With growing confidence against top teams, Griffins set for playoff series vs. defending champ UBC
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – When the Griffins men's hockey team is at their best, they've proven to be giant slayers over the past few seasons.
Following their historic first Canada West win over cross-town rival Alberta on Oct. 8, 2022, they've since knocked off all of the conference's powerhouses at least once.
This season, the Griffins beat defending Canada West champion UBC 5-1 back on Nov. 2, topped Alberta again (4-3 on Jan. 3) and beat last year's conference silver medalists – the Calgary Dinos – for the first time in U SPORTS competition, 3-1 on Feb. 7.
Now, the Griffins will be leaning on the entire wave of confidence they've been building against the top teams when they head to Vancouver for their best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series against the UBC Thunderbirds – Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary), all 8 p.m. MT, Canada West TV.
"Any time you beat a team, some of the worry or scariness about that team goes away," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey, whose squad split their two games against the T-Birds this season just months after UBC won a Canada West men's hockey banner for the first time in 53 years. "So, we just need to go in as a confident group.
"We know they're a really good hockey team – obviously past champions of the league with really good players. But everyone in this league is beatable. That's our approach going in is we just need to be at our best if we want to win hockey games. Having beaten them this season adds to that confidence."
Starting goaltender Brett Epp was injured at the time the Griffins hosted UBC Nov. 1-2 at the Downtown Community Arena, but he remembers the 5-1 win well. It was keyed by fellow goalie Carson Ironside, who stopped 32 of 33 shots in a dream debut for MacEwan, and a solid offensive effort, led by a pair of goals from Marc Pasemko.
M��| FINAL
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) November 2, 2024
Rookie Carson Ironside slams the door on the defending @CanadaWest champs, making 32 saves in his @USPORTS_Hockey debut.#GriffNation
�� Derek Harback
BOXSCORE➡️https://t.co/TC4MuvRjv0 pic.twitter.com/rrwlm17ef4
"That was the first thing I remember was how awesome Carson played and how big that was for the group," said Epp. "I think that was maybe the first time we beat one of the higher-seeded teams (this season). That was our first step in putting ourselves in the category of the top few teams in this league. I just remember that game being fast-paced back and forth and just how awesome Carson played."
Expect another fast-paced contest; the Thunderbirds have a ton of pace to their game, which is how they beat Calgary in the Canada West final last season.
As a result, practice sessions for the Griffins this week have been focused heavily on their rush for and rush against, as well as sharpening up their breakout against a team that eats up neutral zone turnovers.
"I think it's really clear to our group now what we need to do to be at our best," said Dailey. "Those games that we won, we did a lot of things correctly – we won one-on-one battles, we were physical, we blocked a lot of shots and that's how we need to play if we want to be successful.
"It definitely shows when we're at our best, we're competitive with any team."
Vincent Scott battles for possession with UBC's Matthew Smith during a Nov. 2 meeting between the teams at the DCA (Derek Harback photo).
They also have lessons learned from their baptism into the Canada West playoffs last season when they made the dance for the first time since joining U SPORTS in 2021. MacEwan lost 2-0 to Mount Royal (4-1 and 6-4), but the Griffins have 18 returners who've learned from that experience.
"I think we're a lot farther ahead than we were last year," said Pasemko, who led the Griffins in scoring with 24 points in 25 games this season. "I think last year our group didn't know what to expect from playoff hockey and how it was going to be played. But I think having that experience underneath our belt for a lot of our team we'll know more so how to handle some of the pressures and just how to play.
"Playoff hockey's a lot different than regular season and it's just all about managing your mistakes. I think we're going to be a lot better for it from having that experience last year."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 2, 2024
Marc Pasemko hustles onto a loose puck to salt this one away with an empty-netter on his second goal of the game!
5-1 final for @MacEwanGriffins over @ubctbirds! @CanadaWest #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/Nkaj8fzevI
So, when the puck drops on Game 1 Friday, expect to see a Griffins team that believes they can beat a team that finished 15 points ahead of them in the standings.
"I think we can win any night if we play the right way and do the right things, and stick together out there," said Epp. "I have a lot of confidence in our group that it doesn't matter who's on the other side. If we stick to our guns, we can beat anyone."
Key in that task will be the play of Epp, who has been locked in down the stretch of the season with a .922 save percentage in his last five starts. Along with that has been the play of the Griffins' team defence, which despite including two rookie regulars – Carson Haynes and Brody Tallman – has been, to a man, a bear for opposing offences to go against.
"Our D all do a really good job and that's the strength of our team this year," said Dailey. "Just having them be simple, be hard to play against and be really good in front of our net will give us a good chance to win hockey games.
"They give us a chance to win, they're competitive guys, they're skilled, they break pucks out well, and they compete net-front for us. If they do those things they're going to give us a chance to win and if our goalie is on, as well, it's going to be hard to beat us."
The winner of this weekend's series will travel to Saskatchewan Feb. 28 to March 2 for a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.
