Balanced scoring effort, power play surge propels Griffins to 5-2 win over Spartans
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Trinity Western | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 0 for 4 | 3 for 9 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 13 (42) | 7 (30) |
| Shots on Goal | 21 | 47 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Highlighting what a complete team effort their 5-2 win over the Trinity Western Spartans was on Saturday, five Griffins players had two-point games and a total of 10 of them hit the scoresheet.
Even those that didn't played just as big a role.
"I was happy with the response," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey, who wasn't pleased with the way they played for most of a 5-1 win over the Spartans on Friday. "I think that there were a lot of team-first decisions out there tonight, whether it was line changes in the O-zone and chipping pucks in instead of trying to go one-on-one.
"The effort's always there, which I appreciate. It's just playing smarter. They did a good job tonight."
The victory seals an important weekend sweep for the Griffins over what is now a division rival as they improved to 4-3-1, dropping the Spartans eight points behind them in the Canada West standings at 0-7-1.
"They're right behind us in the standings, so these weekends feel like four games instead of just the two," said Griffins captain Sam Simard, who finished with a goal and an assist on Saturday. "It widens the gap between us and them. Also, we look good this year and we're right on the heels of U of A, we're right on the heels of UBC. Those two games are huge in the grand scheme, for sure."
Brendan Boyle got the scoring started for MacEwan when he tipped Simard's shot under the bar and past Trinity Western goaltender Leon Sommer midway through the first period.
GOAL?
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
Brendan Boyle tips Sam Simard's shot upstairs to open the scoring!
1-0 midway through the first period for @MacEwanGriffins over @TWUSpartans.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/Gy4ROTVY1c
Then the Griffins' once beleaguered powerplay got rolling. It took them until their fifth game of the season to score their first goal with the man advantage, but MacEwan has now scored at least one PPG in four-straight games, adding to their total with three of them on Saturday.
Ethan Sundar converted a terrific Rhett Dekowny cross-crease pass on a two-man advantage at 15:45 of the first.
GOAL?
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
After the @MacEwanGriffins had a goal called off on a high stick, they scored the 2-0 goal 30 seconds later anyway as Ethan Sundar cashes in on a two-man advantage!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/SWzLhVc4xs
Before the Spartan's second man could get out of the box, MacEwan made them pay again, as Myles Gauld scored his first career Canada West goal on a high-slot tip of Keaton Dowhaniuk's point shot.
GOAL?
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
Collect that puck!
Myles Gauld has his first @CanadaWest goal and it's a beauty. His gorgeous high slot tip on Keaton Dowhaniuk's powerplay point blast puts the @MacEwanGriffins up 3-0 on @TWUSpartans.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/KnEuZRNCQE
"I thought a lot of guys were good today," said Dailey. "I thought (Brody) Tallman on the back end was exceptional. I really liked his simplicity, compete level – just made really good solid plays.
"A lot of forwards had really good games. Really liked the effort of the Simard-Boyle-(Carter) Chorney line. I thought they created offence and it was all created through hard work. Sundar-(Kadyn) Chabot off the rush were great. A lot of guys had really great efforts tonight."
The Spartans played their best period of the series, though, in the middle frame, nearly breaking Zac Onyskiw's shutout bid with 2:50 remaining in the second as he made three awesome saves in succession in tight, including going full splits.
Huge series of saves from Zac Onyskiw late in the second period!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/5wdNCX5CCR
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
However, Trinity Western wouldn't be denied on a 4-on-4, finally breaking the goose-egg not long after when Artem Hrabovetskyi forced a neutral zone turnover and fed Zack Whittaker on a long cross-ice pass before he wired it past Onyskiw.
For a while, it looked like we might have a game, until the Griffins took over, scoring two goals in just over a minute early in the third to ice it.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
Keaton Dowhaniuk's shot squeaks through the tendy and dribbles across the line to give the @MacEwanGriffins a 4-1 lead.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/ETilRzO8ed
Dowhaniuk made it 4-1 when his shot squeaked through Sommer and dribbled across the line at 3:58.
Then Simard got the final touch on a series of deflections off Chabot's powerplay shot from the left side to make it 5-1.
GOAL?
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 25, 2025
Sam Simard gets the last touch on this one as the puck was deflecting around. Either way, it's 5-1 for the @MacEwanGriffins!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/KRMj77xXnX
Trinity Western scored late in the contest as Matteo Lamoureux converted Hrabovetskyi's back door one-timer.
Onyskiw finished with 19 saves for the Griffins for his first career Canada West win, while Sommer stopped 42 for the Spartans. Besides Simard, Dekowny, Gauld, Chabot and Dowhaniuk also had two-point nights.
Overall, it was a great effort for the Griffins.
M��| RECAP
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) October 26, 2025
Five players finish with two-point nights, including captain Sam Simard, as @GriffinsMHKY relies on total team effort to earn a weekend sweep over @TWUSpartans with a 5-2 win Saturday.#GriffNation
��James Maclennan
STORY➡️https://t.co/ZrAPVBU4ir pic.twitter.com/gMGXjEYJpL
"This is a team we're going to be competing with for a playoff spot, so really big points in the division," said Dailey. "Moreso, I think it was a more complete weekend with our effort, and everything. I was impressed with our guys and hopefully we can keep this rolling."
Next up for MacEwan is a home-and-home series with the Calgary Dinos with the Oct. 31 game at the Downtown Community Arena (7 p.m., Canada West TV).
