Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – It's an uphill battle, to say the least.
Maybe even like trying to climb Everest.
For the MacEwan Griffins to qualify for the Canada West women's hockey playoffs, they have to sweep U SPORTS No. 2 Mount Royal University in a weekend series and then hope both Regina and Calgary lose both of their games to UBC and Alberta, respectively.
The second part of the scenario is a possibility, maybe even likely, with both going against U SPORTS top 10-ranked squads.
"They are both playing very tough teams," said MacEwan head coach Lindsay McAlpine. "We're going to watch the results come in with Alberta against Calgary and hope UBC does their job against Regina."
But taking care of their business against MRU on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m., both Canada West TV presented by Co-op) will be even tougher. The Cougars sport a 14-2-2-0 record – first place in Canada West – and won't be giving any free passes, wanting to build momentum for the playoffs.
The Griffins (6-12-0-0) enter as a motivated group, too, fighting for their playoff lives and continuing to prove they're a squad no one can take for granted in their inaugural Canada West season.
The fact they're still in contention for a post-season berth on the final weekend of the season is remarkable for a team new to the level.
"Of course there's motivation – I think more so just to leave a mark where we are in our first season in Canada West, regardless of the outcome," said McAlpine. "But it's always exciting to go against a top five-ranked U SPORTS team. They're in first place in our league for a reason. It's going to be a tough night to play in their barn."
The Griffins lost to the Cougars 3-0 on Nov. 5 in their only previous meeting in 2021-22. They kept MRU scoreless for the first two periods, but were only able to hold the fort for so long.
"I think we actually held them off for a while, but they play similar to our last two teams we've played," said McAlpine of suffering recent weekend sweeps to Saskatchewan and Alberta. "They have players with elite skating speed and they move the puck well, so the pace of play is relentless."
There is a template for success against that, though – great goaltending and relentless defensive fortitude, getting in lanes and taking away time and space. It's how the Griffins upset UBC on Oct. 30.
"No different than the model that we've tried to emulate all year," said McAlpine. "Obviously, a big focus for us will be our D zone and staying out of the box. Penalty kill will be something we need to really be (focused) on against a successful offence like Mount Royal."
