Trevor Robb
writer
The Grant MacEwan University men’s hockey team capped off their season with a series of disappointing losses at the hands of the Concordia Thunder who out scored the Griffins 22-3 in the two games.
MacEwan finishes the 2010-11 season with a 3-3-23-0-2 record and have finished in last place in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) for the third straight season. It’s the fewest wins MacEwan has recorded since the team’s inaugural season in 1998-99, when they posted a 3-24-1 record. This season, they tallied eight points in 28 games, beating the total in 1998-99 by one.
In the last home game of the year at Bill Hunter Arena Friday, Feb. 11, the Griffins fell behind the eight-ball early, surrendering five goals in the first period, en route to a 10-3 beat-down by the Thunder.
“These guys are young guys and this weekend they were running on empty,” said head coach Jamie Langley. “These guys are still human.”
Goaltender Dorin Gay got the nod between the pipes on Friday but only played the first two periods, as he allowed eight goals on 39 shots.
Third-string goaltender Alex Crowder finished out the third period, allowing two goals on 19 shots. The Thunder fired a total of 58 shots on the Griffins, while the Griffins managed to direct 42 shots of their own on Thunder goaltender Richard Gagnon.
“Alex still has a way to go,” said Langley. “I’m looking for someone to accept their role, and when you think of a goaltender, you’d think that that’s easy but it’s not. Alex has improved a ton. Learning behind Shannon (Szabados) and Dorin, you’re bound to learn and Alex is still a student of the game. As he matures and get’s physically stronger, he’ll get better.”
The Griffins were able to get some scoring from veterans Chris Boyle and Jared Crooks, who was honoured before the game along with captain Tyler Hennessey and Chris Hollens for their tenure as long-time Griffins players. Both Boyle and Crooks contributed a goal and an assist in the losing effort.
The Griffins were unable to capitalize on any of their three power-play opportunities.
They also gave up a shorthanded goal in the second period to put their season total to a league-high eight scored against them. However their power play (14.2 per cent) finished seventh in the league, ahead of the Portage Voyageurs (12.8 per cent).
Giveaways and breakdowns in the defensive zone plagued this team all season long and the focus next season will be on improving their play in those areas. With veterans, leaving the onus will be put on younger players stepping up and filling those roles. But the toughest job will be recruiting new players to don the maroon jerseys as attracting players to a bottom seeded team that attracts less than 100 fans per game is no easy task.
As the series shifted to Clareview Arena, the Thunder continued their dominance as they cruised to a 12-0 win, in front of 3,629 fans according to the ACAC website.
Concordia forward Kyle MacDonald notched a hat trick and added an assist for a four-point game in the Thunder win. The Griffins managed only 12 shots on goal on Saturday making it an easy night in goal for Thunder backup goaltender David Gingera, who earned his first win and shutout of the season.
Szabados played in goal for the first two periods, giving up nine goals on 28 shots, and Crowder gave up three goals on eight shots in the third period.
As the game went on and the lead became insurmountable, coach Langley limited his bench’s playing time to his two top lines.
“I had maybe one line show up to play. I played “Henney’s (Hennessey) line a lot,” said Langley. “I’ve always been a player’s coach but as the game went on I played my top two lines a lot and some guys didn’t get as much ice-time.”
