WOMEN’S HOCKEY: SAIT Trojans winless after dropping home date against MacEwan University Griffins

CALGARY, ALTA., (Oct. 6, 2018) — The SAIT Trojans women’s hockey team exit their first weekend of play still in search of their first win.

The Trojans hosted their home opener on Saturday night, but their fans were sent home disappointed, as the home team was dealt a 5-2 loss by the MacEwan University Griffins in their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) battle at SAIT’s Campus Centre.

“Tonight, our mental game was not there,” said Trojans captain, Shea Dolan (3^rd year, Rimbey, Alta., Business Administration).

“I think a lot of us were tired, and that just ruined our ability to focus. We have to take this week and be accountable to each other. In practices to we have to ramp up the intensity and battle one another. If we do that, it will come in games.”

SAIT falls to 0-2 to start the year, while the two-time defending champs move to 2-0.

In Friday’s 2-1 loss, the Trojans felt they outplayed the Griffins in the final two periods, but couldn’t bury their chances. They were hoping to carry that momentum into Saturday’s contest, but that did not end up being the case.

MacEwan would be the ones to draw first blood, getting a point shot from Kennedy Davidson to find its way through traffic to beat Trojans goalie Elisha Oswald (3^rd year, Waldersee, Man., Health Information Management).

The Trojans didn’t wait long to tie the game in the second period, as Karmen Mooney (4^th year, Squamish, BC, Construction Project Management) picked up her own rebound and shoved it past Griffins goalie Natalie Bender just 12 seconds into the middle frame.

The good feeling didn’t last long, as the Griffins scored back-to-back goals – the first on a power play – from Raven Beazer and Breanna Golosky to take a 3-1 lead with 14 minutes left in the period.

“A couple of unlucky bounces, yeah, and then some calls that didn’t go our way and we started to get frustrated and down,” Dolan said.

“We have to do a better job of staying positive and focusing on the next shift.”

Shyla Jans added MacEwan’s third of the period with five minutes to take a 4-1 lead into the final frame.

In the third period, the teams traded goals – Chantal Ricker for MacEwan and Brittany MacDonald (2^nd year, Calgary, Bachelor of Business Administration) for SAIT on the power play.

The Trojans return to action next weekend with a home-and-home series against the NAIT Ooks – Friday night at home at 7pm, Saturday night in Edmonton for a 6pm puck drop.