Three Stars: Ward, Harper, Jack earn honours
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Men's hockey student-athlete Eric Ward is the MacEwan Athletics' first star of the week after his performance in back-to-backs wins at Regina.
Ward stopped 59 of 61 shots as the Griffins beat the Cougars 6-1 and 2-1 on Friday and Saturday
Women's soccer forward Hannah Harper and women's hockey forward Sydney Jack were named the second and third stars, respectively..
Both Ward and Jack appear on the Three Stars list for the first time, while Harper is being honoured for the third time in 2024-25, having been previously named third star on Sept. 10 and first star on Oct. 1.
Eric Ward stopped 59 of 61 shots he faced in two games at Regina on the weekend (Jayna Stoudt photo).
1st STAR: Eric Ward, G, men's hockey
Edmonton, AB, third-year, Arts
Making his first two starts of the season, the third-year goaltender made the difference for the Griffins in a pair of huge victories in Regina.
In Friday's 6-1 win, he stopped 33 of 34 shots as the Griffins won big despite being outshot by 10.
In Saturday's 2-1 victory, Ward stepped up again, stopping 26 of 27 shots as the Griffins were slightly outshot, putting up 24 on Regina counterpart Adam Evanoff.
Do the math and it was a .967 save percentage for Ward out of the two matches.
Ward is currently fourth in Canada West in save percentage (.929), goals against average (2.11) and saves (79).
The Griffins are enjoying a bye weekend before returning to action at home on Oct. 25-26 vs. Manitoba.
Hannah Harper scored a goal and added two assists in two games against Alberta on the weekend (Norman Bo photo).
2nd STAR: Hannah Harper, M/F, women's soccer
Edmonton, AB, second-year, Arts
Continuing a special season for the Griffins, Harper produced a three-point weekend as the team secured a win and a tie against cross-town rival Alberta.
With two assists in Sunday's 4-2 win at Foote Field, Harper matched the program's single Canada West season record of eight, originally set by Suekiana Choucair in 2019.
Harper also scored a goal on the weekend, notching the first tally in the Griffins' 2-2 draw with the Pandas on Saturday at Clareview Field. It was her seventh goal of the 2024 season.
Harper is now up to a team-leading 15 points in 2024, which is currently second-best in Canada West. It's also only two shy of the program's single Canada West season record of 17, set by Grace Mwasalla in 2022.
The Griffins hit the road for their final two games of the regular season, visiting Lethbridge on Saturday (12 p.m.) and Calgary on Sunday (12 p.m., both Canada West TV).
Sydney Jack went 3-for-3 on shootout attempts in two games against Regina on the weekend (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
3rd STAR: Sydney Jack, F, women's hockey
Stettler, AB, fourth-year, Arts
Although she didn't officially hit the scoresheet in MacEwan's three-point weekend vs. Regina, Jack was electric in the shootout both nights.
The transfer from Olds College scored on all three of her shootout attempts combined in the two games, making the difference for MacEwan.
In Friday's 2-1 loss, her shootout goal looked to be the game-winner after Lindsey Johnson stopped all three shootout attempts she faced, until the ref allowed Regina a redo on their third attempt after making a rare ruling that Johnson had moved off her line before the shooter touched the puck. The Cougars later won in the sixth round of the shootout.
The Griffins and Jack, however, came back for more. The Stettler, Alta. product scored on two more shootout attempts on Saturday – including potting the game-winner in the fifth round – lifting the Griffins to a 3-2 victory.
MacEwan is enjoying a bye week before heading out on the road for action at Manitoba on Oct. 25-26.
