EDMONTON – Three first-period goals and a 34-save performance from Beckett Langkow carried the University of Alberta Golden Bears to a 3-1 win over the MacEwan Griffins in their season opener on Friday.

Dwayne Jean Jr. got Alberta started at 4:04 of the first period, scoring the first goal of his career off assists from Harper Lolacher and Colin Doherty. Alex Thacker doubled the lead at 7:24 with Jean Jr. and Adam Lang assisting, and Zane Saab made it 3-0 at 10:39 on a feed from Lang and Blake Gustafson. Alberta carried the three-goal advantage into the first intermission.

MacEwan found its way onto the scoresheet in the second period when Sam Simard scored on the power play at 6:57, but that was as close as the Griffins would get. The home side outshot Alberta 35-27, including 15 shots in the third period, but Langkow turned aside everything but Simard's goal to preserve the win.

The Golden Bears killed three of MacEwan's four power plays and went without a goal on their own two chances with the man advantage.

The win moves Alberta to 1-0 on the season.

The Golden Bears will play their home opener Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., hosting MacEwan in their first regular-season game at Silent Ice Center. Tickets are available at bearsandpandas.ca/tickets.

-UA-