As an aside, I had a busier weekend that I normally do, and I didn't really get a chance to watch a lot of hockey. As you're likely aware, it's the season for parties and gatherings, and I was doing that partying and gathering this weekend thanks to a couple of invitations. I'll get you the recaps you need, but I'll admit they may be a little "bare bones" in some cases.
Mount Royal was ready to play this game early on as they hemmed the Huskies in their own zone for periods of time. An early penalty by the Huskies would be killed, but the pressure continued from a determined Mount Royal side. Despite peppering the Huskies all period, the Cougars would finally find success when Lyndsey Janes beat Drever at 18:06 for her second goal to put Mount Royal up 1-0. That's how the period would end as well, and the Cougars took the one goal lead and the 14-3 shot advantage into the second period.
The second period saw Saskatchewan flip the script on Mount Royal with a little help from the Cougars. An early penalty cost Mount Royal as Mallory Dyer buried her fifth goal of the season on the power-play, tying this game at 1-1 at the 2:05 mark. 1:22 later, Kelsey Hall dented twine behind Ross for her sixth goal, and the Huskies had quickly grabbed the lead at 2-1 in this frame. A Huskies penalty would give MRU a break they needed, though, as Jori Hansen-Young's shot found room past Drever for her third goal at 5:11, and the power-play marker evened the game at 2-2. A couple more penalties to Mount Royal didn't cost them any goals, but Sophie Lalor would send the Huskies to the room with the lead when she scored her sixth goal of the season with 25 seconds left in the frame, and Saskatchewan held the 3-2 lead despite Mount Royal outshooting the Huskies 19-17.
The Huskies struck early in the third period as well as Kenzie Lausberg found Kennedy Brown with a slick pass, and Brown buried her first goal at the 1:39 mark to make it 4-2 game. A Mount Royal penalty followed that goal, and the lead would become 5-2 just 1:21 after Brown scored as Sophie Lalor added her seventh goal on the advantage. From there, the Huskies did what they do best as they shut down the defensive zone. Mount Royal certainly pushed back, but the Huskies had their number on this night as they skated to a 5-2 win over the Cougars. Camryn Drever picked up her ninth win this season with a 31-save performance while Kaitlyn Ross stopped 21 shots in the setback.
If you were expecting highlights from Mount Royal, don't hold your breath. As stated above, the Huskies had the Cougars' number on this night. Here's a good Looney Tunes representation of that.
SATURDAY: After a rare loss on home ice by the Cougars, one had to expect a big push from them on Saturday. I'd expect that thr Huskies had discussed this, so they likely would be ready. If both teams came to play today, we could be in for one heckuva hockey game! Colby Wilson got the start for the Huskies in this one while Kaitlyn Ross was back between the pipes for the Cougars.
Mount Royal wasted no time in grabbing the lead in this one. Just 122 seconds into the game, Athena Hauck fired a puck past Wilson for her fifth goal, and the Cougars were off and running with the 1-0 lead. Saskatchewan looked to push back, but the Cougars showed some solid defensive play throughout the frame. Mount Royal would double their lead later in the frame when Emma Bergesen scored her sixth goal of the season on the power-play at 15:47, giving MRU the 2-0 lead. A late power-play for the Huskies went nowhere, and the period ended with MRU up by a pair of goals and leading 11-9 in shots.
The Huskies rallied early in the middle frame when Jacquelyn Chief scored her first Canada West goal at the 2:34 mark, and we were back to a one-goal game. A penalty before the midway point of the period would help Mount Royal restore their two-goal lead when Breanne Trotter notched her fourth goal of the season while skating with the extra player, and the Cougars held the 3-1 lead at 7:51. They'd use the power-play to make it a three-goal game late in the frame as Emma Bergesen struck again for her seventh goal with 29 seconds to play, and the Cougars would hit the break leading 4-1 and holding a 19-15 edge in shots.
Needing a boost to try and get back into this one, the Huskies swapped netminders as Camryn Drever took over for Colby Wilson, but Mount Royal opened a wider lead early as Lyndsey Janes beat Drever 2:18 into the frame for her third goal of the season. Saskatchewan would get one back late in the game as Sara Kendall scored her first goal of the season, but it was far too late for a comeback as the Mount Royal Cougars returned the favour to Saskatchewan, downing the Huskies by a 5-2 score. Kaitlyn Ross picked up her Canada West-leading tenth win on an 18-save night while Colby Wilson took the loss after stopping 15 shots in 40 minutes of work. Camryn Drever, for the record, stopped four of five shots she faced in 19:55 of work.
No highlights, but it's clear that the Cougars pounced on Huskies.
Like they normally do, Trinity Western put many pucks on net in the opening frame as they looked to grab an early lead. Calgary seemed ready, though, as they weathered the storm and pushed back. That would result in a goal just past the six-minute mark when Jess Martens gave an incredible individual effort to get by the Spartans defenders and unleash a backhander for her first of the season at 6:15, and the Dinos grabbed the 1-0 lead! The teams would exchange short power-plays later in the frame with the penalties overlapping, but the horn would sound on a successful period for the home side as the Dinos led 1-0 despite being outshot 12-7 over 20 minutes of play.
The Spartans continued to bring the attack in the second period as they pushed for an equalizer. It took them just 1:41 to find it as Chelsea Debusschere hit Jordyn Matthews with a pass from behind the Calgary net, and Matthews buried her shot for her third goal to tie the game at 1-1. Calgary couldn't take advantage of a power-play opportunity later in the frame, and that seemed keep Trinity Western's momentum going. Kate Klassen slid a puck under Durante at 13:52 for her fifth goal of the campaign, and the Spartans had the lead at 2-1. They couldn't make good on a late power-play, but the damage had been done in this frame as the Spartans were up 2-1 on the scoreboard and 27-17 on the shot counter.
The third period saw the Dinos step up their game as they pushed for goals. Rebecca Clarke hit Josie McLeod with a pass, and McLeod went under Fawcett's glove just 75 seconds into the period for her fourth goal as Calgary pulled even at 2-2. The Dinos kept coming as they rolled lines, and, six minutes later, Dana Wood popped her second goal of the season by Fawcett at 7:01 to make it a 3-2 game for the Dinos! A couple of short power-plays exchanged between the two teams would be of no help to either side, but Elizabeth Lang would ice this one with her fifth goal into an empty net as the Calgary Dinos defeated the Trinity Western Spartans by a 4-2 score. Gabriella Durante picked up her fourth win with a 33-save night while Kate Fawcett was on the wrong end of a 27-save performance.
I'm not saying the Dinos are my favorite team, but they make highlights for every home game. So, by default, they're my favorite team. If only eight other teams had the same skills....
SATURDAY: Calgary's big win on Friday had them nipping at the heels of three other teams, including Trinity Western, in the standings. Trinity Western may have felt like they deserved better on Friday, but they had a chance for the split to restore their lead over the Dinos once again. Mabel Maltais was in the visitors' net for this one while Gabriella Durante was back in her crease for the home side.
The first period saw both sides get back to work as they found shooting lanes at both ends of the ice. A power-play for either side in the opening half of the frame provided no leads, and shortened power-plays later in the period produced the same results. At the end of 20 minutes, the game remained tied at 0-0 with Trinity Western up 8-7 in the shot department.
The second period continued with the quick pace as both teams went back and forth. Calgary would open the scoring when Courtney Kollman fired a wrist shot that somehow got through Maltais as Kollman's fifth goal at 5:33 put the Dinos up 1-0. Four minutes later, that lead would be 2-0 when Dana Wood's shot was stopped by Maltais, but the rebound was banked in off the goalie by Sydney Mercier at the side of the net for her fifth goal of the season at 9:49. The remainder of the period was played without incident as these two teams put 40 minutes in the books where Calgary had a 2-0 lead despite trailing 21-17 in shots.
The third period had both sides looking for goals as TWU needed to find them to catch the Dinos while the Dinos looked to put the Spartans away. An early power-play for the Spartans was cut short by a penalty of their own, but they'd strike while down a player. A Dinos turnover led to a stretch pass to Michela Naccarato who passed to Chloe Reid on the 2-on-1, and Reid buried her third goal while shorthanded at 9:56 to make it a 2-1 game. Calgary, howver, decided to add a shorthanded goal of their own later in the period as Jess Martens broke down the ice with two Spartans in pursuit to get a shot away, but no one picked up Brooke Dennett who followed up who backhanded a shot over the bodies in front for her first of the season at 15:36 to make it a 3-1 game for Calgary.
With the goalie pulled late in this one, the Spartans would pull within one when Kara Yackel found Chloe Reid in front for her fourth goal with 60 seconds to play, but Elizabeth Lang, as she did one night earlier, buried the empty-netter with seven seconds left for her sixth goal in a 4-2 Calgary victory over Trinity Western. Gabriella Durante picks up her fifth win with a 30-save effort while Mabel Maltais suffers the loss on a 25-save night.
More highlights because the Dinos' athletic department is awesome!
Just as they have all season, Alberta looked strong in the first period as they took the game to MacEwan. The Griffins, however, were playing solid defence as they stood tall in their own zone. Alberta would find the first crack in the wall, though, as Hayleigh Craig's shot from the point got by everyone including Sank for her second goal of the season at 13:48, and the Pandas grabbed the 1-0 lead. The few chances that MacEwan had were turned aside by Oswald, and, despite a power-play for each side, we'd hit the first intermission with Alberta up 1-0 on the scoreboard and 10-4 in shots.
The second period evened out a little more as both sides began to find shooting lanes to get pucks to the nets. Both goalies were solid throughout the period as pucks never found twine, and both defences were quick to clear loose pucks. Again, the teams exchanged penalties so that each had a power-play, but neither would capitalize. At the end of two periods, Alberta still led 1-0 while holding a 19-11 edge in shots.
Alberta was a little more defensive in the third period as they held the one-goal lead, but that didn't stop MacEwan from trying to crack the goose egg. Despite their best efforts, Alberta wouldn't let many pucks get to Oswald as they continued their strong defensive play from the past two weeks. When the horn sounded, the Pandas claimed a fifth-straight shutout against their opponents as they downed the Griffins by that 1-0 score. Halle Oswald was good on all 15 shots she saw as she claimed her eighth win and fifth shutout this season while Brianna Sank likely deserved a better fate following her 26-save performance.
No highlights from this game, but if MacEwan wants to make the playoffs, there's a familiar obstacle standing in their way.
The teams picked up where they left off the night before with a spirited battle early in the first period, but MacEwan would be called for the game's first penalty. Alberta would make them pay for that indiscretion as Payton Laumbach buried her third goal of the season at 8:36 to give Alberta the 1-0 lead. The teams would exchange power-plays with no other goals later in the frame, but Alberta carried their lead into the break while holding a 12-8 advantage in shots.
You knew that the Pandas would figure out how to break through the Griffins' defensive stance at some point, and Natalie Kieser would be the player to make that break as she pounced on a rebound and potted it behind Sank just 3:43 into the frame, putting the Pandas up 2-0. The Pandas continually hemmed the Griffins in their zone in this period with their pressure, and it may have started to affect the Griffins. Despite missing on a power-play, the Pandas would score three seconds after a MacEwan penalty expired when Taylor Anker deflected a puck past Sank at 13:43, and the Pandas jumped to the 3-0 lead. Another power-play for Alberta resulted in no added goals, and we'd hit the second intermission with Alberta holding a three-goal lead and a 21-12 shot count.
The pace in the third period was slowed by penalties, but the team with the better power-play efficiency scored goals. Those goals came late as Jadynn Morden scored both power-play goals in the period, giving her 12 goals on the season, as she found the net at 17:56 and 19:26 to round out the scoring. When the horn sounded, the Alberta Pandas had recorded a 5-0 victory over the MacEwan Griffins. Grace Glover stopped all 13 shots she faced for her third win and second shutout this season while Brianna Sank made 27 stops in the setback.
Alberta closes out the first-half with a Canada West record-tying six-straight shutouts. They'll have lots of time to prepare for what could be a record-setting blanking in January. More on this below!
The game started with UBC pressuring the Regina in their zone, but the Cougars had their legs moving as they pushed back, forcing UBC into a number of penalties through the period. That allowed the Cougars to get some good looks on Hugens, but the veteran netminder made the saves she was required to make. UBC did get one power-play that went by without a goal at the end of the period, but Regina may kick themselves for going 0-for-4 on the power-play in the first period. At the end of 20 minutes, the score remained 0-0 with UBC up 16-10 in shots.
UBC cleaned up their game in the second period, and that allowed them to find some room to score as Cassidy Rhodes showed all sorts of dangles, weaving into the Regina zone and into the slot area before zipping a puck past Kliewer at 2:13 for her eighth goal as UBC took the 1-0 lead. UBC would kill a penalty just before the midway point, and that momentum may have led to the next goal when Mackenzie Kordic tucked her 11th goal of the season in from the side of the net at 11:28, giving UBC a 2-0 lead. Another exchange of unsuccessful power-plays later in the period were the only other notes on the scoresheet as UBC took that two-goal lead to the break while holding a 34-13 edge in shots.
An early power-play for UBC was an opoortunity to potentially lock this game up, and they'd miss on a second chance midway through the frame. Regina didn't mount much offence until they pushed hard in the final five minutes, and they'd be rewarded when Kaitlyn Gilroy fought off a defender and beat Hugens at 15:25 for her fifth goal of the season to cut the gap in half to 2-1. That, however, would be as close as Regina got as the flurry of activity in UBC's zone produced nothing else, and the Thunderbirds skated to the 2-1 win over the Cougars. Elise Hugens picked up her ninth win of the season with a 15-save night while Arden Kliewer certainly played well enough to win in a 40-save effort.
No highlights of the UBC win, so we'll keep going with fun calls by officials. Once more, here's Garrett Rank and his impressive work in handing out 10-minute misconducts to everyone in the November 27 game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators.
SATURDAY: The final game of 2023 for both teams was a chance to end on winning ways as both UBC and Regina were looking to gain a couple more points in the standings. A win today by UBC would guarantee they'll close out 2023 in first-place while a win for the Cougars could help them pass a couple of teams in the standings to finish the calendar year in fifth-place. Clearly, this game meant a lot to both squads as Kayla McDougall skated out to the UBC net while Natalie Williamson was guarding the Regina cage.
The first period once again seemed like UBC was going to take control early, but they got themselves into a couple of penalty problems in the opening half of the frame. That allowed Regina to find some opportunities, but they could not capitalize. UBC began to skate hard once they killed off the second penalty, and they'd find success when Sophie Gaskell's shot was redirected by Grace Elliott past Williamson for her seventh goal, and the Thunderbirds had the 1-0 lead at 11:11. The remainder of the period was fairly evenly matched, and we'd hit the break with the T-Birds up a goal and leading 8-5 in shots.
The second period was marked by penalties once again as Regina killed off a power-play early in the frame, and the Thunderbirds were required to do the same midway through the period. That penalty would expire as Joelle Fiala stepped out of the box, and she would be the benefactor as she took a stretch pass from Cassidy Rhodes and finished off a breakaway with her third goal of the season at 12:39 to put UBC up 2-0! Of note on that goal was Kayla McDougall's first Canada West point as the UBC goaltender recorded the secondary assist on the play! The teams would trade unsuccessful power-plays later in the frame, but the second period would close with UBC up 2-0 and holding an 18-11 advantage in shots.
Regina looked like they may climb back into this game early in the third period when they had a two-player advantage for nearly one minute, but the Cougars couldn't solve the UBC penalty-killing units as they failed to score. The Thunderbirds began to push back after those early infractions, and they would receive two power-plays later in the period which resulted in two more goals. Cassidy Rhodes found the back of the net for her ninth goal at 13:48 while up a skater, and Jacquelyn Fleming would score her second goal at 16:58 while on the power-play to push the UBC lead to four goals. That was more than enough insurance for the T-Birds on this night as they closed out the calendar with a 4-0 win over the Regina Cougars. Kayla McDougall stopped all 21 shots she faced for her fourth win and first Canada West shutout while Natalie Williamson stopped 25 shots in the loss.
No highlights again, but here's some advice: don't test Steve Kozari.
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBC | 13-1-1-3 | 31 | 73 | 23 | W3 | JANUARY |
| Alberta | 12-2-2-2 | 30 | 51 | 15 | W6 | JANUARY |
| Mount Royal | 9-4-5-0 | 28 | 54 | 34 | W1 | JANUARY |
| Saskatchewan | 9-4-1-2 | 22 | 39 | 28 | L1 | JANUARY |
| Trinity Western | 6-9-0-1 | 13 | 37 | 45 | L4 | JANUARY |
| Manitoba | 6-9-0-1 | 13 | 32 | 54 | L2 | JANUARY |
| Calgary | 5-11-1-1 | 13 | 42 | 56 | W2 | JANUARY |
| Regina | 4-11-1-2 | 12 | 30 | 60 | L3 | JANUARY |
| MacEwan | 2-15-1-0 | 6 | 27 | 70 | L2 | JANUARY |
He Said It
"We don't have any elite offensive players and we struggle to get pucks and bodies to the net, which is how we have to score goals. Our goals come off secondary chances, creating some rebounds, getting some screens. They do a good job blocking shots and defending their own zone. We need to find a way to break that down and we just haven't found a way to do that yet."That was the statement made by MacEwan Griffins head coach Chris Leeming following the team's 5-0 loss to Alberta, and it makes me wonder when the coach is going to take some of the blame for his team's play. After all, getting pucks on net and sending bodies to the net would be the offensive system that MacEwan is using based on Chris's own words, yet he's done very little in 18 games to make any visible adjustments to increase the number of pucks and bodies heading towards the opposition's net, it seems.
This faux controversy he's creating by stating that the Griffins have no elite offensive players makes me wonder what he's trying to accomplish when players like Makenna Schuttler, Maria Ayre, Jesse Jack, and Allee Isley have shown a knack for scoring. Obviously, it's hard for them to score goals if MacEwan, as a group, isn't getting pucks or bodies to the net which is where the coach should be designing a system for that to happen.
Leeming can bemoan the idea that he has no elite offensive players all he wants, but I'm going to point out the glaringly obvious here: his systems have MacEwan ninth out of nine teams in total shots with 331 - 59 less than Regina who is in eighth-place and 102 shots behind Trinity Western who is in seventh-place. Elite players can't score if the puck isn't near the net, so blaming the players for MacEwan's offensive woes is misplaced blame when one considers how little offence is generated by the Griffins as a team.
A word of friendly advice when it comes to keeping players motivated for the rest of the season: the MacEwan coach may want to start looking inward before pointing fingers at those who are trying to execute a flawed system. As the numbers show, whatever has been designed clearly isn't working.
Heroes Of Zeroes?
The Alberta Pandas are on the verge of greatness with their defence this season as they've posted six-straight shutout against the likes of Manitoba, Regina, and MacEwan. Up next for them in January is Trinity Western, so it's not like they're staring at an offensive juggernaut to begin their second-half schedule, but the Pandas will need to be prepared for the Spartans nonetheless.Alberta set the consecutive shutout streak at six games back in 2000-01, equalled it in 2017-18, and have tied it once more this season. In that 2017-18 season, they shutout Calgary, Regina, and Lethbridge before Saskatchewan's Kaitlin Willoughby ended that run. Of course, I'd like to give the teams the Pandas victimized during the 2000-01 season, but it seems those records are lost in the ether of the internet as the historical records for Canada West were lost and not reposted by Canada West when they redesigned their website.
Alberta has yet to play Trinity Western this season, but Alberta is 4-2-0 with one shutout in those six games against the Spartans. Perhaps more relevant to the story is that Alberta is 0-2 in Langley, BC in their history, losing 4-1 and 3-1 to the Spartans last October. That's going to have to change if Alberta wants to continue their streak of zeroes, and it should be noted that Trinity Western has been shutout on home ice twice this season: Manitoba won 1-0 on November 3 while Mount Royal posted a 3-0 win on November 25.
With a month off between games, I expect both teams will give their best in that first game back as Trinity needs to win while Alberta wants both the win streak and shutout streak to continue. We should be treated to a great game the first night back on the ice in Janaury!
Four Teams For Two Spots
If you're wondering how the final weeks of the season play out for the four teams competing for the final two playoff spots, let's take a quick peek at who plays whom over those weeks. It should be noted that both Trinity Western and Manitoba have played two less games than Calgary and Regina, so there will be some difference in the number of games played. It should also be noted games in yellow are home games and games in red are home-and-home series.- TRINITY WESTERN: Alberta, Saskatchewan, UBC, Manitoba, Regina, Alberta.
- MANITOBA: UBC, Mount Royal, Calgary, Trinity Western, MacEwan, Saskatchewan.
- CALGARY: MacEwan, Alberta, Manitoba, Mount Royal, Regina.
- REGINA: Saskatchewan, Mount Royal, MacEwan, Trinity Western, Calgary.
The Last Word
Deep breath. Exhale. Repeat.For the women who entertain us week in and week out, you made it to December. Buckle down, study hard, enjoy the time away from the rink with friends and family when you can, and rest up for the push in the second half of the schedule. For now, crush your exams, get the rest you need to be fresh both mentally and physically for the final six weeks, and enjoy the holidays.
For parents and families, do all you can to support these women in their education and their athletic endeavours. Keep the hockey analysis to a minimum. Have laughs, share memories, and find moments where smiles are made. Help them recover from a busy first half of the season by giving them some room for rest and studying. Help them forget about hockey for a few weeks so everyone can enjoy the holidays like kids again.
For me, I'll post a few things on Sundays that will be done for fun. These posts will include my annual Team Rockies vs Team Surf-And-Turf All-Star Teams, I'll have some statistical info, and I'll try to take a look at the other conferences to see who may be in the initial stages of planning for a trip to Saskatoon.
It's been an entertaining first half of the season thus far, but everyone deserves a break. Use the next few weeks to recharge the batteries and get set for the rest of the campaign and postseason. Every single player has a reason to be proud of their efforts in the first half of the season, and every parent and family member should be proud of the women who are giving everything they have to be successful in the classroom and on the ice. I know I am, and I'm grateful for being able to write about their abilities each and every week! See you here for some hockey chatter next week, and we'll see everyone back at the rink in January!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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