The Rundown - Week 17

The final weekend of regular season games was upon us this weekend as two teams still needed to figure out who they were going to play in the Canada West playoffs while one team was looking to secure home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Eight teams were in action on this final with only the Alberta Pandas watching the action this weekend, and that bye week gives them two weeks to prepare for hosting the West Division semifinal. Who would they be playing? That will be determined this week, so let's find out who's playing whom next week and where that will happen on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: UBC entered the weekend needing two points of any kind to earn home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs as they held the tiebreaker over Alberta. Calgary entered the weekend looking to play the role of spoiler as their season would end after this trip to Vancouver. While there were personal achievements to be had as well, UBC's focus was on gaining those points. Of course, the Thunderbirds have no highlight reels from this weekend just as they had none all season, so we'll stick with the scoring summary.

Thunderbirds goals: Mackenzie Kordic (14), Chanreet Bassi (12), Sophia Gaskell (3)
Thunderbirds assists: Chanreet Bassi (19), Jaylyn Morris (10), Mackenzie Kordic (12), Karine Sandilands (10), Ashton Thorpe (9)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (15/16)

Dinos goals: Caitlyn Perlinger (3)
Dinos assists: Hannah Reagh (3), Kyla Mitenko (7)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (34/37)

Result: 3-1 victory for UBC over Calgary.

SATURDAY: With the guarantee of playing on home ice already locked in, the Thunderbirds came into Saturday's game looking to hit a new mark in program history for wins in one season. The Dinos were going to do everything they could to try to disrupt the top-ranked team in the nation, but it would take a big effort against a motivated UBC squad. Again, no highlights because who would want to see those?

Thunderbirds goals: Makenzie McCallum (7), Ashton Thorpe (7), Grace Elliott (22)
Thunderbirds assists: Sophia Gaskell (6), Mackenzie Kordic (13), Kennesha Miswaggon (4), Jacquelyn Fleming (16), Chanreet Bassi (20)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (20/21)

Dinos goals: Brooklyn Anderson (11)
Dinos assists: Sydney Mercier (6)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (19/22)

Result: 3-1 victory for UBC over Calgary.

FRIDAY: Regina travelled to Edmonton to close out their season with a series against the MacEwan Griffins. Regina needed at least three points plus some help in order to catch Manitoba for second-place in the West Division while MacEwan was looking to spoil Regina's fun and send them to Calgary next weekend for a date with the Mount Royal Cougars. MacEwan's long-held belief that no one appreciates highlights continued this weekend, so here's the summary.

Griffins goals: Allee Isley (3), Allee Isley (4), Jennifer Andrash (6), Claire Hobbs (1)
Griffins assists: Sydney Jack (2), Karington Mollin (1), Aspen Checknita (1), Ali Macauley (4), Joie Simon (4), Letta Mattheos (1), Joie Simon (5)
Griffins netminder: Mikayla Christmann (50/51)

Cougars goals: Julianne Girardin (1)
Cougars assists: Jordyn Blais (5)
Cougars netminders: Natalie Williamson (0/3) in 7:30; Arden Kliewer (11/11) in 48:39

Result: 4-1 victory for MacEwan over Regina.

SATURDAY: The back-half of the series was nothing more than a game where pride was on the line. Regina could not catch Manitoba after dropping Friday's contest, and MacEwan was looking to end their season with the win. With the Cougars knowing they were heading back to Alberta next week, this was a chance to get ready for Mount Royal. No highlights because MacEwan has yet to discover that technology, so let's go to the summary again.

Griffins goals: none
Griffins assists: none
Griffins netminder: Brianna Sank (21/22)

Cougars goals: Julianne Girardin (2)
Cougars assists: Kaylee Dyer (6), Pippy Pritchard (2)
Cougars netminders: Arden Kliewer (42/42)

Result: 1-0 victory for Regina over MacEwan.

FRIDAY: The Bisons came into the weekend needing two points of any kind to secure second-place and earn a home playoff series against the Trinity Western Spartans. The Saskatchewan Huskies were looking to throw a monkeywrench into those plans with victories to close out their schedule. As with any playoff seeding, it's far more rewarding if it's earned than if one backs into it, so the Bisons had a task on Friday. They won't show you all the highlights in one place because that would require effort, but at least we have the scoring summary.

Bisons goals: Hanna Bailey (2), Aimee Patrick (9), Aimee Patrick (10), Norah Collins (11), Aimee Patrick (11)
Bisons assists: Rachel Gottfried (6), Ali Staples (3), Sadie Keller (6), Louise Fergusson (9), Julia Bird (6), Dana Goertzen (7), Ashley Keller (6), Kylie Lesuk (6), Dana Goertzen (8)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (6/8)

Huskies goals: Jessica Patterson (1), Bronwyn Boucher (9)
Huskies assists: Jaiyana Nurani (5), Kaysah Nurani (3), Sara Kendall (2), Jayde Cadieux (7)
Huskies netminders: Clara Juca (22/27)

Result: 5-2 victory for Manitoba over Saskatchewan.

SATURDAY: Both teams came into Saturday looking to close out their seasons with wins. There was no further jockeying for position within the division needed, so winning today was about the logo on the front of the jersey. Manitoba looked to prepare for next weekend's meeting with the Trinity Western Spartans while the Huskies were looking to celebrate a win on the bus ride home. Again, no highlights to be found from Manitoba, so it's back to the summary.

Bisons goals: Norah Collins (12), Aimee Patrick (12)
Bisons assists: Sadie Keller (7), Sophia Anderson (5)
Bisons netminder: Paige Fischer (22/23)

Huskies goals: Sara Kendall (4)
Huskies assists: Jasper Desmarais (3), Taylor Wilkinson (4)
Huskies netminders: Colby Wilson (32/34)

Result: 2-1 victory for Manitoba over Saskatchewan.

FRIDAY: The Trinity Western Spartans travelled to Calgary to meet the Mount Royal Cougars as both sides looked to prepare for the playoffs. Neither team could move in the standings with wins, so this weekend's series was about pride and playoff preparation. Mount Royal would host a playoff series next weekend while Trinity Western was going on the road. Before any of that happens, these two teams had some business to sort out. Mount Royal made it through the season without doing highlights, so here's the scoring summary.

Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars netminder: Katherine Holan (27/28)

Spartans goals: Ella Boon (2), Jordyn Matthews (9)
Spartans assists: Brooke Dorash (2), Kyra McDonald (7)
Spartans netminder: Kate Fawcett (33/33)

Result: 2-0 victory for Trinity Western over Mount Royal.

SATURDAY: Both sides entered the final game of their seasons looking for a win as they headed into the playoffs. The Cougars knew they would host the Regina Cougars next week while the Spartans knew they were headed to Winnipeg. With playoff hockey on the docket for both teams, finishing the season strong would bring confidence for the following week. Since there are no highlights of this game's action or intensity, here's the scoring summary for their last games.

Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars shootout scorers: none
Cougars netminder: Kaitlyn Ross (20/20) in 65:00 plus 1/2 in the shootout

Spartans goals: none
Spartans assists: none
Spartans shootout scorers: Reilley Kellner Spartans netminder: Kate Fawcett (35/35) in 65:00 plus 3/3 in the shootout

Result: 1-0 shootout victory for Trinity Western over Mount Royal.

No, I'm not doing the stupid East and West Divisions on the standings board. One conference, nine teams, let's see who is best.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	22-2-3-1	51	107	34	W14	BYE
Alberta	19-3-5-1	49	73	29	W13	BYE
Mount Royal	15-5-3-5	41	74	47	L2	vs REG
Manitoba	12-11-3-2	32	62	63	W2	vs TWU
Trinity Western	11-12-3-2	30	58	53	W2	@ MAN
Regina	7-12-4-5	27	45	62	W1	@ MRU
Calgary	6-18-2-2	18	49	80	L2	OUT
Saskatchewan	4-17-1-6	16	32	75	L5	OUT
MacEwan	3-19-3-3	15	29	86	L1	OUT

Honour Roll

Each week on The Rundown, I highlight the best performances from the weekend's games. It won't always be the top scorer or the best goalie, but I'll have a reason for who gets picked each week. This week's Honour Roll candidate had herself a weekend as she set a new program record for saves made in one game while potentially establishing herself as the favorite to grab the starter's role next season. Mikayla Christmann should have Griffins fans excited to see what she can do between the pipes next season!

MacEwan didn't have a lot to celebrate this season, but Christmann gave the Griffins a boost in the second half of the season. The former Saskatoon Stars netminder burst onto the scene on January 25 with a 32-save shutout of the Manitoba Bisons, and allowed just one goal in a 1-0 loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies one week later. While the Dinos did score five on her, she shut down the Regina Cougars this past weekend with a program-best 50 saves in one game. She finishes the season with a 2-2-0 record, but her 1.78 GAA and .949 save percentage is something she can definitely build on for next season!

That will be the key to her longevity as a starter in this league - continual improvement and consistent play. When we look back at MacEwan's success, they've always had strong goaltending - Sandy Heim, Natalie Bender, and Brianna Sank - and there's hope that Christmann's debut this season is a forecast of what's to come in her career. Allowing just seven goals in four games seems to point to a woman who is ready to take that next step, but we'll see to where she ascends in the next few seasons.

Right now, though, she has the honour of backstopping MacEwan to two of their three regulation wins this season, she beat two playoff-bound teams, and she gives MacEwan hope for the future after Brianna Sank graduates this season. Because of her record-setting performance this weekend and her solid debut in Canada West, that's how Mikayla Christmann adds her name to the list!

Nothing More To Say

Canada West hasn't fixed their links for the entire second half of the season, so I'm done mocking them. At some point, readers, you need to demand better from the schools who, in turn, can demand better from Canada West. I'm not part of the circuit and no one liked me piping up when I was part of it, so this has to fall on you as fans of Canada West women's hockey. You're free to email Jamin Heller who holds the title of "Associate Director, Communications & Marketing", but I don't know if he'll respond to emails. All I can tell you is that I'm embarrassed that Canada West has given such am abysmal effort on the women's hockey front this season.

The Bracket

Here's how the playoffs look for next week and beyond.

As you can see, the Bisons have posted their schedule for the playoffs already as they'll play Trinity Western at 7pm CT on both Friday and Saturday while keeping Sunday at 5pm open if that third game is necessary. At the time of publishing this article, Mount Royal had yet to post their schedule for the playoffs, so make sure you check their site for more information as those dates near.

The Quirk

For all the postulating that was done about saving money in travel fees over the course of the season, does it surprise anyone that the opening round of the playoffs sees 3-vs-6 and 4-vs-5 in terms of the overall standings? Unless Regina upsets Mount Royal in their series, the semifinal series will also see 1-vs-4/5 and 2-vs-3, so the actual division standings didn't make one iota of difference in the final playoff seedings since they're following old format this season.

For institutions that bring in millions of dollars in tuition fees, research revenue, and other forms of revenue, it would seem that saving one trip to BC or Manitoba for a few teams really changed nothing when it came to the hockey. And since those savings didn't translate into better athletics departments with more staff to show off their athletes, this savings benefit was nothing more than universities padding their fat wallets once again.

Do better, Canada West. Kill the uneven schedule, let everyone play everyone else in two series, and go back to one conference.

The Awards

Let's run through the award-winners using NHL tropies!

• Art Ross: Grace Elliott (UBC) - 40 points
• Rocket Richard: Grace Elliott (UBC) - 22 goals
• Norris: Jaylyn Morris (UBC) - 17 points
• Lady Byng: Annalise Wong (UBC) - 24 pts/6 PIMs
• Calder: Jules Stokes (REG) - 11 points
• Vezina: Grace Glover (ALB) - 0.73 GAA/.962 sv%
• Jennings: Grace Glover/Misty Rey (ALB) - 25 GA

No, I'm not picking an MVP becaue that's highly-subjective and I believe a panel of people should decide on who was most valuable to her team. That being said, it's hard not to consider Grace Elliott, Aliya Jomha or Abby Soyko as some of those players who should be considered. All three averaged more than a point per game this season, and all three were vital to their teams' successes.

The Last Word

The second season begins next week as the Canada West postseason gets underway. UBC is looking for a fourth-straight Canada West banner while two of the six teams in the bracket are competing for the right to represent Canada West in Kitchener, Ontario where the University of Waterloo is hosting the U SPORTS National Championship. Waterloo finished in second-place in the OUA West Division with a 13-2-5-6 record, and they'll be playing at Nationals. I'll keep an eye on the other conferences as the playoffs progress.

Mount Royal and Regina met for the only time this season two weeks ago where Mount Royal took both games by 3-2 scores, but needed overtime in the second game to down Regina. Mount Royal was far more dominant in the first half of the season than the second half, finishing with a 5-3-0-2 record in their last ten games. Comparably, Regina was nowhere near as strong in the second half as they were in the first half, finishing their season with a 2-7-1-0 record. This series may be far closer than it looks like on paper.

Manitoba and Trinity Western met in Langley, BC on January 9 and 10 where the Bisons won 4-1 on Friday, but the Spartans won 3-2 in shootout on Saturday. Manitoba never really found a higher gear in the second half of the season, finishing 5-5-0-0 down the stretch. The Spartans were better in the second half as they stepped up their game for a 5-3-1-1 record in their last ten games which included a pair of wins over Mount Royal and three one-goal losses to Alberta and UBC. This series seems like a coin flip.

With UBC and Alberta waiting down the line, all four teams will need to bring their best hockey for the next few weeks. Rankings don't matter, stats don't matter, and there are no second chance if you lose twice over a weekend. It's time to leave it all on the ice when it comes to each and every game because there are no guarantees that the same opportunities will be there next year. The path to university hockey's biggest prize begins next week, and it's there for one of six Canada West teams to seize!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!