The Rundown - Week 8

Eight teams took to the ice this weekend with only Trinity Western not playing games thanks to their second bye week, and there were some big games as some teams needed points to get into playoff races, some needed points to stay in their playoff spots, and the remaining teams wanted to cement their spot for a postseason spot. There's also a couple of great stories about Canada West alumni today, we'll chat a few stats as well, and there are recaps from all eight games. Grab a beverage, find a seat, and let's get things started here on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: We'll start with two top-ten U SPORTS teams clashing in Saskatoon as the UBC Thunderbirds made the trek to meet the Saskatchewan Huskies. UBC was coming off a bye week, so they had a pile of time to prepare for Saskatchewan befoe arriving this weekend. The Huskies, meanwhile, split with Calgary last weekend, and there was a definite feeling that they should have been better. UBC is the second-ranked team as per U SPORTS' flawed top-ten system; Saskatchewan is the tenth-ranked team. This one looked like a beauty as Elise Hugens skated out to her crease while Camryn Drever was guarding the home side's cage.

The first period might have been the most inspired that I've seen the Huskies play this season. Yes, they gave up two power-plays to the UBC Thunderbirds, but they killed both off and took the game to the T-Birds. Chances were seen at both ends, but neither team could capitalize. A late power-play that carried into the second period for the Huskies had no results at the end of the first 20 minutes, and we'd hit the break still tied 0-0 and with the teams tied 8-8 in shots.

The second period saw more penalties handed out for aggressive play between the two teams, but the speed of the game was fantastic and chances were thrwarted by good goaltending once again. UBC used their power-play to put more shots on Drever, but the Saskatchewan penalty-killers held strong. Once again, we'd go into the intermission tied at 0-0, but this one saw UBC holding a 21-15 edge in shots.

We'd get our first goal just after the drop of the puck when Mackenzie Kordic became the first player to hit double-digits in goals this season after she sniped a shot 34 seconds into the frame past Drever, and the Thunderbirds grabbed the 1-0 lead. That lead would be erased at 6:55 with the Huskies on the power-play as Isabella Pozzi stepped into a shot from the point that screamed past Hugens for her third goal, and the game was tied at 1-1. A late penalty on UBC was an chance Saskatchewan missed to win in regulation, and this game would need overtime to find a winner with the game knotted up at 1-1 and UBC holding a 30-21 count in shots!

Saskatchewan found itself in trouble with a penalty of their own in the extra time, but they'd kill it off and the period would continue. Chances were denied once again by the two netminders who weren't prepared to go home at that point, so this game would move to the shootout where a winner would be crowned. The first three rounds saw all six shooters denied. In Round Four, Sophie Lalor was stopped by Hugens before Chanreet Bassi beat Drever for the shootout winner as the UBC Thunderbirds prevailed over the Saskatchewan Huskies by a 2-1 score! Elise Hugens stopped 24 shots and four more in the shootout for her eighth win of the season while Camryn Drever made 38 stops and three in the skills competition in the shootout loss.

The Huskies haven't been doing highlights all season, so why start now? Instead, I do want to post a story from Kennedy Brown about the importance of the Huskies hosting Nationals this season.


SATURDAY: With both teams earning points the night before, both sides were thinking "win" on Saturday with regulation time being the goal. UBC wanted the sweep while the Saskatchewan was looking for another solid effort in potentially handing UBC their first regulation loss. The Thunderbirds went back to Elise Hugens for this game while the Huskies opted for Camryn Drever once again.

Just a quick lineup note as well: Kennedy Brown was in the lineup for Sasakatchewan today after a long injury layoff. It's always good to see players get back on the ice following a serious injury, and here's hoping that Kennedy will be injury-free for the remainder of his career!

Both teams had chances in the first period thanks to the two power-plays each was awarded. The penalty-killers and goaltenders were doing their jobs, though, as the power-play units for both sidesd were stymied in the opening frame. UBC would commit a third infraction late in the period that would carry over into the middle frame, but we'd hit the break with the teams deadlocked at 0-0 and with Saskatchewan holding an 8-7 lead in shots.

That penalty that carried over? It came into play in the second period. Isabella Pozzi nearly scored the same goal as she did one night earlier as she skated into a blast that went by everyone including Elise Hugens for her fourth goal, and the power-play marker put the Huskies up 1-0. UBC pushed back in this period as they took advantage of some opportunities, but the Huskies denied those chances. It looked like Saskatchewan scored a second goal in the frame, but, after a discussion at the benches, the goal was disallowed as the puck never crossed the goal line. They'd resume play where the teams traded late power-plays that saw nothing gained, and we'd go into the second intermission with Saskatchewan still leading 1-0, but UBC was up 17-14 in shots.

The third period saw more power-play opportunities without goals as both teams pushed for more, but a late penalty in the period on the Huskies finally saw UBC take advantage. Rylind MacKinnon found room past Drever with 4:05 to play for her sixth goal, and that would tie the game up at 1-1. The final four minutes were played without incident, and we'd need some free hockey to find a winner for the second-straight night with UBC leading 25-17 in shots!

The five-minute overtime period saw UBC outchance Saskatchewan, but the Huskies weren't willing to head home just yet. Overtime would come to a close with no one scoring, so we'd head to the skills competition once more for a winner. Both teams were denied in Round One while both Sara Kendall and Joelle Fiala scored in Round Two. Sophie Lalor scored to open Round Three, and Chanreet Bassi would be denied on her attempt as Saskatchewan earned the 2-1 shootout victory over UBC! Camryn Drever stopped 29 shots plus two more in the shootout for her seventh win of the season while Elise Hugens made 18 saves plus one more in the shootout loss.

In the same vein as Kennedy Brown's video, here's Kendra Zuchotzki speaking about why hosting Nationals is important to her. If you're planning on going to Nationals, I highly recommend it!

FRIDAY: The MacEwan Griffins loaded up the bus and headed south to Calgary where they met the Mount Royal Cougars. The Cougars entered the game on three-game win streak and were looking for that to continue. MacEwan snapped a long losing streak last weekend and needed to find the win column again. Brianna Sank got the start for the Griffins while the Cougars went to Kaitlyn Ross for their netminding duties.

The first period both teams sizing each other up as there were opportunities for both sides, but the defences and goaltending were better. A penalty midway through the frame allowed Mount Royal to flex its scoring muscles, but they couldn't find holes through the Griffins' defence. When the horn sounded, these teams were still tied at 0-0 with Mount Royal holding an 8-5 advantage in shots.

The second period saw the penalties handed out freely, and the special teams for both teams showed up. MacEwan was called for a penalty early, and Breanne Trotter made them pay with her second goal of the season at the 4:00 mark as the Cougars took the 1-0 lead. Mount Royal was called for the next penalty, but it would be the penalty-killers who struck when Gabby Lindsay scored on a breakaway at 6:11 for her second goal, and the Cougars led 2-0. MacEwan was whistled for the third penalty of the period, and the Cougars would notch another power-play goal when Trotter potted her second goal of the period and third of the season at 10:06 for the 3-0 Mount Royal lead. MacEwan wouldn't let another opportunity slip by, though, as Jesse Jack scored her fourth goal of the season at 14:21 to make it a 3-1 game. A two-player advantage late in the period was a chance missed by the Griffins, though, and this middle frame would close with Mount Royal up 3-1 on the scoreboard and 18-14 in the shot count.

The third period saw the two teams trade power-play chances to no avail, but Allee Gerrard would net her eighth goal of the season at the 15:33 mark to make it a 4-1 game, but the Cougars had effectively locked down the defensive zone for the entire frame as the Griffins saw few chances to try to close the deficit. When the final horn sounded, the Mount Royal Cougars had defeated the MacEwan Griffins by that 4-1 score. Kaitlyn Ross picked up her eighth win of the season after stopping 19 shots while Brianna Sank made 19 saves despite the setback.

Make it four wins in a row for the Cougars who are playing some of their best hockey of the season in recent weeks. Can they go five?

SATURDAY: Just as MacEwan did the day before, Mount Royal loaded up the bus and headed north to meet the Griffins in downtown Edmonton. It almost seems that these two teams are heading towards different fates in February, but MacEwan can still make a run if they can pick up a few wins. The Cougars were looking to hold onto second-place based on the tie-breaker with Alberta, so another win would help. Scout Anderson was in the crease for the Cougars while Lindsay Johnson was between the pipes for the Griffins.

The two teams started out with solid effort, but Jenny Andrash decided she was going to put on a show as she went end-to-end on a rush before deking Anderson and finishing on the backhand for her fourth goal, putting MacEwan up 1-0 on the great individual effort! Mount Royal missed out on a power-play opportunity prior to the midpoint of the period, but MacEwan would capitalize on their next opportunity. Kori Paterson tipped a Sydney Hughson shot past Anderson at 13:19 for her second goal, and the power-play marker made it 2-0. Mount Royal's power-play wouldn't be denied for a second time, though, as Jori Hansen-Young dented twine behind Johnson at 17:48 for her second goal, and that power-play marker cut the MacEwan lead to 2-1. That score would carry into the intermission with MRU holding a 9-8 edge in shots.

Mount Royal pushed the pace in the second period, and they'd be rewarded with a power-play before the halfway point of the period. Sydney Benko would pot her third goal of the season on that power-play, and we had a 2-2 game at 9:04. Johnson made a couple more key saves to keep this game tied as Mount Royal used their speed effectively. Through 40 minutes, though, the 2-2 tie held with the Cougars up 18-12 in shots.

Mount Royal locked down the defensive zone in the third period as Anderson hardly saw any pucks thrown her way. MacEwan wasn't willing to let the Cougars skate out with a win, though, as they kept denying chances. However, a power-play midway through the period saw Emma Bergesen tee a puck up and rip it past everyone for her fourth goal put Mount Royal up 3-2 at 11:20. With the Cougars making life difficult for MacEwan's forwards to get pucks on net, time began to become an opponent of the Griffins as well. They pulled Johnson for the extra attacker, but Jordyn Hutt would ice the game for Mount Royal with an empty-netter with 79 seconds to play as Mount Royal skated to the 4-2 win over the MacEwan Griffins. Scout Anderson picked up her second win of the season on an 11-save night while Lindsay Johnson made 23 saves in the setback.

No highlights, so don't be surprised. That's Mount Royal's fifth-straight win, though, so let's keep the Sesame Street number videos going with another pinball animation in honour of the win streak!

FRIDAY: As Alberta made their way to Regina for this series, both teams were engaged in races for playoff spots. Regina had surged into the playoff race after beating Calgary twice a couple of weeks ago, and they were looking to move ahead of Manitoba. Alberta needed to pick up wins after they lost two extra-time games to Mount Royal, falling behind the Cougars due to the tie-breaker rules. Halle Oswald got the start for the Pandas in this one while the Cougars countered with Natalie Williamson to kick off the weekend.

Alberta would jump ahead early in this one as Cassidy Maplethorpe corralled a puck and snapped a shot past Williamson for her second goal at 5:59 to put Alberta up 1-0. Regina, though, looked far more dangerous in this period than what one may have expected as they found chances, got shots, but were held off the scoreboard by Oswald. A late power-play didn't help the cause for the Cougars, and we'd hit the intermission with Alberta up 1-0 and holding an 8-7 edge in shots.

The second period started with the teams trading power-play chances, but neither would capitalize. Alberta began to asset their will, though, as they kept Regina from their net while finding ways to the Cougars' cage. Regina would deny the Pandas time and time again, but it would only last so long as Cassidy Maplethorpe struck again when Natalie Kieser fanned on a rebound, but pushed it to Maplethorpe who buried it at 17:06 to make it a 2-0 game for the Pandas. That score would carry into the break with Alberta up 22-11 in shots.

The first ten minutes of the third period were played without incident, but Alberta continued to wear down the Regina defence. Just after a Regina penalty expired, Abby Soyko would net her first goal at 14:47 to make it 3-0. 14 seconds later, Alberta was back on the power-play, and seven seconds into the power-play it was 4-0 when Brooklyn Tews walked in from the point and dented twine behind Williamson at 15:08 for her second goal as Alberta went up 4-0. From there, it was controlling the final five minutes of the game, and Alberta would skate to the 4-0 win over Regina. Halle Oswald picked up her fifth win and second shutout with a 15-save night while Natalie Williamson did all she could in stopping 30 shots.

You're probably aware that hockey at the University of Alberta has a rich hockey history that includes the Pandas. However, there was another "Pandas" who kicked off a rich history of hockey in the US! In 1964, Pembroke College student Nancy Schieffelin took part in a Brown University men's hockey scrimmage disguised as a male player. Inspired by the experience, Schieffelin organized a women's team at Pembroke, eventually named the "Pandas", which is recognized as the first women's college hockey team - Pembroke is part of Brown - in the US when they began playing in 1965-66! One of their first games - a 4-1 loss - was against the Golden Gaels of Queen's University as well! Here's a picture of those women at a practice in early-1965!

Yes, I know it's not a highlight per se, but how cool is that the Alberta Pandas and the Pembroke Pandas are two of the most historic teams in Canada and the US? There's your dose of hockey history on a Sunday that you can put in your pocket for trivia night.

SATURDAY: Regina needed to find some success on home ice (more on this below) after dropping Friday's game to Alberta, and they had another chance on Saturday. Alberta needed the wins, though, after dropping both to Mount Royal one week earlier. Would a new win streak begin today? Grace Glover was in the Alberta net for this one while Arden Kliewer took her spot in the Regina crease.

The game started with some good pace as both teams seemed ready to fill the nets, but the goalies had other ideas. The teams traded penalties through the first ten minutes before things settled down. When it did, Abby Soyko announced her presence by tipping a long shot from Boorklyn Tews past Kliewer for her second goal at 16:05, and the Pandas had the 1-0 lead. The period would finish with that score intact as Alberta doubled up Regina in shots by a 10-5 count.

Alberta and Regina would continue to push the pace in the second period as both sides began getting more pucks on net, but it was Alberta who found goals. Following a penalty they killed off, Alberta used the momentum as Abby Soyko added her second goal when she popped a rebound past Kliewer at 8:49 to make it a 2-0 game for the Pandas. Nearly the same thing happened ten minutes later when, following a killed penalty, Jadynn Morden found room past Kliewer for her ninth of the season, and Alberta took a 3-0 lead into the break while leading 22-12 in shots.

Regina brought everything they had in the third period to Alberta's doorstep, and Alberta pushed back with the same intensity. Hayleigh Craig would score her first of the season at 7:55 as the only goal in this period, but it was becoming clearer as time went on that there was no love lost between these two squads. Of course, that means that blood ran a little hot in the period, and the parade to the penalty box was what stood out in this period as the teams combined for 40 penalty minutes in the frame with most coming at the final horn. When they finally got everyone to their rooms, the Alberta Pandas had prevailed 4-0 for a second-straight night over the Regina Cougars. Grace Glover posted her second win and second shutout of her rookie season - she has yet to allow a goal! - after stopping 23 shots while Arden Kliewer made 30 stops in the setback.

It seems the Pandas were in no mood this weekend to allow Regina to have fun. There are no highlights, but this feels pretty accurate.

The Calgary Dinos rumbled into Winnipeg to play the Manitoba Bisons in a weekend clash that felt like last season's battle between these two teams that ultimately decided the playoff fates of both teams. While there's still plenty of runway left for both teams, winning this weekend's series would help in case of a tie-breaker as well as adding points to their totals. Amelia Awad got the start for Calgary in this one while Meagan Relf was between the pipes for Manitoba.

The Bisons wasted no time in establishing the "home team advantage" as Sarah Dennehy scored her fourth goal of the season just 3:38 into the game to make it 1-0 for the Bisons. They'd double the lead just 1:26 later when Molly Kunnas fired home her first goal, and it was 2-0 for Manitoba early. The Dinos weren't going to fold their tents, though, as they began to push back. It took them a few minutes, but they'd cut the deficit to one goal on Courtney Kollman's marker that beat Relf for her fourth goal, and it was a 2-1 game at 14:27. The two teams would trade chances in the last five minutes, but the first intermission had Manitoba leading by a goal and up 11-9 in shots.

Manitoba ran into a little penalty trouble through the opening half of the middle frame, allowing Calgary to step up their offensive pressure. That paid off just after Manitoba's second penalty expired when Elizabeth Lang found room past Relf for her third goal at 10:27, and this game was tied at 2-2. Just as they did in the first period, though, Manitoba would strike twice quickly. Jena Barscello found twine behind Awad at 12:10, and Dana Goertzen ripped a shot past Awad 1:11 later for her fourth goal, making it a 4-2 game for the Bisons. Goertzen would tack on another goal with Manitoba on the power-play when her shot rang off the crossbar, but bounced off Awad's back and landed behind the netminder at 18:45, putting Manitoba up 5-2. That three-goal cushion would be the difference at the break with Calgary holding a 23-18 edge in shots.

The third period saw Manitoba killing penalties early again, but they were successful on getting out of those disadvantages without harm. The teams would trade power-plays in the latter half of the period to no avail, but Elizabeth Lang did score with 4:58 to play. The two-goal lead that Manitoba established all night would the difference at the final horn, though, as the Bisons skated to the 5-3 over the Dinos. Meagan Relf picked up her fifth win in a 28-save performance while Amelia Awad made 22 saves in the setback.

No highlights by the Bisons, of course, but it seems like this image is an accurate representation. The Dinos are the car, of course.

SATURDAY: Manitoba opened a four-point lead over Calgary with their win on Friday, so the Dinos needed to rally for a split. Manitoba, meanwhile, was looking to put some real space between them and the Dinos to take some pressure off the Bisons when it comes to a playoff spot. Both teams went hunting for a win in the second game of the series as Gabriella Durante was in the Calgary net while Manitoba sent Emily Shippam to the blue paint.

The Dinos certainly came out in this one focused on their goal, but the Bisons warmed up pretty quickly to the pace that being set. They'd find the opening goal when Kylie Lesuk wrapped the puck around the net on Durante before she could cover, and her third goal at 6:13 put Manitoba up 1-0. Manitoba ran into back-to-back penalty calls that slowed their attack, but the defence held the fort as Calgary pressed. The first 20 minutes would end with Manitoba still up a goal, but Calgary held the 11-9 edge in shots.

The second period was played pretty cleanly aside from one Calgary penalty, but that did no harm. With the game flowing better, Manitoba was able to generate some chances with their speed, but Durante kept those shots out of the cage. Shippam saw a few chances that she turned aside as well, but the second period ended with Manitoba holding their one-goal lead and a 20-17 margin in shots.

The third period saw both teams press for more, and it was Calgary who struck early when Emma Tait's shot went high over Shippam's shoulder and under the bar for her first goal, and we had a tie game at 1-1 just 5:47 into the frame. 33 seconds later, though, Kylie Lesuk restored the one-goal lead as Manitoba went up 2-1 on Calgary. The pressure on both sides would continue, but Manitoba would find another goal at 13:33 when Kylie Lesuk finished off her hat trick to make it 3-1. 66 seconds later, it was a 4-1 game when Julia Bird notched her first goal of the season, and that's how this one would end as the Bisons skated to victory. Emily Shippam earned her first win of the season with a 25-save performance while Gabriella Durante made 28 stops in a losing effort.

No highlights as usual, but the Bisons sent the Dinos home without a point which helps their efforts when it comes to the postseason.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	10-0-1-3	25	61	18	L1	vs CAL
Mount Royal	6-3-5-0	22	42	25	W5	@ TWU
Alberta	8-2-2-2	22	38	15	W2	vs MAN
Saskatchewan	8-3-1-2	20	32	21	W1	BYE
Trinity Western	6-5-0-1	13	31	32	W1	vs MRU
Manitoba	6-7-0-1	13	32	47	W2	@ ALB
Regina	3-9-1-1	9	22	51	L2	@ MAC
Calgary	2-10-1-1	7	30	46	L3	@ UBC
MacEwan	2-12-0-0	4	24	57	L3	vs REG

Scandal In The OUA - Week 3

As you likely know, the Western Mustangs women's hockey team is going to finish the season. There's been no report on whether Candice Moxley is back with the team, but Rich Brown is still apparently running the show in London. The Mustangs defeated Windsor 3-2 last Saturday before falling to Queen's 3-0 on Sunday. This weekend saw them drop a 5-0 decision on Friday to Nipissing before downing the TMU Bold by a 3-2 score on Saturday. Since the school announced that Moxley could return, the team is 2-2-0, so it seems they are still playing out the season.

The trouble this week is that a Western women's hockey player's parent filed a Freedom of Information Act to get access to staff emails and the final report related to the misconduct investigation. As we know, Western has refused to release the report's findings, and, in a bizarre turn, they told this parent that processing the request for the emails would cost the parent an estimated $1675. As a result of that cost, the parent dropped the Freedom of Information Act request (as I would have done as well).

At what point does a publicly-funded institution withhold information from the public? Why are they charging $1675 to pull emails from a server? A FREEDOM of Information Act request that costs $1675 for the information feels more like an EXTORTION for Information Act request, and it's hard to claim transparency when one is charging $1675 for any transparency. Releasing the report would have prevented this entire mess that Western University is making, yet here we are discussing FOIA requests and $1675 worth of emails.

If your son or daughter is considering Western University, I ask that you demand some answers before making any commitment to the school. This report would shine a light on some of the complaints and how Western has handled them, and Western has yet to allow anyone not in their inner circle to see this report. At some point, this has to end. And it likely ends when that report is released.

This will be the last entry for the OUA scandal on The Rundown. Until that report is released, all I can do is pledge to believe the women who made the complaints and offer them a place for discussion if they ever choose to speak further on this subject. For now, I hope the ladies can win games, make the playoffs, and see where the games take them because they need some good to happen this season.

Alumni Report: Gone Sledding

You may recognize this young woman as former Mount Royal Cougars forward Morgan Ramsay. She finished her university career with a National Championship gold medal last year, and she scored the game-winning goal against Montreal at Nationals in the semifinal as well. The former Yellowhead Chiefs forward had a solid university career in more of a defensive role where she scored three goals and five assists in 76 Canada West games with MRU. After graduating with her Health and Physical Education degree, the options for Ramsay seemed limitless for what the next chapter of her life would look like, but I'm not sure anyone would have guessed the path she chose was available to her!

One person who may have known better than anyone was Cougars head coach Scott Rivett who forwarded an invite to a Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton prospects camp in September with one very distinct sentence: "I think you'd be good at this". Being that she was already in Calgary, Ramsay decided to take the challenge by sending her fitness results off to Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and attended the September 30 camp held at Winsport's Icehouse. Two weeks later, BCS called her back and invited her to practice with the team where pilot Eden Wilson asked her to form a two-woman team with Ramsay as her brakewoman!

"I've been doing it for about two months. When I say 'Been doing it,' actually start to finish — I touched a bobsleigh for the first time two months ago," Ramsay told Thomas Friesen of The Brandon Sun from Lake Placid, NY where she's competing in the North American Cup this weekend. "Looking back, it's so crazy that I was just thrown into the sled and now I'm representing Team Canada."

Make no mistake that this might one of the coolest alumni updates ever. While there's still a ton of work to do before anyone is selected to go, we could be talking about Morgan Ramsay racing at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics in the coming years! Morgan was always a pleasure to watch on the ice, but it seems her future will be all about blades on sleds as she works her way onto the international stage as a bobsledder. I'll gladly be watching and cheering her on as she races around the tracks in her sled, and here's hoping the athlete from Rivers, Manitoba is one day standing on the top of the podium at the Olympics just like she did in U SPORTS! Congratulations, Morgan, and keep up the amazing work!

Alumni Report: Higher Learning

Some may recognize the woman to the left from her time in Canada West with the Lethbridge Pronghorns, but that's goaltender Alicia Anderson who set all sorts of records in the blue paint for the Pronghorns and in Canada West. While Lethbridge was never seen as threat to win Canada West while she was defending the net there, Anderson's body of work can't be denied. Her work in the classroom, though, might be even more impressive because of where it's taken her. Anderson's focus of study was astrophysics at the University of Lethbridge, and it seems that her efforts in that field has led her back to hockey and goaltending - albeit somewhat reluctantly for the latter - with the new opportunity she earned for being one of the world's best and brightest!

Thanks to her studies, Anderson was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship that allowed her to study for her PhD at Trinity College on the grounds of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in September 2022. For those that may not be aware, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship is considered one of the most competitive and prestigious scholarships in the world. Anderson headed to Cambridge to study in the exoplanet research centre where her focus was on planets that exist outside our solar system but orbit around other stars within the Milky Way.

Needless to say, Alicia's brilliant in the classroom, but were you aware the former standout goalie was the top goal scorer for the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club? Alicia Anderson was one of the 2022-23 nominees for the Cambridge Sport Newcomer of the Year Award after she starred at centre for the Women's Blues through the first half of the season before donning the pads for the teams in the second half of the season. She also served as an alternate captain for the club, helped plan and run practices, taught strategy and skills, planned matches and line-ups, and worked with the other CUIHC goalies to provide goalie-specific coaching. This season, she's a co-captain of the team, and she has one goal and one assist in one game thus far this season! There's no doubt that the future is unlimited for Anderson with her astrophysics work, but it seems she's still a star on the ice as well!

Stats Class: Time To Move?

I find myself wondering if the Regina Cougars should be exploring options for a new home arena in the coming seasons. You may ask why, and the numbers may shock you to learn that Regina seems to play better away from the Cooperators Centre than they do at home in the rink they play and practice in regularly.

Since 2019-20, the Cougars are 12-27-6 at home while being 18-27-0 on the road. You might say, "Teebz, that's just six points," but I'd counter that they're over .500 away from home in three of the four seasons. Had it not been for a 1-13-0 record on the road in 2022-23, Regina would be 17-14-0 on the road and 9-18-4 at home for the three seasons of 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24. Regina has yet to record a win this season at home (0-6-1) and being outscored 27-5 on Cooperators Centre ice while going 4-3-0 while on the road!

Say what you want about the numbers, but the Cooperators Centre in Regina seems to be anything but "home sweet home" for the Cougars!

Stats Class: Home Success

While the battle for one of the top-two bye spots in the conference are up for grabs, there seems to be four teams who have a realistic shot at one of those two spots: UBC, Mount Royal, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Statistically, one team has the best home record since 2019-20, and it may not be who you think it is.

Since there are no charity points in the playoffs, Saskatchewan might be a wash when it comes to winning at home or on the road. At home, the Huskies are 26-17 (.605) versus being 25-20 (.556) on the road over the last four seasons. Alberta would seem like a good choice considering the difficulty playing at Clare Drake Arena visitors have, and the Pandas own a 32-11 (.744) at home versus a 30-15 (.667) record on the road. UBC has won the last two Canada West banners on home ice where they sport a 32-14 (.696) record versus a 27-16 (.628) record on the road.

The Mount Royal Cougars, however, have made visiting Flames Community Arena a very unwelcoming place for opposing teams as they hold a 33-11 (.750) record there while sporting a 27-19 (.587) record on the road. That's the biggest gap between home winning percentage and road winning percentage of any of the top-four teams over that span, so it may serve Mount Royal well to try and secure one of those top-two positions - specifically first-place - if they want to return to Nationals to defend their title.

The Last Word

It seems pretty clear that four teams are fairly close to booking spots in the postseason already as there's a seven-point spread between fourth-place and fifth-place in the standings. Four more teams seemingly will compete for those final two playoff spots that are currently held by Trinity Western and Manitoba. Regina needs to make up some ground, but MacEwan could put themselves back into playoff contention with wins over Regina next week. In short, no one is out of this race just yet.

If there is one race that may be over, though, it could be the scoring race. Barring any injuries, it seems like UBC's Mackenzie Kordic is going to win that race hands-down. She sits atop the goal-scoring, assists, and points leaderboards, and she has an eleven-point lead over six players who are tied for second-place. She's seven points back of Tatum Amy's 31 points that topped Canada West last season, and she still has half the season to go!

Alex Poznikoff scored 37 points in 2018-19, and it seems like that's easily within reach for Kordic. She might be able to make a run at Iya Gavrilova's total of 43 from 2015-16. Comparably, Maggie McKee of Nipissing leads the OUA in scoring with 13 points in 11 games; Payton Hargreaves of UNB has 19 points in 13 games; and, the RSEQ is led by Bishop's Gabrielle Santerre who has 17 points in nine games. There are some incredible scoring threats in each of the conferences, but no one has jumped out to the lead that Kordic has in Canada West and it seems to prove just how valuable she's been this season to the Thunderbirds when it comes to their success.

We'll see if Mackenzie Kordic can keep her torrid scoring pace going when UBC visits Calgary next week for their series.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!