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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Nov 25, 2016

Griffins blank Ooks to snap rival's seven-game win streak

Griffins blank Ooks to snap rival's seven-game win streak
Box Score
Scoring Summary
1st - 11:42 - Courtney Zajac (GMU)
1st - 12:53 - Chantal Ricker (GMU)
2nd - 14:36 - PP - Shanya Shwetz (GMU)
3rd - 18:50 - Chantal Ricker (GMU)
Game Leaders
NAIT
G: N/A
A: N/A
Sh: Kendra Hanson - 6
Sv: Mckenna Wild - 18
GMU
G: Chantal Ricker - 2
A: 2 Players (#19, #23) - 2
Sh: Chantal Ricker - 8
Sv: Sandy Heim - 30
Team Stats
Full stats

Zack Dean / For MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – The MacEwan Griffins women's hockey team brought the NAIT Ooks' seven-game winning streak to a halt on Friday night with a 4-0 win at home.

The Griffins played a strong defensive game all night and goalie Sandy Heim did her best impression of a wall, stopping all 30 shots directed her way to record the shutout.

MacEwan kept NAIT to the perimeter the majority of the night and when a shot from the outside did get through, Heim's strong rebound control allowed for very few second opportunities.

"She's always strong," said Griffins' head coach Lindsay McAlpine about Heim. "She plays a super intense, competitive game, and we can always rely on her for the first save."

NAIT was strong out of the gate, but the ice slowly tilted in MacEwan's favour as the first period went along. Courtney Zajac got the Griffins on the board when she threw the puck on net from a sharp angle and snuck it past Mckenna Wild's pad.

Just 1:11 later, Griffins' forward Michelle Pochapsky intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and sprung rookie, Chantal Ricker on a breakaway for her first goal of the season.

"We've seen the offensive side of (Ricker) and that's why she was recruited to the team" said McAlpine. "We've kind of been waiting for her to break out of her shell."

"I'm pretty excited. I worked hard for it," said a smiling Ricker after the. "My linemates were helpful. They looked for me a lot."

Using her size and speed, Pochapsky seemed to create something out of nothing nearly every time she stepped on the ice. She finished with two assists. However, it wasn't just the offensive side of the puck that she did well on Friday.

"Chaps was able to play a very strong defensive game for us tonight," said McAlpine.

Kendra Hanson was a bright spot for NAIT. She finished with six shots on net, including a breakaway in the first period where she forced Sydney Thomlison to take a hooking penalty.

Shanya Shwetz added to MacEwan's lead when she scored a powerplay goal with a little over five minutes to play in the second period. The Griffins' quick puck movement got the Ooks running around in their own zone, creating time and space for Shwetz to pick the left corner of the net from the top of the right circle.

From there, MacEwan locked it down and gave up few quality chances. Ricker added an empty-netter in the third period to seal it for the Griffins.

With the win, the Griffins improve to 8-5-0 and tie the Ooks (8-2-0) for second in the conference, albeit the Ooks have three games in hand.

This was the women's team's last home game of 2016. The two teams will face off again Saturday night at NAIT (6 p.m.) before the Griffins head into their December break.

ICE CHIPS … The Griffins men's hockey team also put two points on the board Friday night with a 3-1 triumph in Camrose against UAlberta-Augustana … Cameron Gotaas, Daniel Wray and Brett Njaa scored for the Griffins, who improve to 11-3-1 on the ACAC season, leapfrogging NAIT into second in the conference … The Griffins will host UAA on Saturday night (6 p.m., Downtown Community Arena).