Griffins excited to kick off 28-game season Sept. 30 with home opener Oct. 7 vs. Alberta
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Eight games longer than their inaugural Canada West season, the MacEwan Griffins' 2022-23 women's hockey slate begins Sept. 30 in Regina and ends Feb. 11 vs. Calgary as they get a taste of a full 28-game CW schedule for the first time.
The Griffins' home opener is set for Oct. 7 vs. cross-town rival Alberta (7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena) – one of four matches against the Pandas in 2022-23 (also Oct. 8 and Dec. 2-3).
"I am really excited to get the 2022-23 season underway," said Griffins head coach Lindsay McAlpine. "The reduced schedule last year was a great introduction to the strong Canada West division, and I look forward to seeing the growth of our returning players and strong recruiting class take on the full 28 games."
As they attempt to make the playoffs for the first time, the Griffins will face each opponent four times – twice at home and twice on the road – except Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They visit the Huskies Nov. 11-12 and host the Bisons Nov. 18-19 for their only meetings of the season vs. those teams.
In their inaugural Canada West campaign in 2021-22, the Griffins were in playoff contention until the final weekend of their 20-game regular season.
Among other highlights of their 2022-23 schedule are two weekends vs. the defending Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds – Oct. 28-29 in Edmonton and Jan. 27-28 in Vancouver.
If the Griffins finish among the top-six teams in the conference, they'll qualify for the playoffs, which feature best-of-three quarter-final matchups starting Feb. 17 between the 3-6 and 4-5 seeds, while the top two teams enjoy a bye past the opening round.
The best-of-three CW semifinals kick off Feb. 24, while the best-of-three championship series goes March 3-5.
The U SPORTS national championship is slated for March 16-19 at the Université de Montréal.
