The Rundown - Week 12

Eight teams, eight games, and lots of movement in the standings is what this weekend's games will show. With just two weeks remaining in the Canada West regular season, it was "put up or shut up" time for a handful of teams as squads looked to claim playoff spots, seize opportunities as they knocked, and put pressure on those teams who failed to show up when they needed to be better. The gloves are off this weekend on The Rundown as the eight games are examined, dissected, and recapped with respect to the standings and positioning within those standings, so let's get to work on this week's edition of The Rundown.

FRIDAY: The Trinity Western Spartans arrived in Edmonton with one clear goal: win or it's over. Mathematically, any loss would end the dream of playoffs in their first year, so the Spartans needed to win. Alberta, meanwhile, were looking to remain out of reach from the teams competing for sixth-place while improving their own standing in the conference, so they were needing points as well. Mabel Maltais was in the blue paint for Trinity Western while Halle Oswald got the start for the Pandas.

Both teams seemed to testing the waters when it came to attacking in the first period as there weren't a lot of good chances had against either goaltender. Maltais made a couple of good saves in the opening frame to keep the Pandas off the board while Oswald was solid in her net against the Spartans. We'd see the 0-0 stalemate hold through 20 minutes despite Alberta holding an 8-6 edge in shots.

Trinity Western's trend of taking unadvised penalties continued to haunt them in the second period as the Spartans were whistled for the only three infractions in the period. That allowed the Pandas to pepper the Spartans with shots, but Maltais did everything she could to maintain the 0-0 tie. Despite being outshot 16-2 in the period by Alberta, the Spartans would survive the second frame and head to the third period tied at 0-0 with the Pandas!

With the penalty parade continuing in the third period, Alberta would finally take advantage. Two Spartans watched from the sin bin as Kallie Clouston chipped her second goal of the season past Maltais' right pad at 3:41 of the third period to put the Pandas up 1-0 with the power-play goal, and Madison Willan would add her fourth goal of the campaign on the extended power-play just 35 seconds later to give the Pandas a two-goal cushion. Trinity Western would use a power-play of their own to strike back as Neisha Germann's fourth of the season came off a blast from the point that found room through Oswald at 13:15, but that's as close as the Spartans would get as the Pandas earned the 2-1 win over Trinity Western! Halle Oswald earned her fifth win of the season with an 11-save effort while Mabel Maltais likely deserved a better fate after making 29 stops.

Before we get to the highlights, let me congratulate Alberta Pandas head coach Howie Draper for hitting the 400-win mark, the first head coach to do so in Canada West history! That is an impressive total of wins over the course of one's career, and it speaks to the dedication Howie has had for women's hockey at the CIS/U SPORTS level. I joke about the Alberta Pandas being the "evil empire" and Clare Drake Arena being "the place where dreams go to die" for opposition teams, but this win total accumulated by Coach Draper is part of that respect-through-humour I use because he's built a culture of winning in Edmonton over his impressive coaching career. Congratulations on 400 wins, Coach Draper, and here's to many, many more behind the Alberta bench!

Highlights of Howie Draper's 400th win are below!

SATURDAY: With Trinity Western unable to overcome Calgary in the standings, they were playing spoilers for the remainder of the season. Alberta was the first team on their list of playoff races to spoil while Alberta was looking to make things very interesting for themselves with another win as they looked to crack the 20-point mark on the season. Jadeyn Kastning got the nod for the Spartans while the Pandas started Kirsten Chamberlin in this game.

Once again, Trinity Western's prolific style of playing shorthanded made things hard for them to get any offence rolling in the first period. Tne good news was that Alberta's power-play couldn't get anything to click while the Spartans played short. That being said, Alberta did dent twine when Megan Wilson found herself on a partial breakaway, and she went high glove-side on Kastning for her third goal of the season, and Alberta had the 1-0 lead 6:38 into the game. Beyond that, Kastning was solid as Alberta poured on the pressure. After 20 minutes, it was 1-0 with Alberta up 10-3 in shots.

When Trinity Western stays out of the penalty box, they seem to be able to skate with a number of teams in Canada West. Case in point was a solid second period in Edmonton where they surrendered no goals after swapping power-plays with Alberta. Yes, Alberta still outshot the Spartans in the period, but the 1-0 lead would carry to the third period with Alberta up 18-7 in shots.

Early in the third period, Hayleigh Craig scored a goal that I'm not sure she expected to score when she threw a puck from the half-boards towards the net, and it somehow found space between Kastning's pads to end up behind her for Hayleigh's first-ever Canada West goal at 2:22, putting Alberta up 2-0! Alberta would go up 3-0 when Kiara Machry's shot from the point went through the screen and past Kastning for her second tally of the season at 8:02!

Trinity Western would get one back at 13:44 when Brooke Legault jammed home her first Canada West goal from the left side of the net, but a late two-on-one saw Payton Laumbach feed Madison Willan who went forehand-backhand-shelf past Kastning at 18:32 for her fifth goal of the season. That would close the book on a 4-1 Alberta Pandas win over the Trinity Western Spartans! Kirsten Chamberlin made 13 stops for her fourth win of the season while Jadeyn Kastning made 26 saves in the loss.

Highlights of this game are below!

FRIDAY: Mount Royal finally made their way to UBC after having this weekend postponed due to the UBC's virulent problems in January. A couple of Mount Royal wins would lock up a top-two spot in the conference and guarantee them a bye to the semifinal round. UBC was looking to close the gap between MRU and themselves as they took aim at a top-two spot. Kaitlyn Ross was in the Cougars' net while Elise Hugens was between the pipes for UBC!

It didn't take long for the T-Birds to get their offence rolling. At the 4:00 mark, Rylind MacKinnon's long shot from the left point was deflected in front of Ross and found its way past the netminder for MacKinnon's ninth goal of the season, and the UBC Thunderbirds took the early 1-0 lead! UBC did a good job in controlling the pace and playing defence as Mount Royal couldn't get their usual waves of attack going. After 20 minutes, the 1-0 lead held while UBC owned a 7-4 lead in shots.

The second period felt more like a Mount Royal game as they were far more aggressive in this frame. Despite that aggressiveness, though, they were unable to solve Hugens. At the other end of the ice, Ross stood tall for the Cougars as well. The 1-0 UBC lead remained intact through 40 minutes with Mount Royal holding a 16-13 edge in shots.

The third period started with a quick goal as UBC won an offensive zone face-off, Kenzie Robinson got a shot off, and Chanreet Bassi chipped home the rebound just 18 seconds into the frame as UBC made it a 2-0 game off Bassi's seventh goal of the season! The battle continued throughout the period as Mount Royal looked to close the deficit, but it wasn't to be on this night as the UBC Thunderbirds earned the 2-0 win over the Cougars! Elise Hugens stopped all 22 shots she faced for her ninth win and fifth shutout of the season while Kaitlyn Ross madxe 16 stops in the loss.

Highlights of this game are below!

SATURDAY: The Mount Royal Cougars don't get shut out often, so they had every intention to correct that problem on Saturday. UBC, meanwhile, were looking to make the logjam at the top of the standings a little more interesting. Zoe De Beauville was in the net for the Cougars on Saturday while Elise Hugens looked to continue her strong play for the Thunderbirds.

The defensive battle that these two put on one night earlier continued on Saturday as pucks simply weren't reaching getting to the nets for recorded shots. It wouldn't be until late in the opening period when we'd see one of those shots count. Mackenzie Butz would find room past Hugens while on the power-play for her fourth goal of the season, and Mount Royal jumped out to the 1-0 lead at 18:41. That score would hold through the break with Mount Royal holding a 7-4 lead in shots as well.

The second period saw both teams continue to press as MRU looked to increase their lead while UBC looked to tie the game. The seesaw battle wouldn't result in any goals, though, so we'd jump to the third period with Mount Royal holding that 1-0 lead and a 16-13 advantage in shots.

Just as they did in the second period, Mount Royal and UBC went back and forth in the third period. The goaltending was good all night long on Saturday, though, and there wouldn't be any other lamps lit in this game. As a result, the final horn sounded on the 1-0 Mount Royal victory over the UBC Thunderbirds! Zoe De Beauville stopped 20 shots for her seventh win and third shutout while Elise Hugens made 23 stops on a night where she needed a little more run support!

UPDATE: I was too quick in finishing off the UBC recaps. I completely missed them posting this later in the day. Well done, UBC, on a pair of highlight packages that show the skills of the players!

FRIDAY: Let's be honest: Friday night was all about raising money for a great cause in Haven Kids' House in the name of a great kid as Rhodes McNairn was the guest of honour on this night! However, there was still a hockey game to be played as the Saskatchewan Huskies were looking to improve their standing while sending everyone home happy with a win over the MacEwan Griffins. MacEwan needed wins to put pressure on other teams competing for the final playoff spot, so this game was big for both teams outside of all the charity and goodwill. Natalie Bender was between the pipes for the Griffins while Camryn Drever stood in the blue paint in the Saskatchewan end.

I do know that Saskatchewan was fired up for this game as captain Bailee Bourassa had her fingerprints all over this game's charitable side, and that fire permeated through the team. Saskatchewan came out flying in this game as they were all over MacEwan early. That would lead to the game's opening goal as a loose puck in the neutral zone was picked up by Nicole Fry who caught MacEwan in the midst of a change. They'd recover, but Fry's curl-and-drag into a shot from the slot found twine behind Bender on a fantastic effort for her very first Canada West goal at 11:17, and the Huskies owned a 1-0 lead!

Not only did Bailee Bourassa have her fingerprints on the charitable side of the game, she decided to own this game as well. 1:53 after Fry scored, Bourassa tore down the wing and wired a laser past Bender for her fifth goal of the season at 13:10. The time would run out on the period with Saskatchewan up 2-0, but Bourassa wasn't anywhere close to being done scoring.

The second period was more of Saskatchewan blitzing the Griffins' zone, and it would pay off when MacEwan ran into some penalty issues. Bourassa picked up the puck in her own zone on the left side, tore down the ice, crossed over the slot to the right side, and unleashed another wicked wrister that eluded Bender for her sixth of the season as the power-play goal would make it 3-0 at 11:45! The extended power-play would continue, and once again Bourassa loaded up the wrister from the right circle as she completed the hat trick with her seventh tally this season as the power-play goal made it 4-0 at 15:32! The horn would sound on the period, and one had to wonder if Bourassa has more goals in her twig as we moved to the third period.

The only goal seen in the third period spoiled Camryn Drever's clean sheet as Aryn Chambers scored on the power-play with three seconds to play, but the damage had been done thanks to Bailee Bourassa's first Canada West hat trick on a night that meant so much to her, so much to her community, and so much to Rhodes McNairn as the Saskatchewan Huskies skated to the 4-1 victory over the MacEwan Griffins! Camryn Drever earned her eighth win of the campaign after stopping 16 shots while Natalie Bender suffered the loss despite making 33 stops. And it should be noted how good the Huskies looked in the uniform sported by Bailee above. Who needs green when you look good in gold?

Perhaps lost in all the charitable efforts, hat trick moments, and big wins for Rhodes McNairn, Haven Kids' House, and the Huskies was head coach Steve Kook earning his 200th win as a head coach in the Canada West Conference! I had no idea that Steve was this close to a major milestone, but the 4-1 victory over the Griffins was Steve's 200th win behind the Huskies' bench! Like Coach Draper's milestone win above, Coach Kook has instilled a culture of winning at the University of Saskatchewan while enabling the women in his program to become great hockey players and even better people. This number represents Steve's dedication to the game, his efforts within the game, and his commitment to his players. Congratulations on 200 wins, Coach Kook, and I look forward to celebrating 300 soon!

Highlights of all these storylines are below!

SATURDAY: You had to wonder if, after everything that happened on Friday, if there would be a let-down on the Saskatchewan side after the emotional highs from one night earlier. MacEwan, having scored late, had something to build on for Saturday's game, so I was interested in seeing how both teams responded. Brianna Sank was in the nets for the Griffins while Colby Wilson was the starter for the Huskies.

The teams seemed to play fairly even for the majority of the first period until the final four seconds. Bronwyn Boucher picked up a loose puck in her own zone and headed towards the Griffins' end where it was a one-on-one battle. Boucher's long wrister somehow squeaked through Sank and into the cage as Boucher's first-ever Canada West goal at 19:56 put the Huskies up 1-0! At the end of 20 minutes, Saskatchewan held the lead and an 11-4 advantage in shots.

The Huskies would strike early in the second period when Meg Dyer's long wrister from the top of the left circle found twine behind Sank, and her second of the season at 1:45 made it a 2-0 game in favour of the Huskies. They'd make it a three-goal lead 11 minutes later when Kara Kondrat carried the puck through the slot before feeding Kennedy Brown on the doorstep, and Brown banged home her fourth goal of the season at 12:48 for the 3-0 lead! Wilson was solid in her net once again as she denied the Griffins on their opportunities, and we'd head to the third period with Saskatchewan leading by three goals and 23-11 in shots.

MacEwan wasn't going away quietly on Saturday, and Jayme Doyle's goal midway through the period was her third of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-1 at 9:24. However, Kate Ball's redirection of Abby Shirley's shot-pass for her second goal of the season restored the three-goal lead on the power-play, and the Saskatchewan Huskies skated to the 4-1 win over the MacEwan Griffins for the second-straight day! Colby Wilson picked up her third win of the season with a 12-save night while Brianna Sank was on the losing end of a 31-save effort.

Highlights of this game are below!

FRIDAY: Regina was looking to move into a playoff spot with a big effort against Manitoba this weekend. Manitoba needed wins to try and track down Mount Royal while holding off the cluster of teams below them. Both teams had reasons to come out hard in this game as Erin Fargey started for the Bisons while Arden Kliewer was between the pipes for the Cougars.

Things were looking good for the visitors early in the game as Manitoba seemed to carry the play early on, and they'd be rewarded when Lauren Warkentin found the back of the net from the high slot for her second of the season at 6:49. Just past the midway point, Jena Barscello jammed the puck home on the power-play at 12:16 as she records her first-ever Canada West goal, and the Bisons were up 2-0! That goal seemed to wake up the Cougars as they began to cartry the play, and they'd get one of those goals back with 2:03 to play when Lilla Carpenter-Boesch's shot from the slot froze Erin Fargey entirely to give Carpenter-Boesch six tallies on the season and made the score 2-1 for the Bisons.

I don't know if the Bisons are content with 20-minute efforts per night, but the second period belonged entirely to the Cougars. Shaylee Scraba decided to keep on a two-on-no-one, and it was the right decision as she went low glove-side on Fargey at 9:41 for her second goal of the season and the 2-2 tie! 5:20 later, the Cougars claimed the lead when Paige Hubbard converted a Jadyn Kushniruk pass on a two-on-one for her third goal of the season, and the Cougars were up 3-2. The Bisons would stop the bleeding in the period as the horn sounded, but the Cougars were showing a solid effort with the one-goal lead and a 25-16 edge in shots.

It seemed like the Bisons were determined not to let this one slip away, but the Cougars hammered a nail into the coffin when Lilla Carpenter-Boesch found herself wide-open to the left of Fargey where she could chip the Ireland Sorestad into the yawning cage while on the power-play, and her seventh goal made it 4-2 with the Cougars at 14:37. Heather Fiske would ice this game with 18 seconds to play as she hit the open net in the Bisons' end, and the five unanswered goals by the Cougars led to a 5-2 win over the Manitoba Bisons! Arden Kliewer picked up her fifth win of the season with a 24-save night while Erin Fargey was on the wrong side of a 28-save effort.

Highlights of this game are below.

SATURDAY: You had to think that the loss to Regina was now an open wound for Manitoba that could only be healed by a win. Regina, though, had to be fired up after they earned a big win the night before, so Manitoba would likely have their hands full again today. Would we see a complete 60-minute effort? Kimmy Davidson was in the Manitoba net today while Arden Kliewer was back in the blue paint for Regina.

Just as they did one night earlier, the Bisons came out looking hungry, and it resulted in Lauren Warkentin's third goal of the season at 8:57 before Jena Barscello scored with 40 seconds remaining in the period. While the times may have been different, the Bisons got goals from the same two players in the first period just as they did on Friday. Would the end of the story change in this one? Manitoba led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 10-9 in shots.

The similarities continued in the second period as Lilla Carpenter-Boesch's eighth goal of the season off a Heather Fiske rebound made it a 2-1 game at 13:12 of the second period, and there was a quiet playing of the Twilight Zone theme playing as I watched the second period come to an end. Three goals scored in the exact same order as one night earlier - what would the final 20 minutes reveal? Regina dominated that period entirely, though, so the momentum certainly felt like it was shifting as the shots were now 26-14 decidely in Regina's favour.

The third period saw Regina strike early as Lilla Carpenter-Boesch went one-on-four(!) and found room past Kimmy Davidson as the netminder barely reacted to her shot, and Carpenter-Boesch's ninth goal of the season made it a 2-2 game! The Cougars weren't done there as they took the lead just past the midway point of the frame when Jordan Kulbida loaded up the cannon on the power-play and hammered home her fourth goal of the season to put Regina up 3-2 at 10:33! From there, the Cougars put on a bit of a clinic in how to defend a lead as they prevented Manitoba from a number of clean looks at Kliewer. When the dust settled and horn sounded, the Cougars had won their second-straight game by coming from behind with the 3-2 victory over the Bisons! Arden Kliewer was solid on 20 shots as she earned her sixth win of the season while Kimmy Davidson suffered the loss on a 28-save night.

Highlights are below!

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Mount Royal	11-2-1-2	26	44	18	W1	@ CAL
Saskatchewan	10-5-1-2	24	43	22	W5	@ MAN
UBC	11-5-0-0	22	54	26	L1	@ TWU
Manitoba	9-7-2-0	22	48	36	L2	vs SAS
Alberta	6-5-3-2	20	35	28	W2	@ MAC
Regina	7-9-0-2	16	35	47	W2	BYE
Calgary	7-9-0-0	14	42	46	W1	vs MRU
MacEwan	6-10-0-0	12	20	44	L2	vs ALB
Trinity Western	1-16-1-0	4	18	72	L10	vs UBC

**teams in yellow and italics have clinched a playoff spot**

**teams in red have been eliminated from postseason participation**

The Good

There were some good things seen this week in Canada West women's hockey. They include:

• Bailee Bourassa's hat trick on a night where she was playing for Rhodes McNairn and Haven Kids' Home.
• The Huskies raising a pile of money for Haven Kids' Home.
• Alberta's Howie Draper hitting the 400-win mark.
• Saskatchewan's Steve Kook hitting the 200-win mark.
• Lilla Carpenter-Boesch finishing the season with five goals and two assists against the Bisons in four games.

The Bad

There were some not-so-good things seen as well. They include:

• Trinity Western being eliminated from postseason play.
• Manitoba's inability to play with the lead.
• Manitoba being completely unaware of Lilla Carpenter-Boesch.

The Ugly

Since the calendar flipped to 2022, I've had my eye on a few stats that belied the position in which the Manitoba Bisons found themselves in the standings. They have a terrible power-play, their goaltending is average at best, their defensive play routinely looks like chaos, and I haven't seen any team at this level struggle to break out of their zone as often as Manitoba does. It's time for some honesty: Manitoba is closer to being a mess than a playoff contender.

I don't often rip the team that I cover in-depth as it's equivalent to biting the hand that feeds one's self, but, at this point in the season, they've twice squadered opportunities to move into at least a tie for first-place, and they've wasted glorious chances at putting a stranglehold on a top-two position in the conference. Somehow, they're still within striking distance of both of those options. I can't explain this.

A Deeper Ugly

There is zero intensity on this team. The Manitoba Bisons are the most monotone team in the Canada West circuit. Far too often, we've witnessed them sleepwalk through opening periods. Far too often, we see them abandon things that are working to allow teams to climb back into games. Far too often, there isn't enough hate or vitriol for their opponents. Even after they get scored on, the Bisons go back to their white-noise routine. If someone or something doesn't light a fire under this team over the next few weeks, they'll play two playoff games before starting their summer. That's not a threat - that's a guarantee.

There is zero killer instinct on this Bisons squad. This is a team that is 5-5-1-0 this season when scoring first - nowhere near the conference average of 70%. Let's not forget that two of those wins came against a Trinity Western team that is averaging 1.00 goals-per-game as well. The Bisons are a sub-.500 team when they score first against teams still vying for the playoffs, and that's a recipe for disaster. Yes, they're still a young team, but there is no way they should have lost five games this season when scoring first. Perhaps playing more than 20 minutes per night would help, but I'm not in the locker room nor on the ice for practice to emphasize this fact.

An Uglier Ugly

While I don't question the leadership that the players bring, I will go on record and criticize Jon Rempel and his coaching staff for how this team plays because, if the adage is true, you play in the same style that you practice. If you didn't know, a lot of the practices the Bisons hold are player-led practices, and it seems clear that the most fundamental things are either not being worked on regularly or not being perfected as they should. Whether it be breakouts, power-play formations, neutral zone play, or a handful of other little things that separate the contenders from the pretenders, it's pretty clear after 18 games that the Bisons are members of the latter, not the former.

In that same vein, I would suspect some of my frustration comes from the fact that the Bisons rarely use the same set of lines twice as we've been privy to changes up and down the lineup all season. The lack of chemistry between players is a glaring problem on this team. Legitimately, I want to see players earn spots, but why change everything that worked one night earlier? I don't know why the philosophy changed from when the Bisons won the U SPORTS National Championship, but I don't recall any sort of line blendering happening there. Players knew their roles, and players succeeded in those roles they were given. How about letting these women do that as well?

An Honestlier Ugly

I'll take nothing away from the Regina Cougars who did what they had to do in winning two games where they rallied from two-goal deficits in each game, but this weekend's pair of losses for the Bisons was the culmination of a team with one of the poorest 60-minute work ethics showing just how they soft they are when it comes to doing what it takes to win. If I'm the Bisons at this point, I'm praying I don't matchup against the Regina Cougars in the Canada West Quarterfinal round because the Cougars have outworked the Bisons in nine of 12 total periods played.

When I have parents of players send me messages asking if this is how it's always been or how it's been in the past for Bisons teams, I struggle to answer those questions because I know that it hasn't been this way. The Bisons have always played a hard game where they worked hard and made other teams earn points from them. Right now, this was an ugly weekend of losses in a season where it's getting harder and harder to explain how the Bisons might be contenders for a Canada West title. And if these trends continue, this will be an ugly end to what started out as a very promising season.

The Last Word

I get that Bisons players, parents, and coaches may not be happy with the above dissection of the Bisons, but it's hard to watch this team as a guy who has seen both ends of the spectrum. There's no denying that the Bisons have all sorts of talent and they've won on account of that talent, but hard work will beat talent more often than not. If the Bisons think they can win without working hard next weekend against Saskatchewan or in the playoffs, I'm here to say that they only have four more games this season.

You look at all the teams that have played in Canada West Final series in the last five years - Alberta, Mount Royal, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, UBC - they all have an immense amount of talent that works extremely hard. Manitoba has one-half of that right now, and it's the other half that will eventually put them over the top if they want it.

We'll see how bad they want it when they take the ice against Saskatchewan next weekend.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!