Griffins made things difficult on top-ranked T-Birds before falling in another close game
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Team Stats
UBC
| Game Statistics | UBC | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 0 for 5 | 0 for 8 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 9 (18) | 6 (12) |
| Shots on Goal | 33 | 16 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — The MacEwan Griffins didn't walk away with the win — but they certainly made the UBC Thunderbirds work for it.
UBC struck for two goals just 1:49 apart early in the second period to earn a 3-1 win over MacEwan on Saturday afternoon at the Downtown Community Arena.
Annalise Wong, Grace Elliott and Vanessa Schaefer scored second period goals for UBC, while Griffins forward Megan Dolynchuk scored her first-career Canada West goal with 1:56 left in the middle frame to round out the scoring, as MacEwan dropped to 0-2 to start their Canada West season.
"We set out to not give them anything for free, and I think we hit that goal for sure," said Griffins forward Sydney Jack.
"We forced them to work for everything they got, not just today, but in Friday's loss as well. Defensively, there was a lot we can build on for our team."
After winning 1-0 on Friday, UBC came out looking to jump all over the Griffins in the opening frame. They forced MacEwan into taking three penalties, and dictated most of the play, but Griffins goaltender Lindsey Johnson was very sharp making 16 of her 30 saves in the game in the first period.
MacEwan tried to grab some momentum early in the second period, but Wong gave UBC a 1-0 lead after bursting in on a partial breakaway and beating Johnson with a nice move and shot over her left pad.
Elliot's second goal of the season came short-handed after she drove to the net off a rush and made a perfect deflection past Johnson to give UBC a 2-0 lead at the 6:39 mark of the second.
"We spent a lot of time on the PK in that first period, and I think it broke us down a little bit, and they were able to take advantage in the second," said Dolynchuk.
"It was a tough stretch, but we were able to keep our energy up on the bench, even when we got down."
After Schaefer's goal made it 3-0, MacEwan was able to get some momentum back late in the second period on Dolynchuk's first-career goal.
The forward, who missed her entire rookie season in 2024-25 with an injury and is, thus, still considered a rookie, grabbed the loose puck at the top of the left circle and snapped a shot through all kinds of traffic in front of UBC goaltender Mya Lucifora to cut the lead to 3-1.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) October 4, 2025
The first goal of the season for the @MacEwanGriffins goes to Megan Dolynchuk, who gets them on the board late in the second!
It's 3-1 for @ubctbirds through 40 minutes.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/9QSm7kSlhE
"Aspen (Checknita) and Rob (Robyn Short) did a good job getting in front of the goalie's eyes, so I feel like all the credit goes to them," said Dolynchuk.
"All I was thinking was to get the puck on net, because there were so many people in front and just pray that it goes straight in or someone else tips it in."
Was her first-career goal how she pictured it?
"It's a goal, I'll take it. It was probably nicer than I imagined it to be, as my goals usually just bounce off me in front of the net," said Dolynchuk.
Megan Dolynchuk was all smiles after scoring her first career goal on Saturday (James Maclennan photo).
After recording just 10 shots in Friday's loss, MacEwan had just nine through 40 minutes on Saturday, but they were determined to get more pucks on net in the third after Dolynchuk's tally.
They didn't get rewarded, but it was arguably their best period of the weekend against UBC.
They outshot the T-Birds 9-5, and had a couple quality looks that Lucifora was able to make the save on.
"We have to build on our third period. I really liked our physicality, and we were stopping a lot of their plays," said Jack.
"It gives us confidence moving forward that we can compete and play with the top-ranked team in our conference and they're one of the best teams in the country.
"We have to continue to work on getting to the net and looking for those dirty goals. Get pucks on goals and crash the net. Scoring dirty goals is how we're going to be successful."
MacEwan will have a home-and-home series with their crosstown rival Alberta Pandas next weekend. The Griffins will host Alberta on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. while they play the Pandas at Clare Drake Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m.
