The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the studio where we can avoid Alberta clippers and other weather systems that may be raging outside as the Great White North gets a little whiter. It's the perfect season for hockey around these parts, and we're going to talk to a guest tonight whose experiences have taken her from player to coach to advocate, and we'll hear about some of the challenges she faces in building provincial and national team programs. Did we mention she's a fantastically awesome person too? We'll chat about all of that stuff and much more with one of this country's best coaches when it comes to parahockey tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason are proud, honoured, privileged, humbled, and pleased to welcome Team Manitoba Parahockey head coach and Team Canada National Women's Parahockey assistant coach McKenna Wild to the show! McKenna spends her workdays as a Recreational Facilitator for Manitoba Possible, but her nights and weekends see her on the ice as the head coach, director, and everything in between for the Manitoba provincial sledge hockey team. We'll chat about her time playing hockey, some of the challenges that the provincial team faces, some of the achievements they've made, growing the game both provincially and nationally, some upcoming events, and more! It should be a fantastic show as we learn about the provincial and national sledge hockey programs from McKenna Wild, head coach of Team Manitoba, tonight on 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 sit down with McKenna Wild to discuss her hockey career, switching over to sledge hockey, coaching, building teams, accessibility and advocacy, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I go out of my way to celebrate one of the rarer feats in hockey whenever and wherever it happens. The man to the left is the latest player to accomplish such a feat, and the rookie Tri-City Americans netminder also had himself one heckuva Wednesday. That player is Xavier Wendt from Plymouth, Minnesota - about 45 minutes east of Grand Casinos Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota - and the 17 year-old netminder hit a milestone and added his name to the record books in his 15th WHL game tonight in Kennewick, Washington!
The Americans were hosting the Swift Current Broncos in WHL action tonight, and things got off to a good start with the Americans jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the game was 10 minutes old off goals by Crew Martinson and Connor Dale. Gavin Garland added a goal with less than seven minutes to play, making it a 3-0 game for the Americans, and it seemed like the final score was nothing more than a shutout watch for goaltender Xavier Wendt. Until it wasn't.
For some inexplicable reason, Swift Current called netminder Aiden Eskit to the bench at the 1:08 mark as they tried to snap Wendt's shutout with a sixth attacker, and that's when this happened.
Swift Current dumps the puck into the Americans' zone, and Wendt easily stops it behind his net. With no one truly pressuring him, he got his hands set, fired the puck past the oncoming Broncos player, and wrote his name into the WHL record book as the 11th goaltender in WHL history to be credited with a goal! He joins former Washington Capitals legend Olaf Kolzig as the only other Americans goaltender to score a goal, so he's certainly in pretty elite goaltending company!
As mentioned, Wendt is the 11th goalie to score a goal in the WHL, and the list of those goalies who have achieved this are as follows:
There are some interesting footnotes when it comes to these goals above, but Jeff Calvert's goal might hold one of the coolest facts. With the Rockets trailing 3-0 to Moose Jaw, Calvert was sent out to try and spark the Rockets. Starting netminder Todd McDonald gave up three goals on ten shots through 9:30 of play in the first period, and head coach Marcel Comeau needed something to get his team rolling.
Calvert would give up another goal at the 13:26 mark, but the Rockets rallied for two late first-period goals and three second-period goals to take a 5-4 lead into the third period. Calvert held the fort, and his goal with 10 seconds to play made it 6-4 on a night where he scored, picked up an assist on the fourth Tacoma goal, and won the game in relief against his hometown team! That's a pretty good night!
Wendt, for the record, scored his first WHL goal and recorded his first WHL shutout in the win tonight, so that's a pretty awesome night as well. He bumped his numbers to a 9-5-0 record with a 2.39 GAA and a .928 save percentage, so Wendt's having a solid start to his rookie campaign. While he's not regarded as a top pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, perhaps someone will want him for his goal-scoring?
All jokes aside, congratulations to Xavier Wendt on his goal, making him the 11th goalie in WHL history to be credited with a goal!
If there's one thing that I can honestly say about having a radio show is that we, at no point in time, have ever claimed to have any influence on anyone when it comes to the game of hockey. We don't have the same reach or market share as a TSN radio nor a CJOB locally, so seeing local news stories covering something we were talking about on The Hockey Show just a couple of weeks ago seems pretty cool. Of course, coverage matters and a few of these outlets did what seems like the bare minimum, but that's why we devote our show and I devote space on this blog to stories like these that need a bigger audience.
Two weeks ago, we were honoured to welcome Sledge Hockey Manitoba Vice-President and Manitoba Junior Express coach Shay Hawthorn, Sledge Hockey Manitoba Intermediate Representative and Manitoba Intermediate Express coach Les McRae, and Manitoba Intermediate Express player Austin McRae to the UMFM studios where we spoke about the sport of sledge hockey, also called parahockey, in detail as they looked to grow the game in Manitoba. It was an incredible chat, and it's something that we've pledged to continue doing so they can get the same coverage as stand-up hockey.
One of the topics we spoke about that night was getting more kids involved in the game and the prohibitive costs of doing so. Sleds are, by far, the most expensive piece of equipment that players own, and a growing child means that sleds may not even last an entire winter! There were some solutions put forth by Shay, Les, and Austin, but they all agreed that more help was needed if the sport was to grow as freely as it potentially could with those barriers removed.
Shay had suggested that the "First Shift Program" would be a good way for kids to try the sport, and she was hopeful we'd see Hockey Canada or the Winnipeg Jets help both Sledge Hockey Manitoba and Manitoba Possible do more. After all, it takes equipment, ice time, and opportunity to get kids on the ice for any flavour of hockey.
Obviously, we can take zero credit for this story nor any of the developments that led to the story, but this is exactly the kind of attention that the sports of blind hockey and parahockey need if they're going to gain any traction in this province. More people talking about it should get more people involved, and we heard on The Hockey Show that Sledge Hockey Manitoba wants to continue its positive growth. I'd imagine Blind Hockey Manitoba wants to see their numbers boosted as well, so let's keep talking about these sports!
Again, The Hockey Show is going to hold true to our pledge by having another guest this week on the show who is knee-deep in the sledge hockey world both at the provincial and national levels. Her interview should be a good one, and our hope is that more people will take notice of all the good things being done in Manitoba for both sledge hockey players and fans no matter what age one is.
With the 2025 Para Cup being played in Dawson Creek, BC right now, the final preparations are being made by the four teams at the tournament for the upcoming Paralympic Games. Canada has defeated both China and Czechia in jumping out to a 2-0 record, and they'll square off against the team that everyone is looking to beat in Team USA tomorrow. As we heard from Shay and Les, there's hope that there will be a Manitoba-born-and-trained national team player one day, and it could be Austin if he continues to improve his game!
Programs like the First Shift Program should help the game grow in Manitoba, and I'm excited to see more media outlets talking about the sports of sledge hockey and blind hockey. We'll continue our discussion this week on The Hockey Show as we want to see the sport take off in Manitoba, and we'll continue to cover the game as Sledge Hockey Manitoba has more events throughout the hockey season.
And if we can bring Blind Hockey Manitoba in for a little chatter in the future, we'll welcome them to the UMFM studio as well!
Hockey is for everyone on The Hockey Show, and it was awesome to see a handful of news outlets covering the First Shift Program for both sledge hockey players and for blind hockey players this week. My hope is we'll see more coverage by news outlets going forward!
Full marks to anyone who can identify the goaltender in question to the left. He played his last professional game in the ECHL during the 2023-24 season, but it appears he's trying to gain employment in that league again. If you're wondering, he's a former NHL netminder who played for three teams, but has just 40 games to his name despite those three stops. The 32 year-old was drafted 190th-overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, he won an AHL Calder Cup championship in 2017-18, and he's one of 26 goalies in NHL history to record a shutout in his NHL debut. He seemed like he could have been a good goalie, but his path led elsewhere.
If you're still wondering who the goaltender is and you haven't turned to the Google machine for answers, the man pictured above in the Bloomington Bison uniform is Garret Sparks. The reason I'm posting about Garret Sparks today is that he was released by the Bison after serving as their EBUG - emergency backup goaltender - for the last eight days! Imagine having a former NHL goalie as your EBUG!
It seems that Sparks hasn't spoken to any media about landing with the Bison as their EBUG. I went hunting for interviews and newspaper stories, and there is nothing outside of the announcement by the Bisons on their website and across their social media. You would think someone in Indiana would want to sit down and chat with Sparks about his career, but he spent November 25 until today waiting for his number to be called. It never happened as he saw no action.
Maybe that's for the best considering that Sparks struggled in his two games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the five games he played with the Wheeling Nailers in 2023-24. He was 0-1-0 in those two games with the Penguins, sporting a 3.70 GAA and an .862 save percentage, but four goals on 29 shots isn't good enough for an AHL roster spot. He was sent to Wheeling where he went 0-3-1 with a 4.00 GAA and an .843 save percentage, allowing 16 goals on 102 shots. Those totals weren't good enough for an ECHL roster spot either.
I have no idea where Sparks played last season as there's nothing to indicate that he even played beer league hockey, but it seems that the Bison were willing to have him sit in the stands as their EBUG this season. I'm not saying he would have seen any action even if there was a need for him to dress, but it seems the Bison were willing to roll the dice in the event there was a need for him to suit up.
The last time that Sparks played meaningful hockey for more than ten games was in the 2022-23 season when he went 7-4-3 for the Orlando Solar Bears, but he still had a 3.45 GAA and an .887 save percentage. It's not to say that he can't make stops, but he just needs to do it more frequently than what he's done in the last few stops. Honestly, Sparks as a potential EBUG would be a pretty good goaltending option had the Bison needed him in a pinch.
All of that, though, is now in the "what if" bin since Sparks was released today by the Bison. I'm not saying that Sparks needed to take someone's job, but it seems unlikely he would have unseated one of Dryden McKay or Callum Tung in the Bison crease. They're having solid seasons individually despite the lack of scoring from the Bison, so maybe Sparks just wanted to throw the gear back on, practice with an ECHL team again, and see if he still had the moves.
The good news is that Garret Sparks is a free agent again in case anyone else needs an EBUG with NHL experience on his résumé.
With the MacEwan Griffins having Black Friday and the weekend off, there were eight teams who in action across the three provinces this weekend. The only province not to have hockey action was Saskatchewan, both both teams were playing elsewhere. There were some intriguing matchups this week as playoff positions could be solidified while other teams could climb back into races if they were to win games. Officially, everyone still has a shot at the playoffs, but it's the ability to capitalize on opportunities that are given that will determine if a team is in or out in February. Let's see if anyone answered when opportunity knocked this week on The Rundown!
FRIDAY: The Battle of Calgary was back for another weekend as the Munt Royal Cougars dropped in at Father David Bauer Arena looking to weave their magic against the Calgary of Dinos. The Cougars came into this game with points in eleven-straight games, and they were looking to keep that going in an effort to jump into first-place in the East Division and to help the school in its effort to win the Crowchild Classic. The Dinos had won four-straight games coming into the weekend, and they wanted to remain atop the division while gathering points for the Crowcild Classic as well. These teams split games in October with the road team winning each game, so a sweep by either side this weekend could prove important in the standings.
Dinos goals: Hannah Reagh (4), Evelyn Lawrence (4)
Dinos assists: April Klarenbach (2), Alex Spence (9), Hannah Reagh (2)
Dinos netminder: Amelia Awad (32/35)
Result: 4-2 victory for Mount Royal over Calgary.
SATURDAY: With their win one night earlier, Mount Royal went up 2-1 in the season series against Calgary and, more importantly, moved ahead of the Dinos in the standings. They came home to Flames Community Arena looking for the sweep, but the Dinos were looking to take a second game off the Cougars in the Mount Royal barn. Would the Cougars take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series or could the Dinos even things up for the always-circled-on-the-calendar Crowchild Classic game on January 29 at the Saddledome?
Cougars goals: Sydney Benko (8), Julia Duke (6)
Cougars assists: Jordynne Hojnocki (1), Kiana McNinch (6), Isa McPhee (6)
Cougars netminder: Scout Anderson (21/22)
Result: 2-1 overtime victory for Mount Royal over Calgary.
FRIDAY: There's always some narrative that says that two teams that battle hard over the course of a number of games tend to develop animosity towards one another. I don't buy that narrative mainly because the results on the scoreboard usually speak the loudest, but there's no denying that the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds will give as much as they get from each other. The Huskies were in Vancouver for a weekend set with the Thunderbirds with both teams looking to add points in the standings.
Thunderbirds goals: Mia Bierd (5), Grace Elliott (14), Annalise Wong (4), Kailee Peppler (1)
Thunderbirds assists: Presley Zinger (5), Vanessa Schaefer (7), Annalise Wong (14), Hanna Perrier (4), Jaylyn Morris (7)
Thunderbirds netminder: Elise Hugens (19/20)
Result: 4-1 victory for UBC over Saskatchewan.
SATURDAY: We'll talk about what happened at the end of Friday's game down below, but these two teams reconvened at Thunderbird Arena on Saturday to close out this weekend. UBC was one step closer to securing a playoff spot with their win on Friday while the Huskies were trying to hold on their playoff spot with a win on Saturday. Both teams wanted to close out the weekend with a win, and my hope was that we wouldn't get the same ending as Friday.
FRIDAY: The Trinity Western Spartans headed to Alberta looking to squash the Pandas' hopes of catching them in the standings. A sweep by the Spartans would almost guarantee a second-place finish in the West Division, but the Pandas knew the stakes as well. Two wins would put them right back in the thick of things for that second-place finish, so they knew what they had to do against the Spartans.
Spartans goals: Presleigh Giesbrecht (4), Kara Yackel (6), Ella Boon (1)
Spartans assists: Kyra McDonald (6), Ella Boon (4), Kyra McDonald (6)
Spartans netminders: Kate Fawcett (8/13)
Pandas goals: Hailey Crothers (2), Annie King (3), Raegan Yewdall (2), Abby Soyko (6), Raegan Yewdall (3)
Pandas assists: Janay Williams (2), Taylor Breen (1), Natalie Kieser (4), Abby Soyko (5), Leighanna Rizarri (1), Holly Magnus (8), Holly Magnus (9), Holly Magnus (10), Riley Smith (1)
Pandas netminders: Mackenzie Dojahn (22/25)
Result: 5-3 victory for Alberta over Trinity Western.
SATURDAY: With the gap between the Spartans and Pandas a little smaller, both teams know the importance of a win on Saturday. I'm not sure that either coach was excited about the third period turning into a track meet where the Spartans, at one point, led 3-2 with just over 12 minutes to play, but that's hockey. In any case, the Spartans were looking for a split on Saturday while the Pandas were aiming for a sweep to close out November and the gap between the two teams.
Result: 2-1 victory for Alberta over Trinity Western.
FRIDAY: If Manitoba has any hope of joining the playoff picture in the West Division, they need to start winning games in regulation. They had yet to do that this season, but they were playing the only team they had beaten this season in the Regina Cougars after beating them on the opening night of the season in a shootout. The Cougars could jump back into a playoff spot with a couple of wins and some help, so they were looking for a good ending to their November. Would we see an underperforming team finally snap its losing streak or would we see a team grab the opportunity to jump into a playoff spot?
Bisons goals: Sarah Harbus (2), Aimee Patrick (3), Julia Bird (3), Kelsey Huibers (2), Brenna Nicol (1)
Bisons assists: Aimee Patrick (5), Izzy Mann (1), Dana Goertzen (4), Sophia Anderson (2), Aimee Patrick (6), Sadie Keller (1)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (24/26)
Result: 5-2 victory for Manitoba over Regina.
SATURDAY: Manitoba's performance on Friday may have restored hope for the faithful that there was a shot at a third-straight year for playoffs, but they still had work to do on Saturday. Regina started the game slow and paid for it in the end, but they had a shot a splitting the weekend series and improving on their 1-1-1 record in Winnipeg for tie-breaking purposes. Would we see the first Bisons sweep of the season or could the Cougars restore the gap between them and Manitoba in the East Division standings?
Cougars goals: Olivia Leggett (1), Shaylee Scraba (2), Kaitlyn Gilroy (4)
Cougars assists: Kaylee Dyer (4), Felicia An (1), Pippy Pritchard (4)
Cougars shootout scorers: Makena Kushniruk
Cougars netminder: Natalie Williamson (26/29) in 65:00 plus 1/3 in the shootout
Bisons goals: Aimee Patrick (4), Julia Bird (4), Aimee Patrick (5)
Bisons assists: Louise Fergusson (4), Alyssa Rasmuson (3), Hanna Bailey (3), Julia Bilous (1)
Bisons shootout scorers: Julia Bird, Alyssa Rasmuson
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (21/24) in 65:00 plus 2/3 in the shootout
Result: 4-3 shootout victory for Manitoba over Regina.
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
14-1-1-0
30
49
13
W2
@ TWU
Mount Royal
8-2-5-1
27
39
21
W3
@ MAN
Calgary
10-4-1-3
25
39
27
L2
BYE
Trinity Western
3-7-5-1
17
36
33
L3
vs UBC
Alberta
6-6-0-4
16
33
40
W3
vs MAC
Saskatchewan
3-6-3-2
14
21
31
L3
vs REG
Regina
3-6-2-3
13
22
31
L4
@ SAS
Manitoba
1-7-2-4
10
22
39
W2
vs MRU
MacEwan
2-11-1-2
8
14
40
W1
@ 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. There were some solid performances from a handful of players, but no one had a bigger weekend that Manitoba Bisons forward Aimee Patrick who had a five-point weekend in helping Manitoba pick up four points! Her third goal of the weekend may have been the biggest as she scored with 34 seconds to play to force overtime, helping Manitoba earn a 4-3 shootout. Aimee Patrick led the Bisons to two big wins over a rival, and that's how she adds her name to the list!
The fourth-year forward had a solid season with 21 points last season where it seemed like she was breaking out as a star in Canada West. She started off slow this season with a goal and four assists in her first nine games, but she's responded with four goals and two assists in her last five games. The Bisons need her leadership and scoring, but Patrick is the proof in the pudding that going to the net results in goals. Her play around the net has resulted in more goals for both her and her teammates as the nopower forward is finding her groove!
The key here is that Manitoba only has three wins on the season, and all three wins have come against the Regina Cougars. However, Manitoba is 3-1-2 at home, Patrick has seven points at home, and the Bisons have three wins and eight points at home. I'm not saying there's a direct correlation between her play and how the Bisons fare, but the Bisons haven't earned points in only one game where Patrick had multiple points. This weekend was the most productive of her career so far, it ended with the Bisons picking up four points, and that's why Aimee Patrick made the Honour Roll this week!
Not A Good Look
I've been accused on social media before of having a bias against the UBC Thunderbirds, but I might be the only person not affiliated with the school who has celebrated their accomplishments this season while also scouring the stats to find that their players are doing better than what their recorded stats say. I can honestly say the accusations don't bother me all that much. I know the truth.
What does bother me is this kind of behaviour at the end of a game.
There was a scrum in the corner as the horn sounded and the final whistle blew, and things escalated from there as both Saskatchewan's Bronwyn Boucher and UBC's Kailee Peppler were singled out for two counts of head contact as punches were thrown. Full cages and helmets won't allow for much damage, but the calls were made in any case. Everyone else on the ice received a ten-minute misconduct for their parts in the scrum, but you may notice something on the UBC side of the image that requires some discussion.
At the very top of the penalty summary, you can see the coach, Graham Thomas, being assessed a game misconduct while #77, Olivia Buckley, was given a two-minute minor for leaving the bench and a game misconduct for that decision. Buckley was in the penalty box when she exited the box and beelined for the scrum. That's a problem for the vast majority of hockey leagues around the world, and Canada West is no different as they use Hockey Canada's rules.
Hockey Canada's Rule 10.4 states right at the top that "Players may only leave the Penalty Bench at the conclusion of their penalty or at the end of a period, as directed by the Timekeeper or Referee" which is what should have happened here considering that time had expired. Let's go to the rulebook to ensure the officials got it right.
It seems they missed a minor penalty assessed to Buckley, but the officials got this one right. Because both Buckley and Thomas were assessed game misconducts, Canada West also suspends them for the next game as well. As such, Saturday night saw both Buckley and Thomas in street clothes as neither were on the bench for UBC.
I'm going to guess that Buckley learned her lesson about staying in the box with the suspension imposed to both her and Graham Thomas, but this kind of behaviour from both teams is just a bad look. I get that emotions run high and frustration can set in, but there's no need for anything close to this sort of extracurricular activity. Every single player has to be back in class on Monday, and I'm thankful no one was seriously hurt with all the sparring on the ice.
Let's be better, Huskies and T-Birds. You're both good teams that don't need to be starting a street fight every game despite the animosity.
A Scary Moment
Regina Cougars forward Cassidy Peters had a good night on Friday with a goal and an assist against Manitoba in their 5-2 loss to the Bisons. It's always nice to see a second-year player having a good day at the office, and it seems like Peters will have a solid Canada West career... if she's able to return to the ice this season and beyond.
Early on Saturday night, Peters fell head-first into the boards at Wayne Fleming Arena and it didn't look good. Trainers and medical personnel worked on securing her head and neck before she was finally moved off the ice after a considerable amount of time. My thoughts are with Cassidy today as she recovers from this injury, and my hope is she is back in action sooner than later. She's a good player, a better person, and this was a setback no one wanted to see.
At the time of writing this article, no updates had been given.
One Of Us
If you missed the news, former Calgary Dinos head coach and current Ottawa Charge and Czechia national team head coach Carla MacLeod has been battling a medical issue. She released a statement about it.
I'm a big fan of Carla for her work both as a player and as a coach, but she's an incredible human being on top of being an exceptional hockey person. I'm pulling for Carla in her battle against cancer, and I'm glad she's not going to miss any coaching for treatments for breast cancer. I know she's going to beat it as much as she loves beating the USA in hockey, but I can't wait to see Carla kick cancer's ass as well!
Technology Upgrade?
There were two key moments in the Saskatchewan-UBC game on Saturday where goals were called back. I'm not here to call out the officials who worked this game for the decisions they made with respect to those goals, but there are goals every year in Canada West hockey that should be reviewed as they could have big effects on scores and points in the standings. We need a review system!
The two goals this weekend in question both were scored by the Huskies, and one was wiped out for apparent goaltender interference where it was hard to see any interference while the other was waved off as the Huskies scored with time expiring. On review, the interference committed by a Huskies player looked like contact initiated by the netminder long before the goal was second, and the second goal appeared to have been scored with 0.1 seconds remaining. The end result was a 1-0 UBC win and two points for UBC.
Again, no one is faulting UBC as they have nothing to do with the calls made by the officials, but how much longer will this conference operate without something like video review for goals? We all know how hard it is to score goals in Canada West, so why are we taking them off the board if they appear to be legitimately good goals?
Finding Scoring Spots
I made a big deal about the Bisons shooting just 4.0% this season when it came to their success and it was showing in their total wins and points as they were generating shots on net, but getting nothing to show for those shots. This week, the Bisons shot an impressive 11.1% over their two games, and they won both. I'm not saying that they need to shoot about 10% for the rest of the season, but finding the back of the net more often seems to have a positive effect on both the number of wins and points they have. Imagine that!
In all seriousness, what I liked from the Bisons this weekend is they went to the net with purpose. Passes were being completed to players driving to the net, and the recipients were burying those chances. Players creating screens were battling to get second chances, and they were causing chaos all weekend for the Regina goalies. This is how all teams score the majority of their goals, and it seems the Bisons bought into this idea with 8 goals on 72 shots.
Credit to both the coaching staff and the players for attacking the net this weekend, but one weekend of good hockey won't make up for earlier in the season if this doesn't continue. The Bisons could find themselves in the thick of a playoff race if they continue to play as they did against Regina. Both games saw the Bisons score three or more goals for the first time since opening night, so replicating this weekend's efforts moving forward should be the goal!
Another Record Rewritten
Grace Elliott's impressive season continued with her 15th goal in 16 games this season, but that 15th goal scored on Saturday put her alongside two of the best to have ever worn the UBC jersey. That goal was her 116th point in her career, putting her at the same total as UBC program record holders Tatiana Rafter and Chanreet Bassi!
Knowing how much she enjoys scoring against Trinity Western, it seems inevitable that Grace Elliott will be the top scorer in UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey history next weekend... unless the Spartans can find some way or any way to slow her down!
The Last Word
There's one weekend left in the first half of the Canada West season. All teams will have passed the midway points of their season, and the only team who has a head start on preparing for January are the Calgary Dinos who have the bye next week. Mathematically, the UBC Thunderbirds can clinch a playoff spot in the West Division next weekend against Trinity Western. Mathematically, both Calgary teams could clinch playoff spots by mid-January. For the other six teams, the marathon of the season is now going to be a sprint to the finish.
We'll see who goes into the holiday and exam break with festive spirits! Will it be your team closing out 2025 on a winning note?
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