2025-26 schedule: Taking a turn in the West Division, Griffins host UBC Oct. 3-4 to open season
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The Griffins women's hockey team will kick off their quest to make the Canada West playoffs for the first time on Oct. 3-4 when they welcome UBC to town for their home-opening weekend, lifting the lid on the 2025-26 season.
MacEwan's 28-game slate – released by Canada West on Tuesday – will run until Feb. 13-14 when a home-and-home series vs. cross-town rival Alberta closes out the regular season.
"This coming season brings with it a new energy that stems from getting back to work and taking our lessons learned from last season and focusing them towards raising our standards of competitiveness," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming. "Witnessing a team with the level of connectedness and communication that our group has established, you can't help but be motivated to bring your best for those who are in it day to day with you, both as a player and coach."
SEE GRIFFINS' FULL SCHEDULE HERE
The biggest change for the team comes with a move to the West Division, along with Alberta, swapping places with Calgary and Mount Royal, who took their turn in that loop last season.
That means three playoff spots are up for grabs between MacEwan, Alberta, UBC and Trinity Western.
The three East Division post-season positions will be vied for by Calgary, Mount Royal, Regina, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
"This year's divisional alignment presents us with a bit more travel than the past few seasons, so balancing that and having the right mindset will be important to our process," said Leeming. "It will also provide opportunities to fuel our growth, which is exactly what this group is hungry for – to strive for excellence by doing hard things with each other, for each other."
The division change also means a switch in how many games the Griffins will play against various opponents. They'll see UBC, Trinity Western and Alberta six times each, and only have one weekend series against each of Regina, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Mount Royal and Manitoba.
"There is a lot of eagerness and excitement towards getting back on the ice together, which is part of what I believe makes this group special," said Leeming. "A major key to our success will be the commitment to set the pace for 60 minutes every game, and more importantly, every day for ourselves as we build together."
The Canada West quarter-finals begin Feb. 20, the semifinals Feb. 27 and the championship series on March 6. All are best-of-three affairs.
The 2026 U SPORTS national championship will take place March 19-22, hosted by the University of Waterloo in that Ontario city.
