Desperate Trojans shut down Griffins to win 2-1
Zachary Dean / For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – When there's just eight games remaining in the regular season and you're fighting for your playoff lives, every point counts.
That was the case Friday night at the Downtown Community Arena as the MacEwan Griffins women's hockey team hosted the desperate SAIT Trojans.
The highly motivated Calgary team went into the night only two points ahead of Olds College for the fourth and final playoff spot and walked away with a 2-1 victory.
It was a tight checking game where defenders flourished and few five-star chances were created by either team. When there was a scoring chance, both goalies were equal to the task. Sandy Heim stopped 24 of 26 shots and kept the Griffins alive early on.
"Sandy kept us in there," said Griffins assistant coach Danielle Bourgeois. "We had a flat first period and if it wasn't for Sandy making some of those key saves at the start, the game could have been a little bit different."
It really came down to who got the bounces, and the Griffins didn't get very many. Karlie Bell rifled a shot off the crossbar early in the second period, while Shyla Jans hit a post with just three minutes remaining in the third period.
"There were definitely a few instances where (not getting bounces) killed us," said MacEwan forward Courtney Zajac. "We can't let that affect us. That happens during a game, but then there are other games where we get the lucky bounces."
After a first period that saw the Trojans carry the play but remain scoreless, their efforts were rewarded in the second period when Karmen Mooney threw the puck on net and Karley Holt chopped the rebound past Heim for her first ACAC goal.
MacEwan came out flying to start the third period, but it was SAIT that would find the back of the net just 2:55 into the period. When a hard pass bounced off the stick of Griffins defender, Jessica Dyck, 15 feet from her own net, Keely Somers stole the puck and walked in all alone to make it 2-0.
Shanya Shwetz sparked a late game push for the Griffins when she received a pass at full speed in the neutral zone from Zajac and wired it past Elisha Oswald. However, it wouldn't be enough and SAIT would hold on for the victory.
"Shanya scored a great goal," said Bourgeois. "She was working hard all game, and fired it at the net and got us going."
"We talked about how we just needed to put pucks to the net and she did exactly that," added Zajac.
SAIT now has five wins in its last seven games, and a four-point cushion on Olds College for the fourth seed in the conference.
MacEwan falls to 10-7-0 and remains three points behind Red Deer College for the second seed and home ice advantage in the playoffs.
The two teams will face off again Saturday night at 7 p.m. at SAIT Arena in Calgary.