Griffins captain Sam Simard battles for the puck with China's J.N. (Red) Guo on Wednesday (James Maclennan photo).
Griffins captain Sam Simard battles for the puck with China's J.N. (Red) Guo on Wednesday (James Maclennan photo).
January 15, 2026

Griffins enjoy experience and get key bye week test, holding off resilient Chinese National Team for 6-4 win

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Scoring big goals near the end of every period, the MacEwan Griffins held off a resilient Chinese National Team squad to post a 6-4 victory in exhibition men's hockey action at the Downtown Community Arena on Wednesday night.

Rookie defenceman Dylan Bidyk paced the Griffins with a goal and three assists, including scoring the game-winner off traffic in front 3:54 into third period.

"It was fun," said Bidyk, who, like most of the Griffins, were playing against a national team for the first time in their careers. "We had no idea what these guys were going to be like. It was super fun out there and they enjoyed it, too. It was good."

The game lacked the usual playoff-level physicality often seen at the Canada West level, which is befitting of an exhibition game where the cultural experience and the respect that comes with it mattered, too. 

Griffins team captain Sam Simard and Chinese captain J.Q. (Jacky) Zhang exchanged mementos prior to the opening faceoff and both teams posed for a group picture on the ice following the contest.

It's the first of nine exhibition games the Chinese National Team will play while here until Feb. 6. The squad will also play a bunch of games against ACAC teams, including against NAIT – where head coach Perry Pearn spent the early days of his coaching career – this Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday's game against MacEwan – the highest-levelled team they'll face on this tour – was a great way to kick things off.

"I thought the tempo of the game was really good, so from our perspective, that's the kind of hockey we wanted," said Pearn. "A lot of respect to Grant MacEwan and the way they play the game. It was clean, fast. Last year we played some U SPORTS teams in Ontario, and the games weren't quite the same way. We played Toronto Metro University, and it was a gong show from their standpoint. 

"So, to come and have the kind of game we had tonight was really satisfying for us. I thought we made some mistakes we'll learn from and that's why we're playing these games – to understand when you play good teams there are things you can't do."

The majority of China's roster here in Edmonton plays in the Chinese Professional League, but they also have a number of higher-level players they'll add before they host the World 1B Hockey Championship April 29 to May 5 in Shenzen, China, including hopefully San Jose Sharks prospect Haoxi (Simon) Wang, their No. 1 goalie Stephen Chen who plays in the NCDC in Boston, forward Eddie Yan, who plays U SPORTS for Toronto and some other top forwards spread through the pro ranks and NCAA Div. III.

"Some of those guys will make a difference for us," said Pearn. "It changes our depth a little bit. Most of the guys here are the core of our defence. The part we're missing is the offensive part of our team."

Still, the Chinese team had some solid players on the ice Wednesday, led by M.J. (Michael) Zheng, who netted two goals and two assists, while speedy forward Z.S. (Z) Zhang, who had a goal and an assist put some heat on the Griffins' D.

After dominating early possession, the Griffins opened the scoring with 2:51 left in the first period and just 14 seconds left on a PK as Vincent Scott shot through a defender and past goalie H.R. (Eric) Hu.

With just 11 seconds left in the first period, Tanner Fincaryk came down the right side on an odd-man rush, perfected a toe drag and finished with a short side snipe under the bar.

With the Griffins using each of their goalies in each period, first period starter Carson Ironside – who made eight saves – gave way to Zac Onyskiw for the middle frame. The rookie tendy stopped six of seven but lost the puck behind his net for the Chinese team's first goal as Zhang hit an open cage.

But with the period winding down, the Griffins scored two more late goals to open up a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. 

Scott walked in off the point and sent a hard pass off Caden Cabana, who was parked back side in the Zach Hyman position.

Then, just over a minute later, Bidyk shot far pad off the rush, with the rebound popping out to Liam Hughes to deposit into the net. 

But with the dawn of the final period came MacEwan's bobble in the contest as two early turnovers led to goals from Zheng and R.N. (Buff) Yan in the span of a minute.

Suddenly, we had a game.

It woke the Griffins up, leading to Bidyk restoring a two-goal advantage on the play that turned out to be the winner.

"We got ourselves back in the game and I thought we held our own," said Pearn. "I didn't like their fifth goal. We had a couple chances to get the puck deep that we didn't and it ended up in our net. Other than that, the third period, I thought we played really well."

Zheng made it a one-goal contest again by beating Eric Ward - who finished with 11 saves on 14 shots – on a powerplay five-hole snipe with 11:59 left.

But MacEwan wouldn't be denied, icing it on a goal with 3:00 remaining when Dwayne Jean Jr. circled the formation and sent an inspired slap pass to Hughes' tape for an insurance marker.

Hu finished with 23 saves for China.

For the Griffins, Hughes finished with two goals, while Fincaryk (1G, 1A), Scott (1G, 1A) and Brody Tallman (2A) also had multi-point efforts.

It was an important outing for the Griffins, who are on a bye week before facing Manitoba Jan, 23-24.

"Probably just the way they approached the game today," said head coach Zack Dailey of what impressed him most about his group. "They're excited. They wanted to win. They're a competitive group. 

"A lot of times when there's no points attached to games, the effort can go sideways. I was really happy with how they approached the game and thought we got exactly what we needed to out of it."