Griffins players mob Loeden Schaufler after he scored the overtime winner on Friday (Jacob Mallari, UBC Thunderbirds photo).
Griffins players mob Loeden Schaufler after he scored the overtime winner on Friday (Jacob Mallari, UBC Thunderbirds photo).
February 22, 2025

Schaufler scores OT winner as Griffins make history with first Canada West playoff win, 3-2 over UBC

Box Score Preview

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Perhaps one day, Loeden Schaufler will tell his grandkids about the goal, and he won't have to exaggerate.

It was a true beauty that the graduating senior scored 5:14 into overtime to lift the MacEwan Griffins to an historic 3-2 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in Game 1 of their Canada West quarter-final series on Friday night.

Schaufler's perfectly-timed redirection of Kadyn Chabot's powerplay pass gave the Griffins their first playoff victory since joining U SPORTS in 2021.

And it stakes them to a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series against the defending Canada West champions.

"I think it's probably the biggest goal in my hockey career," said Schaufler, who came to MacEwan in 2021 after a journeyman junior run that saw him play for the Kootenay Ice, Seattle Thunderbirds, Prince Albert Raiders, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spruce Grove Saints and Sherwood Park Crusaders. 

"Especially for our group, being here for four years, to get another chance in the playoffs was just great for us."

Marc Pasemko was boarded by Scott Atkinson just over a minute before the goal, sending the Griffins to their fifth powerplay of the evening. And they made no mistake with Hunter Donohoe feeding Chabot on the half wall before he wired a pass into Schaufler, who just found a seam in the UBC PK.

"I just caught the rim and left it for Pasemko," said the de Winton, Alta. product, who is playing his final season for MacEwan. "Once it went around the top and down to the other flank, there seemed to be a lot of space down low. I kind of just saw the puck come through, just put it on net and kind of just blacked out from there."

A wild celebration ensued as players poured off the bench to mob Schaufler behind the UBC net.

"Guys were obviously super proud.," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "They competed super hard all night and battled adversity and injury, so a lot of emotions came out when that puck went in."

The fact the game was even in overtime, though, was a credit to Griffins goaltender Brett Epp, who was simply outstanding in stopping 41 of 43 shots. MacEwan was outshot 43-25 in the contest.

"He was incredible, especially in the first period when they were really pushing," said Dailey. "We were able to maintain a lead because he kept us in it. Just save after save – calm, not scrambly – and just gave our guys a sense of confidence. He held us in it and we were able to get the win."

Epp had multiple high-danger saves in the game, including robbing UBC leading scorer Sasha Mutala in the first period by laying out for a scintillating glove save.

He stoned Carson Latimer in the third period and then stopped him again with a clutch overtime save when the 2021 Ottawa Senators fourth rounder busted in alone up the right side.

He also got help from his defence in front of him as Griffins players laid out to block shots – most notably Chabot, Samuel Simard and Spencer McLean, who all limped to the bench after getting in front of big blasts.

"I think the sacrifice all around – it didn't matter who it was," said Schaufler. "Everyone was taking hits to make plays, blocking shots and doing whatever it took to win."

The other notable Griffins performance came from rookie Caden Cabana. Last year's AJHL scoring champion out of the Lloydminster Bobcats opened the scoring for MacEwan with 8:12 left in the first period when he tapped in a rebound after Donohoe's hot shot hit the post.

Then Cabana scored again 1:49 into the second period to put MacEwan up 2-0, wrapping the puck around and fooling UBC netminder Cole Schwebius.

"He was electric, dynamite tonight," said Dailey. "He's someone who has done very well on our forecheck. He's really been hard on pucks, he's turned over a lot of pucks. He did that again tonight. 

"Both those goals were because that whole line was extremely hard on the forecheck. They created turnovers and we've been working on getting pucks and bodies to the net. Really proud of him tonight. He got rewarded for his hard work, so that was great."

Down by two at home, the desperate Thunderbirds came out firing for the rest of the game, putting waves of pressure on MacEwan. Eventually, Mutala broke the ice for UBC with 6:54 left in the middle frame, taking a give-and-go pass from Josh Williams and wiring a beautiful backhand over Epp's shoulder.

Conner McDonald then tied the game 4:20 into the third period, one-timing Mutala's powerplay pass with a booming point shot through traffic.

But the Griffins would allow no more and are now just a win away from advancing to the Canada West semifinals for the first time. Game 2 of the series goes Saturday (8 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).

"We'll enjoy the win tonight and as soon as we wake up tomorrow, we have a new goal and a new task, and that's to win another one," said Dailey. "They're going to be coming out strong. They were great tonight and they're a great hockey team. We just need to prepare. Same effort, same energy. We're just going to have to dig deep and sacrifice and try to get another one."

Game 3, if necessary, would be Sunday (8 p.m. MT, Canada West TV) with the series winner heading to Saskatoon next weekend to meet the Saskatchewan Huskies.