The opening period saw the two teams looking for gaps in the other's defence. Neither would find many holes, but both Crowther and Fargey were sharp when called upon for the few chances seen. With neither allowing the lamp to be lit, we'd head into the second period tied 0-0 with Regina holding a 10-5 advantage in shots.
I'm a big believer that hard work will result in good luck, and it seemed that the Bisons had earned a pile of good luck based on how this period went. Jena Barscello cut to the net and was stopped, but Vanessa Klimpke got to the rebound, got a shot away that Crowther partly stopped, and had the puck flip up and over the netminder into the net for her first Canada West goal at 4:10 to put the Bisons up 1-0! 1:17 later, Kate Gregoire took a pass from Sarah Dennehy, broke in on a partial breakaway, and roofed her second goal of the season over Crowther's glove as the Bisons went up by a pair! It would turn into a 3-0 score 2:23 later when Jessica Haner's centering attempt caught the skate of a Regina defender and deflected past Crowther who was sliding across the crease for her second goal of the campaign as the flurry of goals had Regina spinning. Later in the period, Julia Bird would whack home a blocked Ashley Keller shot for her first goal of the season at 16:17, and that would end Crowther's night as she was replaced by Natalie Williamson. The period would end with no additional fireworks as the Bisons went into the second break up 4-0 after a four-goal outburst in the second period.
If there's one trait that every Regina team has, it's that they play until the finla whistle no matter what the score is. We saw that on this night as Olivia Leggett snapped Fargey's shutout with her shot from the point with all sorts of traffic in front found the twine for her first Canada West goal, and the Cougars were on the board at 4-1 at 11:51. Minutes later, the Cougars were buzzing on the power-play when Lilla Carpenter-Boesch's shot from the high slot was partially-stopped by Fargey, but the puck popped loose from between her body and left arm where an awaiting Makena Kushniruk swept the puck into the net for her second of the season at 13:34, and the Cougars were back in striking distance at 4-2! The good news for the Bisons is that they stopped the bleeding as Regina continued to press, including with the extra attacker, as the final horn sounded on a 4-2 win for the Bisons! Erin Fargey earned her fourth win of the season with 24 saves while Katie Crowther took the loss after stopping eight shots. For the record, Natalie Williamson stopped all six shots she faced in her 22:11 of work.
Highlights? We got 'em! The only catch is that we lost the play-by-play in the second period after there were some audio issues on the webcast. That's on me, and I'll own that because we were trying to fix it on the fly. My apologies to Bisons fans for that, but at least we have highlights compared to some schools.
SATURDAY: If the old adage is true that hard work will beat talent more often than not, it seems particularly valid in Canada West where even the most talented teams have to work to find wins. Regina didn't get the results they may have felt they deserved one night earlier, so there was an expectation that they'd come back determined to work harder than they did before. Manitoba would need to match that effort if they hoped to pick up their seventh win of the season. Katie Corwther was back in the Regina net after her night ended early on Friday while the Bisons gave the nod to Meagan Relf in her second start of the season.
Manitoba got off to a great start in this game as Molly Kunnas fed Vanessa Klimpke in the shot, and Klimpke fired a shot through Crowther for her second goal of the season at 2:39 for the 1-0 Manitoba lead! It appeared that Manitoba was willing to come out and hustle through the opening five minutes, but the Cougars slowly began ramping up their effort as the period wore on. No other goals were scored, but there was a feeling that the team from the rectangular province wasn't about to go away quietly.
The struggle between these two teams continued in the second period where neither team could solve the other's goaltender despite a few great chances at both ends. It would take the majority of the period to find a goal, and a great move by Lilla Carpenter-Boesch to skate off the half-boards and skate past a Bisons defender would lead to her third goal of the season as her shot beat Relf cleanly at 17:09 to even the game at 1-1! With the score deadlocked, we'd go to the third as Regina held a rather surprising 20-9 edge in shots.
The third period saw the Cougars apply all sorts of pressure on the Bisons, and they'd be rewarded for their efforts. Paige Hubbard nearly recreated the Carpenter-Boesch goal as she skated off the half-boards and wired a shot past Relf at 3:47 for her first goal of the season as Regina went up 2-1. Having a lead didn't slow the Cougars down, though, as they continued to pressure the Bisons. Again, they'd find a goal with this effort as Ireland Sorestad banged home a rebound after Hubbard was initially stopped following all sorts of chaos in the Bisons' zone as their defensive system broke down, and Sorestad's third goal at 13:15 put the Cougars up by a pair! Halle Edwards would get one back for the Bisons on the power-play with her fourth goal of the season at 15:47, but the Bisons couldn't find the equalizer with the extra attacker as the Regina Couagrs earned the 3-2 victory! Katie Crowther stopped 15 shots for her first win of the season while Meagan Relf took the loss despite stopping 29 shots.
Highlights? We're still waiting on them being posted.
These two teams clashed on October 8 in the preseason where Mount Royal prevailed 4-1, but it was clear that MacEwan had learned a few lessons since that date as the defences for both teams were unwilling to bend under pressure. Neither team would find the scoresheet in the first period, so we'd head to the second with Mount Royal leading 11-4 in shots.
Mount Royal kept up the relentless attack as they bought into the adage that a good defence is a great offence. Natalie Bender was solid in this period once again, though, as she denied chance after chance by the Cougars while the shots that Zoe De Beauville did see were turned aside as well. With the score locked at 0-0 through two periods, we'd jump to the third period with Mount Royal leading in shots 23-15.
And that's where Tianna Ko took over. After forcing a turnover in her own zone, Ko went end-to-end and finished off the effort by beating Bender just 21 seconds into the period for her fourth goal to give Mount Royal the 1-0 lead! Ko would strike again at 17:14 for her fifth of the campaign to give the Cougars some insurance, and Mackenzie Butz would ice this game 1:10 later when she hit twine with her third goal of the season as the Mount Royal Cougars capture the 3-0 victory over the MacEwan Griffins. Zoe De Beauville made 20 saves for her fourth win and second shutout this season while Natalie Bender was tagged with the loss despite stopping 32 shots on this night.
Highlights from the Griffins? No, that's not happening. I checked their YouTube site, their Twitter account, and their Instagram account, and it would appear that any video of game action is banned by the school. If only the athletics department gave the same effort as the athletes, we'd have all sorts of highlights to post.
The opening frame was similar to their season series as neither team found an advantage on the scoreboard nor the shot counter as both De Beauville and Chamberlin stopped eight shots apiece. The even-Stevens series would continue in the second period with the game tied at 0-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The second period would see that deadlock broken, though. Kaia Borbandy forced a turnover behind the Alberta net that went to Mackenzie Loupelle who spotted Kate Scidmore open in the slot, and Scidmore's one-timed snapshot beat Chamberlin on the glove side for her first of the season at 7:28 to give Mount Royal the lead. That lead would last all of 26 seconds as Natalie Kieser's shot was tipped in front by Bree Kennedy past De Beauville for her first Canada West goal, and we were tied up at 1-1! Later in the period, the Pandas used a goalmouth scramble to take the lead as Allison Reich chipped the Natalie Kieser rebound past De Beauville for her second goal at 13:23 and the 2-1 Alberta lead! Mount Royal wasn't going to let the Pandas have any advantage, though, as Courtney Kollman's shot was stopped as an Alberta penalty expired, but Aliya Jomha was left open to pop the rebound past Chamberlin at 18:29 for her fourth goal, and we'd head into the third period with these two teams tied 2-2!
Early in the third period, Athena Hauck ripped a wrist shot high on Chamberlin of which she got a piece with her glove, but not enough as the puck landed in the net for Hauck's first Canada West goal at 1:32 as the Cougars went up 3-2! From there, the Cougars locked down the defesnive zone in giving up just three shots in the final frame as they skated to the 3-2 victory over the Pandas! Zoe De Beauville earned her fifth win of the season with a 16-save evening while Kirsten Chamberlin suffered the loss with a 16-save effort.
Highlights? Alberta's doing their part!
The Pandas weren't willing to waste much time in this game as Hayleigh Craig and Jadynn Morden recreated a little Lloydminster magic as Morden in the slot cashed in Craig's feed from behind the net for her first Canada West goal at 6:16 to give the Pandas the lead! Ten minutes later, the Pandas found themselves on the power-play as Madison Willan fed Payton Laumbach in the slot, and Alberta had their second goal off the stick of a former Llpydminster Steeler as Laumbach ripped home her second goal of the campaign at 16:01! The two-goal lead would hold into the break as Alberta held a 13-4 advantage in pucks-on-net.
The second period saw the two teams play a more even period, but one team would win the period. A turnover in the Alberta end would see Holly Reuther feed Rachel Paul who was all alone in front of the net, and she made no mistake in potting her third goal of the season at 11:13 to cut the Alberta lead to 2-1. That would be the only puck to dent twine, though, so we'll jump to the third period.
An early power-play was the catalyst for the Pandas to restore the two-goal margin as Madison Willan found herself with yards of room in the slot, and she wired a wrist shot to the back of the net for her third goal just 47 seconds into the frame as the Pandas went up 3-1. Alli Borrow showed some great individual skill as she cut into the Pandas' zone, crossed from left to right, and wired a high wrister that got past Oswald for her third of the season at 3:03 as the game sat at 3-2 in favour of the Pandas. As Alberta tightened its defensive zone overage, the Dinos increased their drive for the tying goal. Unfortunately, the final horn would blare on a 3-2 Alberta Pandas win over the Calgary Dinos. Halle Oswald earned her third win this season with 19 stops while Gabriella Durante took the loss after making 22 saves.
Highlights of this game are below!
In what has to be their most dominating period of the season thus far, MacEwan absolutely crushed the Dinos in the opening frame. Jayme Doyle went top corner on Durante on a loose puck at 11:37 for her second of the season, and Kallie O'Hearn blast from the point with 30 seconds to play became her first Canada West goal in her career as MacEwan jumped out to the 2-0 lead through 20 minutes while outshooting the Dinos 21-3 in the period. That's not a typo.
The Griffins kept coming in the second period as Hailey Maurice buried a rebound off a Chantal Ricker shot on the power-play for her second of the season at 5:25 as the Griffins claimed a 3-0 lead. A Calgary power-play saw Holly Reuther cut the lead to 3-1 with her fifth goal of the season 2:02 later, but the Griffins would restore the three-goal lead on another power-play when Ricker tipped a Kyrelle Skoye point shot past Durante for her third goal of the season at 10:54. Calgary would cut into the lead once again when Sage Desjardins' spinning shot in the slot found room upstairs past Bender for her second goal of the season at 14:27, and we'd head to the third period with MacEwan leading 4-2.
The third period saw things settle down somewhat, but Emily Hill pulled off a great move to shake a defender before roofing a shot past Bender for her second of the campaign at 11:10, cutting the Griffins' lead to 4-3. The Griffins, though, would allow no other goals to be scored over the last nine minutes of the game as the MacEwan Griffins claimed the 4-3 win over the Calgary Dinos! Natalie Bender stopped 37 shots for her second win of the season while Gabriella Durante made 32 saves in the loss.
You came looking for highlights, right?
Whatever Trinity Western did during their week off seemed to work as they like a much-improved defensive team. Saskatchewan had a few chances in the first period, and they were stymied by Kastning and the Spartans in the opening frame. At the other end, Wilson was looking sharp in the few chances that the Spartans had. Neither side would record goals, though, as we'd move to the second period tied 0-0 with Saskatchewan holding a 6-5 edge in shots.
The second period felt more like a Saskatchewan Huskies game as they threw everything they had at the net. The only problem was a goaltender named Jadeyn Kastning because the Huskies had nothing to show for the 14 shots they directed at the Spartans' net. Wilson was good down in the Huskies' end again as she stopped the five shots she saw, so we'd go into the third period still tied at 0-0 with the Huskies holding a 20-10 lead in shots.
For the number of two-player advantages that the Spartans had in this game, including one in the third period, you would think that the Spartans would have scored a goal by this point. They were piling up the shots in the third frame, though, but Wilson was having none of it as she was strong again. Kastning wasn't interested in goal-scoring exploits either, so we'd move to overtime with this game still locked at 0-0!
The first overtime period saw the Huskies with a few chances before Neisha Germann was flagged for hooking. The Huskies' power-play couldn't convert, so we'd move to the second overtime period. In this period, Sophie Lalor was sent off for hooking six seconds into the frame to even up the players on the ice before Kate Ball was caught for tripping at the 31-second mark. Those penalties would prove costly as Neisha Germann would escape her penalty to join the power-play, and 13 seconds later she tapped home a rebound into the Saskatchewan net for Trinity Western's first-ever victory as they downed the Huskies 1-0 in double-overtime! Jadeyn Kastning earned her first Canada West win and her first Canada West shutout by stopping all 31 shots she faced while Colby Wilson suffered the loss despite making 31 saves as well.
Before we get to the highlights, I find it rather shocking that teams write articles that contain spelling mistakes when it comes to their own players' names. Trinity Western has corrected the headline on their recap to reflect Jadeyn Kastning's name correctly, but they failed to correct anything else in the actual article. How is it that the Spartans can misspell Jadeyn's last name on night where she recorded the team's first win and the team's first shutout in Canada West history? You've aksed these girls to play for your team, so the least you could do is get their names spelled correctly in the recaps. Be better, Trinity Western. Jadeyn deserves better after what she did for you on this night.
Highlights of the historic overtime goal are below!
SATURDAY: After being stunned by the Spartans one night before as they lost their third-straight game, you had to figure that the Huskies were going to come in waves in the back-half of the two-game set. The Spartans were riding high, though, as they recorded their first win on Friday, and they were enjoying the feeling so much that they were looking to do it again! Camryn Drever got the nod for the Huskies while Mabel Maltais was in the blue paint for the Spartans.
The Huskies wasted no time to get on the scoreboard in this game as they came out buzzing. Kelsey Hall scored her first Canada West goal at 5:48 to put the Huskies up 1-0 while Mallory Dyer add a second goal after Sophie Lalor's shot couldn't be corralled by Maltais as Dyer tucked the puck inside the post at 14:31 for her first Canada West goal, and the Huskies took the 2-0 lead into the break while leading 8-5 in shots.
Both teams went goal-hunting in the second period as each put ten shots on the other's net, but neither Drever nor Maltais were willing to play along with that idea. Zero goals scored in the second period means that 2-0 score would hold into the second break with the Huskies leading 18-15 in shots.
Like the second period, the third period saw both teams peppering the opposition netminder, but it was a clean period for goals once again as Drever and Maltais were perfect in this frame. With no additional scoring, that 2-0 score was enough for the Saskatchewan Huskies to claim victory over the Trinity Western Huskies! Camryn Drever earned her third win and first shutout of the season with a 27-save game while Mabel Maltais was the losing netminder despite making 28 saves in this one.
I went looking for the highlights of this game, and all they had was one save made by Mabel Maltais. Where are the highlights, Spartans? You can't just post highlights of wins.
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Royal | 5-1-1-1 | 13 | 31 | 11 | W2 | BYE |
| Manitoba | 5-2-1-0 | 12 | 24 | 19 | L1 | BYE |
| Alberta | 1-1-3-1 | 9 | 14 | 12 | L1 | BYE |
| UBC | 4-2-0-0 | 8 | 25 | 8 | L1 | BYE |
| Saskatchewan | 3-1-0-2 | 8 | 9 | 8 | W1 | BYE |
| Calgary | 3-5-0-0 | 6 | 21 | 28 | L2 | BYE |
| MacEwan | 3-5-0-0 | 6 | 12 | 22 | W1 | BYE |
| Regina | 2-4-0-2 | 6 | 15 | 20 | L5 | BYE |
| Trinity Western | 0-5-1-0 | 2 | 3 | 26 | L4 | BYE |
Time For A Break
We've reached the conference break in the first half of the season, and I think it's fair to say that there have been a few surprises in terms of what we've seen.I'm not sure anyone would have predicted that the youthful Bisons would be sitting in second-place, but they have shown some mettle in getting to that spot. Granted, they and Mount Royal have played the most games out of any of the teams in the top-half of the standings thus far, but it's pretty clear that the Bisons have taken care of business thus far. Coming out of the break has them against Mount Royal and Alberta, and we'll know whether they're contenders or pretenders as their first half of the season comes to a close.
I don't know how sustainable Saskatchewan's position is in the conference after scoring just nine goals in six games, especially when four of those games have come against Regina and Trinity Western already. They'll have to find some additional scoring out of that roster if they're going to be dangerous this season. Being on pace for 30 goals-for isn't the kind of pressure you want to put on your defence and goaltending.
I'm not sure what to make of the Dinos as there are games where they seem to figure out what they need to do to win only to play passively once again. Having Regina and MacEwan tied with the Dinos should make for an interesting race down the stretch, but I'm not sure that it's a race in which the Dinos wanted to be.
Having seen the Cougars play this past weekend, I feel like they're rounding into form just as they always do in November. They were fast, aggressive, and opportunistic which seems to be the modus operandi for the Cougars every year, but if they're hitting that stretch now it will likely be good in the end for the final standings. This could be a good omen for the Cougars.
The New Kids
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see if MacEwan can take the next step in their growth as they have wins over Regina, UBC, and Calgary this season. They're still going to have tests where they can measure their successes, but the Griffins appear to have the right mix of talent, speed, checking, and coaching to make some noise before the regular season ends.Will it end in a playoff spot? That might be a tough ask unless they can pick up wins against Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but they'll need to earn a win or two over Alberta and Mount Royal if they hope to put real pressure on Regina and Calgary when it comes to that sixth spot in the Canada West playoffs. The final two weeks of the season see the Griffins in a home-and-home with Alberta before hitting the road against Mount Royal, and those two weeks may determine the fate of the Griffins in Season One, especially if they need a win or two.
No one is writing off Trinity Western at this point considering that they just beat the Huskies, but there's also no other team in the conference that's as offensively-anemic as the Huskies or Spartans. In other words, it may be foolish to put a lot of stock in their recent play where they surrendered just two goals, but we may get a better idea of who the Spartans are when they come out of the break against MacEwan. Defeating the Griffins would put them squarely back in the playoff race.
Three goals in six games, though, is not remotely close enough to being good enough offensively to make the playoffs. There is no team in Canada West history who has averaged 0.5 goals per game, so the Spartans will need to find a lot of scoring in a hurry if they're going to make a push up the standings. They still have four games against UBC to manage, and they'll have to beat the T-Birds at some point to have a chance at even being in the playoff conversation.
The Last Word
With everyone hitting pause next week, The Rundown will take a look at a few stats that may make or break teams as the season pushes on. There's no week off here as we take a peek at the other conferences who are playing, and we'll focus on a few specific teams as we get caught up with former Pronghorns players who went outside the conference to continue their careers.I'll also post a feature we did on a Calgary rookie who has a big future in front of her, we'll check in on a Mount Royal defender who will join forces with a former UBC Thunderbirds forward to see if they can earn an Olympic berth, and we'll make the case why a three-point system makes entirely more sense than a two-point system.
It's a good week for letting bumps and bruises heal, for getting systems down and perfected, and for bonding with teammates, so here's hoping all nine Canada West teams use the time off effectively and come out twelve days from now with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm for the season!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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