Things got off to a good start for the visitors as Saskatchewan forced a turnover that led to a 2-on-1. Kara Kondrat fed Kendra Zuchotzki for the quick strike as Zuchotzki's goal at 4:01 put the Huskies up 1-0! Saskatchewan would be whistled for the game's first penalty just past the midway point of the period, but they'd escape that situation unscathed. A late power-play for UBC, though, would hurt the Huskies as Cassidy Rhodes would snipe her 11th goal of the season with 13 seconds left in the frame to move into a tie for the conference lead in goals. We hit the break tied at 1-1 with UBC leading 17-5 in shots.
The second period started to look a little more like a cage match as the teams showed their dislike for one another by setting up a parade to the penalty box. The parade would stop thanks to a power-play goal by the Thunderbirds as Grace Elliott potted a rebound off an Annalise Wong shot at 15:47, and the T-Birds were up 2-1. That would become a two-goal lead minutes later when Kailee Peppler went shelf on Wilson for her first Canada West goal at 17:48 off a broken Joelle Fiala pass. After 40 minutes, the 3-1 lead held for UBC with the Thunderbirds up 28-16 in shots.
The third period was lockdown hockey from the Thunderbirds as they used speed and physical play to keep Saskatchewan from getting any sort of good looks in the offensive zone. They didn't press like they normally do, but that allowed them to play a controlled game through the final 20 minutes. At the horn, the UBC Thunderbirds claimed the 3-1 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies! Elise Hugens stopped 20 shots for her eighth win of the season while Colby Wilson took the loss despite stopping 29 shots.
UBC doesn't do highlights, but they are one of the top teams in the country. While there haven't been any songs written about them yet, ZZ Top did write "Thunderbird" back in 1975. Here's that tune.
SATURDAY: As I've stated many times on this blog, no one likes a blowout. The teams that blow out their opposition shouldn't revel in those scores, and the teams that are getting blown out often just want to forget that game and move onto the next one. After what has to be the worst foreshadowing of all time, let's take a look at what happened in this game. Colby Wilson was back in the Saskatchewan net while Elise Hugens got a rare Saturday start for the Thunderbirds.
UBC's Ireland Perrott opened the scoring at 4:08 before Grace Elliott scored a shorthanded marker at 14:41 to make it 2-0. Cassidy Rhodes added another goal before the end of the opening frame to make it 3-0, and she added the only goal of the second period to make it 4-0. Mackenzie Kordic made it 5-0 at 4:46 of the third period, and Ireland Perrott rounded out the scoring with her second of the game at 8:22 on the power-play. The final score in this game saw UBC skate to the 6-0 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies. Elise Hugens stopped 21 shots for her ninth win and third shutout of the season while Colby Wilson stopped 28 shots in the setback.
I don't know why this is, but it seems that a lot of Thunderbirds teams use blue in their logos. The UBC Thunderbirds do, the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds, and the NLL's Halifax Thunderbirds do as well as seen in their brand launch commercial from 2020!
The first period between these two teams was fairly quiet as neither side found the scoresheet, but the penalty killing units were solid as TWU killed off their lone minor penalty while Alberta killed off back-to-back minor infractions late in the period. The goalies were good, the defences did their jobs, and we went into the break with the 0-0 draw intact despite Alberta holding a 7-4 edge in shots.
The second period started off with a bang - literally - as Brooklyn Anderson's night came to an end early with a five-minute major for bodychecking which let to her being dismissed from the game. Two minutes into the five-minute shorthanded situation, Trinity Western would go down by a pair of players after a tripping penalty was called. On the ensuing 5-on-3 power-play, the Pandas would finally get on the board thanks to Taylor Anker's shot at 6:05 as Alberta grabbed the 1-0 lead. Alberta would kill off a penalty of their own later in the period, but it was a very one-sided period on the scoreboard as Alberta led 1-0 after 40 minutes while holding an 18-7 advantage in shots.
Trinity Western didn't help themselves in the third period with three minor penalties, but they did get a late power-play with under five minutes to play. The only problem was they couldn't solve the Alberta penalty killing units nor Halle Oswald on this night as the Alberta Pandas shut down the Trinity Western Spartans in a 1-0 victory! Halle Oswald picked up her 12th win and fifth shutout of the season by stopping all 13 shots she faced while Kate Fawcett likely deserved a better fate after she made 27 saves on the night.
Before we get to highlights that don't exist, I will point out that something weird was happening in Edmonton as noted by Connor Hood in the game recap. He writes,
"Tonight marked the 13th time the Pandas Hockey program has played a University opponent on Friday the 13th. At the 13:13 mark of the first period, Pandas captain Izzy Lajoie took a body-checking penalty. Lajoie's jersey number is 13."Spooky? Eerie? Coincidence? Whatever the case may be, it seemed there were a lot of 13-related events that converged tonight in Edmonton. Maybe buy a lottery ticket?
There are no highlights, as mentioned above, but it led me down a rabbit hole. Ever wonder from where all those GIFs of a panda smashing office equipment come? Apparently, some of them are from Egyptian food company Arab Dairy's Panda Cheese brand. The evil panda shown in the videos are from a 2010 ad campaign the company ran. Here are those ads, some of which have appeared here!
SATURDAY: The Spartans came into Saturday still looking for their first win of 2023 while the Pandas were looking to make it seven-straight wins. An Alberta win tonight would even the series at 2-2 for the season between these two teams, but a big win would also give them the goal differential in the series. Goals aside, the focus for both teams was a win as Mabel Maltais got the start in her hometown of Edmonton for TWU while Alberta went with Halle Oswald again.
If there's one thing that has plagued Trinity Western over the last two seasons, it's their penchant for taking penalties. Mixed with a little bit of foreshadowing, that hurt them on this night as Alberta went to work just five minutes into the game as Trinity Western had two players in the penalty box. Natalie Kieser dove to knock the puck by Maltais off a rebound to open the scoring on the power-play at 5:56 to make it a 1-0 Alberta lead. 5:25 later, the Pandas were on the power-play again when Payton Laumbach found the back of the net to make it 2-0 in favour of the Pandas. Alberta had everything clicking in the first period as they held the two-goal lead into the break while outshooting Trinity Western 14-6.
Hayleigh Craig got things going early in the second period when she whacked home a cross-crease pass from Laumbach at 2:26 to make it 3-0. They were back on the power-play 90 seconds later, and Abby Soyko fired home a wrist shot at 4:48 to make it a 4-0 Pandas lead. Past the midway point of the period, Alberta was on another 5-on-3 opportunity, and it would be Payton Laumbach who got the final touch on the puck in a scrum around Maltais for the power-play goal to make it 5-0 at 13:29. Through two periods, it was all Alberta as they led 5-0 on the scoreboard and 23-10 in shots.
Ashlee Wolfe would try to spark the comeback early in the third period for the Spartans as she knocked the rebound on her own shot out of the air and past Oswald at 2:48 to make it 5-1. Despite staying out of the box and having two power-plays, though, they could get no closer than the one goal on this night as the Pandas defence held them at bay while Oswald made the stops. When the final horn sounded, Alberta claimed the 5-1 victory over Trinity Western! Halle Oswald was solid in her 13th win of the season by making 17 stops while Mabel Maltais stopped 25 shots in the loss.
Again, no highlights as the Pandas seem to be following a trend to which I object, but we might as well state the obvious here: they're on a seven-game heater right now! Can they be stopped?
Mount Royal took an early lead in this game as Athena Hauck found room and fired home a shot at 4:04 to put the Cougars up 1-0. That lead would last into the second period before the Cougars surrendered a goal. With the score 1-1 entering the third period, the Cougars would fall behind 2-1 just 1:55 into the frame, but Breanne Trotter would tie things up after being sprung while coming out of the sin bin as she went high at 13:14 to make it a 2-2 game. The teams would battle to the horn with neither gaining an advantage, so it was time for some free hockey!
The first overtime period yielded no goals, so we'd move to the second overtime period where we'd see a goal scored. During the 3-on-3 period, Ross was beaten by a Fluffy Cows shot as the Cougars fell in double-overtime by a 3-2 score. Kaitlyn Ross suffered the overtime loss after making 26 stops on the night.
Normally, I post funny hockey commercials whenever the Mount Royal Cougars play, but this 2006 commercial for Kraft Dinner seems like a bad idea. There's no way I'd stop playing for KD, either.
SATURDAY: While a single point helps the Cougars somewhat, two points is what they were seeking on Saturday as they finished off the two-game set in Winnipeg against the Fluffy Cows. A win would also halt the three-game skid that Mount Royal was on, so they needed to bounce back in this game. Kaitlyn Ross was back between the pipes for the Cougars in this game.
Things started off well for Mount Royal again on this day. The Fluffy Cows took penalties five seconds apart, and that allowed Emma Bergesen to find space blocker side from the circle at 6:19 for the power-play. With the power-time still ticking down, Breanne Trotter fired a shot from the high slot area at 7:06 that found twine, and MRU held the 2-0 lead off a pair of power-play markers. Kiana McNinch needed just 11 seconds into the second period to make it 3-0 before the Fluffy Cows would get one back on the power-play as the Cougars held a 3-1 lead in the second intermission.
Normally, that lead would be pretty safe for this Cougars team, but the Fluffy Cows made it 3-2 before Tori Williams' pinballing shot off the netminder and off the crossbar made it 4-2 with 4:59 left in the game. In any other season, I'm pretty certain the Cougars would have emerged victorious, but whatever is plaguing them defensively right now popped up again on Saturday as the Cougars coughed up a two-goal lead end up tied 4-4 at the end of regulation time. Just as we did on Friday, overtime was required to find a winner!
The first overtime period solved nothing, so we'd go to the second overtime frame where Breanne Trotter was called for bodychecking just 25 seconds into the period. That would be the catalyst for the power-play goal surrendered by the Cougars in double-overtime as Mount Royal were on the wrong end of a 5-4 overtime score in this game. Kaitlyn Ross suffered her second-straight overtime loss after making 22 in this one.
Mount Royal games are worth the effort for the funny hockey commercials I dig up. With the Cougars needing a few more goals this weekend, maybe they could use this company's services as "they're always ready to assist"? Ok, enough bad product slogans.
Regina showed their skating legs early in this one, getting a handful of shots on Sank only to be turned away by the Griffins' netminder. The teams would trade short power-plays midway through the period, but nothing would come of those chances. MacEwan would strike shortly after their penalty expired, though, as Claire Hobbs scored through the five-hole at 15:58 to put MacEwan up 1-0. Minutes later, Allee Isley would score her first Canada West goal when she finished off a setup while going to the net with 35 seconds left in the period, and we'd hit the intermission with MacEwan up 2-0 despite being outshot by Regina 10-4 in the period.
The second period saw things even out as both teams found room for shots and chances, but not many were getting past the goalkeepers. The one that did was a great shot through traffic from Regina's Trinity Grove as it dented twine behind Sank at the 7:29 to bring Regina within one. Aside from coincidental minors midway through the period, the one power-play for Regina and the two power-plays for MacEwan ended with nogina's additional tallies being added as the second intermission saw MacEwan holding the 2-1 lead with Regina up 20-14 in shots.
The third period saw MacEwan ramp up the intensity as they hunted for an insurance marker. Another set of shortened power-plays for both teams saw no goals scored as the one-goal deficit loomed large. With time ticking down, Regina opted to pull Kliewer for the extra attacker, and that's the break that MacEwan needed as Sydney Hughson launched a puck from her own blue at the yawning cage, making it 3-1 with 2:22 to play. The time would roll down to zeroes on this one, and the MacEwan Griffins snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Regina Cougars! Brianna Sank stopped 25 shots to earn her fourth win of the season while Arden Kliewer stopped 23 shots in a losing effort.
MacEwan doesn't do highlights, but we will feature a Nike commercial featuring the Griffins. Honestly, it seems like there may be some bad advice in this commercial. Maybe don't just do it?
SATURDAY: The Griffins made Regina's quest to make the playoffs a whole lot harder with their win one night earlier, and they were looking to repeat that effort on Saturday. The Cougars, meanwhile, needed to return the favour to MacEwan if they still had intentions on joining five other teams in the Canada West postseason. Natalie Williamson was standing in the Regina crease on this day while Brianna Sank was back in the MacEwan net for another big game.
It was a different start to the game compared to one night earlier as the penalty boxes had a number of visitors from both sides throughout the period. Neither teams' power-play units were able to solve the penalty killers or the goaltenders, though, so this game remained a 0-0 game through 20 minutes despite Regina holding a 9-4 edge in shots.
The second period saw far less penalties as both teams came to their senses, and we'd see an opening goal just before the seven-minute mark. Claire Hobbs cleaned up the rebound in front from Kori Paterson's drive to the net at 6:50 as MacEwan went up 1-0. Regina ran into some penalty issues shortly after the goal which prevented them from pushing back as much as they would have liked, but a late MacEwan penalty may have been the chance they squandered as MacEwan killed off the infraction. After 40 minutes, MacEwan led by a goal and held a 17-13 advantage in shots.
The third period saw the defences tighten somewhat as MacEwan looked to prevent a goal while Regina looked to prevent more goals, but Regina would be stricken with penalty trouble throughout the entire final frame which limited their efforts. MacEwan would double their lead with just over five minutes to play when Makenna Schuttler picked up a loose puck behind the Regina net and centered to Jamie Doyle who made no mistake in beating Williamson at 14:07. The Griffins would then ice the game on one of those power-plays when Aryn Chambers' long shotr from the right circle on a 5-on-3 found its way past a screened Williamson to make it 3-0 with 3:09 to play. When the horn sounded, the Griffins claimed the sweep thanks over the Cougars with that 3-0 win! Brianna Sank earned her fifth win and first shutout of the season with a 19-save clean sheet while Natalie Williamson was on the losing end of a 23-save night.
Another win means another set of Griffins highlights! Ok, not the MacEwan Griffins, but you know what I mean. Actually, I think about the concept introduced here a lot. How did no one notice Marty McFly was identical to "Calvin Klein" in Back to the Future?
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBC | 13-2-3-2 | 34 | 69 | 28 | W4 | @ MAN |
| Alberta | 15-5-1-1 | 33 | 61 | 31 | W7 | @ SAS |
| Mount Royal | 14-5-0-3 | 31 | 58 | 41 | L4 | BYE |
| Saskatchewan | 8-7-4-3 | 27 | 40 | 38 | L2 | vs ALB |
| Calgary | 7-8-3-2 | 21 | 42 | 44 | L2 | vs REG |
| Trinity Western | 7-10-2-3 | 21 | 45 | 53 | L6 | vs MAC |
| Manitoba | 7-10-3-0 | 20 | 52 | 64 | W3 | vs UBC |
| MacEwan | 4-14-1-1 | 11 | 26 | 57 | W2 | @ TWU |
| Regina | 3-16-0-1 | 7 | 25 | 62 | L3 | @ CAL |
No Looking Ahead
Regina's playoff lives are one Calgary win or one Regina loss away from ending, and these two teams meet in Calgary next week. In short, unless the Regina Cougars sweep the Calgary Dinos next week, they're officially eliminated from the postseason and can only spoil other teams' efforts. There's no looking ahead for the Cougars now as every game, every period, and every shift has to be played like it may be their last this season. That's the only way they stay alive for another week.Don't worry about tomorrow, Cougars. Live for today.
No Myths Here
According to Greek legend, griffins were creatures who represented strength and bravery protecting "the rich deposits of gold in the mountains of Scythia, today's northeastern Europe." Griffins are shown in Greek art and stonework from its ancient times. What it won't show is the battle between the Spartans and the Griffins next week that could determine at least one team's playoff fate, if not both fates.The MacEwan Griffins could make things very interesting if they were to win both games over the Spartans as that would set up a Manitoba-Trinity Western weekend the following week with just a point separating those two teams. It would also keep the Griffins' slim playoff hopes alive as any combination of Trinity Western wins and/or three MacEwan losses will end the Griffins' run towards the playoffs.
It won't be easy going into Langley and beating the Spartans twice, but, if MacEwan intends to write their own mythical story, defeating the Spartans will have to be a chapter.
Declawed?
I'm not certain what's happening with the Mount Royal Cougars, but this four-game slide is the longest they've experienced in two seasons. Having watched a little of their games, it seems like they're only getting one element of their game each night. If they have scoring, their defence and goaltending are suspect. If they get good defence and goaltending, their offence goes missing. It's baffling to watch a team with so many weapons simply unable to weave those players into one unit moving in the same direction.Perhaps the bye week is happening at the right time for the Cougars as they'll have a week to figure stuff out, get back to basics, find some new ideas, and get off the losing streak prior to the annual Crowchild Classic game at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The last thing the Cougars need is a poor showing in front of 10,000 people, so let's hope they get things back on-track for the big showdown with the Dinos.
The Last Word
UBC will clinch a playoff spot with a win next week against the Fluffy Cows, but it would seem that both UBC and Alberta can put serious pressure on Mount Royal and Saskatchewan by winning both their games against Manitoba and Saskatchewan, respectively. It seems almost impossible for them to miss out on a top-two spot in the conference at this point, so it appears the Canada West playoffs will definitely go through Vancouver and Edmonton - two places where not a lot of visiting teams have won.Saskatchewan needs a win against Alberta to pass Mount Royal in the standings, and that would set up a very interesting race to the finish between those two teams. Calgary, as mentioned above, can help themselves while ruining Regina's dreams. Trinity Western can end MacEwan's run while helping themselves as well. And the Fluffy Cows will need to bring whatever magic they used this week in spades against the UBC Thunderbirds to try and overtake one of Calgary or Trinity Western.
The storylines for the 2023 Canada West stretch to the playoffs are rich with rivalries, intrigue, and chaos, and I'm not sure I'd want it any other way.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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