The first period was a back-and-forth affair as both teams came out searching for the opening goal. Clearly, both teams knew the stakes going into this game, and their play reflected that. Outside of a goal post, nothing got past either goaltender in the opening frame, so we'd head to the second period with the score at 0-0 and Mount Royal holding an 11-9 edge in shots.
That back-and-forth action would continue through to the midpoint of the second period when we'd finally see our first lamp lit. Laura Cook's initial shot was stopped by Durante, but the rebound popped loose in the crease where Taylor Sawka swept it home for her fifth goal of the season at 10:17, and the Cougars grabbed the 1-0 lead! The Cougars would use a power-play minutes later to double the lead when Mackenzie Butz teed up a one-timer from Jori Hansen-Young, and her blast found the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season as the power-play marker gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead! The Dinos couldn't solve De Beauville on a few chances they had later in the period, so it was off to the third period with Mount Royal up by a pair of goals despite the Dinos holding a 21-19 advantage in shots.
The Dinos continued to press in the third period as they looked to cut the deficit they were in, but De Beauville was proving to be a tough adversary. Late in the game, Taylor Beck chased down a loose puck in the Dinos end, and it appeared there may have been some miscommunication between the Dinos as her backhand pass ended up on the stick of Tatum Amy in front of Durante, and Amy buried her fourth goal of the season at 14:53 to put the Cougars up 3-0!
Down a few with time ticking down, Calgary was forced to pull the goalie for the extra attacker, but Sydney Benko would end any threat of a comeback with an empty-cage goal with 40 seconds to play as the Mount Royal Cougars downed the Calgary Dinos by a 4-0 score. Zoe De Beauville earned her ninth win and fifth shutout of the season with blanking of Calgary's 31 attempts while Gabriella Durante suffered the loss despite making 22 stops in the game.
Highlights of this game are below!
You know this recap doesn't celebrate blowouts, and this game didn't go well for one of these teams. Aliya Jomha scored her fifth of the season in the first period at 16:10, so it seemed like this game was going pretty well after 20 minutes of play with the Cougars up one goal and the shots tied at 8-8.
The second period was all Cougars, though, as they turned on the scoring. Anna Purschke scored her third of the season just 15 seconds into the frame to make it 2-0. Jomha picked up her second of the game and sixth of the season on the power-play at 6:57 to make it 3-0. Lyndsey Janes got in on the scoring as she notched her first Canada West goal of her career at 12:36 to push the score to 4-0, and Sydney Benko scored her third of the season while on the power-play at 17:04 to make it 5-0. Mount Royal had the decided lead on the scoreboard and held a 22-14 edge in shots.
The bleeding continued when Jori Hansen-Young scored her second of the season 5:09 into the third period to make it 6-0, but the Dinos would continue to battle as Sage Desjardins scored her fourth goal of the season at the 9:00 mark before Emily Hill notched her fourth of the season while on the power-play at 11:36 to make it a 6-2 game. Coutrney Kollman's seventh goal of the season at 13:19 would quell any comeback talk, though, as the Mount Royal Cougars defeated the Calgary Dinos by a 7-2 score. Zoe De Beauville made 22 stops for her tenth win of the season while Gabriella Durante stopped 27 shots in this game.
Highlights of this game are... wait, it's MRU's turn for highlights, right? I'll give them credit: they're consistent this season.
The Pandas ran into a Griffins team that were there to send off their senior players with win over their crosstown rivals. The Pandas were denied chances early in this game despite their best efforts. That seemed to inspire the Griffins, and they'd capitalize when Jayme Doyle won a puck battle and found Mackenize Dachuk who went blocker-side on Oswald for the game's first goal, Dachuk's second goal of the season, and the 1-0 MacEwan lead at 11:42! As we know, though, the Pandas won't relent, and they'd find a goal on the power-play when Natalie Kieser buried the one-timer from Payton Laumbach at 19:16, and Keiser's eighth goal of the campaign made it 1-1. Alberta held a 12-4 lead in shots through 20 minutes as we'd move to the second period with the score tied at that 1-1 total.
The two teams would continue their hard-fought battle in the second period before Alberta finally found another goal with five minutes to play in the frame. Madison Willan popped a rebound off Payton Laumbach's shot past Bender for her sixth goal of the season at 14:57, and the Pandas would take that 2-1 lead into the break despite holding a 24-8 edge in shots!
The third period saw the Griffins pour on the offensive attack as they looked for the equalizer, but Halle Oswald stood tall as she defended the Alberta net. The final horn would sound on a period where no goals were scored as the 2-1 Alberta lead turned into a 2-1 Alberta win over the MacEwan Griffins! Halle Oswald picked up her sixth win of the season in stopping 16 shots while Natalie Bender likely deserved better after making 26 stops on this night.
I went looking for highlights, and I found basketball highlights on MacEwan's Twitter page. Clearly, they have the ability to make highlight packages, but hockey's just not in the cards, I guess.
The battle from one night earlier carried over into the first period of this game with Alberta carrying the offence, but MacEwan frustrating the Pandas with a solid defensive effort. Neither teasm would find the scoresheet in the first period as the horn sounded for the break, but Alberta held an 11-4 lead in shots despite the 0-0 score.
It certainly felt like both teams were weren't going to be content with a loss on this day as the scoreless draw extended past the midpoint of the game. However, a puck that got poked out from behind the net into the MacEwan slot area proved dangerous as Madison Willan picked it up, made a nice move to her backhand to get around Bender, and slid the puck into the yawning cage for her seventh goal of the season at 16:46, and Alberta grabbed the 1-0 lead. A pair of back-to-back penalties against the Griffins gave Alberta the chance to double their lead minutes later. Madison Willan fanned on a gorgeous cross-crease feed, but she didn't give up on the puck as she circled the net and passed it to a waiting Payton Laumbach who finished off the sequence with her sixth goal of the season, and the power-play marker sent Alberta into the second break up 2-0 while holding a 36-7 lead in shots. No, that's not a typo - Alberta outshot MacEwan 25-3 in that period!
Alberta continued to press in the third period as they peppered the MacEwan net once again. Natalie Kieser spotted a trailing Madison Willan on a rush down the ice, and Willan made no mistake as she dented twine with her eighth of the season to make it 3-0 for the Pandas at 5:14. The Pandas simply wouldn't give the Griffins a chance to breathe in the third period, smothering them with their quick transition to thwart any chances.
Midway through the period, Bree Kennedy did a ton of work getting to the slot area to try and take a shot, but was taken down before she could get the shot away. However, Kelsey Tangjerd was in the right place to pick up the loose puck, and she roofed a backhander before Bender could react for her first of the season at 11:45 for the 4-0 Alberta lead. That was than enough offence for Chamberlin on this night as she kept the Griffins from finding the scoreboard as the Alberta Pandas defeated the MacEwan Griffins by that 4-0 score. Chamberlin stopped all 10 shots sent her way for her fifth win and second shutout of the season while Natalie Bender stopped 45 shots on a night where she was more than busy in the loss.
Highlights of this game are below!
It seems obvious that these two teams aren't fond of one another as they battled hard in the early part of the period, but it was clear that UBC was in Langley for business as they began to execute their game plan. Fawcett was exceptional on all but one shot, and that's the one that counted. Mackenzie Kordic found space past Fawcett at 11:32 of the first period for her sixth goal of the season, and the UBC Thunderbirds held the 1-0 lead. Again, they continued to press, but the Spartans refused to allow more as we'd go into the break with that 1-0 score despite UBC outshooting TWU 16-6 in the frame!
An early UBC penalty opened the door for the Spartans to get back into the game. Olivia Leier's snipe from just outside the right hash marks went upstairs on Hugens and found twine at the 4:50 mark as the power-play goal was Leier's fourth goal of the season and evened this game at 1-1! However, Mackenzie Kordic restored the one-goal lead she originally gave UBC 3:09 later when she scored her second of the game and seventh of the campaign to make it a 2-1 game in favour of UBC. 20 seconds later, Grace Elliott beat Fawcett for her third goal of the season as UBC found itself up 3-1! Kenzie Robinson would use a UBC power-play to score her fifth goal of the season at 14:31 to make it a 4-1 game for the T-Birds as they continued to press, but that would be all the scoring in this period as the teams went to the intermission with UBC leading 32-9 in shots. Again, not a typo on that total.
The third period saw UBC resume its attack on the Spartans' net, but Fawcett had had enough. She didn't allow a goal in the final frame, but Hugens didn't allow one either despite TWU having chances. When the final horn sounded, the UBC Thunderbirds had skated to the 4-1 win over the Trinity Western Spartans! Elise Hugens made 14 saves for her tenth win of the season while Kate Fawcett suffered the loss after stopping 40 shots on a night where she seemingly didn't have a moment to rest!
Trinity Western makes highlight packages, but only for their own team. Despite me searching for UBC highlights from this game, the only highlight I can post is the Olivia Leier goal which is below. Highlight packages are for both teams, Trinity Western!
SATURDAY: There was no switching of schools between these two squads as Trinity Western was hosting UBC all weekend. Again, UBC was looking to position itself higher in the standings with a win while Trinity Western wanted to spoil that party. Reese Hiddleston was between the pipes for the T-Birds while the Spartans started senior netminder Jadeyn Kastning in her final game!
This turned out to be one heckuva crazy game, so let's get this started. Emma Hall opened the scoring at 9:07 with her first goal of the season to put UBC up 1-0. Brooke Legault responded for TWU with her second of the season at 13:48 to tie the game before Brooklyn Anderson scored her third goal of the season one minute later to make it a 2-1 lead for the Spartans that carried into the break despite being outshot by UBC 14-5!
Penalties have plagued Trinity Western all season long as their penalty-killing units simply haven't been able to stop their opposition, and that was the case in the second period. UBC scored five power-play goals in the period - Ashley McFadden's sixth goal at 4:38, Mackenzie Kordic's eighth goal at 10:40, Ireland Perrott's seventh goal at 12:08, and a pair of Kenzie Robinson goals at 12:47 and 19:58 to give her seven goals on the campaign - were the story in this period as the UBC Thunderbirds went from trailing 2-1 to leading 6-2 through 40 minutes of play while outshooting TWU by a 30-9 margin!
This game was far from over, though, because Trinity Western exploded out of the break. Chloe Reid scored her first Canada West goal at 3:09 to make it 6-3. Chelsea Debusschere added a power-play goal for her second tally of the season at 14:25, and it was a 6-4 game. 1:30 later, Brooklyn Anderson's fourth goal of the season came on the power-play, and the UBC lead had been reduced to a 6-5 score! However, a late UBC power-play would see Ireland Perrott score her second of the game and her eighth goal of the season as the UBC Thunderbirds escaped the surging Trinity Western Spartans with a 7-5 victory! Reese Hiddleston picked up her third win after making 12 stops while Jadeyn Kastning's final Canada West game saw her stop 33 shots in a loss.
Highlight are supposed to be here. Trinity Western just didn't bother, it seems, to produce highlights of the most goals its women's hockey team has scored in one singular game. I'm not sure I can let this one slide when the ladies almost pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in Canada West history. How is this possible, TWU?
The first period was about as uptempo and fast as any game I've seen this season. Saskatchewan came in on a five-game win streak so you knew they were riding high, but the Bisons, losers of two-straight games, absolutely matched them stride for stride in the opening period. While Saskatchewan held the 10-6 edge in shots, it was a 0-0 game through 20 minutes.
The stalemate continued as each team matched the other's moves in the second period until the midway point. The Bisons forced a turnover behind the Huskies' net, and Jena Barscello centered to Julia Bird between the hash marks who buried it between Drever's wickets at 9:56 for her third goal of the season and the 1-0 Manitoba lead! The Huskies quickly shook that goal off, but the Bisons continued their pressure until the horn. No further scoring was recorded, but the Bisons took lead into the second break while Saskatchewan led 14-13 in shots.
The battle continued into the third period as the teams streaked up and down the ice generating chances, but it would be the Bisons who dented twine again as Sam Sichkaruk's initial shot was stopped by Drever, but she chipped the rebound by the netminder as she fell atop Drever! After a very quick chat, the officials ruled it a good goal as Sichkaruk scored her fourth goal of the season at 7:29 to make it 2-0 for the Bisons. 14 seconds later, it was 3-0 when an offensive zone face-off win by Sarah Dennehy came directly to Madison Cole, and she wired the puck past Drever for her third goal of the season at 7:43!
The offensive outburst caused Huskies head coach Steve Kook to call a timeout, and the Huskies regrouped as they resumed their attack on the Manitoba goal. Manitoba wasn't deterred, though, as these two teams went back-and-forth for the final half of the frame, but the Manitoba Bisons would claim the 3-0 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies at the final horn! Erin Fargey was solid in the cage as she earned her seventh win and third shutout after stopping all 24 shots sent her way while Camryn Drever suffered the loss on a 21-save evening.
Highlights of this game are below!
SATURDAY: One had to figure that the Huskies were going to come out with fire in Saturday's game after the loss one night earlier as the teams sat tied in the standings. The winner of this game likely would the honour of hosting a playoff game while the losing team likely would be travelling for their quarterfinal game. Win-and-you-host versus lose-and-you-travel was the only storyline in this game, so both teams had one goal: win! Camryn Drever got her second-straight start this weekend while Kimmy Davidson was given the task of guarding the net by the Bisons!
The back-and-forth action seen in Friday's game continued on Saturday as both teams came out of the gates flying. Both sides were generating scoring chances, but the goaltedning was solid through the opening half of the period. However, Manitoba seemed to settle in and they'd finally break the tie when Kylie Lesuk went off on a solo effort that saw her come off the wall to the slot, beating her defender, and she roofed a shot over Drever's glove for her fifth goal of the season at 15:10 to give Manitoba the lead! The one-goal cushion would hold into the break as Manitoba held the lead on the scoreboard and in shots with a 9-6 edge.
The second period was much like the first four periods of this series - fast, chances at both ends, lots of great plays, and some stellar goaltending to match. It would literally come down to the last rush of the period before we'd see the score change as Kate Gregoire tore down the right side before hitting Camille Enns as the trailer. Enns' shot would be stopped, but Julia Bird was on the doorstep to sweep the puck into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season with 14 seconds left in the period, and the Bisons took the 2-0 lead into the room while leading 20-17 in shots!
Saskatchewan came out in the third period determined not to let this one get away as they threw all sorts of pressure on the Bisons. It would pay off when Sophie Lalor took advantage of a collapsing defence to find a seam, and she wired home a laser past Davidson for her fifth goal of the season at 4:26 to make it a 2-1 game! The teams continued to battle and there was a late push by the Huskies that saw an intense goalmouth scramble find all sorts of chances, but none ended up behind Davidson! As the final horn sounded, the Manitoba Bisons had downed the Saskatchewan Huskies by that 2-1 score! Kimmy Davidson was busy stopping 26 shots for her fifth win of the season while Camryn Drever suffered her second-straight loss despite stopping 23 Bisons shots!
Highlights of this battle are directly below!
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Royal | 13-2-1-2 | 30 | 55 | 20 | W3 | vs MAC |
| UBC | 13-5-0-0 | 26 | 65 | 32 | W2 | vs REG |
| Manitoba | 11-7-2-0 | 26 | 53 | 37 | W2 | BYE |
| Alberta | 8-5-3-2 | 24 | 41 | 29 | W4 | @ CAL |
| Saskatchewan | 10-7-1-2 | 24 | 44 | 27 | L2 | BYE |
| Regina | 7-9-0-2 | 16 | 35 | 47 | W2 | @ UBC |
| Calgary | 7-11-0-0 | 14 | 44 | 57 | L2 | vs ALB |
| MacEwan | 6-12-0-0 | 12 | 21 | 50 | L4 | @ MRU |
| Trinity Western | 1-18-1-0 | 4 | 24 | 83 | L12 | BYE |
**teams in yellow and italics have clinched a playoff spot**
**teams in red have been eliminated from postseason participation**
The Final Spot
Three teams are still in the hunt for the final playoff spot based upon the tie-breaker rules in Canada West, but it's pretty clear that Regina holds the upper hand on both Calgary and MacEwan right now. Here's what each has to do to earn that sixth and final playoff berth.
DINOS: Three points will eliminate Calgary OR one point plus one Calgary loss OR two Calgary losses will eliminate Calgary. Regina cannot catch anyone above them, and Regina does not hold any tie-breaker over the other two teams.
COUGARS: Two points earned while Regina loses both OR three points earned while Regina earns just one point OR four points earned while Regina earned two would allow Calgary to win sixth-place as they hold the tie-breaker over Regina.
COUGARS: Four points earned while Regina loses both games AND Calgary earns no more than one point.
Next week still has big implications for three teams as shown above, so get ready for an exciting final week of hockey in Canada West!
A Bushel Of Apples
If you're not a Bisons player, parent, coach, or fan, skip down to The Last Word. If you are a Bisons player or coach especially, please keep reading as I have some grovelling to do.
The Big Question
If I can run down the list of accusations, the Bisons went oh-fer-six on the power-play this weekend, but it looked dangerous with crisp passes and good shots. They generated shots, they found open looks, they moved the puck around the outside quickly to open seams through Saskatchewan's penalty killing scheme, and they were a handful in front of the net when it came to screens and deflections. That's Bisons hockey.They used a defensive-zone breakout that moved the puck quickly and confidently as the Bisons were lethal all weekend heading down the ice from their own zone. Had it not been for a very good Saskatchewan defence and Camryn Drever, there likely could have been five more goals scored this weekend. The Bisons weren't content to simply throw a "hail mary" down the ice. They found their spots, they adjusted to the Saskatchewan defence, and they broke out of their zone with their heads up as they looked for seams to generate offence. That's Bisons hockey.
The goaltending was beyond amazing this weekend as both Erin Fargey and Kimmy Davidson were locked in and laser-focused all weekend. The Huskies entered this weekend having scored 19 goals during their five-game win streak, but both goalies were having none of it. Both netminders made some rather spectacular saves to keep the Huskies off the board, but they were fundamentally sound this weekend - squared to the shooter, aware of their rebounds, and quick to cover anything in front of them. That's Bisons hockey.
The defence, which I described as "chaos" last week, was better than anything I've seen this season. They kept Saskatchewan to the outside for most of the weekend, and were quick to descend on anyone who broke through the perimeter. There were more blocked shots this weekend than I can remember in recent history as players sacrificed for each other. They cleared the front of the net for their goalies, and were quick to move players away from the crease when the whistle was blown. That's Bisons hockey.
The six defenders playing at the back were quick to jump into the play as well, driving the offence while doubling back twice as fast to pick up Huskies on the move. Forwards were dropping back to cover as well. Manitoba won more puck battles along the boards than the Huskies did this weekend, and it showed with their time of possession and on the shot counter. That's Bisons hockey to a tee, and I felt like the team not only answered my criticism by roundly dispatching those comments, but they also shouted at me a very obvious question.
This Is For You, Brenna
Brenna Nicol dropped a comment that hit home this weekend when she stated, "Maybe there will be an article written about today's effort!" as I walked past her. I got the message, Brenna, and yes, you're getting that article here.
However, the fact that the Bisons not only responded to, but crushed, what I said by proving each and every complaint wrong means that this team has the potential and the ability to win this conference which was never in doubt. It just needed to be kickstarted which was my entire intention, and it resulted in this weekend being a total team effort which was so much fun to watch as everyone was engaged and excited - including those staring daggers at me in the pressbox for wearing a Huskies jersey, Aimee and Hanna - for what was happening on the ice. That's the kind of effort that will win this conference, and there aren't many teams in all of U SPORTS that can skate with the Bisons when they play like that.
That's Bisons hockey. Fully, totally, and completely. And I'm here to tell you that the crow tastes like chicken.
The Last Word
The funny thing is that if the "hockey gods" - whoever looks after the karma in the game - really wanted to make things interesting, the Bisons could end up hosting the Huskies in the 4-vs-5 quarterfinal. Alberta could pass Manitoba next weekend which would set up the rematch from this past weekend in that opening round of the playoffs. Manitoba is 4-0-0 this season against the Huskies while the Huskies are 0-3-1 this year, so you'd have to wonder if the Huskies would want to come back to Winnipeg.If the world does indeed work in mysterious ways, perhaps the Bisons finding their 60-minute work ethic this weekend is exactly what was needed as they potentially stare down a three-game series against the Huskies in two weeks' time. Wouldn't that be a heckuva thing?
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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