Griffins aim to play fast, tap into depth as they host Kings in ACAC semifinal series
Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – One win. One point. That's all that separated the MacEwan Griffins and Red Deer College Kings even though they each played 28 games during the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season.
The game of inches could very well continue as the rivals square off in Game 1 of their best-of-three ACAC semifinal series on Friday (7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena).
"They're a good team," said forward Brett Njaa, who led the Griffins in scoring for a third-straight season with 32 points in 28 games. "We had some decent luck against them in the regular season, but that doesn't mean anything right now.
"I think we've got to stick to our game and play fast."
That would be one of MacEwan's distinct advantages in the series, but they have others that they can tap into. Their depth is another.
"Red Deer's a very good team with a dynamic offensive group," said Griffins interim head coach Michael Ringrose. "Their top-six forwards and top four D are as good as anyone's in the league. They come at you with a lot of speed consistently.
"We need to be prepared to use our entire depth and use our bench and push the pace against them this weekend."
MacEwan also has history on its side. The Griffins triumphed in three of four meetings between the teams this season – claiming 6-2 and 4-1 wins in November and splitting a January weekend with a 2-1 win and a 5-4 double overtime loss.
"Don't kid yourself. They're a very good group and they have improved from that first weekend we played them to now," said Ringrose. "So are we. We're much improved from that point. We're playing our best hockey when it matters the most here, so I anticipate the series will align itself more to that second weekend than the first."
The Kings are coming into the series off a 2-0 sweep of Concordia in the first round (8-1 and 4-3 wins), while the Griffins have been enjoying a bye week since wrapping up the regular season against Briercrest on Feb. 24. Certainly, there are pros and cons to getting a break after a grueling season – the rest is outstanding, but the rust can be hampering.
"I think it's beneficial if you handle it the right way," said Ringrose. "For us, it was important because we had to push pretty hard to get that second seed and get the bye. It allowed us to rest up and recharge the battery instead of just stepping into the playoffs on the first weekend.
"The challenge with that anytime you take an extended period off is being ready to go right when the puck drops. So, our focus this week is wrapping things up, making sure our compete and our game is where we need to be."
At times, the Griffins have had trouble with that, not only with slow starts coming out of bye weeks this past season, but dating back to the 2017 ACAC semifinal. After earning a first-round bye, they started slowly in Game 1 against SAIT, but survived to win and go on to take the series.
So, the Griffins have been simulating playoff intensity in practice.
"It's tough to do, especially going into playoffs, because there's nothing that can measure up to the intensity of a playoff series," said Njaa. "But we've got a lot of veteran guys. We've been in this situation last year and we know what it takes. We know last year we didn't have the greatest start against SAIT. We ended up squeaking out that win in Game 1. I think we can learn from our mistakes last year and build off that."
There's no substitute for championship pedigree either. The Griffins have a large core of returning players who went through the playoff ringer last season and came out on the other side, crowned champions after beating NAIT in the final. They can certainly lean on that and lean on a system that produces wins. MacEwan comes into the series on a seven-game winning streak and they went 12-2-1 in the new year.
"We need to play hard in our own end and push pucks north-south," said Njaa. "When we're going, we're getting through the neutral zone quick. We control the game very well. If we can do that, we shouldn't have any problems getting in on their defence."
RDC will host Game 2 of the series on Saturday (7 p.m., Penhold Arena), while Game 3, if necessary, will be back in Edmonton on Sunday (6 p.m., DCA).
