Griffins net a point behind Ward's exceptional game, but struggle to score in OT loss to Bears
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Team Stats
Alberta
| Game Statistics | Alberta | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 1 for 3 | 0 for 3 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 3 (6) | 3 (8) |
| Shots on Goal | 40 | 28 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Behind an exceptional performance by goaltender Eric Ward, the Griffins men's hockey team took the Alberta Golden Bears to overtime, only to fall 2-1 on Saturday night.
Ward made 37 saves and had a shutout going for 47:47 of the contest until the Golden Bears capitalized on a third-period powerplay to send the game into OT.
MacEwan would have likely had a better fate, if not for the play of the other guy in a mask on the other side. Alberta's Drew Sim was equally as impressive, making 27 saves, a few of the 10-bell variety.
"I thought we had plenty of chances to score goals," said MacEwan head coach Zack Dailey. "Their goalie played great. We didn't bear down. Special teams, we got beat today. We had plenty of opportunities, especially late, so it's a bit disappointing.
"But it was a much better effort all around by our group. I was much happier with our compete level. I thought we skated, I thought we generated some offence, so definitely a disappointing loss, but some positives to take out of it as well."
The OT loss comes on the heels of a much worse 7-1 defeat at Clare Drake to Alberta on Friday, so the improvement was notable.
With the result, MacEwan is now 1-2-1 on the season, while Alberta improves to 4-0-0 and sit atop the West Division.
MacEwan was the better team in the first period and probably should have been up a few goals, except that their finish eluded them. Early in the contest, they had four passes through the crease that would have been back door tap-ins, but each was missed.
Finally, Kadyn Chabot got them on the board 8:40 into the affair on a play that began with Ethan Sundar's solid cut to the net front, which created a rebound that he tapped back to Chabot to wire past Sim.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 11, 2025
The rebound off Ethan Sundar's nice cut to the net spills out and Kadyn Chabot wires it home to open the scoring for @MacEwanGriffins vs. #YEG rival @GBHKY midway through the first period at the DCA.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/rqv1DP0FJo
"That was great," said Dailey. "I thought their line did a great job putting pressure on their D. They created a lot of turnovers and a lot of scoring chances and were getting to the net well.
"I was happy to see them get rewarded, but definitely as a group, we need to work on bearing down here and scoring some goals. We've been generating chances and haven't been able to find the back of the net."
Sim made a solid pad stop on a one-timer from Sundar with 27 seconds left in the first period.
"That first half of the game, especially the first period, we really played our game," said Ward. "We got on the cycle, we got on the forecheck, we had good breakouts and good net front. That just shows we can compete with anyone in the league. If we play our game we can beat anyone. If we can keep that level up, I have high hopes for this year."
Alberta was much stronger in the middle frame, outshooting the Griffins 15-6, but it was Ward's turn to shine. He kicked it off by stopping Gleb Tkach on a penalty shot and also shut down Owen Pederson on a breakaway. All told, he faced six breakaways in the game.
WARDO!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) October 12, 2025
Including a penalty shot, Eric Ward shuts down his fourth breakaway of the game late in the third period.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/GFigJbUEaa
"He did a great job today, really held us in there and made some huge saves for us," said Dailey. "That's what we're going to need if we're going to be a successful team. We need a solid goalie. Obviously, not trying to give up six breakaways every game, but we need our goalie there when we need him to bail us out and I thought he did that today."
Pederson finally beat him at 7:47 of the third period when Justin Hall's powerplay point blast went off Pederson in front and fell at his feet for a tap in past Ward.
Sim had two more highlight-reel saves on Vincent Scott and Caden Cabana in tight and then played hero for Alberta on an overtime powerplay when he robbed Scott on a one-timer from the slot.
When a Griffins' 3-on-1 in three-on-three overtime didn't go in, it sent Tyson Laventure back the other way on a breakaway and he half-deked Ward before going five-hole to end the game. When you allow six breakaways, one is bound to go in eventually.
"Couldn't get that last one, but I've been feeling good about my game all preseason," said Ward, who was making his first start of the season. "I think some of the scores won't show that stats-wise, but I'm having high confidence. I don't think I've been beat by a clean shot all season so far, so I have that high confidence in my game right now, which is helping me out. And the team is doing a great job in front of me. If I make that first save, they clean out the rebound."
The Griffins will be back in action next weekend for a home-and-home series vs. Mount Royal University with Friday's game at home (7 p.m., DCA, Canada West TV).
