Road Preview: WHKY off to Manitoba, VB teams headed to Kelowna

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Coming off a bye week, the Griffins women’s hockey team will look to recapture the momentum from their last outing when they beat the division-leading Regina Cougars 3-2 in a shootout on Oct. 12.

They’re off to Winnipeg for a pair of games against Manitoba, who are level with them in the standings at 1-2-1.

Griffins volleyball teams are headed west for their first road trip of the 2024-25 regular season as they’ll visit the UBC Okanagan Heat in Kelowna, B.C.

Both squads will be looking to pick up their first win of the season after dropping hard-fought matches against Trinity Western in their home-opening series last weekend.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

On Tap

Friday: at Manitoba, 6 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Saturday: at Manitoba, 2 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Standings

MacEwan (1-2-1): T3rd, East Division

Manitoba (1-2-1): T3rd, East Division

Last meeting

Feb. 3, 2024: Manitoba 2 at MacEwan 3

Chris Leeming’s coach’s quote

“Our group has been focusing on elevating our pace of play and executing our game plan at a consistent level for 60 minutes each night. It is a hard thing to do at a high level in our league, but it builds confidence and trust in each other when we commit to the process and work through the adversity that it sure to come our way. 

“Manitoba is a big team that plays with structure, and we have identified some elements of their game to focus on so that we can dictate the terms of the games this weekend.”  

Players to watch

MacEwan: Sydney Jack – The Griffins are coming off a bye week, but the last time Jack was in action, she went 3-for-3 in shootout attempts on two different nights against Regina, including scoring the winner in the Griffins’ last outing – a 3-2 triumph over the division-leading Cougars. It’s only a matter of time before Jack records her first point in the standings, as shootout goals don’t count. 

Manitoba: Norah Collins – The third-year forward has already matched her production from last season, leading the Bisons in scoring with two goals and three points in four games so far. Collins is a proven scorer in youth, leading the Winnipeg Avros with 42 goals in 47 games in her final U18AAA season.  

Notable

It’s hard to forget the last meeting between these teams as it came on the final weekend of the 2023-24 season at the Downtown Community Arena. The Griffins lost the opening game 4-3 in overtime in controversial fashion as Joie Simon‘s would-be OT winner hit the back bar and out, but officials waved it off, let play continue and the Bisons rushed to the other end and scored … The Griffins, however, won the next night 3-2 with former Griffin Maria Ayre scoring the winner midway through the third period … DefencemanTess Collier leads the Griffins with two points in four games … Lindsey Johnson leads the Griffins with a .943 save percentage, eighth in the stingy Canada West loop, while Emily Shippam tops the Bisons with a .935, good for 10^th.

Kara Frith hits for a kill against Trinity Western last weekend. The Griffins head to Kelowna for matches Friday and Saturday at UBCO (Robert Antoniuk photo).

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

On Tap

Friday: at UBC Okanagan (0-0), 6 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Saturday: at UBC Okanagan, 5 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Standings

MacEwan (0-2): T12th

UBC Okanagan (0-0): T8th

Last meeting

Feb. 17, 2024: UBCO 0 at MacEwan 3

Chris Wandler’s coach’s quote

“We had a really good weekend consistency-wise and competed at a really high level. We’re looking to bring that to Kelowna to challenge a really good UBCO team. We’re looking to keep on building.”

Players to watch

MacEwan: Alyshia Bryks – Leading the Griffins in points and either leading or co-leading the team in kills both nights against Trinity Western, Bryks sits ninth in Canada West in categories so far this season. As the Griffins search for production following the graduation of U SPORTS second team all-star Mariah Bereziuk, Bryks is stepping forward as a leading candidate.

UBC Okanagan: Olivia Tymkiw – The 6-foot-2 outside hitter led the Heat with 189 kills in 2023-24 – tied for 22^nd in Canada West – and will be looking to take the next step in her fourth year of eligibility.

Notable

Friday will be the home opener for the UBCO Heat … The teams met on the final weekend of the 2023-24 regular season with playoff positioning on the line. Because they split the series, MacEwan finished 12-12 and in sixth place, while UBCO ended up seventh at 10-14 … Griffins’ setter Payton Shimoda moved into second in career Canada West assists last weekend and sits at 1,666, tracking towards program record holder Claire McLoughlin (2,010).

Mitchell Croft led the Griffins with 19 kills in two matches against Trinity Western last weekend (Robert Antoniuk photo).

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

On Tap

Friday: at UBC Okanagan (0-0), 8 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Saturday: at UBC Okanagan, 7 p.m. MT, Canada West TV

Standings

MacEwan (0-2): T11th

UBC Okanagan (0-0): T6th

Last meeting

Feb. 17: UBCO 3 at MacEwan 1

Brad Poplawski’s coach’s quote

“We are trying to build off of some of the good things we did last week and continue to be more organized in our serve receive and transition play. Finding ways to execute when given the opportunity is our focus.”

Players to watch

MacEwan: Mitchell Croft – The rookie Aussie outside hitter came as advertised on opening weekend, leading the Griffins with 19 combined kills in his U SPORTS debut series against national championship contender Trinity Western, who were gearing up to stop him – often employing triple blocks. He’s only going to get better from here.

UBC Okanagan: Jack Taylor – The 6-foot-6 outside hitter was named to the Canada West All-Rookie team last season after recording 61 kills, 55 digs and 16 blocks. It will be intriguing to watch if he can take the leap to the next level of Canada West impact player in his second season. 

Notable

The Griffins won just once in 2023-24, but it came against the UBCO Heat on the final weekend of the season at the David Atkinson Gym. Middle Seth Birkholz had the decisive kill in a 15-10 fifth set win that delivered a 3-2 triumph for the Griffins on Feb. 16 … After posting seven blocks in the season-opening series vs. Trinity Western, Birkholz needs just two to become the sixth Griffin to reach 100 career Canada West blocks … Max Vriend (2015-20) is the program leader with 327, 12^th all time in Canada West history.