are struggling to stop pucks.
Would the Jets want to do that, though? It seems unlikely.
There's no doubt that Chris Driedger is a good guy and teammate, but that's not the question here. It would be how he fits into the Jets' plans and where he ultimately would play when it comes to their depth chart. It's assumed he would likely join the Moose, but that would only cause further problems when Hellebuyck returns. I doubt he accepts an offer from the Jets if they want to send him to the Admirals, so I cannot see Chris Driedger landing back in Winnipeg.
The caveat on that last statement is that I never saw the Jets signing the likes of Jonathan Toews, Tanner Pearson, and Gustav Nyqvist either, so don't lean on this blog for insightful Winnipeg Jets news. Adding more struggling talent to the roster just seems like a waste of a roster spot where someone from the Moose could be promoted and playing, so my hope is that the Jets stay the course with Eric Comrie and Thomas Milic as their goaltenders while Hellebuyck is recovering.
The Jets seem to like their homegrown reclamation projects as we've seen with Jonathan Toews, but they'd be best to allow Chris Driedger to look elsewhere for employment. He simply doesn't fit into the depth chart, proving that it's true that you can never go home again.
Eight teams were back in action across western Canada this weekend as the Canada West women's hockey schedule saw games played in three of the four provinces. Two teams came in desperately needing points, three teams were trying to accumulate more points to secure playoff spots, two teams were battling for first-place, and one team was all about winning and setting records. If we're following trends from the first half of the season, there are seven teams vying for six playoff spots at this point, so one has to wonder who in the East Division misses out because the other five sports are nearly secure. Let's see who had a weekend on this week's edition of The Rundown!
FRIDAY: Calgary was up 2-0 in the season series against the Bisons after sweeping the Bisons in Calgary on October 17 and 18. No one is saying the Bisons had to win for tie-breaker purposes because simply winning any sort of game in regulation time would be cause for celebration. The Dinos, flying high after a pair of wins of the Spartans, were looking for more wins and points this weekend as they looked to remain at the top of the East Division!
SATURDAY: In three games against the Dinos, the Bisons had been outscored 10-2. If we add in the two games they played against the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary, the Bisons were outscored by Calgary-based teams 17-4 in five games this season. Clearly, something has to change if the Bisons want to come with points. The Dinos were looking to sweep the four games in Calgary over the Bisons with another win in a push to secure a playoff spot!
Bisons goals: Hanna Bailey (2)
Bisons assists: Sophia Anderson (1)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (20/23)
Dinos goals: Sydney Mercier (9), Brette Kerley (1), Sydney Mercier (10), Sydney Mercier (11)
Dinos assists: Brooklyn Anderson (3), Kyla Mitenko (2), Jess Martens (4), Brooklyn Anderson (4)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (37/38)
Result: 4-1 victory for Calgary over Manitoba.
FRIDAY: The MacEwan Griffins loaded up the bus and headed east to Saskatoon where the Saskatchewan Huskies were waiting after a bye week. After having key players injured early in the season, the Huskies had shown they're gearing up to be a threat in Canada West once more. The Griffins, meanwhile, came to Saskatoon with bumps and bruises all over the place as they dressed just nine forwards for Friday's game! Would that come back to haunt them?
Huskies goals: Jessica Anderson (1), Kahlen Wisener (2)
Huskies assists: McKenna Bolger (4), Peppi Virtanen (2)
Huskies netminders: Colby Wilson (10/10)
Result: 2-0 victory for Saskatchewan over MacEwan.
SATURDAY: MacEwan has now been shutout seven times this season in 15 games and 19 times over their last 43 games. I'll speak more about this below, but it seems like the Griffins are simply allergic to scoring. They'll need to find a way to break through the Huskies' defence if they want to salvage points. Saskatchewan was looking to wrap up a sweep with another solid effort in the second game!
Griffins goals: Allee Isley (1), Sydney Jack (2), Sasha Malenfant (2)
Griffins assists: Sydney Jack (3), Robyn Short (3), Kali MacDonald (1), Robyn Short (4), Kori Paterson (1), Allee Isley (1)
Griffins netminder: Mikayla Christmann (23/25)
Result: 3-2 victory for MacEwan over Saskatchewan.
FRIDAY: The Mount Royal Cougars hopped the mountains and headed south of Vancouver to Langley where they met the Trinity Western Spartans. The Spartans dropped a pair of games to the Dinos, so they were looking to bounce back on home ice with a pair of wins. The Cougars came into Langley with a nine-game winning streak which they wanted to push into double-digits while staying atop the East Division!
Cougars goals: Kiana McNinch (2)
Cougars assists: Keyana Bert (3), Sydney Benko (6)
Cougars shootout scorers: none
Cougars netminder: Scout Anderson (18/19) in 65:00 plus 2/3 in the shootout
Spartans goals: Kyra McDonald (6)
Spartans assists: Presleigh Giesbrecht (7), Kasey Ditner (5)
Spartans shootout scorers: Ella Boon
Spartans netminders: Olivia Davidson (21/22) in 65:00 plus 3/3 in the shootout
Result: 2-1 shootout victory for Trinity Western over Mount Royal.
SATURDAY: The win streak came to an end, but the Cougars still grabbed a point in the shootout loss for their efforts. They were looking to go home with three of four points with a win on Saturday, but the Spartans were aiming for a weekend sweep on home ice as they looked to more space between themselves and Alberta in the standings.
Result: 2-1 victory for Mount Royal over Trinity Western.
FRIDAY: A rematch of Canada West's finalists from one year ago might have had the wind taken out of its sails with UBC's start to the season combined with Alberta struggling out of the gates, but these two teams always have each other circled on the calendar. Of course, all eyes were on the UBC crease where a new Canada West record could be set with a win, but the Alberta Pandas weren't interested in having that happen on their ice. Would we see history made?
Pandas goals: Raegan Yewdall (1)
Pandas assists: none
Pandas netminders: Misty Rey (15/19) in 35:19; Mackenzie Dojahn (9/10) in 24:41 in relief
Result: 5-1 victory for UBC over Alberta.
SATURDAY: With history made by Elise Hugens (more on that below), the Thunderbirds were aiming for a 14th win on Saturday. Alberta, who scored with 30 seconds left to snap the UBC shutout, weren't happy with their performance one night earlier, so I expected them to be more grizzly than panda. Could the Pandas even slow the Thunderbirds down?
Don't even ask about divisions. I'm not interested in that setup. It's one conference, nine teams, and we'll see who is best in the west.
CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY
School
Record
Points
GF
GA
Streak
Next
UBC
12-1-1-0
26
44
12
L1
vs SAS
Calgary
10-3-1-2
24
36
21
W4
vs MRU
Mount Royal
7-2-4-1
23
33
18
W1
@ CAL
Trinity Western
3-5-5-1
17
32
26
L1
@ ALB
Saskatchewan
3-4-3-2
14
20
26
L1
@ UBC
Regina
3-5-2-2
12
17
23
L2
@ MAN
Alberta
4-6-0-4
12
26
36
W1
vs TWU
MacEwan
2-11-1-2
8
14
40
W1
BYE
Manitoba
0-7-1-4
6
14
34
L11
vs REG
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. There were some big performances this weekend - hat tricks, history, and firsts - but this week's player is someone who got her first start in her hometown and won her third game in her career in just her fifth start! That may not sound like something I should highlight, but we're going add MacEwan Grffins goaltender Mikayla Christmann to the list!
Let's be honest: the Griffins haven't had a lot to celebrate over the last couple of seasons, but Mikayla Christmann is showing that she can be called upon to backstop the Griffins to victory in limited duty! She won her first career game last season as she stopped all 31 shots in a 2-0 shutout of the Manitoba Bisons on January 25! After dropping games against Saskatchewan and Calgary, she evened her record with a 50-save performance in a 4-1 win over the Regina Cougars!
Fast forward to Saturday where she was in the crease for her second-career game in Saskatoon, and the Warman native stopped 23 shots in a 3-2 victory to push her career record to 3-2-0 and her 2025-26 record to 1-0-0! She got goal support in the form of three goals in 1:55 in the third period by her teammates, but Christmann held the fort for MacEwan's second regulation win this season! For a team that needs something to build on, a big win by a goalie who has now won three of five career games she's played in is how MacEwan Griffins goaltender Mikayla Christmann makes the Honour Roll this week!
History Made
On Friday night, Elise Hugens became the first woman in Canada West history to earn her 65th win, moving her one ahead of former Bisons netminder Stacey Corfield who had set the record back in 2010. In her 80th career game, Hugens stopped 15 of 16 shots to record the victory, establishing a new Canada West record to which she will only add more wins before this season ends. 65 is a big number when one considers all the goalies who have played at this level, so a huge congratulations goes out to Elise!
Just as an aside, UBC, there was no need to insert the image of a goat in the picture. I understand the reference, but give Elise the
respect she deserves for setting the new mark by only putting her on the graphic. This is a big moment, so be professional about it.
How She Got There
Elise's first win came back on October 16, 2021 when she backstopped the Thunderbirds to an 8-0 win over the Trinity Western Spartans in a game where she made all 13 saves. She would go 11-4-0 that season in what would be the season where she had the most losses, and that should tell you how good she's been since that rookie campaign. As it stands, she sits with a 65-7-6 record in her career!
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, though. Her first loss was a 4-2 decision in Saskatchewan against the Huskies on November 26, 2021, and the first time she was pulled in a game was on January 29, 2022 in Calgary after surrendering three goals in 28:18 of time. The weird part? Hugens would return for the start of the third period in what would be an eventual 5-0 loss to the Dinos of which three goals were scored on Hugens. More often than not, though, she was a winner!
Against each team, she's been solid. She has the most wins against both Alberta and Trinity Western as she's won ten times against each of them, she has five shutouts against each of Mount Royal and Trinity Western, and is undefeated in any way against both MacEwan and Manitoba. The only team she has yet to record a shutout against is the Calgary Dinos against whom she holds an 8-2-1 record. Mount Royal has given her the most trouble as she has a 9-3-1 record, but Saskatchewan is also in the mix as Hugens is 5-1-2 in her career against the Huskies. Her record against each team is shown below:
vs Alberta: 10-0-1 with two shutouts
vs Calgary: 8-2-1 with zero shutouts
vs MacEwan: 9-0-0 with three shutouts
vs Manitoba: 7-0-0 with two shutouts
vs Mount Royal: 9-3-1 with five shutouts
vs Regina: 8-1-0 with four shutouts
vs Saskatchewan: 5-1-2 with three shutouts
vs Trinity Western: 10-0-1 with five shutouts
If you're reading those stats and doing the math, you may have noticed something. Keep reading to the next section because we may need to review everything before we start rewriting record books.
Stats Class 101
In digging through Elise's stats on the Canada West Hockeytech site, these are the stats on what I was basing her historic run toward the record. All the numbers are laid out pretty clearly there, right?
I want you to look at the 2023-24 statistics because, in my non-professional stats guy role, I added up 15+1+1+2 and found out it doesn't equal 20. In saying that, Hugens would either have started and been pulled without being the goalie of record or came into a game in relief without being the goalie of record for her to play one more game. She played, but didn't factor into the outcome.
The problem is that her game log for the 2023-24 season does not reflect this as she recorded 16 wins! She did enter a game in relief against the Mount Royal Cougars on February 10, 2024 at the start of the second period with the Thunderbirds trailing 2-0, and she would remain in the game through to its conclusion in overtime where the Thunderbirds pulled out a 4-3 victory on an Annalise Wong goal!
By rule, if a goalie comes into a game in relief where her team is losing and her team ties the game at any point, she now becomes the goalie of record for that game. In knowing that, Hugens would officially be the goalie of record in this game, and it seems the win was assigned to her on the official gamesheet, but not in the stats!
For two seasons as Hugens has been chasing history, she was actually one game closer to breaking Stacey Corfield's record. If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself on Hugens' Canada West page. I actually feel really bad for Hugens because she set the record last weekend at home against MacEwan if the stats are correct. I'm not saying she wouldn't have started and won against Alberta this weekend, but she's officially at 66 wins now, not 65, for her career.
Someone at Canada West needs to get this sorted out quickly. This is a massive error on their side, and Hugens deserves an apology if it's proved that she was missing one win from her totals.
More Stats Class Issues
Last weekend, we saw Grace Elliott break the UBC program record against the MacEwan Griffins on a goal that was initially waved off, but awarded to her after some discussion among the officials. The clip I had posted showed that Annalise Wong made the pass to Elliott in the slot from where she scored, but scoresheet last week awarded the lone assist to Presley Zinger. I even noted that in the summary.
If you noticed, Annalise Wong didn't record an assist on Friday, leaving her with ten assists and sitting one back of Tatiana Rafter for second all-time in UBC Thunderbirds history. She'd get one on Saturday, but that left her tied with Rafter. Or it had left her tied until someone went back and updated the scoring play with the proper assists on the goal from last weekend during the week.
I'm not faulting the Thunderbirds for correcting this because Wong and Morris legitimately did earn assists on Elliott's historic goal, but that assist did matter to Wong's career totals because she officially moved into second-place all-time for the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday when she recorded her 12th assist of the season, moving her one ahead of Rafter. There was no mention nor fanfare for Wong's achievement mostly because no one knew it had happened based on the stats listed for her, so this also needs to be corrected.
Allow me to do that now with a belated congratulations to Annalise Wong for becoming the second best setup person in UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey history! With her 13th assist this weekend, she now has 57 in her career and is tied with former Dinos forward Stephanie Ramsey while sitting three back of former Cougars forward Tatum Amy and four back of former Huskies forward Kaitlin Willoughby!
Unwanted History
The Manitoba Bisons seem to be heading towards a record that no one wants because I haven't seen a team so unable to dent twine for some time. I went back and pulled some numbers from 2014-15 through to today that shows the worst team shooting percentage in Canada West play for each season. Here is that list:
2014-15: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 4.6%
2015-16: Mount Royal Cougars - 7.1%
2016-17: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 6.1%
2017-18: no records shown
2018-19: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 5.1%
2019-20: Manitoba Bisons - 6.0%
2020-21: no season played
2021-22: MacEwan Griffins - 5.6%
2022-23: Regina Cougars - 5.3%
2023-24: Regina Cougars - 6.0%
2024-25: Saskatchewan Huskies - 5.4%
2025-26: Manitoba Bisons - 4.0%
Only once in the last ten seasons has a team finished below 5.0% shooting (1 goal for every 20 shots taken), and the Pronghorns still managed to win six games and score 32 goals. Lethbridge finished that season with 701 shots, and Manitoba has already taken 349 shots through 12 games. If they're scoring one goal for every 25 shots taken, winning games is going to be a nearly impossible task unless they average 50+ shots per game and play shutout hockey. As shown, that has not happened yet nor does it appear to be in the cards.
At this point, the problem has to be the system they're playing. It's clear that they're putting pucks on net, but either they aren't from high-danger scoring areas, there isn't enough traffic, or both. You can make the case that they may have run into a hot goalie in a game or two, but they are winless in 11-straight games, have only won in a shootout, and haven't scored more than two goals in any of those 11 games while being shutout in four of them. That's brutal.
There's a significant problem in Winnipeg, and it looks like it might be on the whiteboard because this Bisons team has enough scoring talent to be dangerous, but they simply cannot find the back of the net no matter how many times they try. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results....
More Salt In The Wound
Just for the record, here are the records and final spot in the standings that each of those teams with the worst shooting percentage achieved in the seasons identified above:
2014-15: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 6-21-1 for 19 points (8th)
2015-16: Mount Royal Cougars - 11-14-3 for 33 points (8th)
2016-17: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 4-21-3 for 14 points (8th)
2017-18: no records shown
2018-19: Lethbridge Pronghorns - 7-17-4 for 24 points (7th)
2019-20: Manitoba Bisons - 10-17-1 for 29 points (7th)
2020-21: no season played
2021-22: MacEwan Griffins - 6-14-0 for 12 points (8th)
2022-23: Regina Cougars - 4-22-2 for 10 points (9th)
2023-24: Regina Cougars - 7-19-2 for 16 points (8th)
2024-25: Saskatchewan Huskies - 5-17-6 for 16 points (8th)
2025-26: Manitoba Bisons - 1-7-4 for 6 points (9th)
At this point, every single statistical analysis says the Bisons are already eliminated from the playoffs. Mathematically, there's still a shot, but things need to change in a hurry if the Herd wants a shot at playing in the postseason. Right now, all signs point to no chance.
Same Old Song And Dance
At what point do the MacEwan Griffins change their fortunes by looking at a different system? Since 2022-23 when Chris Leeming was appointed as the interim head coach before being made the permanent coach one season later, the Griffins have recorded shooting percentages of 6.3%, 7.7%, 5.9%, and currently sit at 4.6%. In those 3+ seasons, they have accumulated the lowest total shots for any Canada West team, and they are headed for a fourth-straight year of being the lowest at the end of this season.
Complicating matters is the fact that Leeming coached his 100th Canada West game this weekend in the win against Saskatchewan, and the Griffins are now 20-71-9 under his guidance, have scored just 122 goals in that span, and have surrendered 314 against for a difference of -192. With the changing of the roster, this is no longer about scoring talent. It's clearly a system that hemorrhages goals while barely generating high-quality scoring chances.
Here's the catch: MacEwan is four points back of the Pandas, and they play Alberta in a home-and-home next weekend. For all the offensive and defensive challenges that MacEwan faces, how big would it be for their season if the Griffins won both against Alberta and were tied for a playoff spot at the December break? Feel free to discuss!
Speaking Of Playoffs...
Even with their loss to the Pandas on Saturday, the UBC Thunderbirds now sit just six points away from clinching a playoff spot thanks to them winning the season series over the MacEwan Griffins. With MacEwan only having 12 games left on their schedule, the maximum points total they can achieve is 32 points... and UBC already has 26 points this season. I'm not saying the Saskatchewan Huskies are going to be lambs to a slaughtering, but the Thunderbirds could wrap up a playoff spot next Saturday if they sweep the Huskies at home and get help from the Pandas. When's the last time UBC cheered for Alberta?
The Last Word
As we approach the December break, there are some players who have emerged as obvious choices for the annual HBIC Canada West All-Star Teams. I'll be picking six forwards, four defenders, and two goalies from each division to make up these all-star squads, and both squads will feature at least one player per team in their respective divisions and one rookie from each division who has stood out in the first half. I'll also look at the other conferences in terms of who is doing well across the country, so expect all of that in December.
Every team will have officially played half of their season after Saturday's games next weekend, so we should have a good idea who might find their way to Kitchener for Nationals this season from this side of the country. As we saw last season, the playoffs can be a different beast, but the teams we expected to see in the semifinals were all playing in those games. Will this season be the same?
Half the season is nearly in the books. How's your team doing?
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