The Rundown - 2023 Resolutions

The first edition of The Rundown in 2023 goes on a Monday, so you likely already know this article will be less accurate than it normally is. All jokes aside, it's the final weekend of the December/holiday break for Canada West students as they get back to work this upcoming weekend on the ice and next week in the classroom for all nine Canada West schools. I hope the break was good for everyone who follows Canada West as we're looking at some big games in the final two months of play across the four western Canadian provinces. As teams get ready to resume their hunts for goals, saves, playoff spots, playoff byes, a Canada West banner, and a berth at the U SPORTS National Championship, let's take a look at one key resolution each team may want to make for the rest of this 2022-23 season!

I should preface this by saying that none of the resolutions I'm going to post are anything close to what the coaching staff and athletics departments may have planned or be working on for any of the nine women's hockey teams that make up Canada West. The observations and trends seen in Canada West hockey have led me to most of these "resolutions" for the teams, but they should not be considered gospel by any means. This is strictly an academic exercise for some fun before we get back to the action on the ice.

Having said that, let's take a look at a resolution that could be made by each Canada West team to this point in the season.

Alberta's winning ways haven't stopped despite the turnover in players since their heady days of back-to-back U SPORTS National Championships in 2006 and 2007. This year's squad looks poised to try to return to the National Championship as they sit just five points back of first-place UBC. They'll be without the services of Madison Willan for a couple of weeks thanks to her being named to the Canadian FISU Games team, so they're going to need someone else to step up in a big way after their primary points producer misses four games. Whether it be Maplethorpe, Laumbach, Morden, Keiser, Namaka, or Clouston, they have the personnel to keep the pressure on both Mount Royal and UBC. As long as they stay healthy, Alberta should make some noise in the second-half of the season.

2023 Resolution: Remaining realtively healthy down the stretch.

The Dinos used the final weekend of the first-half of the season to open a gap on the Fluffy Cows. If they're going to make the playoffs, they need to continue to push the game and not play passively. Elizabeth Lang and Alli Borrow were playing some incredible hockey before the break, and the Dinos need them to continue to be hot in the second-half. Secondary scoring needs to emerge, and it may come down to head coach Carla McLeod trying different line combinations to get a few players trending in the right direction. Gabriella Durante played a ton of minutes in the first half as well, and she'll have to see if she can raise her game a little more to deliver a playoff berth - and possibly a playoff upset or two - for the Dinos this season.

2023 Resolution: Consistent scoring and goaltending every week.

There's no shortage of evidence that the MacEwan Griffins simply don't score enough. They finished last season as the lowest-scoring team in Canada West, and they currently sit in that same position as well. A big part of that explanation, though, might be that the Griffins simply don't generate enough shots on net. Last season, they were eighth out of nine teams for total shots, and they sit ninth out of nine teams this season. You can't score if you don't shoot, so getting more shots will certainly help based on shooting percentages alone. It won't be easy, but that's the task that the Griffins have to undertake if they ever want to be part of the Canada West playoff picture.

2023 Resolution: More shots means more opportunities for goals.

There are a number of things that the Fluffy Cows need to fix - their ability to give up shorthanded goals, their conference-worst goals-against total, the eighth-ranked penalty kill - but they really need a number of key players back in their lineup. As it stands, last season's leading scoring in Halle Edwards has played just five games while elite playmaker Kylie Lesuk has played in just four games. Goaltender Kimberley Davidson has appeared in just three games, and is the only goaltender with a save percentage above .900 on the Fluffy Cows' roster. Add in limited play from defender Trechelle Bunn and forward Aimee Patrick, and it seems pretty clear that the Fluffy Cows could use some of their top talent on the ice as opposed to watching from the stands.

2023 Resolution: Get your best players healthy and back on the ice.

As dangerous as Mount Royal's top line of Amy-Kollman-Jomha has been in combination with Bergesen and Butz on the blue line, this may also be their Achilles' heel as those five players have accounted for 59.9% of the Cougars' offence this season and 54.0% of all the goals scored thus far. That's a huge chunk of offence they're carrying, so it becomes pretty obvious that players like Lyndsey Janes, Athena Hauck, Ava Metzger, Sydney Benko, and Taylor Sawka have to bring more scoring to the table. Secondary scoring can be the difference between a deep playoff run and an early exit, and Mount Royal simply needs more scoring from more people on their roster. If they get that, they could be scary-good.

2023 Resolution: Find more secondary scoring from all positions.

I was actually surprised when I was reviewing Regina's situation because I was shocked to see they have just one fifth-year student and one fourth-year student on their roster. I knew they had a fairly young team, but this helps to explain some of why they're where they are in the standings. The chances of the Cougars making the playoffs are somewhere between slim and none with the latter most likely in all situations, so embrace the youth and have the Cougars play like they don't know any better. If they're going to embrace the role of spoilers, play with zero regrets offensively while being pests in everyone's business in the defensive zone.

2023 Resolution: Make everyone hate playing the Cougars.

There is no mistaking that defence and goaltending are the name of the game in Saskatoon, and there have been numerous references made about needing more scoring. What if I told you that the one thing that the Saskatchewan Huskies need isn't a statistical improvement nor a change to the way they play? What pushed the Huskies to new heights last season was a belief in themselves when no one else believed they could win it all. They swept Manitoba, who was 4-0 against them, in the quarterfinal. They knocked off the heavily-favoured Mount Royal Cougars. They beat the OUA champions in the Brock Badgers, and they beat the AUS champions in the UNB Reds to earn a U SPORTS bronze medal. If this team bonds together once again, most of the pieces are still there from last season's run. Can they do it again?

2023 Resolution: Saskatchewan vs the world - the sequel!

It seems pretty safe to say that the Trinity Western Spartans will make the playoffs for the first time since joining Canada West. There have been big contributions from Amy Potomak and Brooklyn Anderson, but the goaltending between Kate Fawcett and Mabel Maltais has held TWU in games when it seems like they may be overwhelmed. They need more scoring and some big defensive efforts if they hope to win in the playoffs, but a young team on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time is only the first step in Trinity Western's growth. Do they have the depth to surprise anyone? We'll find out!

2023 Resolution: Win a Canada West playoff game!

There really isn't a lot that UBC has to make resolutions for considering they're in first-place, they've scored the most goals while allowing the second-least, and they're the reigning Canada West champions. They have solid primary and depth scoring, they're getting good efforts on their special teams, and their goaltending has been stellar with both Elise Hugens and Kate Stuart delivering a quality start in every game. What exactly would they need to resolve in 2023? If anything, they need to learn to grind once in a while when teams lock down the defensive zone. Nipissing showed how to do that at Nationals last year, and it cost UBC a shot at a medal. They may go back to Nationals, so learn this now!

2023 Resolution: Slow down and grind out a victory when needed!

Again, take all of these "resolutions" with a bucket of salt as I'm just basing it on a calendar year's worth of play. I doubt any of them will be taken as something that each of the teams will focus on exclusively, but I'm sure the coaches of each of the nine teams are aware of what I've pointed out. It's all about putting it into action now.

What do you think, readers? Leave a resolution for a team below, and we may bring it up on The Hockey Show this week! If you're a fan of any of the nine teams, you likely have an opinion on where your favorite team can be better, so post your thoughts below as we get set for the remainder of the 2022-23 schedule en route to another exciting postseason of Canada West playoff action!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!