Wray makes 44 saves to lead MacEwan past Red Deer
Zachary Dean / For MacEwan Athletics
It was a high energy affair at the Downtown Community Arena on Saturday night between the MacEwan Griffins and the Red Deer College Kings. Both teams displayed plenty of speed, but it was the home team that had the scoring touch in the 5-1 victory.
However, the score is unflattering to the Kings and isn't an accurate indicator of the flow of play. The teams matched each other chance for chance, and it was Red Deer who actually had the advantage on the shot clock, 45-36.
The difference was special teams.
The Griffins played with fire in the first period, taking three consecutive penalties. It was an opportunity for the Kings to shift the momentum in their favour, but goaltender Christopher Wray stood tall between the pipes and allowed his team to come away unscathed.
"Our PK was excellent," said Griffins head coach Bram Stephen. "We had to kill the first three of the game and those were big when it's still close that early. If they score on one or two of those, it's a completely different look."
One night after he became the Griffins' all-time leading scorer, captain Ryan Benn got his team on the board just 79 seconds into the game. Initially there was some confusion over whether the puck actually crossed the line, but the referee eventually signalled it a goal.
"It was kind of a weird one," said Benn. "I kind of got the pass in my feet on the 3 on 2 and just threw it on net. I think it went five-hole and bounced right back out. It was kind of an awkward goal."
Benn would add a second goal early in the second period and there was no confusion about this one. Brett Njaa wired the puck cross ice and Benn picked the corner above Troy Trombley's glove.
"(Benn) is getting points this year but he's kind of been unlucky with his puck luck," said Stephen. "Maybe it's starting to change a bit."
Bryan Arneson also had an eventful night with a goal, two assists and 14 penalty minutes.
"Arny had his best game in a while," said Stephen. "His competition level was much better. He's got unbelievable skill … it was perhaps his best game of the year."
Added Benn: "He was out of the lineup last night. So he was hungry and it showed. He's an offensive player and he brought that."
After Benn opened the scoring, Redford Swan scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 late in the first period. It was a beautiful play where Arneson went flying behind the net but then reversed the puck into the slot and right onto Swan's stick for an easy one-timer.
Seventy-five seconds later, Tyler Morrison made it 3-0 with a slap shot from the point while the Griffins were on a 5 on 3.
The Kings' Tyler Berkholtz scored his 11th goal of the season at the 7:35 mark of the second period to put a dent in the Griffins lead, but by that point it was 5-1 and the game was out of reach.
Wray made an impressive 44 of 45 stops to earn his 6th win of the season.
With the win, the Griffins (17-6-1) are now one point back of SAIT for the second seed in the conference, but the Trojans have two games in hand.
Red Deer College falls to 8-11-3 after losing their sixth-straight game. However, the Kings have six games remaining in the regular season and two more wins will clinch a playoff spot.