Alumni out in full force Saturday for annual games ahead of Griffins' match vs. Saskatchewan
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
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2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Team Stats
Saskatchewan
| Game Statistics | Saskatchewan | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 2 for 3 | 0 for 3 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 3 (6) |
| Shots on Goal | 25 | 25 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – A large alumni presence will be on hand supporting the Griffins men's hockey team as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies this weekend.
The second-annual Griffins Alumni Hockey Games are set for Saturday (1:15 p.m. women and 2:45 p.m. men). Registration is closed, but fans are welcome and encouraged to come down to the Downtown Community Arena to cheer on both the women's and men's alumni teams.
Immediately following, the Griffins will host the Huskies at 5 p.m. The teams will also meet on Friday (7 p.m., both DCA, Canada West TV).
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE (MacEwan students get in free!)
Former Griffins goaltender Chris Wray – Bachelor of Arts '18 and a member of the MacEwan Alumni Advisory Council – is organizing the games, in collaboration with the Alumni Office and Athletics. The day will provide a tremendous bonding and reminiscing experience for women's and men's players, going back more than two decades of the programs' existence.
A great time was had by all at the 2024 Griffins Alumni Hockey game (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
"If I can pretend for half a second if I was going to play a game for MacEwan and be back in my MacEwan days, it would be a bit of a gift," said Wray, who holds the program record for the most career regular season minutes played by a Griffins men's hockey goaltender – 4,951:50 from 2013-18. "I loved playing there and even if it's just a shadow of what we were doing at the time, it's good to have that both memory and also realization that we're a little bit older and we're not at that playing level anymore.
"It's kind of alright to be where we're at and still get out there and work hard. It's kind of fun to play pretend like you're playing for something meaningful, but we're excited to see the guys play after us. I think the level of hockey has just continued to improve. We're more for them and that's mostly what the alumni is trying to do, just support the current guys."
Now an Edmonton lawyer, Wray doesn't strap the pads on for anything too serious these days, but he will always remember being a part of two ACAC Championship teams with the Griffins (2016-17 and 2017-18). On Saturday, with many of his former teammates involved in the Alumni game – including brother Daniel, who previously played for the Griffins – the memories will come flooding back.
"It's kind of fun because it's almost like nothing's changed in some ways," he said. "You played with a lot of those guys for five years and you're pretty good friends with them. Some you haven't seen in a while, but others are in our working networks (both Nolan Yaremchuk, Bachelor of Commerce '19, and Ryan Baskerville, Bachelor of Commerce '19, are corporate colleagues).
"But it's the same level of banter once we get into the dressing room. I started in 2013 and there are other guys who go back further. It's quite fun. Meeting new guys is starting to happen for us now that we're in our 30s and others were probably kids when we were playing. It's fun to see the development."
Griffins women's hockey alumni will play against each other at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
Wray will go against Brett Epp in the goalie battle this Saturday and expects to be in tough, considering the latter just played with the Griffins last season.
"He's probably going to outshine me," said Wray. "He's a little closer to playing. He's only a few years younger than me. I coached him for a bit and we played together. He'll be more than capable. I'll have my work cut out."
But if it's anything like last year's event, you won't be able to wipe the smiles off their faces. For Wray, this is just the beginning of what their group would like to build to support Griffins hockey.
As for the current Griffins, they'll bring their 6-6-2 record into action against the 6-3-1 Huskies, who present every bit as strong a challenge as the UBC Thunderbirds, whom the Griffins split with last weekend.
"I think they just play the correct way," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "They're a team that competes hard but doesn't cheat the game. They chip pucks, they outwork teams, they get pucks to the net, they're not reliant on rush play, they're not reliant on their powerplay. They score goals by just outworking you. Any time you have a skilled team that's committed to playing that way, it's a very hard game."
The Griffins have a template for success, though, after they ended UBC's nine-game winning streak with a thrilling 5-4 OT win last Friday.
"We've talked a lot just about our identity and what we need to do to be successful," said Dailey. "At times we've done that and have been successful. Other times, we've kind of gotten away from that. Our guys know exactly what we need to do to be successful. We're just looking to find some consistency, which is hard to do against really good teams, but our goal is to play some really good hockey this weekend."
