MacEwan Griffins men's ice hockey

Last updated
MacEwan Griffins men's ice hockey
Macewan griffins wordmark.png
University MacEwan University
Conference Canada West
First season1998–99
Head coach Zack Dailey
Since 2022–23 season
Assistant coachesSean Ringrose
Ryan Benn
Nolan Yaremchuk
Cam Reagan
Arena Downtown Community Arena
Edmonton, Alberta
ColorsMaroon and White
   

The MacEwan Griffins men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team representing the MacEwan Griffins athletics program of MacEwan University. The team is a member of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association conference and compete in U Sports. The Griffins play their home games at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton, Alberta. [1]

Contents

History

Relative to other Canadian universities, MacEwan is a rather recent addition to ice hockey circles. The Griffins hit the ice for the first time in 1998 as members of the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference, a second-tier league outside U Sports. Rob Davis helmed the team for the first three seasons but saw little success. Immediately after Terry Ewasiuk took over, the team posted its first winning season and finished as league runners-up. After another second-place result, MacEwan won its first conference title in 2004, however, since the national CCAA championship had been discontinued by that point, the program had to settle for being the best team in their conference. [2] Ewasiuk remained with the club until 2007, never having a losing season.

After having professor Bryan Keller helm the team for a year, Jamie Langley was brought in as the fourth head coach. Langley's 4-year tenure saw the team finish at least 10 games below-.500 in each season. The club missed the postseason three years running, making the only time the Griffins had not played a playoff game outside of its time under Davis. Bram Stephen was hired in 2012 to rebuild the program and, after a slow start, he succeeded. MacEwan steadily climbed back to the top of the ACAC and, by 2017, the Griffins were able to win their second league title.

Michael Ringrose assumed the reins in 2017 and kept the good times rolling. MacEwan won the league championship in each of his first two seasons and the dominance of the program helped to convince Canada West to accept both the men's and women's ice hockey teams as members beginning in 2020. [3] In their final season with the ACAC, MacEwan was in contention for a fourth consecutive championship when the conference tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] The outbreak also caused the cancellation of the entire Canadian college season in 2020–21, delaying MacEwan's entry into senior hockey by a year.

MacEwan made its Canada West debut in the fall of 2021. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the team had trouble winning in its first campaign as it got up to speed with the higher level of hockey. Zack Dailey took over as coach in 2022, eventually leading the Griffins to their first postseason appearance in his second season. [5]

Nakehko Lamothe

After a game against SAIT on January 25, 2019, 23-year-old Nakehko Lamothe went into cardiac arrest and collapsed in the visiting dressing room. The third-year player was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead just before midnight. Both his team and family were shocked, having no knowledge of any medical issues prior to Nakehko's death. [6] After the Griffins won the league title two months later, team captain Cam Gotaas presented the championship trophy to Lamothe's family. [7]

Season-by-season results

Intermediate hockey

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points

U Sports Champion U Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions
SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results
ConferenceOverall
GPWLTOTLSOWSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%
Rob Davis(1998–2001)
1998–99 ACAC 28324178th283241.125
1999–00ACAC28101323275th3010155.417Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Red Deer)
2000–01ACAC2871731187th287183.304
Terry Ewasiuk (2001–2007)
2001–02ACAC2819621412nd3421112.647Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (NAIT)
Lost Championship series, 0–3 (SAIT)
2002–03ACAC281484234T–3rd4021154.575Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Augustana)
Won Semifinal series, 3–1 (NAIT)
Lost Championship series, 2–3 (Concordia)
2003–04ACAC2820422441st342662.794Won Semifinal series, 3–0 (Mount Royal)
Won Championship series, 3–0 (NAIT)
2004–05ACAC241662034T–2nd3623112.667Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Concordia)
Won Semifinal series, 3–2 (NAIT)
Lost Championship series, 2–3 (SAIT)
2005–06ACAC241184127T–3rd2611114.500Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Concordia)
2006–07ACAC2414910294th2715111.574Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Concordia)
Bryan Keller(2007–2008)
2007–08ACAC241482030T–2nd3419132.588Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Briercrest)
Won Semifinal series, 3–1 (Concordia)
Lost Championship series, 0–3 (SAIT)
Jamie Langley(2008–2012)
2008–09ACAC288191178th288200.286
2009–10ACAC284230198th284240.143
2010–11ACAC283232088th283232.143
2011–12ACAC2881811186th308211.283Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–3 (SAIT)
Bram Stephen(2012–2017)
2012–13ACAC289190018T–6th309210.300Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Alberta Augustana)
2013–14ACAC32151430335th3516163.500Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Red Deer)
2014–15ACAC3221731463rd3522103.671Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Keyano)
2015–16ACAC32141413326th3515191.443Lost Quarterfinal series, 1–2 (Keyano)
2016–17ACAC2821601432nd332580.758Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (SAIT)
Won Championship series, 2–1 (NAIT)
Michael Ringrose(2017–2022)
2017–18ACAC2820701432nd332490.727Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Red Deer)
Won Championship series, 2–1 (NAIT)
2018–19ACAC281971140T–2nd332391.712Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Red Deer)
Won Championship series, 2–0 (NAIT)
2019–20ACAC2820701413rd31 22 9 0 .710Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Concordia)
Remainder of postseason cancelled
TotalsGPWLT/SOL %Championships
Regular Season61231028537.5201 ACAC Championship
Conference Post-season8445390.5364 ACAC Championships
Regular Season and Postseason Record69635532437.522

† Sean Ringrose served as interim head coach for 22 games while Michael Ringrose was on paternity leave.

Senior hockey

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points

U Sports Champion U Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions
SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results
ConferenceOverall
GPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT%
2020–21Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 Canada West 203170068th203170.150
Zack Dailey(2022–Present)
2022–23Canada West2891810197th289190.321
2023–24Canada West2891702206th309192.333Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Mount Royal)
TotalsGPWLT/SOL %Championships
Regular Season7621532.289
Conference Post-season2020.000
U Sports Postseason0000
Regular Season and Postseason Record7821552.282

Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included. [5]

References

  1. "Homes of the Griffins". MacEwan Griffins. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  2. "Men's Hockey". CCAA. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  3. "MacEwan hockey programs accepted into Canada West conference, starting in 2020-21". MacEwan Griffins. May 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  4. "Hockey Cancelled". Red Deer Polytechnic. March 13, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "MacEwan Hockey Record Book" (PDF). MacEwan Griffins. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  6. "MacEwan hockey player died of heart attack, family says". CBC.ca. January 28, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  7. "MacEwan Griffins win championship to conclude difficult season". Edmonton Sun. March 24, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2024.