Christmann earns 32-save shutout in dream debut, Simon breaks SHG record and Griffins blank Bisons 2-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team Stats
Manitoba
MacEwan University
| Game Statistics | Manitoba | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 0 for 5 | 0 for 6 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties (min) | 6 (12) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 32 | 21 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — In the first period Mikayla Christmann got run over in the crease so hard that her stick broke in half.
In the second period, she had to make a five-bell save, while on a short-handed break from in tight, among some other big stops.
In the third period, the Manitoba Bisons threw everything they had her way — but the MacEwan Griffins rookie goaltender had a debut she will remember forever.
Christmann turned aside all 32 shots she faced, and Joie Simon scored twice, including the short-handed, game-winning goal with 5:55 left in the game, to propel the Griffins to a 2-0 win over Manitoba on Saturday at the Downtown Community Arena.
"Today, it was such an amazing feeling. I kept thinking, 'I'm here and I'm playing U SPORTS hockey', and I'm so lucky to play for a team where all the girls are amazing," said Christmann, goaltender of the year in the Saskatchewan Female U18AAA league last season with the Saskatoon Stars.
"I've waited for a long time for this moment, and it's a moment I know I'll always remember."
The Bisons jumped out early and tested Christmann often as they swarmed the crease and tried to get lots of traffic in front of the rookie — but she looked calm and composed.
Just before midway through the first, Manitoba's Kylie Lesuk raced in on a breakaway and was hauled down and crashing hard into Christmann, breaking her goalie stick, but that didn't even shake her.
"That was crazy, I didn't expect that," said Christmann.
"I looked down and I was like oh, my stick's in half, and then they were trying to find my stick, and I had to use my goalie partner's stick for the rest of the period."
DEBUT ALERT
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) January 25, 2025
Rookie goaltender Mikayla Christmann is making her @CanadaWest debut for the @MacEwanGriffins and she stopped 13 of 13 shots in the opening period to keep this a scoreless draw so far with @umbisons #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/1XkK2eFaZA
MacEwan was outshot 13-7 in the opening frame, but they pushed back hard in the second period. Bisons goaltender Paige Fischer was up to the task, though, keeping the game scoreless after 40 minutes. The Griffins had four opportunities on the power play but weren't able to capitalize.
Fischer finished with 19 saves in the loss for Manitoba who fell to 12-8-2 this season.
The Bisons had the MacEwan back on their heels in the third period, but the Griffins didn't break. They stayed together and Christmann was there when called upon.
"This weekend was by far our most complete weekend. From start to finish to those games, we did a lot of good stuff. It really seemed like there was a holistic buy-in for everyone to get a win this weekend," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming.
The Griffins finished the weekend with a split against the Manitoba Bisons and their strongest play of the season (James Maclennan photo).
Leeming praised the work of the entire team in how they stuck together and didn't break when they were pushed to their limits, and he was proud of his rookie netminder's debut.
"She's such a fantastic person. She's done everything we've asked her to do and more. She comes here with a smile every day, and she's got significantly better since Day 1 here," said Leeming
"I'm proud of her, and the girls were pretty pumped to make sure they didn't score there when they pulled their goalie."
While Christmann's performance was big, you can't discount Simon's either. After going 18 games without a goal, Simon has caught fire, scoring four goals in her last four games, and two of those have been short-handed.
GOAL ��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) January 26, 2025
Joie Simon not only scored the game-winner on this play, she also broke the all-time program record for career short-handed goals with her fourth!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/k1oV4ELtRj
Her game-winner broke the program's all-time record for short-handed goals with four, passing Lauren Chiswell (2005-09) and Melody Howard (2006-09).
"Our PK has been struggling lately, but I felt we picked it up today. I saw Jenny (Andrash) block it and go, and I was like oh, I can beat that girl, so I went for it, I saw up was open, and went backhand," said Simon.
"We definitely needed that, we've had a real tough stretch, but there are lots of smiles in the locker-room today."
Simon said with it being such a tight game, they knew they had to find a way in the third period to score and rally around their rookie teammate, who was giving them every chance to earn the win.
"She's been steady in practice, and worked so hard, and I just told her that she's going to rock it when she gets her chance, and she was so big for us today," said Simon.
"Coming into the third period, it was so close, we just kept saying we got to get that first goal, and we found a way to get it and closed out strong to get the W."
SHUTOUT!
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) January 26, 2025
What a dream debut for rookie Mikayla Christmann, who earns a 32-save shutout for the @MacEwanGriffins as they knock off the @umbisons 2-0!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/iigUSMYbIf
When the buzzer went in the third period, the Griffins swarmed Christmann and celebrated as the team snapped their seven-game losing streak and improved to 3-16-2-1.
Christmann, who hails from Warman, Sask., didn't have her parents in the stands to see her debut, but her grandparents who live in Edmonton were there to cheer her on.
"My parents watched it on Canada West TV. I haven't called them yet, but they've been blowing up my phone," smiled Christmann.
"My grandparents were here. They live here and they bought season tickets, so they've been waiting for this moment too.
"I just went to see them, and they were so happy. They told me they were so proud of me. I think it was the only words they could get out."
MacEwan will travel to Saskatoon next weekend to battle the Saskatchewan Huskies.
