The Rundown - Week 11

It's an all-Alberta edition of The Rundown today as all four Alberta-based teams were in action in Canada West play while another Alberta-based team was taking part in an exhibition game! That exhibition game was against the Saskatchewan Huskies, and I do have information on that one as well. There was a chance for teams to either put some space between themselves and those chasing them or close the gap between themselves and teams they're chasing as the home-and-home battles between the two Edmonton schools and the two Calgary schools are featured this week! Let's see which school rules each of those cities this week on The Rundown!

FRIDAY: We'll start in the Alberta capital where the Pandas were looking to pad their lead over the second-place Regina Cougars with a pair of wins against their crosstown rivals in the MacEwan Griffins. MacEwan was hunting for its first regulation win of the season, and they'd have to play a big game to slow the Pandas down. There are no highlights, though, because the Griffins don't understand that video of these games exist despite them having cameras in their rink, so we'll stick with the scoring summary.

Griffins goals: none
Griffins assists: none
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (24/28)

Pandas goals: Sarah Kazeil (3), Natalie Kieser (4), Madison Willan (5), Jadynn Morden (5)
Pandas assists: Natalie Kieser (5), Izzy Lajoie (6), Abby Soyko (4), Jadynn Morden (5), Abbey Bourdeaud'Hui (2), Taylor Anker (6)
Pandas netminder: Grace Glover (9/9)

Result: 4-0 victory for Alberta over MacEwan.

SATURDAY: Things clearly didn't go well for the Griffins on home ice, so they'd need a better effort at Clare Drake Arena if they hoped to take points off the Pandas. Alberta looked in control one night earlier, and they intended to make it a weekend sweep on Saturday. Again, no highlights because the Pandas don't like showing off their division-leading team, so we'll go back to the scoring summary.

Pandas goals: Abby Soyko (2), Izzy Lajoie (2), Jadynn Morden (6), Jadynn Morden (7), Payton Laumbach (2), Abby Soyko (3)
Pandas assists: Brooklyn Tews (3), Madison Willan (5), Natalie Kieser (6), Alexandra Black (1), Abby Soyko (5), Madison Willan (6), Madison Willan (7), Jadynn Morden (6), Taylor Anker (7), Jadynn Morden (7)
Pandas netminder: Mackenzie Dojahn (11/12)

Griffins goals: Ali Macauley (2)
Griffins assists: Sydney Olsen (2), Allee Isley (1)
Griffins netminders: Brianna Sank (5/9) in 15:23; Lindsey Johnson (15/17) in 44:37

Result: 6-1 victory for Alberta over MacEwan.

FRIDAY: The Dinos entered 2025 needing wins in an effort to catch the Trinity Western Spartans, but the Mount Royal Cougars were hunting for points as well as they looked to gain ground on the idle UBC Thunderbirds. This weekend can be considered as a preview of the Crowchild Classic at the end of the month when these two teams will meet in the Saddledome, so both sides were looking to put their best on display. Mount Royal doesn't do highlights, however, so no one really gets to see their best unless you watch every one of their games. For now, the scoring summary will have to suffice.

Cougars goals: Aliya Jomha (8), Aliya Jomha (9), Jori Hansen-Young (3), Lyvia Butz (3), Aliya Jomha (10), Sydney Benko (2)
Cougars assists: Allee Gerrard (4), Jori Hansen-Young (4), Aliya Jomha (9), Alexandria Spence (6), Lyndsey Janes (2), Breanne Comte (4), Jerzey Watteyne (3), Kiana McNinch (7)
Cougars netminder: Kaitlyn Ross (14/16)

Dinos goals: Solana Cooper (1), Kate Wagner (3)
Dinos assists: Miri Licis (4), Rebecca Clarke (2), Caitlyn Perlinger (4)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (40/46)

Result: 6-2 victory for Mount Royal over Calgary.

SATURDAY: Friday didn't go well for the Dinos, but they were playing host to the Cougars on Saturday as they were also the featured game on CBC Gem! From what was said on the broadcast, it sounds like the Dinos weren't all that thrilled with how they played on one night earlier, so I expected a better effort on this night. Mount Royal was looking to keep their high-scoring ways going, so this game looked like it was going to a beauty! Kaitlyn Ross was between the pipes for Mount Royal while Amelia Awad was in the crease for the Dinos!

The first period saw Mount Royal re-establish their offensive advantage as they continually found ways to get the puck to the net, but the Dinos deserve credit for keeping the puck out of the net and clearing anything dangerous away. Each team would get an unsuccessful power-play so there was no help there, and the horn sounded on the opening frame with the score still tied at 0-0 with Mount Royal holding a 9-4 edge in shots.

The second period was more of the same as wave after wave of Cougars attacks were denied by the Dinos again and again. Like the opening frame, each team was given a power-play that went nowhere, and we'd go into the second break with the 0-0 score still intact despite Mount Royal being up 24-9 in shots.

We'd finally see the stalemate broken at the 3:31 mark when a turnover at the Calgary blue line allowed three Cougars to attack, and Athena Hauck hit the trailer in Allee Gerrard who ripped a shot high on Awad's blocker side to put Mount Royal up 1-0! The Cougars would continue to press for more goals, especially on the power-play, but they were denied again by the Dinos. A late penalty to the Cougars gave the Dinos a chance to find an equalizer, but Kaitlyn Ross wasn't having any of it as the horn sounded on a Mount Royal 1-0 win over Calgary! Kaitlyn Ross stopped 14 shots for her fourth shutout of the season while Amelia Awad stopped 32 shots in the setback.

As always, I'll credit the Dinos for doing the right thing for their athletes because highlights of this game are below!

SATURDAY: This game between the ACAC's Red Deer Queens and Canada West's Saskatchewan Huskies meant nothing in the standings, but the exhibition game was to get both squads ready for the second halves of their respective seasons. Thunderchild First Nation hosted this game in their state-of-the-art rink in Turtleford which is about two hours northwest of Saskatoon and about 4.5 hours east of Red Deer. Canada's largest turtle statue, "Ernie", is found there.

Red Deer Polytechnic made some noise back in 2018 as they sought to become a full-fledged university in Alberta, but they were granted polytech status by the province. In short, this could one day be a Canada West matchup, so let's check the scoring summary!

Huskies goals: Jasper Desmarais, McKenna Bolger, McKenna Bolger
Huskies assists: Aeryn Flanagan, Aeryn Flanagan, Kaysah Nurani, Jessica Patterson
Huskies netminders: Clara Juca and Emma Backman (12/12)

Queens goals: none
Queens assists: none
Queens netminders: Tora Ward and Izzy Palumbo (22/25)

Result: 3-0 victory for Saskatchewan over Red Deer.

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	13-2-2-1	31	62	26	W4	vs MRU
Mount Royal	11-2-2-3	29	48	26	W2	@ UBC
Alberta	10-3-4-1	29	47	20	W3	vs CAL
Regina	4-4-4-4	20	27	30	W1	@ SAS
Manitoba	7-6-2-1	19	35	38	L1	@ TWU
Trinity Western	8-9-1-0	18	36	33	L2	vs MAN
Calgary	5-10-1-2	14	34	47	L6	@ ALB
Saskatchewan	1-10-1-4	8	18	40	W2	vs REG
MacEwan	0-13-2-3	7	13	60	L4	BYE

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 is a player who is quietly putting together another big season while being an important cog in the offence as Alberta's Jadynn Morden had a six-point weekend!

Morden's becoming a bigger part of the Pandas' offence each and every season, and she's finding ways to score points in a number of ways. Last season, she scored 14 goals as she was nearly automatic on the power-play with nine markers while Alberta had the extra skater. This year, she's showing more playmaking like she did two seasons ago, and her seven assists this season already ties her season-high. She sits four points back of her career-high for points in one season, and it looks like she'll have opportunities to add to that total.

Morden leads the Pandas in points, and her play this weekend lit a fire under linemate Madison Willan who also had four points. She needs to be more consistent in the second half this season, but the Pandas got a big weekend out of Jadynn Morden to start the 2025 calendar. If she continues to play as well as she has, she'll smash her season-high points total while helping Alberta move closer to clinching the top seed in the Canada West East Divsion. That's how Jadynn Morden adds her name to the list!

Nearing Extinction

Calgary's losses this weekend didn't do them any favours in the standings, and the road ahead is coming to an end quickly. Trinity Western holds all the tie-breaker scenarios right now, but the Dinos still can make things very interesting if they can sweep Trinity Western on Jaunary 24 and 25. Of course, they need some help as they can't fall much further back of the Spartans, but that's why every game should feel like a playoff game for the Dinos at this point in the season - win and there's a chance to play tomorrow.

Ten games remain for the Dinos and Spartans, respectively, and the Dinos need to close a four-point gap. It's not impossible, but the odds are certainly stacked against them right now. It might be time for the Dinos to show some teeth in these final ten contests!

First To Clinch?

Making matters worse for Calgary is the fact that Alberta can clinch a playoff spot next week if they sweep the Dinos in their home-and-home series assuming Saskatchewan wins both of their games against Regina. Alberta's magic number is currently sitting at two - two wins or a combination of Alberta wins and Saskatchewan losses - for the Pandas to book their spot in the Canada West playoffs. I'm not saying that Pandas need more reason to go out and win, but locking up a playoff spot might be a little extra motivation.

Of course, the Dinos could throw a monkeywrench into that plan if they can beat the Pandas twice, so both squads will have some motivation next weekend. We know the Dinos like to ruin good times with their oft-seen wins against UBC, so maybe they can ruin a little fun for the Pandas? It will be known in one week's time which of Alberta or Calgary had the better weekend.

Five In Alberta?

I'll be honest: it was good to see some tweets about the game between the Huskies and Queens, but it seems pretty obvious that the Red Deer Queens are in the same boat as the other ACAC teams who joined Canada West: they need some time to get better. The Queens are 7-4-1-1 in the ACAC and currently sit in third-place as they trail NAIT and Lakeland College by 11 points in the standings. They're a solid team, but they're not quite at the Canada West level of hockey yet. Of course, they also can't join Canada West.

One of the things that Canada West schools offer are university degrees as opposed to college and polytechnical certifications, so Red Deer Polytechnic needed that 2018 approval that Alberta denied them. In theory, they could have replaced Lethbridge in Canada West had they been approved, and that would have given Canada West an even ten teams with half the conference being located in Alberta.

As it stands, we're no closer to a tenth team just yet as Red Deer seems to be fine with it polytechnical offerings. I had advocated for Simon Fraser University to be approached by Canada West about joining, but it seems neither the school nor the conference is willing to discuss that possibility. I guess Canada West is destined to be a nine-team conference forevermore despite how logical it would be to have a tenth team for scheduling purposes.

The Last Word

We get back to eight teams playing eight games next weekend as the conference is back to its normal schedule. There are some intriguing matchups to watch as UBC and Mount Royal will battle for first-place in the West Division, Trinity Western tries to put a pile of pressure on Calgary, Calgary fights to stay in the playoff race, Regina will try to hold Manitoba off in their effort to remain in second-place, Manitoba will look to overtake Regina, and Alberta could clinch a playoff spot. In short, next week's games are gonna be fun!

Of course, if you're reading The Rundown, you're already a fan of Canada West women's hockey, but let's start gearing up for the playoffs. Take a friend who has never been to a university hockey game in Canada to one of the games near you over the next few weekends. The hockey being played is good, the players are phenomenal, and the events are fun times. Go to a game or two and rediscover the passion for hockey by watching the women of Canada West battle for hockey supremacy!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

An Afternoon In The Kitchen

I spent the morning watching the U18 Women's World Championship and the Farjestad women's game where they dismantled Troja-Ljungby by a 5-0 score. There was nothing that caught my eye in any of the games I watched outside of a handful of players and plays that resulted in goals, but the hockey was entertaining nonetheless. I did spend some time, however, peering into my stand-up freezer in my kitchen as I tried to figure out what I should make for dinner, and it occurred to me that there was some stuff in there that I had been meaning to use up and never got around to it. In saying that, it was time to break out the chef's apron!

I had a small bag of frozen peach slices that wouldn't amount to much in muffins or a cake of some sort, and they needed to be used up sooner than later. There was also a small bag of habanero peppers that were starting to look like they had been in the deep freeze for longer than they wanted, so the mind landed on a peach-habanero hot sauce that I could use as a marinade for chicken tonight. I like the mix of fruit with the spicy kick of a hot pepper, so I was hoping these two freezer companions could become one amazing sauce.

A quick internet search brought me to several recipes with similar ingredients, but it seemed these recipes were aiming for hot more than sweet-hot. This isn't an episode of Hot Ones so I don't need something that will melt my face, and I wanted a nice blend between the sweetness of the peaches and the heat from the habaneros. In saying that, I made a few additions and alterations to the recipes that I read, and it seems to have paid off nicely for that good blend between the two forces in this sauce with the recipe below.

Safety Note

When handling habanero peppers, be aware that the oils from the pepper can affect your skin. If possible, use gloves when handling and cutting them in order to protect yourself from any irritation you may experience. If you do feel some tingling or burning from the peppers, wash your hands with dish soap and warm water to remove as much of the oil as possible from your skin, and apply vinegar to the affected area as acetic acid neutralizes the alkalinity of capsaicin.

Ingredients

6 medium peaches, peeled and diced*
1/2 of a sweeter onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of water
2/3 cup of sugar*
2 tsp. of sea salt
5 habanero peppers, stems removed and cut in half

You'll note the two starred items in the ingredients, and that's because I decided to use the remainder of the frozen peaches, but also added the entire can - peaches and syrupy water - of sliced peaches I had in my pantry. I wanted a sweeter taste than what the original recipes called for which was just four medium peaches, so I went heavier on the peaches and the sweetness. This is where you can adjust for taste, but this mixture works for my liking.

Directions

Put everything except the peppers into a medium sauce pan, stir gently, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, add the peppers, and stir gently again while letting the mixture simmer as shown in the image to the right. Be aware that the longer you cook out the oils from the habanero, the spicier this mixture will get. I left it for about 10 minutes, and that was plenty for me based on what the final sauce gave me for heat. Once the boiling has reduced to a simmer, use an immersion blender to blend the entire mixture into a sauce. Store in mason jars or sealable containers in the refrigerator and use as needed!

For those without an immersion blender, allow this to cool for 15-20 minutes before using a regular blender to puree the entire mixture into sauce. If stored in jars, this sauce should last a couple of months in the fridge from what the various recipes indicated.

After using it on the chicken I cooked this evening, I am very satisfied with the results. There's a touch of sweet peach flavour that changes to the spicy heat of the habanero without any of the searing pain that one associates with this pepper. I imagine it would be a good sauce for wings or chicken fingers as well, so I may have to do some additional testing this week. In any case, tonight's protein portion of the entree gets solid marks from me after getting the hot sauce prepared this afternoon! I might even go for seconds!

If you do make this sauce, leave me a comment below as to what you thought of the sauce, if you made any changes to the recipe, or anything else you may want to add. I'm going back for some more chicken, so enjoy the hockey tonight and we'll get caught up tomorrow!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Best Feature Is Missing

The stadium to the left is Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park. Normally, Eintracht Frankfurt plays their football matches here as part of the Bundesliga, but the stadium will be filled with hockey fans this weekend as Germany's DEL gets set to have its sixth outdoor game played in its history. In what seems like a bit of a mismatch, Löwen Frankfurt will host Adler Mannheim this weekend, and outdoor games in Germany's highest hockey league have featured one key feature which makes them unique compared to the North American outdoor games. Except that feature seems to be missing in Frankfurt.

Adler Mannheim head coach Dallas Eakins shared the following video of his club arriving at the rink, and things look pretty standard.

We have arrived. @adlermannheim is ready for practice. #del #delwintergame #wintergame #adlermannheim #pennydel pic.twitter.com/MlSgMG4Rw4

— Dallas Eakins (@dallaseakins) January 3, 2025

One might be inclined to say that the environment looks somewhat more intimate based on having the fans closer to the action, but that's not the feature that is missing. In past years, European leagues that have played outdoor games have used transparent boards like boards seen below in Switzerland, but many leagues across Europe, including the DEL, have used them in outdoor games in the past.

Frankly, this is one of the things that Europe did better than the NHL or AHL, and it's bothersome to see Frankfurt moving away from a feature that gave a new perspective on board battles and scrums in the corners. While advertisements on the boards are vital for the operation of European teams and the promotion of outdoor games like these, losing the one thing that Europe did better than North America seems like a major step in thw wrong direction.

If you want to watch the game, there is a link via OnHockey.tv to catch the action. The game begins at 11am CT, but the broadcast will be, of course, in German. My German isn't anywhere close enough for me to understand the chatter, but the action on the ice should be pretty easy to decipher. With 50,000 fans in a soccer stadium, things will look different than what we see here in North America so I may tune in just to see what this game looks like as it's being played.

If you need a bit of a primer to get into this one, Löwen Frankfurt sits in eleveth-place with an 11-14-2-4 record while Adler Mannheim is the fourth-place team in the DEL with a 17-10-2-2 record. Frankfurt comes into the game having dropped a 3-2 shootout result to Kolner while Mannheim has lost two-straight games that saw first-place EHC Ingolstadt drop a 6-2 loss on them while Kolner also took a 4-1 result from Mannheim. Mannheim sits 12 points back of first-place Ingolstadt while Frankfurt is four points back of a playoff play-in game and 14 points back of a guaranteed playoff spot.

Former Jets and Sharks defender Leon Gawanke and former Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl are the recognizable names for the Mannheim Eagles. The Frankfurt Lions could have former Islanders and Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss in the crease, but we'll likely see former Manitoba Moose netminder Jussi Olkinura between the pipes while former UNB Reds forward Cameron Brace leads the team in scoring.

As stated above, I know the importance of advertising for European clubs, but if you have something that's uniquely yours, don't get rid of it. The DEL and all the European leagues should embrace the transparent boards when it comes to playing outdoor games as it made it different than all the other outdoor games we see. Unless there was a safety issue, losing the one thing that set their games apart from the North American games feels like a bad decision.

Of course, I'm also hoping that Adler Mannheim doesn't blow out Löwen Frankfurt as well as there's 16 points between these two teams in the standings. For once, I'd like to see a competitive, high-tempo outdoor game where scoring chances are given priority to defensive schemes, but I'm not getting my hopes up with both teams needing wins tomorrow in their quests for playoff seedings.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 641

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the confines of UMFM's studio where we'll chat some hockey for another hour as the school remains closed for the holiday season. The first show of 2025 is always fun as we break into the new calendar, and the two hosts will certainly get into some business that may ruffle feathers tonight. Of course, you're welcome to join us with your tweets and calls as we open 2025 with some hearty discussion tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight on the program, Teebz and Jason jump directly into why upsets at the World Junior Championship are good for the game and why Canadians better get used to suffering more losses at future tournaments. After that dose of reality, they discuss the Spengler Cup results, the Chicago Blackhawks failing to impress at a Winter Classic once again which should disqualify them from future Winter Classics, how the Jets are the top team to start 2025 and what can be improved, and we look at what the Jets are doing tonight for Ukrainian Heritage Night as traditional Ukrainian Christmas festivities last until January 6! It's a busy show to kick off 2025, so make sure you're settled down by the radio tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason talk upsets, losses, mistakes, disappointments, winners, losers, holidays, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: January 2, 2025: Episode 641

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Welcome To 2025

With the old calendar in the recycling bin as of today, 2025 is officially underway. I've seen lots of "best of 2024" lists and polls, but I'm not really interested in tracking that kind of stuff. If you liked something, that's yours to own and no one can say otherwise. I don't have any Spotify "most played" lists mainly because I don't subscribe, and I don't make resolutions because it gets done if something needs to be done. HBIC isn't undergoing many changes this year as I plan to continue to blog about things that interest me, but it should be noted that this is entry 6357 on this blog. That's a lot of writing, so who knows how long I'll keep adding a daily article in the future.

We're not going to start 2025 off with negatives, though, as there are a pile of things to which I'm looking forward. We'll start with the end of January where the 2025 Female World Sport School Challenge will run from January 30 to Febraury 2. This tournament always has me pumped for the future of women's hockey as we get to see a pile of U SPORTS- and NCAA-bound players before they hit the university circuits. Getting to see this great hockey, working with the amazing people in and around the St. Mary's Academy Flames throughout the tournament, and working alongside great people at the broadcast table has me excited to get back to it in 29 days!

Another event to which I'm looking forward is the annual NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs contest we run on The Hockey Show known as Survivor: NHL Playoffs! Sixteen people will be granted entry to the contest that will open in late April, and those sixteen people will watch their selected teams compete for prizes through the Stanley Cup Playoffs! Wayne is the defending champion after the Florida Panthers won him a pile of prizes in June, but we had fifteen fun, hilarious, and intelligent exit interviews that show how knowledgeable and creative our fans are. Survivor: NHL Playoffs is always a good time!

I haven't quite decided where yet, but there will be a hockey road trip next year as well. I had a pile of fun checking out the OHL in Sudbury and the ECHL in Fort Wayne in 2024, so it might be time to take a trek somewhere in 2025. Of course, the Canadian dollar has nosedived since I got back from my work trip at the end of November, so that may limit the number of places and games I can see. What I do know is that I'll be saving my nickels and dimes where I can because I had way too much fun watching hockey while road tripping.

I will say there will be trip to Brandon at some point, and I plan on not only stopping to see the WHL's Wheat Kings, but I want to see the MFHL edition of the Wheat Kings as well. Brandon's explosion of hockey is something that should be embraced and celebrated, so I'm hoping to get out to the community before the end of the season to catch a few games in southwestern Manitoba. Of couse, I'd love to the University of Brandon with a hockey program again, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards in the foreseeable future.

Beyond these items above, I'm open to suggestions. As you know, The Hockey Show is available to broadcast from your event if you want our presence there, so don't be afraid to ask! If you're holding a hockey tournament or some sort of special game or fundraiser, we'd be happy to help by lending our medium and show to the cause. HBIC will certainly accept invitations to events as well, so feel free to fire me an email for both HBIC and/or The Hockey Show on UMFM. We'll look at every request and see if we can fit into our calendars!

I'm ready for a big 2025 with all sorts of fun and adventure, so let's get this year rolling! Maybe I'll see you during my travels!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!