Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
ALDERGROVE, B.C. – In the finest offensive performance they've had since joining Canada West in 2021, the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team scored eight goals to win a wild tilt over the Trinity Western Spartans 8-5 on Friday night.
There won't be a picture of the scorecard as any imperfections – namely allowing five against on 18 shots – mean little in the face of the crucial two points they picked up to move back to .500 in the Canada West standings at 5-5-1.
"It was definitely a wild one," said MacEwan head coach Zack Dailey. "I thought we were in pretty good control until about 14 minutes left and then it kind of went sideways on us. But with all the confusion and chaos, finding a way to win a hockey game is what's important.
"Certainly, some stuff to clean up. We definitely talk a lot about turnovers, and I thought a lot of those goals were directly off turnovers. As much as possible, we've got to clean up some of those plays if we want to be successful tomorrow."
The Griffins have scored seven goals in a Canada West game four times before, but never eight. And although two of the tallies were empty-netters, Dailey noted it was certainly their best performance in the offensive zone in 2024-25.
"Offensively, it was great," he said. "We created a whole bunch, we spent time and wore the team down in their D zone. There's certainly some positives and that's probably the best offensive zone play we've had all season."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 16, 2024
Sam Simard converts after a great pass by Marc Pasemko as the @MacEwanGriffins go up 5-2 on @TWUSpartans early in the third.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/AokN6TVcXc
Marc Pasemko finished with three assists, matching the program's single game record with eight others who done that over the previous three Canada West seasons.
"Pasemko had three assists and they were all pretty darn nice assists," said Dailey. "He really stood out with the great playmaking he had today."
Another huge moment was when Ethan Mercer – who missed his entire rookie season in 2023-24 with an injury – scored his first Canada West goal. He also added an assist.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 16, 2024
There it is!
Ethan Mercer has his first @CanadaWest goal, sniping home a great pass from Ethan Sundar.
The @MacEwanGriffins and @TWUSpartans are tied 2-2 after 20 minutes.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/pWyKMWsoTi
"It was great," said Dailey. "Obviously, in his first practice last season, he hurt his shoulder and wasn't able to play, so he had to rehab all season and watch his teammates play and get rewarded.
"I'm super happy for him to get rewarded because he was an extremely hard worker. He was first to the rink, he did everything correctly all year and was a great teammate, cheered the guys on. Hardest worker in the gym. I'm really proud of how hard he worked, and it obviously paid off."
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 16, 2024
After Vincent Scott served one up on tee, Caden Cabana blasted a 300-yard drive into the net to give the @MacEwanGriffins a 4-2 lead over the @TWUSpartans after 40 minutes.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/ugxrjDHNVv
Vincent Scott, Sam Simard, Loeden Schaufler and Logan Dowhaniuk also finished with a goal and an assist, while Hunter Donohoe had two helpers.
Liam Ryan, Brendan Boyle and Caden Cabana also scored for the Griffins in the big win.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Hockey (@GriffinsMHKY) November 16, 2024
Loeden Schaufler with a huge insurance marker late in the third! 6-4 Griffins.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/NsPK1Mcrn9
Schaufler's power-play goal with 6:17 left looked like an insurance marker at the time, but it ended up being the game-winner as three more tallies found twine – albeit two empty-netters – after that.
"That was a big goal. It was definitely a weird one. The puck got kicked to the wall and Schaufler drove the middle. It was kind of a float shot that he tipped and it went short side. It was kind of a weird goal, but we'll take them any way they come. It was definitely a big one for us."
The teams will meet again on Saturday (8:15 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).
