Graduating seniors Sank, Andrash play starring roles in MacEwan's 3-0 win over Calgary
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team Stats
Calgary
MacEwan University
| Game Statistics | Calgary | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| PowerPlays | 0 for 5 | 0 for 2 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties (min) | 2 (4) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 24 | 27 |
| Face Offs Won | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With just eight days left in their playing careers at MacEwan, the two graduating seniors of the Griffins women's hockey team – Brianna Sank and Jennifer Andrash – are playing like there's no tomorrow.
Sank made 24 saves for the sixth shutout of her illustrious career at MacEwan, while Andrash scored twice, matching a program record, as the Griffins blanked the Calgary Dinos 3-0 on Friday night at the Downtown Community Arena.
Sank, who has worn a Griffins jersey since 2019, will finish her career next weekend against Regina when both her and Andrash will be celebrated on Senior Night Feb. 15.
Friday's victory was the 27th of her career, moving her into a tie with Natalie Bender (2017-22) for second in MacEwan's all-time list behind Sandy Heim, who had 46 regular season wins from 2015-19.
"I think just the way the girls battled at the end for me," Sank said when asked what was special about this shutout, her first of the 2024-25 season. "It felt like they were doing everything to keep that puck out of the net. My last couple games here, it was nice to finally get one this season."
Both the Griffins and Dinos have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but the result pushes MacEwan to 5-17-3, while dropping the Dinos to 7-16-2.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 8, 2025
Jennifer Andrash speeds in and jams home the first goal of the game for the @MacEwanGriffins! It's her fourth of the season and gives them a 1-0 lead over @UCDinos after 20 minutes at the DCA.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/KkjnPy72j5
MacEwan opened the scoring with 5:58 left in the first period as Andrash entered the zone with speed and crashed the net, somehow knocking the puck up and over the pad of Dinos goaltender Rebecca Boswell, making her first start of the season.
After her short-handed empty-netter sealed it with 4:51 left, Andrash tied the program single Canada West game goals record, established by Joie Simon last month. It also pushed Andrash to 11 points on the season, just two shy of Jesse Jack's program record set last season for the most by a Griffin in a Canada West campaign.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 8, 2025
Jennifer Andrash hits an empty net for her second of the game, matching Joie Simon's program record for the most by a Griffin in a @CanadaWest game! The tally puts the @MacEwanGriffins up 3-0 late in the contest.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/tL3Qu9iZPi
"She's really stepped it up for herself," said Griffins head coach Chris Leeming. "She's always had an offensive touch to her game and she's really found a consistency down the stretch here.
"She's got deceptive speed and she's got some good hands. And she's creative with the puck, as well. We see it every day at practice, but it's nice that it's coming to fruition in a game now."
Rian Santos also scored for MacEwan – netting the insurance marker with 8:43 remaining in the third period when she slammed home Ella Maternick's gorgeous pass off an odd-man rush.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 8, 2025
The @MacEwanGriffins go up 2-0 on a beautiful play by Ella Maternick to Rian Santos!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/8VE4mrDUud
Sank was particularly strong in the second period when Calgary came at the Griffins for large swaths of time.
"She was steady for us," said Leeming. "When we were giving up some good scoring chances against, she made the saves she needed to make for us. She brought some poise and calmness to our team when we needed it."
Late in the third, it was the Sank show again as she stopped several decent Dinos late chances, also getting plenty of help from her defence. The most notable came with 1:50 left as she stopped a couple out of a scramble and had help from Robyn Short, blocking a rebound with her backside.
SHUTOUT ALERT!
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Hockey (@GriffinsWHKY) February 8, 2025
Brianna Sank had some of her finest work late in the third as the @UCDinos pushed for a goal, but she said no.
Sank makes 24 saves to end up with the sixth shutout of her @MacEwanGriffins career - a 3-0 victory!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/OlwkSEiIPH
"I saw it come through and it kind of hit my glove and bounced out," said Sank. "Then I kind of just sprawled and I was like, 'Rob, it's coming.' Then she got a piece of it. Then she gave me her stick. It was a big scramble."
The teams will meet again on Saturday in Calgary (6 p.m., Canada West TV). MacEwan would pass their win total from last season with a victory – a key internal goal for the team down the stretch.
"I think we've got to strive to play a complete game," said Leeming. "When we are disciplined with our details and our habits, we're pretty competitive. It was nice to see that's what the buy in was and it was nice down the stretch there when we had to kill that penalty off the last few minutes. (There were) a lot of blocked shots, a lot of secondary and third efforts to keep pucks out of our net by all the players who were on the ice. That's what it's going to take for us to continue to do what we've been doing."
