This game began with good goaltending on both sides as the Cougars and Griffins went toe-to-toe in the early going. The north-south play was exciting to watch from both sides in a game that meant a lot to both. A penalty later in the period gave MacEwan an advantage, and they'd make good on the chance when Aryn Chambers' shot beat Ross for her third of the season at 15:45, and the power-play goal had MacEwan up 1-0! That score would hold into the break, and we'd go to the second period with Mount Royal holding a 16-9 count in shots.
Before the water on the ice had completely frozen, Mount Royal erased the deficit when Aliya Jomha's quick strike 11 seconds into the period tied the game as she notched her seventh goal of the season! Mount Royal's speed and skill was on display in this frame, though, as they peppered Sank all period long. They'd take the lead at 8:25 when Anna Purschke scored her fourth goal of the season to put Mount Royal up 2-1, but Sank was good while under siege for the rest of the period. At the second break, that 2-1 score saw the Cougars still up while they had a 35-14 edge in shots!
Mount Royal would continue to push for insurance of their one-goal lead in the third period, and they'd find some at 8:28 when Breanne Trotter scored her third goal of the season to make it 3-1. 1:07 later while on the power-play, Emma Bergesen's point shot found room through the crowd to find twine for her second goal of the campaign, and it was a 4-1 game in favour of Mount Royal. The Griffins would continue to press, but the Cougars played solid defence for the final ten minutes of the game to wrap up a 4-1 win over the Griffins! Kaitlyn Ross earned her fifth win of the season with a 20-save performance while Brianna Sank made 42 saves in the loss.
I've gotta hand it to Mount Royal - they're consistent. No highlights all season long, and it continued into this week. They only have the best team in the conference playing at their school who is currently ranked as the second-best team in the nation, so you'd think they'd be pumped to have highlight packages of their team, right? Right?
SATURDAY: With the win on Friday, Mount Royal was officially the top squad in Canada West and guaranteed they'd play at home for the entire playoffs no matter who they met. With the loss on Friday, the Griffins could not overcome the difference in points needed to make the playoffs. In knowing both teams' situations, this game was all about celebrating the senior players for both teams as they play their final regular-season Canada West games. Senior netminder Natalie Bender got the start for the Griffins in her final Canada West game while senior netminder Zoe De Beauville was in the blue paint for the Cougars for her final Canada West game as well!
MacEwan jumped out of the gates in trying to spoil Mount Royal's night for their seniors when Joie Simon fed Amanda Murray for a one-timer, and Murray's blast found twine behind De Beauville just 46 seconds into the game as Murray had her second tally of the season and MacEwan held the 1-0 lead! That goal seemed to light a fire in the Cougars as they brought the heat all the period long, and they'd be rewarded late in the frame when Courtney Kollman used a turnover in the neutral zone to skate in alone on Bender where she went forehand-backhand-forehand to deke around Bender before depositing the puck in the net for her eighth goal of the season as Mount Royal tied the game at 1-1! That score would carry into the break after Mount Royal outshot MacEwan 17-9 in the first period.
Two minutes into the middle frame, Kollman set up Tianna Ko with the one-timer, but her initial stop was stopped. Ko didn't quit, though, and her second attempt worked as she pushed the puck past Bender and across the goal line for her tenth goal of the season at the 2:00 mark as Mount Royal grabbed the 2-1 lead! The back-and-forth would continue as the period progressed, but MacEwan would be forced to kill off three-straight penalties which slowed their offensive attack. The good news was they didn't surrender any further goals, and we'd head to the third period with the 2-1 score intact and Mount Royal leading 32-16 in shots.
The third period was all about maintaining that one-goal lead for the Cougars as Mount Royal locked down their defensive zone quite well. MacEwan still had a few chances, but Mount Royal was quick to thwart second chances in helping out their netminder. Mount Royal still had their chances, but the Griffins were also doing well to keep their defensive zone tidy. The final horn would sound on a period where no goals were scored, though, and the Mount Royal Cougars secured a 2-1 win over the MacEwan Griffins! Zoe De Beauville picked up her 11th win of the season on a 19-save night while Natalie Bender made 40 stops in her final game.
You would think Mount Royal would post one goal - any goal - from this weekend. With Tianna Ko scoring her final regular-season goal or Anna Purschke scoring her last regular-season goal or Zoe De Beauville making one last kick-save... anything would have been better than zero highlights of these extraordinary players. Since that wasn't done, I'll let Jackie Chiles handle this one.
The two teams were back-and-forth in the early going of this game. Oswald was good on all the shots she faced in the opening frame as she settled into this game while Durante made a couple of nice saves in the opening frame as well. Neither goaltender was in favour of allowing goals, so we'd head to the second period tied 0-0 despite Calgary outshooting Alberta 9-4 in the frame.
The second period was much of the same as the teams traded chances, but Halle Oswald was locked in as she made an incredible glove save off a turnover to rob Rachel Paul of what looked like a sure goal five minutes into the period. That save seemed to up the intensity between these two teams as more and more shots found their way to the goalkeepers, but neither woman guarding the net were allowing any to pass. We'd move to the third period with the score still locked at 0-0 and with Calgary up 22-15 in shots.
Early in the third period, Natlie Kieser found herself all alone as the Dinos chased the puck a little, and she was able to corral the rebound off a Madison Willan shot and put it by Durante for her ninth goal of the season at 2:45 for the 1-0 Alberta lead! Moments later, Kelsey Tangjerd was hauled down on a breakaway to earn a penalty shot, but her backhand on a rolling puck went over the crossbar as the Dinos avoided a two-goal deficit.
That may have awakened the Dinos because they'd cause all sorts of chaos in front of Oswald minutes later before Annaliese Meier found the back of the net in the scrum with a backhander for her second goal of the season at 4:51, and we were level at 1-1 again! 2:20 later, though, Megan Wilson spotted Stephanie Fischer driving the net on the right side hard, and her pass was redirected by Fischer into the open cage before Durante could react for Fischer's first goal of the season at 7:11 as Alberta reclaimed their one-goal lead! The seesaw battle would continue, but Alberta would ice the game with 19 seconds to play when Kiara Machry hit the open net from center ice after the Dinos opted for the extra attacker, and the Pandas would win this game 3-1 over the Dinos! Halle Oswald earned her seventh win of the season with 26-save effort while Gabriella Durante made 25 stops in the loss.
Highlights of this game are below!
SATURDAY: With Calgary scoreboard-watching one night earlier, the Pandas had done half the job necessary to earn third-place in the Canada West standings. They still needed at least one point to move ahead of Manitoba, though, so this game was vitally important when it came to playoff seeding for at least two teams. Halle Oswald was back in the Pandas' net for the second-straight night while senior netminder Dayna Owen faced her former team for the final time in the regular season!
Both teams were playing uptempo hockey in the first period of this game, but the goaltenders weren't really interested in helping anyone growing their statistical totals. Both netminders were perfect on all the shots they faced in the opening frame, so we'd move to the second period with the score tied at 0-0 and with Calgary holding a 9-7 edge in shots.
The second period was more of the same, but the teams seemed to settle into a little more of a defensive shell compared to the first period as the shots were there, but weren't getting through to the goaltenders. Regardless, both teams continued to keep each other off the scoresheet as the 0-0 stalemate moved into the third period with Calgary up 15-13 in shots.
The only goal in this game came just before the midpoint of the third period when Stephanie Fischer scored her second goal of the season at 8:34 to put the Alberta Pandas up 1-0, and that was all the offence that Halle Oswald needed on this night as she backstopped the Pandas to a 1-0 win over the Calgary Dinos! Halle Oswald earned her eighth win and second shutout after making 27 saves while Dayna Owen made 18 stops in her last Canada West appearance!
Highlights are... missing? This is the first time I recall Calgary missing out on a highlight package. I'm not sure what happened here, but the Dinos nearly went the whole season without missing a game. I'll keep an eye out in case it gets posted later than normal, though.
As they always seem to do when at home, the Thunderbirds came out and established a solid offensive presence in this game. The Cougars, though, were able to resist the offensive flurry thrown their way while getting a handful of shots of their own. With neither Kliewer nor Hugens surrendering a goal, we'd move into the second period tied 0-0 with UBC holding a 13-4 edge in shots.
That presence continued in the second period, but it was Regina who cracked the goose egg first when Jordan Kulbida stripped a defender of the puck at the blue line, walked in, and fired a low shot that got under and through Hugens' wickets for her fifth goal of the season at 4:39 as Regina took the improbable 1-0 lead! A few penalties led to UBC playing most of the period in the Regina zone, but for as far as the Cougars' defence bent it simply did not break! The Cougars took that 1-0 lead into the third period despite being outshot 28-6 by the Thunderbirds!
UBC would erase the deficit early in this period as Mackenize Kordic opted to keep on a two-on-one, deked Kliewer, and dragged the puck past her pad and into the net for her ninth goal of season just 1:00 into the period, and we were squared up at 1-1! The tilted ice would continue to lean towards the Regina end, but three-straight penalties to UBC slowed the attack slightly. It would be the third penalty that would cost them, though, as Jordan Kulbida's one-timer from the point eluded Hugens and found the net behind her for Kulbida's eighth tally at 14:09, and the Cougars were back in front by a 2-1 count!
The last five minutes were "kitchen sink" time as UBC threw everything they had at the Cougars, but it wasn't to be on this night as the Cougars locked down the 2-1 win over the Thunderbirds! Arden Kliewer made 40 stops to earn her seventh win of the season while Elise Hugens suffered the loss on a nine-save night.
Thanks to playing on the west coast, the Cougars also returned to the locker room to find that the Pandas had defeated the Dinos, so the combination of Regina's win and Calgary's loss meant that Regina had clinched the sixth and final playoff spot! Highlights of this playoff-clinching game are below!
SATURDAY: With Regina locking up a playoff spot on Friday, the Cougars couldn't move any further up the standings on Saturday as they were locked into sixth-place. UBC, though, still needed to win a game to lock up second-place in the conference. Knowing that this was their last chance, would we see the Thunderbirds solve the Cougars? Natalie Williamson was in the Regina net while Elise Hugens was back in between the pipes for UBC!
UBC seemed to play a little more defensively in the first period as they were quick to get back to shut down Regina chances. Offensively, the T-Birds still looked dangerous, and they made opportunities count. Grace Elliott's one-timer from the high slot got through Williamson for her fourth goal of the season at 9:26, and UBC grabbed the 1-0 lead. 2:44 later, it would become a 2-0 game when Karine Sandilands went high through traffic on Williamson for her second goal of the season. The Thunderbirds would continue to press until the horn, but the 2-0 lead would hold as the teams went to the break and UBC holding a 9-2 edge in shots.
The second period resembled the first period, only with more shots on net from both sides. Regina needed to be as opportune as they were one night earlier, but they simply couldn't find any holes through Hugens. Late in the period, Joelle Fiala tore down the right wing as a two-on-one developed, and she opted to keep as she sent a laser past the glove of Williamson inside the post for her fourth of the season at 14:49, and UBC increased their lead to 3-0. They took that lead into the second intermission while holding a 21-6 advantage in shots.
Ireland Perrott would capitalize off a turnover early in the third period as she picked up a loose puck on the right side, deked into the middle, and sent a high shot glove-side on Williamson for her ninth goal of the season at 1:49 for the 4-0 lead. On the power-play a few minutes later, Ashley McFadden deflected a Hannah Koroll shot down and past Williamson for her seventh goal at 4:59 to make it 5-0. Rylind MacKinnon would pot a rebound on the doorstep off a Mackenzie Kordic shot for her tenth goal of the season at 8:18, and the T-Birds held a 6-0 lead.
Lilla Carpenter-Boesch's shot from the high slot on the power-play with 5:10 to play hit a body before landing in the net behind Hugens as her tenth of the season made it 6-1, but the Cougars wouldn't get any closer as the Thunderbirds skated to the 6-1 win. Elise Hugens picked up her 11th win of the season with a nine-save night while Natalie Williamson made 28 stops in the loss.
Highlights of this game are below!
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Royal | 15-2-1-2 | 34 | 61 | 22 | W5 | BYE |
| UBC | 14-6-0-0 | 28 | 72 | 35 | W1 | BYE |
| Alberta | 10-5-3-2 | 28 | 45 | 30 | W6 | vs REG |
| Manitoba | 11-7-2-0 | 26 | 53 | 37 | W2 | vs SAS |
| Saskatchewan | 10-7-1-2 | 24 | 44 | 27 | L2 | @ MAN |
| Regina | 8-10-0-2 | 18 | 38 | 54 | L1 | @ ALB |
| Calgary | 7-13-0-0 | 14 | 45 | 61 | L4 | OUT |
| MacEwan | 6-14-0-0 | 12 | 23 | 56 | L6 | OUT |
| Trinity Western | 1-18-1-0 | 4 | 24 | 83 | L12 | OUT |
**teams in yellow and italics have clinched a playoff spot**
**teams in red have been eliminated from postseason participation**
The Playoff Scene
Here's how the Canada West playoff alignment looks.
Manitoba will host Saskatchewan in Winnipeg at Wayne Fleming Arena from February 25-27. Game times for those games show as Friday, February 25 at 7pm CT, Saturday, February 26 at 7pm CT, and Sunday, February 27 at 2pm CT if necessary. All games will be available via Canada West TV, UMFM's Second Stream, and the HuskieFan app!
For the semifinals, the lower-seeded team that advances gets to travel to Calgary to play the awaiting Mount Royal Cougars while the higher-seeded team that advances will travel to Vancouver to meet the awaiting UBC Thunderbirds. Those series will take place from March 4-6, and we'll discuss that further next weekend!
The Graduates
There are a pile of players who closed out this regular season as their last regular-season games at this level. They deserve to be mentioned after playing so well for so long, so I'm going to do that here before they make their way onto bigger things! Here are the list of players from each team who are moving on from Canada West women's hockey.- UBC: Shay-Lee McConnell, Emily Moore, Jenna Fletcher, and Kenzie Robinson.
- TWU: Jadeyn Kastning.
- Alberta: Abby Krzyzaniak, Kiara Machry, Kirsten Chamberlin, Bethan Wilson, and Kelsey Tangjerd.
- MacEwan: Chantal Ricker, Kyrelle Skoye, Natalie Bender, and Beth Taylor.
- Calgary: Taylor Beck, Jordyn Burgar, Sage Desjardins, Holly Reuther, Dayna Owen, and Rachel Paul.
- Mount Royal: Tianna Ko, Zoe De Beauville, Anna Purschke, Andrea Sanderson, Kate Scidmore, and Maddison Toppe.
- Saskatchewan: Bailee Bourassa.
- Regina: Lilla Carpenter-Boesch, Ireland Sorestad, and Jordan Kulbida.
- Manitoba: Madison Cole, Brielle Dacquay-Neveux, and Lauren Warkentin.
Best of luck, ladies, and thanks for great memories! Of course, if you're preparing for the playoffs, make those games count by leaving it all on the ice!
You Gotta Pay Extra
I don't have any control or influence over the Canada West TV offerings made available by YareTV, so I'm going to warn you here and now that if you paid for the regular-season sport pass before the season started, the playoffs are NOT included in that package.I have no idea why that is or why Canada West and YareTV are nickel-and-diming everyone when it comes to the playoffs, but that's outside of my control and the school-you-follow's control. I would suggest mentioning this to that administration because it's not like it costs more to have the equipment setup and streaming than it did during the regular season.
The good news is if you're a fan of the Bisons or Huskies, there are free radio options available for you to listen to the games that I've conveniently linked above. The bad news is that there is no free streaming video service, so you'll have to ante up with Canada West TV if you want to watch the games. The added bad news is that if you're an Alberta or Regina fan, it would seem you're very limited in the offerings to watch or listen for free.
You've got a few days to decide what avenue you want or need to take to see or hear your team hit the ice!
The Last Word
Records go out the window. Streaks start over. Stats are reset. It's the Canada West women's hockey playoffs where the six-best teams from the four western provinces look to add their names to the lore of Canada West hockey. One banner awaits the winner from the next three weekends of hockey while the two finalists will move on to Prince Edward Island to show the rest of Canada how hockey is played out west.If you're not excited for the next month of hockey, check your pulse. This is where goals become the stuff of hockey legend, players transform into hockey heroes, and teams become unforgettable hockey champions. This is Canada West women's hockey playoffs, and we start on Friday night!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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