Griffins win first of season, beating Spartans 2-1 behind Jack's winner, Johnson's 36-save effort
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Team Stats
Trinity Western
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Trinity Western |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 1 for 4 | 0 for 2 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 2 (4) | 4 (8) |
| Shots on Goal | 21 | 37 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
LANGLEY, B.C. – Sydney Jack scored her first official goal as a Griffin on Saturday, and it couldn't have come at a bigger time.
With just 3:48 left in a 1-1 tie, she broke the deadlock to lift MacEwan to its first win of the season – 2-1 over the Trinity Western Spartans.
"She's scored a few in shootouts for us but hadn't scored in regulation, so that was a big one," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming. "I'm really proud of her."
Jack, who joined the Griffins in 2024 as a transfer from Olds College, delivered a memorable shootout-winning goal over Regina last season. But this will go down as an even bigger goal as she pounced on a rebound off Marley Howes' shot and buried it.
"We did get a little bit of a bounce in the neutral zone," admitted Leeming. "Marley Howes stepped up to make a play on her attacker and the player went to chip it around her and it hit the linesman's foot and popped back.
"We were able to catch them in transition, got a clean zone entry and the shot on net with a net drive and Syd Jack got her first official goal."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) October 26, 2025
It's Sydney Jack on the rebound with a clutch goal that puts the @MacEwanGriffins ahead 2-1 with just 3:48 remaining!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/0J9bEeENv7
With the win, the Griffins are now 1-6-1 on the season, as they gained on division rival Trinity Western, who dropped to 5-3-0.
The mood in the room was obviously electric after finally breaking through for their first victory of 2025-26.
"It's great, to be honest with you," said Leeming. "I think we definitely had a better game overall today compared to yesterday. We got better as game went on, so it was great to see that. The team came together and made that happen. They stepped up and willed that into existence."
A major reason why the Griffins won was the play of goaltender Lindsey Johnson, who stopped 36 of 37 shots and earned first star honours.
VICTORY!
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) October 26, 2025
Take a bow, Lindsey Johnson!@MacEwanGriffins win their first of the season - 2-1 over @TWUSpartans - behind her 36-save performance.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/8aUMeEfdEo
"Johnny showed up again today and did her job," said Leeming of his fourth-year goalie, who now has a sizzling .930 save percentage on the season. "She didn't give up too many secondary chances and controlled rebounds. She made the saves that she needed to make.
"We also supported our goalie a little bit better today, limiting how many Grade A chances we gave up, compared to how many we gave up yesterday. When you put those two things together and limit goals against, it gives us an opportunity to be in the game."
That gave their offence a chance to pull out the win. The Spartans held onto a 1-0 lead for about a full period after Kara Yackel scored midway through the second period.
But Claire Hobbs scored a huge goal at 9:18 of the third period when she stepped out of the penalty box on a rush and sniped a sharp-angle short side blast over the shoulder of goaltender Olivia Davidson, who was down on her post in the RVH.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) October 26, 2025
Claire Hobbs jumps out of the penalty box and onto the scoresheet with a sharp angle snipe as the @MacEwanGriffins tie it 1-1 with @TWUSpartans midway through the final frame!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/7tqsfyNeKR
"That actually counted as a powerplay goal, so that was good for us," said Leeming. "We needed to break through with that because we hadn't scored a powerplay goal yet this year."
Jack's goal gave the Griffins a late lead and their defence did the rest, suffocating the Spartans while playing five-on-six for the final 1:16.
"I just think we got better as the game went on," said Leeming. "We executed a really great five-on-six when they pulled their goalie. Syd Olsen, our captain, led the charge. She blocked two or three shots that were really big for us to keep pucks away from our net and limit scoring chances."
