The Rundown - Week 14
These two teams opened the game looking for a quick strike as both sides threw pucks towards the other's net through the first half of the frame. The Dinos missed out on two power-play opportunities, and it seemed like Trinity Western would miss out on power-play chances of their own late in the frame. However, with 37 seconds left in the frame and after a 5-on-3 had expired, Jordyn Matthews cleaned up a rebound off what looked like a deflection, but Matthews' goal sent the Spartans to the first intermission up 1-0 and leading 10-7 in shots!
Both teams stepped up the pace in the second period as there was good north-south action up and down the ice. Trinity Western began finding some good looks, though, and they'd capitalize when Kyra McDonald's second shot from in close found room between Awad and the post as the Spartans took a 2-0 lead at the 8:28 mark. That lead would grow again 43 seconds later when Matthews pounced on a rebound off a shot by McDonald, putting the Spartans were up 3-0.
That goal seemed to kick the Dinos into another gear as they pushed back hard with a solid forecheck, and it would pay off when Jolie Nafziger along the goal line spotted Rebecca Clarke in the slot, and she found twine as her goal made it 3-1 at the 13:10 mark. The Spartans matched the pace of the Dinos, though, and Kyra McDonald settled a pinballing puck in the slot for her second goal of the game at 14:09 to make it a 4-1 game. That's how the middle frame would end as the Spartans also had a 22-19 edge in shots.
If you were thinking comeback, I have some bad news for you. The Spartans would find the back of the net twice in this period as Olivia Leier dented twine at 7:06 and Charlotte Swanton netted her fifth goal at 10:17 to push the lead to 6-1. Calgary had a couple of power-play chances and they tried to get pucks to the net, but the Spartans stood strong as they claimed the 6-1 victory over the Dinos on this night. Kate Fawcett stopped 25 shots for her seventh win of the season while Amelia Awad stopped 22 shots in 47:06 of play. Rebecca Boswell came on in relief for Awad, and she stopped seven shots on eight shots she faced in 12:54 of action.
Highlights of this game are below! Thanks, Dinos!
SATURDAY: The result one night earlier wasn't what the Dinos wanted, but they could erase the two points they gave up with a win on Saturday. The Spartans, as mentioned above, were looking to move their magic number to one with another win, so it was expected that they'd come into this game fired up and ready to roll. Olivia Davidson was in the Spartans' blue paint while Amelia Awad was between the pipes for the Dinos in this one!
This period saw both sides play a little more conservative as shots were more difficult in getting through to the nets, but the Dinos were struggling to stay out of the penalty box. Four consecutive penalties throughout the frame gave the Spartans a handful of chances, but it wasn't until Kyra McDonald walked off the half-boards into the slot on the fourth power-play that we a goal scored as her shot found twine with 17 seconds remaining. The Spartans took the one-goal lead and the 9-5 edge in shots into the intermission.
Calgary was given an early power-play opportunity in the second period, but they could not convert. During a rush down the ice, the Dinos turned the puck over as players were heading to the Spartans' zone, and Kyra McDonald spotted Kara Yackel coming back. McDonald hit Yackel with a pass as she circled back towards the Dinos' zone, and Yackel would convert the breakaway at 8:43 to make it a 2-0 game. Calgary would get one back off fresh legs as Hannah Reagh jumped off the bench, stripped the puck from a Spartans defender, and wired a puck inside the post on the glove side from the slot as her goal cut the lead to 2-1 at the 14:16 mark.
However, that two-goal advantage would be restored on the power-play when Kyra McDonald, wide-open at the side of the net, swept a loose puck into the cage at the 16:00 mark. Trinity Western would carry that 3-1 lead into the break as they held a 24-15 lead in shots.
The third period was all about the Spartans locking down a win as they chose to protect the defensive zone whenever necessary. Again, an early power-play in the period for the Dinos passed without a goal, and the Spartans seemed to build on that momentum. Kyra McDonald would ice this game with 2:14 to play when she scored her hat trick goal into an empty net, and the Trinity Western Spartans downed the Calgary Dinos by a 4-1 score. Olivia Davidson collected her second win of the season with a 22-save effort while Amelia Awad was on the on the wrong side of a 27-save night.
Highlights of this game are below! Thanks again, Dinos!
Pandas goals: Ryann Perrett (5), Izzy Lajoie (3), Abby Soyko (7)
Pandas assists: Reagan Yewdall (5), Allison Reich (4), Brooklyn Tews (4), Hayleigh Craig (3), Sara Kazeil (8), Abbey Bourdeaud'Hui (4)
Pandas netminder: Grace Glover (16/16)
Huskies goals: none
Huskies assists: none
Huskies netminder: Colby Wilson (42/45)
Result: 3-0 victory for Alberta over Saskatchewan.
SATURDAY: The Pandas certainly showed why they're at the top of the class on Friday with a dominant performance on home ice, and they were looking for the same on Saturday. Saskatchewan was looking to generate more offence while limiting chances for the Pandas, and they needed to weather a few storms at times. Again, zero highlights from the Pandas, so we'll rely on the scoring summary.
Pandas goals: Kallie Clouston (2), Payton Laumbach (3), Natalie Kieser (6)
Pandas assists: Payton Laumbach (8), Natalie Kieser (8), Jadynn Morden (9), Taylor Anker (9), Izzy Lajoie (8), Payton Laumbach (9)
Pandas netminder: Misty Rey (12/12)
Huskies goals: none
Huskies assists: none
Huskies netminder: Colby Wilson (34/37)
Result: 3-0 victory for Alberta over Saskatchewan.
Griffins goals: Joie Simon (2), Kori Paterson (3)
Griffins assists: Jaida Powell (1), Shaelyn Hopkins (1), Sydney Olsen (4)
Griffins netminder: Brianna Sank (30/32)
Bisons goals: Brenna Nicol (2), Camryn Gillis (3), Aimee Patrick (8)
Bisons assists: Norah Collins (2), Camryn Gillis (4), Brenna Nicol (3)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (13/15)
Result: 3-2 victory for Manitoba over MacEwan.
SATURDAY: Manitoba entered Saturday's game looking for the sweep as four points would help them inch closer to locking down a home playoff series. MacEwan, while needing a miracle, still was not eliminated from the playoffs, but everything was must-win from Saturday to the end of the season. Points mattered to both teams in this one, but we still have no highlights from MacEwan so it's just another summary rather than seeing all the goals.
Griffins goals: Joie Simon (3), Joie Simon (4)
Griffins assists: Robyn Short (3), Sydney Olsen (5), Jennifer Andrash (6), Robyn Short (4)
Griffins netminder: Mikayla Christmann (32/32)
Bisons goals: none
Bisons assists: none
Bisons netminder: Paige Fischer (19/20)
Result: 2-0 victory for MacEwan over Manitoba.
Thunderbirds goals: Kaylee Peppler (1), Chanreet Bassi (9), Grace Elliott (18), Ashton Thorpe (5), Mackenzie Kordic (10), Chanreet Bassi (10), Mackenzie Kordic (11)
Thunderbirds assists: Meadow Carman (8), Annalise Wong (13), Jaylyn Morris (9), Annalise Wong (14), Jacquelyn Fleming (8), Mia Bierd (3), Kennesha Miswaggon (3), Annalise Wong (15), Grace Elliott (17), Jacquelyn Fleming (9), Makenzie McCallum (10), Chanreet Bassi (15)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugen (17/17)
Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars netminders: Natalie Williamson (12/15) in 24:10; Arden Kliewer (8/12) in 35:50
Result: 7-0 victory for UBC over Regina.
SATURDAY: I'm not here to celebrate blowout scores, so Regina simply needed to forget about Friday's game altogether. They were looking for the split while UBC was aiming for a sweep as points still mattered to both teams. Again, no highlights because UBC would rather do 15 individual social media posts than one post with the highlights. In any case, here's the scoring summary.
Thunderbirds goals: Makenzie McCallum (6), Annalise Wong (4)
Thunderbirds assists: Chanreet Bassi (16), Mackenzie Kordic (9)
Thunderbirds netminder: Mya Lucifora (19/20)
Cougars goals: Cassidy Peters (1)
Cougars assists: Jules Stokes (6), Meg Farmer (3)
Cougars netminders: Arden Kliewer (29/31)
Result: 2-1 victory for UBC over Regina.
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBC | 18-2-3-1 | 43 | 89 | 32 | W10 | BYE |
| Alberta | 16-3-4-1 | 41 | 63 | 24 | W9 | @ TWU |
| Mount Royal | 13-4-2-3 | 33 | 62 | 38 | W2 | @ CAL |
| Manitoba | 9-8-3-2 | 26 | 47 | 49 | L1 | vs REG |
| Trinity Western | 10-11-2-1 | 25 | 53 | 49 | W2 | vs ALB |
| Regina | 5-9-4-4 | 22 | 34 | 46 | L4 | @ MAN |
| Calgary | 5-14-1-2 | 14 | 39 | 64 | L10 | vs MRU |
| Saskatchewan | 3-13-1-5 | 13 | 26 | 54 | L3 | vs MAC |
| MacEwan | 1-16-2-3 | 9 | 19 | 76 | W1 | @ SAS |
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 absolutely went off this weekend, scoring points on 80% of her team's goals as she put her team on her shoulders! With five goals and three assists, Trinity Western's Kyra McDonald absolutely exploded for offence this weekend!In her first three seasons, McDonald was finding her spots to jump into plays and get scoring chances. That's been erased this season as she's looking entirely more confident in the offensive zone while letting her play do the talking. McDonald scored five goals and three assists this weekend which matched her entire total from last season, and her 17 points this season is more than her first three seasons combined. She's been an impact player for the Spartans this season, and she'll look to bring that offence to the playoffs!
What makes her story even better is that she's the lone player in Canada West from the Northwest Territories, and I'm pretty sure she's making her team, her school, and her hometown proud with her play!
I don't know if anyone had Kyra McDonald as Trinity Western's goal and point leader this season, but she's taking a run at those honours and the Spartans are certainly benefitting from her output. She proved that this weekend in Calgary where she basically doubled her goals and points this season, and the Spartans will want more of that scoring as they hit the playoffs! After an incredible weekend of scoring, that's how Kyra McDonald added her name to the list!
Amateur Hour
If anyone from Canada West is reading this, get your acts together.
Second-Half Warriors
We've always heard "it's not how you start, but how you finish" when it comes to determining success, so I decided to take a look at the last four seasons to see how the trend holds up. I'm not saying that how one plays in January and February will determine one's playoff fate, but it seems there are a couple of teams who should be favorites based on their last four years of second-half play. Here's the list and points percentages for each team:- UBC - 31-3-0 = .912
- Alberta - 30-3-3 = .875
- Mount Royal - 22-9-3 = .691
- Saskatchewan - 20-15-1 = .569
- Calgary - 17-15-2 = .529
- Manitoba - 17-19-2 = .474
- Regina - 9-26-1 = .264
- Trinity Western - 7-26-3 = .236
- MacEwan - 6-27-3 = .208
Is There Another Gear?
You may notice in the list above that Manitoba and Regina - currently second- and third-place in the Canada West East Division - have sub-.500 second-half results. Regina was 4-4-0 in 2021-22, but have since posted no more than two wins in any of the next three seasons including a 1-5-0 mark currently in their second half. Manitoba was 5-3-0 in 2021-22, but haven't been above .500 since that season unless they can keep their 3-2-1 record going this season.What should concern these two teams is that they don't seem to have another gear based upon the trends we're seeing. Combined, these two teams are 5-5 against the MacEwan Griffins in the second half of the season, and MacEwan only has six second-half wins total in the last four seasons. Everyone gets excited for the big games, but these two seem to slump in the second half against the weaker teams.
With Manitoba potentially facing the Spartans and Regina looking at a Mount Royal series in the playoffs, both of these teams will need to find another gear if they want a deeper run in the playoffs. Next week's series between them might be the panacea one of them needs in finding that next gear, so we'll see who has fire in their skates.
Another Banner Year?
Just for some fun, the UBC Thunderbirds are currently riding a 27-0-0 streak in the second halves of the last four seasons. The last time they dropped a second-half game? February 18, 2022 against the Regina Cougars who beat the Thunderbirds by a 2-1 score on a pair of goals by Jordan Kulbida. Since then? They have yet to drop a game or point in the second halves of seasons.It should be noted that UBC was 4-0 in the playoffs in 2022, but went 4-2 in each of the 2023 and 2024 playoffs after the streak started. I'm not saying losses are necessary, but UBC seems to do better when they drop a few games in the second half of the season.
A Slight Delay
Next week's edition of The Rundown will be published on Monday thanks to my involvement with UMFM's broadcast of the 2025 Female World Sport School Classic. Twelve teams featuring a number of already-recruited players and potential future recruits will descend upon Winnipeg's Hockey For All Centre for four days where they'll look to capture the gold medal in the competition! Sunday morning features the bronze and gold medal games, and UMFM will have the gold medal game live on the UMFM Second Stream!UMFM will be calling all the games featured on the PCL Arena at the Hockey For All Centre starting on Thursday, January 30, and we'll have nine games in total that we'll broadcast. We'll get to see a pile of great teams and great players duirng this hockey action, so we hope you'll join us for the action on your internet-enabled device! If nothing else, join us for the gold medal game on February 2 at 10am CT and find out who stands atop the mountain at the 2025 Female World Sport School Classic!
The Last Word
We're getting closer to playoff spots being locked down and teams knowing where they're going when it comes to their travel plans. While the math hasn't officially eliminated anyone from the playoffs at this point, there are teams who have clinched playoff spots. All of UBC, Alberta, Mount Royal, and Manitoba are in the dance while Trinity Western and Regina are mere steps from joining those four teams. The math for those first teams means that they cannot be caught by any of the teams sitting outside a playoff spot now, but only three of those teams are locked into their playoff seedings at this point. They'll be focusing on what they need to do to be successful when the playoffs open on February 22.For the three teams who are dangerously close to missing out on mid-February hockey, I would have expected some recruiting announcements in an effort to start building for next year, but it seems only Saskatchewan has announced recruits. And that's not to say that MacEwan and Calgary have none - they certainly do - but this is like Draft Day to the players coming in where the announcement of them joining the next level of hockey is a big one. I fail to understand why there's such little chatter about the women being asked to come to those schools and play hockey for those programs.
If you want to build excitement for your program, let's start getting names and information out about the people who fans come to see. I'm not just talking about "hey, Player X will attend the University of Wherever next season" announcemnts either; instead, let's do features and post interviews with the players teams are adding. Yes, it requires an effort to do something like this, but if I have nothing to be excited about when it comes to watching your teams next season, why would I come and watch? The worst thing about being talked about is not being talked about.
While all nine schools have excellent academic programs for which they should be proud, those programs are nothing without the people who attend those classes. The same goes for the hockey programs, yet teams seem to guard recruitment announcements like they're nuclear codes, and that baffles me when I'd be beyond excited about having top-level talent joining my team. I get that there's paperwork to do and people are cautious about making an announcement while that paperwork is being processed, but celebrating the people who want to help your program win is something that should be embraced by all nine Canada West hockey programs.
Of course, that would take an effort and staffing and everything else these nine athletic departments say they don't have or can't afford to have, so I guess the singular social media post announcing a prized recruit is the best we'll get. Which is a very low bar to meet.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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