Why Keeping Records Matters

I spent more time than I probably should have in searching for information that shouldn't be this hard to find. As we know, Manitoba Bisons goalie Emily Shippam was credited with a goal last night in the Bisons' quarterfinal game against the Alberta Pandas in Edmonton, and I had put my stake in the ground that she may have been the first U SPORTS women's hockey netminder to have that honour. Both U SPORTS and Canada West have zero history of goalie goals posted anywhere, so I took a leap of faith that Shippam's goal made her the first woman to do so. I am here today to say that she was not first, but she's now part of a very small group of goalies.

That brings me to the goalie pictured above. Seen in the image is former Toronto Varsity Blues netminder Nicole Kesteris who suited up for the Varsity Blues from 2010-2015 in the OUA. Kesteris was recruited by former Varsity Blues head coach Karen Hughes to join the team where she showed she was ready for the university game by being named to both the OUA and CIS all-rookie teams in 2010-11 after going 8-8-0 with a 2.13 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

Kesteris would add a number of accolades to her résumé in her university career including graduating with a major in human geography and a double minor in sociology and environmental geography, but we're going to focus on a game on October 20, 2012 when the Varsity Blues were hosting the the Windsor Lancers. It was in this game where Nicole Kesteris made U SPORTS history.

According to the recap from that game, "with the score 3-3 in the second, Windsor pulled their goalie on a delayed penalty call, setting the stage for Kesteris’ goal. The Blues goaltender was credited with the goal after she made a pad save on a Windsor forward in the slot. The Windsor player then fired a pass back to the point, where it missed its’ intended target and travelled the length of the ice into the Lancers net." Apostrophe catastophe aside in that final sentence, Kesteris would score Toronto's first-ever goalie goal and, from what I've read, U SPORTS' first women's hockey goal by a goaltender.

As you can see, Kesteris was credited with an unassisted goal to make it 4-3 at 14:33 of the second period with Brittany Kirby being the Varsity Blues player who had committed a tripping penalty.

According to Kesteris' biography on the Varsity Blues website, that first Toronto goal was upgraded to "became the first female goalie in the CIS to be credited with a goal versus Windsor on Oct. 20". Again, I take no issue with this claim being made because there is simply no record of any other goaltender having scored a goal, but that's more of a function of U SPORTS and its conferences not having records online for people to read and reference. Which is all sorts of wrong.

This only makes things worse for everyone in hockey because, during my wee-hours-of-the-morning research, I stumbled across the player biography for Shanley Peters who suited up for the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the NCAA. The Manitoba-born, former Pembina Valley Hawks netminder played from 2010-14 with the Yellow Jackets, and her biography reads, "Made history on November 15 when she was credited with a goal in a 2-2 tie with UW-Eau Claire, making her the first goaltender in women's hockey history to score a goal".

Except she wasn't the first as I showed above. Nicole Kesteris scored on October 20, 2012 while Peters scored her goal on November 15, 2013, nearly 13 months after Kesteris had achieved the feat. Was she the first Yellow Jackets netminder to be credited with a goal? I'm sure she was and I won't debate that. Was she the "first goaltender in women's hockey history" to score? Absolutely not by all measures.

If we want to make things even more murky in the women's hockey goalie goals category, the goal by Peters erases the history made by Manitoba-born, former Pembina Valley Hawks goalie Corinne Schroeder as well. Schroeder was credited with a goal on September 25, 2021 with the Quinnipiac Bobcats as she scored against the Maine Black Bears. At the time, I had written that Schroeder was "the first female goalie in NCAA history to be credited with a goal of any kind" which we now know is not accurate thanks to Shanley Peters.

NCAA goals aside, this is why keeping accurate records in women's hockey is important. In just this article, I've debunked several statements and claims made by teams and organizations because the information is not accurate in any way nor is it easily accessible. The point is that no one should have to spend time hunting down simple stats like I did last night-slash-this morning. And the fact that me doing this work has now affected other records in other leagues is why accurate and accessible record-keeping is vitally important.

Because none of U SPORTS or its respective conferences make this information available, I guess I'll have to step in to fill the void despite me not being on those organizations' payrolls and despite me not having any association with those organizations or their respective teams. Here is the list of goalies who have been credited with goals in U SPORTS women's hockey that I have found:

• Nicole Kesteris (TOR) vs. Windsor Lancers - October 20, 2012
• Emily Shippam (MAN) at Alberta Pandas - February 20, 2026

If you know of other U SPORTS women's hockey goalies who have accomplished the feat, please let me know either by emailing me or posting in the comments, but you must provide a date and evidence that it happened. As much fun as it may sound, I don't really want to spend hours at night hunting down information that U SPORTS and the four conferences should already be making available to everyone.

Congratulations to all of Nicole Kesteris, Emily Shippam, Shanley Peters, and Corinne Schroeder for being part of a very exclusive club! Based on the four goalies who were mentioned in this article, it seems that Manitoba has a firm grasp on the unviersity-level women's hockey goalie goals, but membership is always open to any goalie who can accomplish the feat! Goalie goals are always awesome!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Is This The First One Ever?

I normally save all the Canada West women's hockey chatter for Sunday on The Rundown, but tonight will need its own entry on HBIC because we might have witnessed history tonight. As you know, HBIC will push whatever article I may be working on to a later date if there's a goalie goal scored with video evidence, and it appears we have one tonight that could be very historic! The woman to the left is Manitoba Bisons netminder Emily Shippam, and she was the starter for the Bisons tonight against the Alberta Pandas in Edmonton in Game One of the Canada West quarterfinal series. I'll recap the game on The Rundown, but it appears that Shippam might now be in the record books!

First, let's go to the video of why Shippam may have made history!
Shippam was credited with a goal at 18:55 of the third period after the shot by Alberta Pandas forward Hailey Carothers went off Shippam's arm, off the boards, and down the ice into the vacant net to put the Bisons up 4-2 in the game, eventually winning 5-2. What makes this goal historic is that I can find no other records of any Canada West or U SPORTS women's hockey goalie being credit with a goal of any kind! Emily Shippam may be the first goalie to have a goal credited to her in any U SPORTS women's hockey competition!

To give you an idea of how rare this is in U SPORTS hockey, I went all the back to 2009-10 to see how many goalies had scored in both men's and women's hockey. I found three goalies who did in men's hockey as Alberta's Kurtis Mucha scored in 2012-13, Western's Lucas Peressini scored in 2018-19, and Saskatchewan's Taran Kozun scored in 2019-20. The women's stats for the same time period are non-existant entirely as it only shows the normal goaltending stats rather than having point totals included. Because of this, it appears that Emily Shippam is the first goaltender to be credited with a goal!

Because Canada West and U SPORTS have criminally underreported women's statistics for decades, I'm making it official: Manitoba Bisons goaltender Emily Shippam is the first U SPORTS women's hockey goaltender to be credited with a goal. I'm willing to change this if anyone can find proof that another goaltender was credited with a goal before Shippam, but this is the image that matters right now.

Clearly, Emily Shippam played a big role in the Bisons win tonight as she recorded the victory after stopping 18 shots, and she scored her first career U SPORTS goal at 18:55 of the third period to put Manitoba up 4-2! That's a great day at the office for Shippam as the Bisons are one win away from a Canada West semifinal appearance after Shippam helped her own cause in Game One with a goal!

Congratulations go out to Manitoba Bisons netminder Emily Shippam who, based on all the reading and research I've done, is the first goaltender credited with a goal in U SPORTS women's hockey history!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

***Update: Emily Shippam is NOT the first goalie to be credited with a goal. I'll have more on this on Saturday when I discuss the lack of statistical records kept by U SPORTS in another HBIC article.***

The Hockey Show - Episode 700

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, somehow made it to the 700th show in its history. There aren't many weekly shows that have lasted as long as this hour has, but we're climbing the rungs of history at UMFM. When you consider that The Simpsons has been on the air for 37 seasons and only have 805 episodes to their name, we must be holding our own in the hockey chatter realm. In all honesty, though, we are grateful and thankful for each and every person who has tuned in for a segment or a season or the entire run of shows, and we're hoping to deliver another good one today! Buckle up because we have a couple of great guests joining us tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

You may have heard us talking about the Cross Border Classic earlier this year as we looked to get Sledge Hockey Manitoba a little real estate on the hockey map, and Teebz and Jason are excited to chat with Team Manitoba goaltenders Paul Hamm and Jon Derry tonight! We'll talk to them about being selected as the netminders for Team Manitoba, how they got into sledge hockey, their other pursuits, the upcoming Cross Border Classic, the Olympics, the Paralympics, and more! This show should be a beauty with medals on the line in Italy and two great guests who love the game of hockey in Paul and Jon, so hunker down around the radio 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 chat with Team Manitoba parahockey goalies Paul Hamm and Jon Derry about playing the game, their upcoming series, the biggest tournaments on the planet, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: February 19, 2026: Episode 700

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Corny Evening Of Hockey

If you're a fan of Lego, you know that the company has been producing a line of minifigures over the last number of years that feature all sorts of wacky characters along with a number of licensed characters not released in sets. One of those figures that came was the one you see to the right as they had a minifigure dressed up like an ear of corn. What one would use this for in a Lego setting outside of being a mascot is harder to imagine, but what if there was a hockey team who decided to dress like the corncob guy? You may chuckle at that question, but that's happening this weekend in the ECHL as one team has decided to get "corny" with their look on Saturday. Settle in and lend an ear for this story of kernels, skates, and rather unique uniforms that will hit the ice!

The Iowa Heartlanders will host the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday, but the midwest ECHL team won't be in one of their normal uniforms that to Saturday's game being "Cornfed Country Night" at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa! It seems that the Heartlanders are pulling out all the stops for this one as they'll give away Corn Thunderstix to fans as they come into the arena, there will be a pregame pyrotechnic show, the arena rock will be replaced with country music, and there will be giveaways for fans all night!

Of course, there will be the normal arena games between periods, and you know there will likely be a few cornhole boards setup along the concourse. It sounds like the concession stands will feature a lot of popcorn, there will be face-painting for the kids, and fans who want a larger-than-normal beverage can purchase the Heartlanders Boot Mug ticket package which comes with the boot-like mug seen to the left! Unfortunately, the toe appears to not be fillable so there won't be any physics needed to prevent spills, but that's a pretty cool promotional item nonetheless! I wonder how many Heartlanders Boot Mug tickets have been sold?

Ok, since I lured you into this article with the promise of corncob-clad players, the real deal are the uniforms to the right. Obviously, the players have to wear helmets so the hats shown in the image is just for fun, but the Iowa Heartlanders will wear the uniforms you see to represent "Cornfed Country Night" on the ice! I honestly can't think of any other team ever dressing as ears of corn for a hockey game, but it seems we can cross that one off the "did it happen in hockey?" list. If you're thinking, "I want one of those," fans can get their hands on these uniforms thanks to the Heartlanders putting them on Dash Auctions where both the jerseys and the pants shells can be won!

My hope is that a good crowd comes out on Saturday for this game between the Heartlanders and Cyclones. Currently, both teams sit at the bottom of the ECHL Central Divsion with the Cyclones having a nine-point edge on the Heartlanders. Cincinnati is 21-22-3 this season while Iowa is 16-28-4, so both teams will need to win games if they hope to have a shot at the playoffs. The good news is that Cincinnati is just six points back of the Indy Fire for fourth-place in the Central Division, but the Heartlanders have some serious work to do being 15 points back. A win on "Cornfed Country Night" would help that cause!

It should be a fun night on Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville and we'll get to see what the Heartlanders look like as they skate around the rink as ears of corn. "Cornfed Country Night" wouldn't work everywhere and it may not even be wanted anywhere else, but it works well in Iowa where, 90 minutes northeast, there was a story about a summer sport that came to life thanks to a cornfield!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

No Red Leafs In Canada West

Despite the logic of having a third BC-based university hockey program under Canada West's watch, the dream of seeing the Simon Fraser University Red Leafs make the jump to U SPORTS hockey is now dead-on-arrival with the news that was reported yesterday. I know that SFU is experiencing a "tightening of the purse strings" like most of the big universities across Canada, but the men's at-large hockey program that played against both U SPORTS and NCAA competitors whenever possible is officially being slashed at the end of the current season as per Simon Fraser University. Along with the lacrosse team, the university found that these two teams were "“not sustainable due to financial, regulatory and logistical constraints".

In reporting done by Mario Bartel of Freshnet News, he broke the story yesterday about the hockey and lacrosse teams, noting that the school had already planned to scuttle the varsity softball, golf, and outdoor track and field teams "as U Sports doesn’t have national championships for those sports". It seems the scalpel that SFU is using to get its budget back in order doesn't just end with non-championship sports as the Red Leafs men's hockey program looked like a potentially-viable option for Canada West men's hockey.

The madness in all of this is that Canada West and U SPORTS are shooting themselves in their respective feet by forcing SFU to pay fees to rejoin the two sporting bodies. Bartel reports that "the move back to U Sports will save $850,000 annually. But the one-time application costs for the new affiliation will cost the school up to $990,000" which makes absolutely zero sense when one considers that SFU's re-application can be amortized over a number of years, thereby guaranteeing better health of their athletic teams and ensuring their commitment to the conference is legitimate.

In looking at those numbers, though, I have a serious question: what is that money used for when it comes to the application costs? Shouldn't the application fees be as minimal as possible to allow more schools to compete at the U SPORTS and regional levels assuming they meet the educational requirements of U SPORTS participation? It's not like Canada West or U SPORTS is sinking that money into reducing costs for schools or building new infrastructure for their teams, so where does that million-dollar fee go?

Of course, no one will provide me with answers as to where those fees go besides into general coffers, so your guess is as good as mine. That's a whole other topic for another article one day, though.

If there's one thing that Canada West can use, it's tighter groups of teams rather than having nine teams spread out over four provinces. Travel is a significantly massive part of each program's budget each year, and having a better configuration for these ridiculous East and West Divisions would change that. If there were three teams in BC, they'd match the three teams in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the only teams who would need to switch divisions to make things work would be the Alberta teams. That won't happen now with this news.

Perhaps there will be a day where Simon Fraser University announces both a men's and women's hockey program for Canada West, but that day isn't even on the horizon at this point. I'd expect the players who are currently on the Red Leafs' roster to potentially look elsewhere for hockey opportunities now, and that will once again hurt Simon Fraser's enrolment numbers when one considers the number of athletes who are paying the price for SFU's financial situation.

If you were hoping for good news about Canadian university hockey growth, there is none here today. The Red Leafs are done as far as high-level competition is concerned, and their only team will continue to play in the BCIHL where costs are kept relatively low in comparison. And if we're ever to arrive at a ten-team Canada West conference, we need another team in BC to balance the conference.

As it stands, the nine current teams won't have to worry about trips to Burnaby next season or at any time in the future, apparently.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Movie Review: The Boys Of '80

Because I'm not allowed to live-blog an Olympic hockey game due to broadcast rights, I decided that I needed to post something else today that stuck with the Olympic hockey theme, but wouldn't break any rules. After all, I don't want the IOC shutting down HBIC over me publishing my thoughts as I watch Canada and Switzerland battle today. That being said, I decided to dive into the Netflix-produced Miracle: The Boys of '80, directed by Max Gershberg and Jacob Rogal. This documentary gathers a vast number of people who either played, called, or lived alongside the people who lived the story of the "Miracle on Ice". Being that I'm Canadian, I may have gone into watching this film by taking the subject matter for granted, but, after watching this documentary, I can honestly say that I have total respect for the men who defeated the Soviet Union after hearing their personal stories at the Lake Placid Olympic Games.

If you go into this expecting the Walt Disney version of Miracle, you won't find it here. Yes, the ending is already known and both movies end the same way, but Miracle: The Boys of '80 looks at the tournament from the perspective of the living members of the 1980 team, Herb Brooks' son and daughter, and the legendary Al Michaels who had the call in that memorable game. The members of the team talk about how the game brought them together and has kept them together throughout history, and there are some emotional moments they discover as players talk about being part of US history.

Obviously, there are some members of the team who have passed away, but it's hard not to have an appreciation for Herb Brooks and what he did to get this team set for the battle of their lives. Brooks' son and daughter describe how their father kept meticulous notes about everyone and everything leading up to and beyond the games as he looked for ways for the US team to succeed. Players described his cold demeanour towards them with anger as they wondered why Brooks seemed to hate them more than their opponents. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and Brooks is now held in the highest regard.

What makes Miracle: The Boys of '80 so intriguing to me is that there is a ton of unaired footage used in the documentary leading up to and from the 1980 Olympic Games. The archival footage of the team in practice and behind the scenes at the Olympics is incredible, it makes you want to see more of that footage. Of course, the players also get a chance to watch the footage, and the directors capture their reactions and thoughts about the unaired moments from their path to the gold medal. It's these reactions that are entirely worth investing time in this documentary. Some are priceless!

Throughout the film, there are key moments that the directors use with specific shots and archival footage that bring the stories to life. There's a segment about how Rob McClanahan was forced to stand on the bench during the Sweden game that needs to be seen, and there's a couple of heavy stories involving Jim Craig and Ken Morrow about how they almost quit due to parents who were battling illnesses. Perhaps the one story that stuck with me after the film ended was that of Steve Janaszak whose Olympic experience was very limited, but his life changed dramatically for the better because of it!

The film runs for an hour and 48 minutes, but it does not drag in its look at the stories about the various members of Team USA. According to an interview the directors did with The Athletic's Sean Gentille, the archival footage came from the Olympic Channel and the IOC, and it makes you wonder what else they may have stored away in whatever vault they keep the footage. Might we see one of these documentaries on the 2002 Winter Olympics one day?

For anyone who wasn't around for the spring of 1980, Miracle: The Boys of '80 might be the most honest, authentic look at how the American college kids upset a team of professional Russian hockey players at the biggest tournament on the planet. There are laughs, smiles, tears, anger, and happiness from the players as viewers will experience their emotions, and the archival footage secured by Gershburg and Rogal make the documentary so much better. Seeing the players' reactions during games to various events is so much better than just having them re-tell that story to the directors, and I admit that I have a new appreciation for that legendary US team!

Teebz's Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 stars)

Miracle: The Boys of '80 is streaming exclusively on Netflix. The movie was produced by thirteen different people for Olympic Channel, Words + Pictures, and Select Films, and was released on January 30, 2026 exclusively on Netflix. Miracle: The Boys of '80 has a running time of 148 minutes.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Week 16

It's the final week of the season and there are six teams vying for five playoff spots. Two teams can play spoiler this week by rallying for wins, so all eight teams have a reason to shoot for the win column. The only team who can relax are the UBC Thunderbirds who know they'll have next week off as the playoffs start and will be sleeping in their own beds for the entirety of the Canada West playoffs after clinching home-ice advantage. Beyond that, though, every other playoff spot is up for grabs, so let's see who's in, who's out, and who is travelling where next week on this week's edition of The Rundown!

FRIDAY: We'll start out on the west coast in Langley where the Trinity Western Spartans played host to the Regina Cougars in a 1pm PST game on Friday. The Cougars were playing the spoiler role this weekend as they looked to cause chaos for the Spartans by earning wins. TWU needed points to stay ahead of Alberta, and a sweep would guarantee that they would host the West Division quarterfinal. The assignment was clear: earn as many points as possible.

Cougars goals: Trinity Grove (2), Tessa Stewart (5), Pippy Pritchard (5)
Cougars assists: Cassidy Peters (3), Kaylee Dyer (7), Kaitlyn Gilroy (2), Quinn McLaren (6), Makena Kushniruk (6)
Cougars netminders: Payton Schlamp (44/46) in 60:46

Spartans goals: Michela Naccarato (2), Olivia Leier (3)
Spartans assists: Ella Boon (9), Kara Yackel (5), Presleigh Giesbrecht (8)
Spartans netminder: Kate Fawcett (22/25) in 60:46

Result: 3-2 overtime victory for Regina over Trinity Western.

SATURDAY: One point was better than no points, but it made Saturday's game a must-win affair for the Spartans to put pressure on the Pandas. They could lose in overtime or the shootout, but they'd need MacEwan to win in regulation time to host the quarterfinal games. Good teams take care of their own business first, though, so could Trinity Western go into the playoffs on a winning note?

Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars netminders: Amy Swayze (49/50)

Spartans goals: Kailey Ledoux (7)
Spartans assists: none
Spartans netminder: Kate Fawcett (26/26)

Result: 1-0 victory for Trinity Western over Regina.

FRIDAY: The last chapter of the Battle of Edmonton in 2026 began at the Downtown Community Arena on Friday. Alberta likely had to sweep the MacEwan Griffins this weekend plus hope for a little help from the Regina Cougars if they wanted to host the West Division quarterfinal. When the Pandas arrived at the arena, they already knew that Regina had limited Trinity Western to one point so the door was open. MacEwan had one task: slow the Pandas down.

Pandas goals: Hayleigh Craig (1), Hailey Carothers (4), Jadynn Morden (8), Ryann Perrett (3)
Pandas assists: Jadynn Morden (7), Hailey Carothers (5), Jadynn Morden (8), Hayleigh Craig (9), Sara Kazeil (4), Hailey Carothers (6), Kelly Stanford (3), Janay Williams (3)
Pandas netminders: Misty Rey (24/24)

Griffins goals: none
Griffins assists: none
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (18/21)

Result: 4-0 victory for Alberta over MacEwan.

SATURDAY: With the series shifting back to Clare Drake Arena, the Pandas came into Saturday with a one-point edge over the Trinity Western Spartans in the West Division standings. In order for Alberta to host, they had to win as the Spartans held the tie-breaker. If MacEwan won in any fashion, the Pandas would travel for their quarterfinal game, so the battle lines were drawn for this game.

Griffins goals: none
Griffins assists: none
Griffins netminder: Mikayla Christmann (46/52)

Pandas goals: Brayden Stewart (1), Ryann Perrett (4), Natalie Kieser (8), Ryann Perrett (5), Jadynn Morden (9), Jadynn Morden (10)
Pandas assists: Annie King (6), Holly Magnus (13), Sara Kazeil (5), Abby Soyko (9), Holly Magnus (14), Abby Soyko (10), Annie King (7), Hayleigh Craig (10), Holly Magnus (15), Annie King (8), Holly Magnus (16)
Pandas netminders: Mackenzie Dojahn (14/14)

Result: 6-0 victory for Alberta over MacEwan.

FRIDAY: The fates of two teams hung in the balance on Friday night as the Mount Royal Cougars met the Saskatchewan Huskies at Merlis Belsher Place. The Cougars had to remain ahead of the Calgary Dinos in some form for them to win the East Division and enjoy a quarterfinal bye next week. The Saskatchewan Huskies needed to win as many points as possible while hoping that the Bisons stumbled in their games. The first task for both teams was to win on Friday or grab points in whatever way possible in order to help their causes.

Cougars goals: Kaia Borbandy (3), Julia Duke (10), Jerzey Watteyne (10), Summer Fomradas (3)
Cougars assists: Isa MacPhee (11), Sydney Benko (7), Allee Gerrard (9), Ava Metzger (5), Gabby Lindsay (2)
Cougars netminder: Scout Anderson (13/13)

Huskies goals: none
Huskies assists: none
Huskies netminders: Colby Wilson (18/21)

Result: 4-0 victory for Mount Royal over Saskatchewan.

SATURDAY: While both teams knew their fate thanks to the Calgary-Manitoba game on Friday, there was still business to complete on Saturday as the Cougars and Huskies met in their final games of the season. I won't give away the ending with respect to playoff positioning, but both teams wanted end the campaign in the win column for 2026. Who would close out their season with a win?

Cougars goals: Allee Gerrard (11), Kiana McNinch (7)
Cougars assists: Kiana McNinch (11), Julia Duke (5)
Cougars netminder: Katherine Holan (29/32)

Huskies goals: Sara Kendall (5), Jayde Cadieux (6), Kahlen Wisener (10)
Huskies assists: Jessica Anderson (2), Sara Kendall (3), Kendra Zuchotzki (7), McKenna Bolger (9)
Huskies netminders: Colby Wilson (17/19)

Result: 3-2 victory for Saskatchewan over Mount Royal.

FRIDAY: As I indicated above, Friday's game between the visiting Calgary Dinos and the hosting Manitoba Bisons determined the fates of all four teams in the East Division who were vying for playoff spots and standings. Manitoba just needed to match what the Huskies did this weekend as they held the tie-breaker while the Dinos needed wins to catch the Mount Royal Cougars. With those teams playing in Saskatoon, let's see how this game finished regarding playoff spots.

Dinos goals: Hannah Reagh (5), Evelyn Lawrence (7)
Dinos assists: Kyla Mitenko (7), April Klarenbach (3), Josie McLeod (4), Alex Spence (14)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (37/40) in 60:37

Bisons goals: Julia Bird (11), Aimee Patrick (10), Dana Goertzen (6)
Bisons assists: Norah Collins (8), Alyssa Rasmuson (9), Norah Collins (9), Louise Fergusson (8), Sadie Keller (5), Aimee Patrick (15)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (18/20) in 60:37

Result: 3-2 overtime victory for Manitoba over Calgary.

SATURDAY: Because Mount Royal won and Manitoba won on Friday, neither Calgary nor Saskatchewan could overtake those respective teams in those races. That made Saturday's game all about building for playoff momentum while remaining healthy as both teams looked forward to Canada West quarterfinal games next week.

Dinos goals: none
Dinos assists: none
Dinos netminder: Maisie Cope (36/41)

Bisons goals: Hanna Bailey (4), Hanna Bailey (5), Julia Bird (12), Norah Collins (10), Alyssa Rasmuson (3)
Bisons assists: Kelsey Huibers (2), Sophia Anderson (5), Julia Bilous (5), Sophia Anderson (6), Sophia Heidinger (4), Hanna Bailey (9), Sadie Keller (6), Norah Collins (10)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (13/13)

Result: 5-0 victory for Manitoba over Calgary.

Don't even ask about divisions. I'm not interested in that setup. It's one conference, nine teams, and we'll see who is best in the west.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	24-2-2-0	52	85	24	W8	BYE
Mount Royal	13-7-6-2	40	70	46	L1	BYE
Calgary	13-7-4-5	37	66	61	L3	vs TWU
Manitoba	10-9-3-6	32	71	65	W5	@ ALB
Alberta	10-9-2-7	31	61	60	W2	vs MAN
Trinity Western	8-12-6-2	30	65	63	W1	@ CAL
Saskatchewan	8-10-4-6	30	50	65	W1	OUT
Regina	4-15-5-4	22	41	70	L1	OUT
MacEwan	3-21-2-2	12	25	80	L7	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. She's always been one of the better scorers that the Alberta Pandas had on their roster, but three goals and two assists in her final two regular season games was something I noticed as she helped the Pandas lock down a home quarterfinal series. That kind of effort from Alberta Pandas forward Jadynn Morden puts her on The Honour Roll!

If there was an award for consistency, Jadynn Morden of the Alberta Pandas may win it thanks to her 18-point season this year. I say that because Morden had 18 points last season and 18 points the season before, and she had 18 points combined in her first two seasons with the Pandas! She needed a big weekend this weekend to hit that mark again, and she responded with a goal and two assists on Friday before adding two goals on Saturday to push her back to the 18-point mark.

I got to see how good she was while she played with the Lloydminster PWM Steelers at the 2019 and 2020 Female World Sport School Challenges, and I knew Alberta had a special player on their recruitment list when it was announced she would be a Panda. With her time coming to an end at the university level, she showed she's still an explosive offensive player who can take over a game, and that's how Alberta Pandas forward Jadynn Morden made the list!

Olympic Progress

With the women's hockey event in Milano-Cortina down to four teams, the number of Canada West people still going at the tournament is starting to tail off. Let's see who is still in the mix.

Mount Royal Cougars head coach Scott Rivett should be on his way home soon if not already after Czechia was "upset" by the Swedes in the quarterfinals. I put "upset" in quotation marks because the Swedes always have good players, so I'm not certain it's a true upset outside of original rankings. Nonetheless, the early exit by the Czechs means there are no medals coming home to Calgary from Italy.

Italy's Gabriella Durante won't be bringing home any hardware either after USA eliminated the Italians from the tournament. Durante played in four of the five games for Italy, recording a 1-2-0 record with a 3.44 GAA and a .908 save percentage. She was the goaltender of record in the 3-2 win over Japan - her first Olympic win - and was the goaltender Italy went with in their quarterfinal game against Team USA. I'm not sure anyone will stop the Americans this year, but Durante made 45 stops in the 6-0 loss so she did her absolute best. No word of a lie: I may get myself a #1 Durante Italy jersey just because of how well Gabriella played at the 2026 Olympic Games!

That leaves Swiss forward Vanessa Schaefer as the remaining Canada West player in Italy who will be playing for a medal, but the colour of said medal is still undetermined. Schaefer and her Swiss colleagues will play Canada tomorrow in one of the two semifinals after the Swiss beat Finland to advance. Schaefer has yet to record a point and is sitting with a -4 through the event, but the Swiss are showing incredible defensive play to hold good teams at bay. I know the UBC Thunderbirds will be cheering for her, but it's going to be hard to cheer against Canada tomorrow at 2:10pm CT when they meet!

Expansion Is Coming

The RSEQ announced last year that both Laval University and the University of Sherbrooke would be adding women's hockey programs to their athletic departments beginning no later than 2027. Well, I'm here to tell you that Laval is already putting the work in so they can be ready to hit the ice in the fall of 2026! The RSEQ is growing!

I was discussing the growth of the game yesterday with the Olympics once again showing that women's hockey is one of the event's pinnacle sports, and I was informed that there was a Winnipeg-born player who had recently been recruited by Laval University to play hockey there next season. This caught me by surprise, so I went and checked. Sure enough, Talia Jones of the MFHL's Winnipeg Ice is listed on their recruitment page along with a handful of other women!

The University of Sherbrooke has yet to make any announcements nor post anything on their website about women's hockey yet, so they may still be looking at the 2027 date as their starting point, but the fact that the RSEQ is growing from four to five teams next season is encouraging. Having four teams competing for two spots at the U SPORTS National Championship is dumb, so let's hope that Quebec continues to grow the game to add a few more teams to the mix!

The East Next Week

The schedule is posted for the games that we'll see in the East Division battle in the Canada West quarterfinals. Here's the preview.

The Spartans and Dinos will meet at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary for Game One on Friday, February 20 at 7pm MT. Game Two goes Saturday at the same time while Game Three, if necessary, will be played on Sunday at 5pm CT. Calgary and Trinity Western played only one weekend series this year in Calgary on November 14 and 15. Calgary won 3-2 in overtime and 2-0 in those two games.

Sydney Mercier scored three goals and adding a helper over those two games. The Spartans are going to want to slow her down if they want to advance, but they need to keep an eye on all of Brooklyn Anderson, Jess Martens, and Evelyn Lawrence as well. Alex Spence and Caitlyn Perlinger will be the defenders who push the pace, and it will likely be Amelia Awad who starts for the Dinos after going 12-3-1 this season with a 1.87 GAA and a .940 save percentage.

Trinity Western will come into Calgary with just as many offensive weapons, being led by Kyra McDonald and Chloe Reid, but the likes of Kara Yackel and Kailey Ledoux could also make some noise. The Spartans get a huge push from their blue line where all of Presleigh Giesbrecht, Sadie Isfeld, Ella Boon, and Kasey Ditner have double-digit point totals, so expect them to jump into the offensive fun. Kate Fawcett will be the likely starter for TWU after a 10-7-1 season where she posted a 2.28 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

The West Next Week

Before we even get into this, had Canada West kept the one conference idea instead of being split into two division, Manitoba, who finished with more points than Alberta, would be hosting this series in Winnipeg. That complaint aside, here's the preview.

The Bisons and Pandas will meet at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton for Game One on Friday, February 20 at 7pm MT. Game Two goes Saturday at the same time while Game Three, if necessary, will be played on Sunday at 5pm CT. Manitoba and Alberta played only one weekend series this year in Edmonton on January 30 and 31. Alberta won 5-4 in overtime while Manitoba took the second game of the weekend series by a 4-2 decision. This series should be fun.

Natalie Kieser had a three-point weekend the last time these teams met including the overtime game-winner. She, Abby Soyko, and Jadynn Morden should be the players that Manitoba is watching, but Holly Magnus has shown her skills while Hailey Carothers can dent twine if given a chance. Albera won't want to get into a track meet with Manitoba, so expect them to clamp down defensively in front of their netminder. Mackenzie Dojahn will be the likely starter after she went 8-2-2 with a 1.74 GAA and a .920 save percentage this season.

Norah Collins had five points for the Bisons the last time they were at Clare Drake Arena, so the Pandas are going to keep an eye on her. That being said, she, Aimee Patrick, and Julia Bird all hit double-digits in goals this season while Dana Goertzen, Alyssa Rasmuson, and Sara Harbus were all solid secondary scorers. Hanna Bailey and Louise Fergusson pushed the pace offensively from the blue line, but the Bisons will need to continue to hold teams to under 25 shots. Emily Shippam will be the likely starter for the Bisons after she posted an 11-9-3 record with a 2.29 GAA and an .891 save percentage.

The Last Word

There are three teams who saw their seasons come to an end this week, and it sucks because not every team can make the playoffs. I would hope that this makes all of the Saskatchewan Huskies, Regina Cougars, and MacEwan Griffins hungrier for next season, but we'll see in October when the new season begins. Not all is lost, though.

The Huskies are in the midst of a rebuild, and their future looks bright with some of the recruits they've signed joining the returning players next season. We didn't even get to see the likes of defender Evy West after injuries sidelined her, but we did get to see Peppi Virtanen show her stuff, Kahlen Wisener hit double-digits in goals this season, Avery Gottselig looks like she's going to be a pillar on the blue line, and Clara Juca should continue to be solid between the pipes.

The Regina Cougars are looking to continue to build, and they keep adding a ton of talent through their recruiting process. Pippy Pritchard is a leader on this team already, Tessa Stewart has shown growth, Quinn McLaren and Callie Hilhorst look like solid defenders, and the Amy Swayze-Payton Schlamp tandem should keep Regina in games for years to come. The Cougars are young, but they'll get better with every game they play next season and beyond.

You don't have to look hard to see the raw talent that the MacEwan Griffins possess with the likes of Megan Dolynchuk, Jordan Brown, Sasha Malenfant, and Jordana Jones being the next wave of talent. With Taya Currie and Mikayla Christmann holding down the fort, the Griffins could use a solid recruiting class and/or some transfers to boost the amount of scoring talent in the short term, but the effort the Griffins give on every night will never be questioned. This is a team that plays with heart and pride, and they should be proud that they were 4-6 in one-goals this season. For comparison, Manitoba was 4-7 in one-goal games this season, and they're in the playoffs!

While next season starts now for those three teams, the other six will determine which two teams will head to Elmira, Ontario for the U SPORTS National Champion and which team will add another tapestry to their rafters next season. Six teams will be reduced to four teams by this team next weekend, so best of luck to the Pandas, Dinos, Bisons, and Spartans! We should see some amazing hockey!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

We Interrupt This Olympic Talk...

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it doesn't matter what else happened in hockey today if a goalie scores and there's video evidence of it. HBIC is committed to goalie goals because of how awesome they are, and the young man to the left, Green Bay Gamblers goaltender Leo Henriquez, decided to elevate his game tonight against the Lincoln Stars in USHL action. The 18 year-old, Slovakian netminder played for his country at the World Junior Championship, and he's slated to suit up for the NCAA's University of New Hampshire Wildcats beginning in 2027. He's having an oustanding USHL season this year with Green Bay, but he may have made it all the more memorable with his outstanding effort tonight at home against Lincoln where he played a signficant role on both sides of the puck!

Henriquez entered the night with a 13-6-2 record with a 2.09 GAA - tops in the USHL - and a .923 save percentage. He can now add another "best" to that list because he might be the best fully-armoured player in the league when it comes to scoring goals!
With 2:08 remaining in the game and Lincoln down 2-0 to Green Bay, they opted to pull netminder William Prowse while trying to kill off a five-minute major assessed earlier in the period. If you're scratching your head as to why Lincoln would do something like that, I am as well since it makes no sense. In any case, Lincoln dumped the puck in and went for a line change only to see Leo Henriquez stop the dump-in behind his net, set his hands, and launch the puck down the ice and into the vacant net to make it 3-0 at 18:30 of the third period!

Just for good measure, Green Bay would add two more goals before the final whistle as the Gamblers defeated the Stars by a 5-0 score with Henriquez picking up a goal and a 21-save shutout. Even more impressive is that Henriquez shut out Lincoln last night in stopping all 22 shots he faced in the 2-0 Green Bay win. In total, Lincoln fired 43 shots on Henriquez and scored zero times while Henriquez recorded one goal on one shot this weekend! Not bad for the guy in pads!

As far as I can tell, this is the eighth time a USHL goaltender has been credited with a goal, but I can't say that those are the only eight goalies who accomplished the feat. I took a long look at the USHL record book tonight, and I cannot find any info on goaltenders who scored in league history. As it stands, Jared Rutledge was the first Green Bay Gambler netminder to be credited with a goal back in 2014, and Neate Sager noted in that linked article that Ryan Massa of the Fargo Force and Jon Gillies of the Indiana Ice may have been the goalies before Rutledge who scored in USHL history.

If that's the case, here is the updated USHL goalie goal list:

• Ryan Massa (FAR) at Green Bay Gamblers - May 2, 2010*
• Jon Gillies (IND) vs. Des Moines Buccaneers - April 14, 2012
• Jared Rutledge (GBG) vs. Youngstown Phantoms - Feb. 22, 2014
• Keith Petruzzelli (MUS) vs. Madison Capitols - Feb. 24, 2017
• Mikhail Berdin (SFS) vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks - Nov. 18, 2017
• Roman Durny (DMB) vs. Sioux Falls Stampede - Dec. 19, 2018
• Todd Scott (TCS) vs. Sioux Falls Stampede - March 20, 2021
• Leo Henriquez (GBG) vs. Lincoln Stars - Feb. 14, 2026
* denotes scored in Clark Cup Final playoff game

Officially, Green Bay is now +1 in goalie goals scored with Henriquez's marker tonight, and Green Bay is the only franchise to have two netminders be credited with goals in USHL history. Pretty cool!

I can't say that the list above is complete by any means, but I do know that Henriquez's Valentine's Day in 2026 will be one he won't forget any time soon thanks to his love of the game. How does one not be romantic about hockey with a storyline like that?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Golden Puppets

When the broadcast rightsholders for the Milano-Cortina Olympics were announced, I don't think anyone was surprised to see the Canadian team of CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet banding together once again to cover the Canadian angle in Italy. NBC was announced as the US rightsholder for US broadcasts which carried on their effort to be the American Olympic network, but I'm not sure that anyone knew that NBC was going to employ the residents of Sesame Street as part of their coverage. With ongoing coverage from "fabricated Americans" such as Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Slimey pictured above, the characters from one of America's most famous streets are in Milan to talk Olympic sports and talk with American athletes!

I don't spend a lot of time on HBIC talking about Jim Henson's creations, but tonight will give me a chance to do so as Elmo got a chance to sit down and chat with two members of the US men's Olympic hockey team in brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk! I'll avoid making "Muppets" jokes with the three individuals in the image to the right, but having Elmo interview American athletes is a fun way to get kids interested in the sports and the athletes that play those sports. The marketing aspect here is pretty fun, and NBC deserves some credit for finding a way to not only get kids interested in these sports, but their parents and family members as well!

According to USA Hockey, Elmo's interview with the Tkachuks will be on Sesame's social channels before tomorrow’s game, and I'm very interested in seeing it! I'm not expecting some sort of earth-moving journalism from Elmo or anything, but I think the Tkachuks are the right guys to sit down with Sesame Street's interviewer to make a little magic. They seem like they'd have some fun with this interview!

Having Sesame Street characters at the Milano-Cortina Olympics doesn't seem like it would be a good fit based on Sesame Street's body of work, but seeing how the Sesame Street characters take fun stuff like figure skating terms and explain them using "fabricated Americans" - salchow is demonstrated by a cow! - is a fun and creative way to get younger viewers interested and, perhaps, interested in the sports. We know hockey has a solid registration number in the US, but if this can help sports generate registrations in sports like cross-country skiing, speed skating, and others it will be worth every second Elmo and his colleagues spend in Milan.

I know the NHL has tried to incorpoate the Nickelodeon idea into specific broadcasts, but the catch here is that some of the most simple parts of the game - interviews, explanations of rules, and getting players to show a little personality - can be done extremely well by characters one least expects. CBC used to run the Peter Puck segments back in the 1970s which was fun, and Sesame Street brings back that element with these features from Milano-Cortina.

Make no mistake that the Olympics, in its empirical form, are a competition, but there's no reason why people can't have a little fun. After all, most of these athletes are being paid to play a game, so the Olympics are somewhat child-like if you remove all the drama that surrounds the Olynpics. And if you want to extend that to the Sesame Street idea, I point to the lyrics of the theme song to the show that are "Come and play, everything's A-OK, friendly neighbors there, that's where we meet". Frankly, that sounds like an Olympic Games I want to watch, so good on NBC and Sesame Street for teaming up!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 699

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with the second week of Olympic hockey chatter as the Milano-Cortina Olympiad continues. We saw the Canadian women stumble in their quest for gold, the Canadian men start their quest for gold, and a few other storylines that have emerged in hockey and other sports that are worthy of discussion. What shouldn't be forgotten is that even small mistakes in a competition can effect the outcome of the event, and that's why the Olympics are about the best athletes being the most prepared for these events. We'll jump into the stories, news, and chatter from Italy tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

All of those images to the left happened once upon a tine, and Teebz and Jason will look at why the Americans may win again after throttling Canada on Tuesday. Beyond that, they'll also discuss the injury to Marie-Philip Poulin, Team Canada's start at the men's hockey event, why trying to find highlights and clips of the game is next to impossible, an athlete who was sent home despite some hypocrisy, how Olympic goalies are dealing with new equipment, and a cool moment from one US team on the ice. It should be a full sixty-minutes of Olympic chatter, so get settled in 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 chat dominant performances, bad team-building, good starts, impossible tasks, new gear, idiotic decisions, classy moves, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: February 12, 2026: Episode 699

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

One Heckuva Lunch Guest

I know Nathan MacKinnon is focused on the task at-hand in Italy, and it makes sense when one considers that this is his first crack at an Olympic medal of any colour in his already well-decorated career. Personally, I would leave the hockey stuff alone for a day or two before the event started because it's Italy where food, culture, and history are all around those who are there! One of the things I really enjoyed while the pandemic raged was Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy TV show that aired on CNN where he visited various regions in Italy to check out the local foods and culture.

Well, NBC caught up with the US women's team sitting down to lunch with Mr. Tucci in Italy as they enjoyed some time away from the rink!
Please note that this segment is owned entirely by NBC for the purpose of their broadcasting, and that all rights belong to NBC when it comes to this segment. Any retranmission or rebroadcast in part or whole requires written consent from NBC, and it may not be reposted with their written consent. That's the legal portion of today's post!

First off, that risotto the group was served looked so good and I am slightly jealous in seeing that. Honestly, though, how cool is that the US five players got to sit with Oscar-winning Stanley Tucci for lunch in Milan, chat hockey, and eat good food? The fact that Tucci would want to be a forward is pretty cool, Stanley's questioning of the Canada-US rivalry was funny, and seeing Tucci get a jersey is pretty awesome! His The Devil Wears Prada reference at the end is funny and relevant since the sequel to that movie is due out this year!

Look, HBIC isn't abandoning its Canadian heritage or pride, but I'd gladly represent the US if I could hang with Stanley Tucci for an hour. The man's a legend on the big screen and he knows good food. I'd bet the conversation would be lively with many laughs as the risotto was consumed. I know he was excited that the women were going to sign his jersey for him, but I'd be wanting him to sign a menu from the restaurant that I could take with me! After all, he's Stanley Tucci!

That being said, it should come as no surprise that the Canadian women's team was carb-loading with pasta and focaccia as the go-to choices for meals. Apparently, though, the idea of pasta as a daily meal isn't the ideal meal for some athletes as they crave a more "homestyle meal" from reports. For the Italian kitchen staff, it seems they're learning from the mistakes that were made in Paris.

For the most part, it seems the food being served in Milan is being praised by the athletes both for taste and for availability. Elisabetta Salvadori, head of food and beverages for the Games, isn't letting that praise go to her or her staff's heads with events still to go.

"I'm Italian, so I'm a bit superstitious," she told Reuters with a laugh. "But so far we had no major issues. Just a few minor things you expect at the start. Someone asked for oatmeal in the morning. It was already there."

While the risotto that the US women's hockey team and Stanley Tucci enjoyed wasn't on the menu, it seems the food in Italy isn't going to be a reason that anyone comes up short in his or her event. And if the carb-loading is preferred by these athletes, expect Nice, France to import a ton of pasta from Italy for their Olympiad in 2030!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

An Ode To Dennis Green

I'm not sure if I was more surprised by the anger that Canadians had over the absolute beating handed to the Olympic Canadian women's hockey team by their American counterparts by the shock that some seem to express on social media about not knowing a result like we saw today was entirely in the cards. The US team has been whooping the Canadian women over the course of the calendar year, and today's exclamation point in Milan may have been a preview for a future game where gold medals are awarded. Quite honestly, the only surprise that anyone should have had was how Canada kept the US from running up the score. As Dennis Green said, "They are who we thought they were!"

I'm not here to sing the praises of the US team nor to sing the blues over Canada's uninspired, mistake-filled game, but it's hard not to notice how dominant Abbey Murphy is every time she comes over the boards. Murphy does not have an equal in this tournament when it comes to size, speed, and skill, and watching her play reminded me of how Hayley Wickenheiser played when she was in her twenties. She's a force, and stopping her will be a challenge for all teams.

That being said, Canada looked overmatched in all aspects of the game. They got out-worked, out-skated, out-hustled, out-chanced, and outscored by the Americans who played the most complete sixty minutes of hockey to date at this Olympiad. What we shouldn't forget is that this has been the same story for the previous six games as well where Canada lost all six by a combined score of 30-11. The last four games against one another saw Canada lose each game by three goals or more. Cue Green's "They are who we thought they were!"

Canada selected their team by relying on experience, but that also comes at a price as the average age for the teams clocks in at 29.2 years-old. By comparison, the much faster, much hungrier Americans are sitting at 25.8 years-old. Team USA has 13 players under the age of 25 compared to the five that the Canadians brought to Milano-Cortina. On February 4, head coach Troy Ryan was having none of the talk about the age difference between the two country's rosters.

"It's a storyline that's going to unfold with the US being much younger and us being a little bit older," Ryan said. "You won't hear me at the Olympics resorting to talking about age. It's just not a factor. We have the best players we think are available to us right now."

Coach Ryan might want a mulligan on that statement after today's exhibition. The younger American players put on a dazzling show against the veteran, experienced Canadian defence, making them look like they were the inexperienced players on the ice. Hannah Bilka (24) had two goals, Abbey Murphy (23) had three helpers, Caroline Harvey (23) had a goal and two assists, and both Kirsten Simms (21) and Laila Edwards (22) had goals. If you're totalling that up, all five goals were scored by players under the age of 25.

As Dennis Green said, "They are who we thought they were!"

It is going to take a small miracle, some sort of coaching renaissance, and a complete examination of the game for the Canadians to potentially even slow down the Americans. They have steamrolled their way through four games, surrendering just one goal to the Czechs in the opening game they played. I'm not sure netminder Aerin Frankel has even broken a sweat in some games, including today's game against Canada. Team USA looks like a machine right now. Hit us with the line again, Dennis: "They are who we thought they were!"

Canadian fans may rally around the fact that this was, undoubtedly, the worst game Canada has played in these Olympics, and that superstar Marie-Philip Poulin was sidelined. There's no doubt that Canada has to be better, and there's hope that Poulin will be ready for the medal round where her participation is absolutely necessary. What we shouldn't overlook, though, is that the Americans stomped Canada today on the backs of a handful of younger players, and that domination likely will continue until the medals are awarded.

It doesn't mean they aren't beatable, though. The Americans are quick to remind everyone about that game in 1980 against the Soviet Union. Canada has its own history to draw upon back in 2002 when the Americans rode an eight-game winning streak over the Canadians and a 35-game winning streak over the world before the Canadians defeated them for the gold medal. It's not unthinkable to suggest that Canada will rise to the occasion in 2026, but today's game doesn't instill a lot of confidence in that outcome happening.

No one should be surprised that the Americans slapped the Canadians around today. Dennis Green's words carry true in that anyone who ahas watched the American women's team this year knew they were deep, talented, and hungry. Even Troy Ryan knew that Canada was going to have its hands full after the Rivalry Series, calling the young US players "a special group of young college players. That class is not like many others I've seen". They are who we thought they were.

Now it comes down to Canada playing the way they believe they can play to be successful. Assuming these two squads are meet in the gold medal final, they'll need to figure themselves out over the quarterfinal and semifinal games in order to be ready for the rematch. If that happens and Canada lays another egg against the Americans, it shouldn't surprise anyone after today's severe beating because that's exactly who we thought they were: underdogs.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Risk Versus The Reward

I know there's a push among women's hockey players to allow for more physicality in their game, and I'm not here to stifle that discussion and any resulting progress. If the women want to throw checks, they should be able to come to a reasonable agreement on how that can be done. As we saw in today's Canada-Czechia game, there are some women who are rather good at throwing bodychecks, but, just as in men's hockey, there can be injuries as we saw Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin exit the game in the first period today. Immediately, the thoughts began running in my head about to deal with Poulin's potential injury, and I think there's one clear solution.

Canada handled the Czech team fairly well once Poulin exited the game, and I know there's a push to win the group so they can have last change throughout the medal round. That's not lost on me as I weighed the options, but we know the US - Canada's opponent tomorrow - play physical as well. We know they'll likely find out that Poulin has some bumps and bruises thanks to the Czechs, and they'll look to exploit that wearing down one of the game's best players whenever they can. This isn't a secret - it happens in all sports.

If Poulin doesn't play, that will remove a big weapon from Canada's offensive arsenal that they desperately need against the high-flying Americans. The chances of beating the Americans would get lower, but that's where having faith in the team that Canada assembled can do the job even as one of their best may not be able to play.

If Poulin opts to play and puts the team ahead of her own health, that's a choice she's making to help the Canadians in their quest for another gold medal. Last change in medal-round games could be vitally important, so earning a win over the US would be important if those two were to meet in one of the medal-round games.

However, if she aggravates the injury or takes another bump that forces her to miss significant time at these Olympics, what then? Last change is important, but is it more important than Canada losing its consensus best player for multiple games or the rest of the tournament? I can't see that decision as even being on the table.

I'm not one to play the win-at-all-costs game when it comes to potentially losing my best player for an extended period of time. If the game against Team USA was for the gold medal, I could understand wanting Poulin in the game, but this is preliminary game that will ultimately see these two teams end up on opposite ends of the bracket. You can stress the importance of having home-ice advantage in the medal round, but Canada can't be caught by the Czechs who have played their four games, they can't be caught by the Swiss who have one game remaining, and Finland would need to beat Canada in regulation on the final day of the preliminary round after beating Switzerland the day before. In short, Canada's looking good.

And allow me to go on the record to say that the Americans are NOT going into thug-mode against Canada. They certainly don't want any of their players hurt in the game tomorrow, but the fact remains that every push, bump, and check that Poulin takes could make her injury worse. We know Poulin goes to high-traffic areas and loves to have the puck on her stick, so the Americans will be forced to check her when she does. I'd rather not run the risk that Poulin aggravates the injury than rolling the dice that the Americans will give her space. That's not how Team USA plays - they make Canada earn it.

In saying all of that, I'd let Poulin sit tomorrow so she can aim to be 100% for the medal round. Canada needs her at her best on the biggest stage, and any further injury would throw everything into chaos. I know she's a vital part of the Canadian team no matter what game they play in, but losing the battle to win the war is a compromise all Canadian fans will be comfortable with when Captain Canada returns rested, recovered, and ready to hunt for gold!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Week 15

If teams are serious about making the playoffs or securing quarterfinal byes or home-ice advantage in the quarterfinals, this was the weekend where all of that could happen. With four games remaining for most teams, there was still a tiny amount of wiggle room where positioning could be pushed to next week, but the results from this week would dictate how next plays out. In saying that, let's find out who is in, who is out, and who is playing for next week's exciting finish on this week's edition of The Rundown!

FRIDAY: The Saskatchewan Huskies arrived in Calgary holding a one-point edge in the race for the final East Division playoff spot, so they looked to keep the momentum rolling. The Calgary Dinos welcomed the Huskies to their barn as they sat four points back of Mount Royal, but hold the tie-breaker between the two teams. They also were in the hunt for points as this weekend could prove to be vital in helping Calgary win the East Division. Needless to say, this was a big weekend for both teams when it came to determining where each finishes!


Huskies goals: Jacquelyne Chief (1), Avery Gottselig (2), Peppi Virtanen (6), Kahlen Wisener (7), Kahlen Wisener (8), Paris Oleksyn (4)
Huskies assists: McKenna Bolger (8), Peppi Virtanen (5), Jayde Cadieux (10)
Huskies shootout scorers: none
Huskies netminders: Clara Juca (26/32) in 65:00 plus 2/3 shootout attempts

Dinos goals: Evelyn Lawrence (6), Brooklin Fry (2), Kyla Mitenko (2), Josie McLeod (4), Jess Martens (8), Brooklyn Anderson (8)
Dinos assists: Alex Spence (12), Sydney Mercier (6), Caitlyn Perlinger (8), Hannah Reagh (3), Sydney Mercier (7), Brooklyn Anderson (8), Kyla Mitenko (6), Alex Spence (13), Brooklyn Anderson (9)
Dinos shootout scorers: Brooklyn Anderson
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (28/34) in 65:00 plus 3/3 shootout attempts

Result: 7-6 shootout victory for Calgary over Saskatchewan.

SATURDAY: I can't imagine either coach was thrilled about giving up six goals, but the Huskies held a 5-3 lead with 13 minutes to play and a 6-5 lead with 90 seconds to play. I imagine head coach Steve Kook will be running drills about locking down leads this week, but there were still points on the line on Saturday as these two teams met again on Saturday. Would we see another "next goal wins" game?


Huskies goals: Jessica Anderson (2), Jayde Cadieux (5), Kahlen Wisener (9)
Huskies assists: Paris Oleksyn (6), Paris Oleksyn (7)
Huskies netminders: Colby Wilson (20/20)

Dinos goals: none
Dinos assists: none
Dinos netminder: Alyssa Barrette (24/26)

Result: 3-0 victory for Saskatchewan over Calgary.

FRIDAY: Last year's Canada West finalists were in Vancouver to battle, but Alberta was looking to take points off the UBC Thunderbirds this weekend to help them lock down home-ice advantage as the second-place team in the West Division. UBC was looking to play a clean game with no injuries as they locked down the quarterfinal bye a long time ago, so could the Pandas take a bite out of the Thunderbirds this weekend to help their playoff cause?

Pandas goals: none
Pandas assists: none
Pandas netminders: Mackenzie Dojahn (23/26)

Thunderbirds goals: Meadow Carmen (1), Ilona Markova (2), Mia Bierd (6)
Thunderbirds assists: Presley Zinger (7), Sophia Gaskell (2), Jacquelyn Fleming (8), Hanna Perrier (6)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (17/17)

Result: 3-0 victory for UBC over Alberta.

SATURDAY: It's hard to argue that UBC won't be the favorite in any series they play in the Canada West playoffs after they recorded their 25th win of the season on Friday. That's something to worry about a few weeks from Saturday, though, as they looked to close out another sweep this season. Alberta, though, still needed points, as they looked to get closer to securing second-place in the West Division!

Pandas goals: Jadynn Morden (7)
Pandas assists: Hayleigh Craig (8), Brayden Stewart (3)
Pandas netminders: Misty Rey (32/34)

Thunderbirds goals: Ashton Thorpe (4), Hanna Perrier (6)
Thunderbirds assists: Grace Elliott (13), Jacquelyn Fleming (9), Presley Zinger (8)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (17/18)

Result: 2-1 victory for UBC over Alberta.

FRIDAY: Manitoba headed west to Regina where the Bisons and Cougars were both playing for their playoff lives. Manitoba went into the weekend needing points to keep pace with Saskatchewan and to potentially leap past them. Regina's assignment was simple: win to stay in the race. This weekend series would determine whether one or both teams would remain in the playoff race in the East Division.

Bisons goals: Hanna Bailey (3), Jessie Haner (3)
Bisons assists: Julia Bilous (4), Brenna Nicol (6), Aimee Patrick (12)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (12/12)

Cougars goals: none
Cougars assists: none
Cougars netminders: Amy Swayze (31/32)

Result: 2-0 victory for Manitoba over Regina.

SATURDAY: It had to be disappointing for Regina to see a good effort come out on the wrong side of the scoreboard on Friday, but that's how the puck bounces sometimes. They could cause Manitoba some serious grief with a win on Saturday, so they had to be ready to go. For Manitoba, the assignment didn't change: earn as many points as possible. A weekend sweep would be a boost for their playoff hopes!

Bisons goals: Sadie Keller (4), Julia Bilous (1), Norah Collins (9), Aimee Patrick (9), Sara Harbus (3), Sara Harbus (4)
Bisons assists: Aimee Patrick (13), Louise Fergusson (7), Sophia Heidinger (1), Aimee Patrick (14), Sophia Heidinger (2), Sophia Heidinger (3), Hanna Bailey (8)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (18/19)

Cougars goals: Pippy Pritchard (4)
Cougars assists: Quinn McLaren (5)
Cougars netminders: Amy Swayze (20/26)

Result: 6-1 victory for Manitoba over Regina.

FRIDAY: The Trinity Western Spartans hopped the mountains and headed north for a two-game set with the MacEwan Griffins. The Spartans needed points to try and catch the Alberta Pandas as they still had a shot at hosting a quarterfinal series for the first time in their history. MacEwan had a chance to ruin those plans and begrudgingly help their crosstown rivals. In saying that, no one likes the role of spoiler, but the Griffins had a shot to ruin playoff dreams.

Spartans goals: Presleigh Giesbrecht (6), Sadie Isfeld (3), Kelsey Ledoux (1), Kara Yackel (8)
Spartans assists: Sadie Isfeld (8), Kyra Anderson (4), Maisie Kozak (2), Kasey Ditner (8), Kyra McDonald (10)
Spartans netminders: Kate Fawcett (25/25)

Griffins goals: none
Griffins assists: none
Griffins netminder: Mikayla Christmann (25/28)

Result: 4-0 victory for Trinity Western over MacEwan.

SATURDAY: Nothing changed in the storylines from Friday to Saturday. The Spartans were looking for the sweep to help their cause while the Griffins were looking to throw a monkeywrench into those plans. Perhaps more importantly for the Griffins, they were looking for more than the one goal they had scored in their past four games.

Spartans goals: Kailey Ledoux (5), Kailey Ledoux (6), Olivia Leier (2), Kara Yackel (9), Sadie Isfeld (4)
Spartans assists: Sadie Isfeld (9), Kyra McDonald (11), Chloe Reid (11), Kasey Ditner (9), Kailey Ledoux (1), Chayce Kullman (5)
Spartans netminders: Kate Fawcett (17/19)

Griffins goals: Rian Santos (2), Allee Isley (3)
Griffins assists: Claire Hobbs (5), Sydney Olsen (3), Kali MacDonald (3), Kori Paterson (2)
Griffins netminder: Lindsey Johnson (31/35)

Result: 5-2 victory for Trinity Western over MacEwan.

Don't even ask about divisions. I'm not interested in that setup. It's one conference, nine teams, and we'll see who is best in the west.

CANADA WEST WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
UBC	24-2-2-0	52	85	24	W8	BYE
Mount Royal	12-6-6-2	38	64	43	L3	@ SAS
Calgary	13-6-4-4	36	64	53	L1	@ MAN
Manitoba	9-9-2-6	28	63	63	W3	vs CAL
Saskatchewan	7-9-4-6	28	47	59	W1	vs MRU
Trinity Western	7-12-6-1	27	62	60	W2	vs REG
Alberta	8-9-2-7	27	51	60	L3	@ MAC
Regina	4-14-4-4	20	38	67	L2	@ TWU
MacEwan	3-19-2-2	12	25	70	L5	vs ALB

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. The Trinity Western Spartans knew the stakes going into their games against MacEwan, and one player decided to push her team higher with her play with four points in the two wins and solid defensive play all weekend. Her effort was a big part of why they're in second-place right now as Trinity Western Spartans rookie defender Sadie Isfeld had a solid weekend in adding her name to the Honour Roll!

Isfeld had been having a quiet start to 2026 with just two points in her previous six games as the Spartans went on a bit of slide, but she picked up her game this weekend in earning the primary assist on the first Spartans goal in both games, and helped her team to victory by adding a goal later in the game. Her entire 13 points this season have come at five-on-five, and they certainly needed her this weekend as they finished the week in second-place in the West!

Isfeld doubled her goal total this weekend with her two goals, and half of her points this season have come against MacEwan as she now has seven points in six games against the Griffins. The former Delta Hockey Academy defender was known for her offence as much as her defence, and she's continued that strong play this season on the Spartans' blue line. Her four points also pushed her to the top of the rookie scoring race in Canada West, and that can't be overlooked either. That kind of performance puts Sadie Isfeld on the Honour Roll!

Olympic Updates

Things didn't start well for Scott Rivett and Team Czechia as the Czechs tangled with the highly-favoured Americans in their first game. Team USA took a 3-0 lead four minutes into the second period before Czechia finally got on the board inside the eight-minute mark, but that would be the only goal scored by the Czechs on February 5 as USA defeats Czechia 5-1 in the opening games for both teams.

The Czechs were back on the ice the very next day as they squared off against Switzerland, and it seemed like things were going to right themselves as Czechia led 3-1 with 14 minutes to play. However, cue the Swiss comeback as they scored twice in 7:07 to make it 3-3, and this game would need extra time. The overtime period solved nothing, so it was off to the skills competition where Switzerland's Ivana Rey would eventually cap off the shootout with her goal, sending Czechia to an 0-1-0-1 record in their first two games.

Czechia will play Finland today as they look for their first win of the event, so we'll keep an eye on how the Mount Royal head coach helps the Czechs down the stretch as the Czechs look to build momentum!

UBC's Vanessa Schaefer, wearing #53 for Switzerland, did not record a point against Czechia, and she finished the game with a -1 rating in 11:10 of ice time. Switzerland's second game was a 4-0 loss to Canada so Schaefer had no points there, finishing that game with a -1 rating in 9:44 of ice time. Switzerland meets Team USA on Monday, and they'll need a monster effort if they want to improve on their 0-1-1-0 record. They do have two points with that shootout win over Czechia, though, and sit in third-place in the Group A standings.

Former Calgary Dinos goaltender Gabriella Durante got the nod for Italy today as they battled Sweden. Sweden would beat Durante once in the first period, but they captialized on mistakes and their well-balanced attack to take a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes. When the finla horn sounded, Sweden captured a 6-1 win over Italy where Durante made 41 saves. Unfortunately, she drops to 0-1 in the event, but Italy is still in the mix for a medal-round appearance as they're 1-1-0-0 and tied with three teams at three points in the standings. Italy will meet Japan in a critical game tomorrow when it comes to points, so we'll see if Durante and her teammates can bounce back!

The West Playoff Picture

UBC has the bye next week, but also earned the privilege of resting as they'll have two weeks to let bumps and bruises heal while they get set for the West Division semifinal. UBC won't have to worry about traveling as they earned home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs by finishing as the best team in the Canada West standings.

The Trinity Western Spartans caught and passed the Alberta Pandas this weekend thanks to holding the tie-breaker over the Pandas. Trinity Western simply needs to match what Alberta does next week in terms of points in the standings, and they'll host a playoff series for the first time in their Canada West history. If they earn less points against Regina than Alberta earns in their series, Trinity Western will travel to Calgary as the crossover team into the East Division.

If the Alberta Pandas are to play at home in the West Division quarterfinal, the Pandas have to earn more points than Spartans. They do not hold the tie-breaker, so Alberta will be aiming for a sweep over MacEwan in their final series of the season, and hope that Regina can defeat Trinity Western in one or both games. There is no alternative - Alberta either earns more points than Trinity Western or they'll start their playoff run in Calgary against the Dinos or Cougars.

The East Playoff Picture

Nothing is settled yet in the East Division as we have two races still going. The Mount Royal Cougars have a two-point lead over the Calgary Dinos going into the final weekend, and the Cougars will need to be ahead of the Dinos by at least one point when next weekend ends if they want the quarterfinal bye. The Dinos hold the tie-breaker, so the Cougars need to aim for a sweep when they head to Saskatoon against the Huskies. If they're tied, the Cougars will host the East Division quarterfinal against the West crossover team.

Calgary will need a little help as they travel to Manitoba to battle the Bisons. The Dinos need to win at least one of the two games to potentially tie the Cougars, and it would serve them well to sweep the Bisons if they want to put all the pressure on the Cougars. The Dinos will be cheering for the Huskies to cause the Cougars some headaches, but if they cannot catch the Cougars the Dinos will host the East Division quarterfinal against the West crossover team.

As you may have seen in the standings above, the Manitoba Bisons now sit ahead of the Saskatchewan Huskies thanks to the tie-breaker, so the Bisons have to match whatever the Huskies do next weekend at minimum. The Bisons won't be content with allowing the Calgary Dinos to push them around on home ice, but the Dinos are 4-0 against the Bisons this season. The asterisk on that statistic is that these two teams last played on November 22, so we'll see which side is ready. If they can match or exceed Saskatchewan's point total next weekend, they'll go to Edmonton or Langley as the East's crossover team.

Like Alberta, the Saskatchewan Huskies have to earn more points than Bisons next weekend as the Bisons hold the tie-breaker over the Huskies. The Huskies are 1-2-1 against the Mount Royal Cougars this season, but are 0-1-1 at home against the Alberta Cats. The Huskies are going to hope the Dinos can sweep the Bisons, but the Huskies need to take care of business as well as they need to outearn the Bisons in standings points next weekend. If they can, they'll go to Edmonton or Langley as the East's crossover team. If they don't, they miss the playoffs entirely. Clearly, the stakes are high for the Huskies.

The Last Word

It's the last weekend of the season next week, and there are three legitimate playoff races that still have yet to be decided. There's a Canada West coach and player competing for Olympic medals. The Olympic Games are still going. Next weekend is shaping up to be the biggest weekend in Canada West this season, and we still have playoffs to come! How can you not be excited over all of this?

You know what I'll be watching next weekend. How about you?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!