Griffins can't capitalize on early lead, fall 3-1 to Pandas
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Team Stats
Alberta
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 1 for 5 | 3 for 6 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 7 (22) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 18 | 35 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — In a game that came down to special teams, the MacEwan Griffins put up a good fight, but weren't able to match the Alberta Pandas.
While the Griffins scored once on the power play, they gave up three power play goals, one in each period, to fall 3-1 to their cross-town rivals on Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.
Kali MacDonald scored her first goal of the year for MacEwan, while Lindsey Johnson made 32 saves in the loss and the Griffins fell to 3-12-2-2 this season.
"I thought we really came out and were able to set the pace with our play, but we took a few more penalties in the next period, and they were able to convert on a few, and they got that third one," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming.
"I don't think a two-goal lead was insurmountable, but we just didn't get enough pucks on net overall to give ourselves an opportunity to climb back into the game."
MacDonad gave MacEwan a 1-0 lead at the 11;19 mark of the first period, but Natalie Kieser tied it with a power play goal just under five minutes later.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) December 6, 2025
Kali MacDonald finds a seam through traffic and opens the scoring for the @MacEwanGriffins!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/ra4OglVBta
The Griffins took three penalties in the middle frame, including giving the Pandas a five-on-three advantage for 1:53.
They almost killed it off, but Hailey Carothers scored her third of the season in the dying seconds of the two-man advantage.
"The five-on-three we were executing really well, but they found a way to make a nice pass into the slot, and their girl buried it," said Leeming.
"Sometimes the other team will just make a good play, and you have to give credit to them, they executed it."
Leeming was pleased with the team's effort, especially in the first period when he said the team played one of their strongest periods of the season, but after getting nine shots on goal in the opening frame, they were only able to register nine shots over the final 40 minutes.
"We just didn't get the shot volume we needed in the second and third periods. We did some good things offensively when we got the puck in terms of attacking spots," said Leeming.
"We can certainly build on some things for our game tomorrow and we definitely got to limit their chances on the power play to give ourselves a better chance to push for a win."
MacEwan will wrap up their first half of their season when they finish their home-and-home series with Alberta on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT at the Downtown Community Arena.
