Three Stars: Strang, Gorman, Kilbreath earn honours

MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Men’s hockey student-athlete Ethan Strang is the MacEwan Athletics first star of the week after recording four assists in a two-game weekend series against Canada West leader Calgary.

As a result, Strang broke the program record for the most points by a Griffin in a Canada West campaign with 18 (topping Merritt Oszytko’s 17 last season) and there are still eight games left in 2023-24 for him to add to his totals.

Men’s volleyball student-athlete Mitchel Gorman and women’s basketball guard Noelle Kilbreath are the second and third stars, respectively.

It’s the third time this season that Strang has been named to the Three Stars list following first star honours on Oct. 24 and Dec. 5. 

Gorman makes the list for the first time in 2023-24, while Kilbreath is being honoured for the second time, having previously been third star on Nov. 7.

Ethan Strang had four assists in two games against Calgary on the weekend (Jim Corry photo).

1^st STAR: Ethan Strang, F, men’s hockey

Cochrane, AB, second-year, Arts

Ethan Strang continued his strong season with a four-point effort in two games against U SPORTS No. 2 Calgary.

On Friday in Calgary, he recorded three assists as the Griffins narrowly lost 6-4 to the top team in Canada West. Included in that was a helper on Kole Gable’s goal 11 seconds into the game – tied for the third-fastest tally in Canada West history.

On Saturday in Edmonton, Strang added another assist as the Dinos needed an empty-net tally to put away the Griffins 6-4.

That point gave him 18 for the season, which breaks the program record for the most points by a Griffin in a Canada West campaign, topping Merritt Oszytko’s 17 last season and there are still eight games left in 2023-24.

Strang also added five shots and went even on plus/minus for the weekend.

For the season, he’s currently tied for sixth in Canada West in goals with 10, which is also a program record for the most by a Griffin in a CW season.

The Griffins head out on the road this weekend, visiting UBC on Friday (8 MT) and Saturday (4 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV).

Mitch Gorman produced 28 kills over seven sets in two matches against Manitoba on the weekend (Eduardo Perez photo).

2^nd STAR: Mitch Gorman, OH, men’s volleyball

Grande Prairie, AB, fourth-year, Music

Facing a tough Manitoba opponent, Mitch Gorman paced the Griffins with 28 kills over seven sets in the weekend series, continuing to add to his team-leading totals.

In Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Bisons at the David Atkinson Gym, Gorman produced 17 kills on a .270 hitting percentage, adding three assists, five digs and a block, while accounting for a team-high 18.0 points.

In Saturday’s 3-0 loss, Gorman was the bright spot again for the Griffins, leading them with 11 kills on a .304 percentage, adding two assists, seven digs and accounting for 11.0 points.

For the season, Gorman leads MacEwan with 139 kills (18^th in Canada West) and is second in digs on the Griffins (71).

MacEwan hits the road this weekend for matches at Thompson Rivers on Friday (8:15 p.m. MT) and Saturday (5:45 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV).

Noelle Kilbreath had her finest night of the season on Saturday, scoring a game-high 19 points against U SPORTS No. 3 Alberta (Robert Antoniuk photo).

3^rd STAR: Noelle Kilbreath, G, women’s basketball

Calgary, AB, fourth-year, Science

The Griffins’ leading scorer had her finest outing of the season last Saturday across town at the Saville Centre as MacEwan visited cross-town rival Alberta, producing a match-high 19 points.

Kilbreath, who has missed all but five games this season due to injuries, went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, while finishing 7-for-13 from field goal range as she accounted for 41 per cent of MacEwan’s offence vs. the U SPORTS No. 3 Pandas.

The fourth-year guard also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the 71-46 loss.

In Friday’s 72-36 defeat to Alberta, Kilbreath had four points, two rebounds and two assists.

For the season, she leads MacEwan in points/game (11.0), assists/game (2.4) and steals/game (1.8).

Kilbreath and the Griffins will host Brandon on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).