Road Preview: Six Griffins teams fanning out to four different provinces this weekend

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – It’s a busy road weekend for the Griffins as no less than six MacEwan teams will be in action across the country.

Griffins basketball, volleyball and hockey teams will fan out to four different provinces for preseason competition as they sharpen up before regular season action begins.

Women’s basketball is off to an interesting non-conference tournament in Gingolx, B.C. – the Clash of Clans, hosted by the Nisga’a Nation.

Friday: vs. UBC Okanagan, 7 p.m. MT at Gingolx, B.C.

Saturday: vs. Regina, 9 p.m. MT at Gingolx, B.C.

Sunday: vs. Mount Royal, 7 p.m. MT at Gingolx, B.C.

While there, they’ll also give a basketball clinic and immerse themselves in the community.

“The opportunity was offered to us to take part, and I jumped at it,” said head coach Katherine Adams. “The basketball piece is obviously a big part of it, but I think the opportunity we have to immerse ourselves in the culture and have this learning experience for our student-athletes is incredible.

“It’s our first competition against other U SPORTS teams,” she added. “It’s good to get a measuring stick to see where we’re at. We’ve been training for the last month, so it’s nice to be able to compete against someone else. It’s an opportunity to see the areas we need to grow to see where the gaps are, so we can continue to prepare and grow ahead of the start to the Canada West season in a month.”

 Job Janda, Milan Jaksic, Dami Osuma and the rest of the Griffins are at a tournament in Saskatoon this weekend (Jefferson Hagen photo).

Men’s basketball hits the hardcourt in Saskatoon for the Ron and Jane Graham Shootout non-conference tournament, which begins today.

Thursday: vs. UBC, 5 p.m. MT in Saskatoon, Sask.

Friday: at Saskatchewan, 7 p.m. MT

Saturday: vs. Carleton, 12 p.m. MT in Saskatoon, Sask.

“We are playing three very good teams and powerful programs,” said head coach Mike Connolly. “These games will be great learning for our players. We will have lots to learn moving forward and this is the start of our learning as we prepare for the toughest conference in Canada. These games will be very challenging and how we meet these challenges will be a lesson in itself.”

 Tess Weber, Kara Frith and teammates will kick off their preseason schedule in Montreal this weekend (Jefferson Hagen photo).

Women’s volleyball will be in Montreal this weekend for a pair of exhibition games.

Friday: at McGill, 10 a.m. MT in Montreal

Saturday: at Université de Montréal, 1 p.m. MT

“It’s definitely a test to play a different calibre of team,” said head coach Chris Wandler. “Right now, we’ve only scrimmaged against ourselves. Seeing someone across the net is a big thing for us. Having some different looks and a different style of play out east is going to be a challenge for us, which is good. We need to do some more learning, in that respect. It gives us some time to figure out ourselves and how we’re going to respond to certain situations, and learn a little bit about ourselves as a team.”

 These lads and their teammates are in Calgary this weekend for the Dino Cup non-conference tournament (Jefferson Hagen photo).

Men’s volleyball also sees its first action of the preseason as they head to Calgary for the Dino Cup.

Thursday: vs. Mount Royal University, 7:30 p.m., at University of Calgary

Friday: at Calgary, 10 a.m.

Friday: vs. Alberta, 7:30 p.m. at University of Calgary

Saturday: Bronze (2 p.m.); Gold (4 p.m.)

“Guys have been working hard and are excited to compete against some quality teams and test ourselves to see where we’re at,” said head coach Brad Poplawski.

 Jack Parker and the rest of the Griffins have a home-and-home exhibition series against Mount Royal this weekend (Rebecca Chelmick photo).

Men’s hockey will hold a home-and-home non-conference series with Mount Royal University this weekend, the first time the teams have met since their first round playoff series last February.

Friday: at Mount Royal University, 7 p.m.

Saturday: vs. Mount Royal University, 5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena

Brianna Sank and the rest of the Griffins will road trip to Red Deer on Friday (Jefferson Hagen photo). 

Finally, women’s hockey heads out of town for a game in Red Deer vs. the Team Alberta U18 squad.

Friday: vs. Team Alberta U18, 3 p.m. in Red Deer