Griffins clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs after huge 6-2 win over Alberta
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Team Stats
Alberta
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 2 for 7 | 0 for 2 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 4 (24) | 8 (35) |
| Shots on Goal | 30 | 34 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The celebration will be brief, but the moment certainly warrants some merriment after the Griffins men's hockey team clinched home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs following a 6-2 drubbing of cross-town rival Alberta on Friday night.
When they wake up on Saturday, it will be back to business as the Griffins prepare for a best-of-three quarter-final series at home for the first time since joining Canada West in 2021.
"I'm super excited and really proud of them," said Griffins men's hockey head coach Zack Dailey, whose squad will host Calgary in the opening round. "I thought they handled adversity quite well today and found a way to win.
"But again, the job's not over this weekend. We don't want to lay an egg tomorrow. We want to make sure we're playing good hockey, so we can be confident going into playoffs. I just told them to enjoy it tonight, but when we wake up tomorrow, we're ready to go."
HOME ICE CLINCHED!@MacEwanGriffins score a massive 6-2 win over #YEG rival @GBHKY and have clinched second place in the @CanadaWest West Division!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
They'll host a CW QF series for the first time in program history. #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/BPvpL5BvnD
The Griffins improved to 12-10-5 after Friday's win, dropping the Bears to 10-13-4 and moving five points ahead of them in the race for second in the West Division with just Saturday's season finale against one another (5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, Canada West TV) remaining.
Friday's win wasn't as easy as the lopsided score indicates; in fact, Alberta outshot MacEwan 34-30.
"They took it to us pretty good in the second period," said Dailey. "We were on our heels a whole bunch. Ironside had to make some huge saves. So, all the momentum was in their direction even though we were up.
"In the past, third periods there haven't gone well for us, but instead of sitting back, I thought we did a really good job of pushing and playing. We had to kill a couple penalties in the third as we were expecting to. Just really proud of how we finished out the game in the third."
Ironside became the unlikely hero who stole the show for the Griffins as the man who has spent much of the season as the team's third goaltender turned aside 32 of 34 in the contest.
"Super proud of him," said Dailey. "We talk in our group all the time is all you can control is your attitude and effort. Even though he wasn't playing, he showed up every day, he worked extremely hard and he supported his teammates. So now when he's given an opportunity, he takes advantage of it. He's ready because he had a good attitude and he worked hard. He set himself up.
"I'm super happy to see him be rewarded for the way he handled things, and the guys are very happy for him as well."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
Sam Simard gets the @MacEwanGriffins on the board midway through the first period!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/JFVTkfeJZA
Captain Sam Simard led the way offensively for the Griffins with two goals and two assists, matching the program record with four points. He scored the team's opening goal at 10:12 of the first period and put his stamp on the night after that.
Ethan Sundar made it 2-1 for the Griffins just over a minute later when he took a nifty pass from Kadyn Chabot and wired it home.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
Nifty pass from Kadyn Chabot sets up Ethan Sundar for the go-ahead goal for the @MacEwanGriffins!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/C8D2yFo9Ph
After the Bears tied it up 2-2 after 20 minutes, the Griffins separated themselves on the scoresheet with a pair of second period markers, both on the powerplay.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
Logan Dowhaniuk rips a snipe on the powerplay to put @MacEwanGriffins up 3-2 at Clare Drake early in the second period!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/fGGlbI8BT8
Logan Dowhaniuk buried a snipe after walking in off the blueline before Simard netted his second of the contest when he corralled Brett Bamber's pass down low and buried it past Alberta's Drew Sim.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
Captain Sam Simard has two!
And the @MacEwanGriffins lead 4-2 over at Clare Drake.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/hwrSKkOmCh
Caden Cabana scored an insurance marker for the Griffins with 12:25 left in the third period before Vincent Scott hit an empty net with 1:47 left.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) February 14, 2026
Caden Cabana makes it 5-2 with 12:25 left! @MacEwanGriffins#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/m6DPtzKfKV
The accomplishment of earning home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs isn't lost on Dailey, especially since it represents the next rung on the ladder of progression the program has taken since entering Canada West in 2021. They made the playoffs for the first time in 2023-24, won their first playoff game in 2024-25 and are now set up for the next level of success.
"I think it means a ton," said Dailey. "I think it means we're on the right track. The guys who have been here for a while when we first started out probably didn't think this would happen. But it just shows that sticking together, working hard, having good attitudes, being committed to doing things properly and when you do that for a long time there will be improvement.
"I'm really proud of our group and I'm happy that they're getting rewarded. But again, we can kind of celebrate this stuff when the season's over. We're just focused on playing hockey. We want to continue to play. We don't want to host and then lay and egg. We want to push and be good. We want to win hockey games.
"We're proud and happy, and we've set ourselves up for success, but now we need to continue to play hockey and continue to play well."
