EDMONTON — The Golden Bears closed out the regular season with a 5-3 road win over MacEwan, and finish third in the West Division with an 11-13-4 record. The Bears will visit the 19-7-2 Saskatchewan Huskies in a best-of-three quarter-final series next weekend in Saskatoon. 

After clinching home-ice advantage for the first time in program history with a 6-2 win over the Alberta Golden Bears on Friday, they let a 2-1 and 3-2 lead slip away in a 5-3 loss on Saturday to Alberta to wrap up their regular season.

Ethan Sundar, Miles Gauld and Carter Chorney scored for MacEwan in the loss, as the Grifins finished the regular season with a 12-11-5 record, and will host the Calgary Dinos next weekend in a best-of-three series.
Vincent Lamanna scored twice including the game-winner just over midway through the second period while Justin Hall, Noah Boyko and Jayden Joly also replied for Alberta in the victory, as the Golden Bears wrapped up their regular season with an 11-13-4 record and will go on the road and face the Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend in a best-of-three series.

Alberta took a 1-0 lead at the 7:41 mark of the opening period after Hall redirected a nice feed into the slot, but the Griffins responded in a nice way.

Just 37 seconds later, Sundar scored his 10th goal of the season when he got sprung on a breakaway by Brody Tallman and made a nice move to his backhand to beat Golden Bears netminder Ethan Barwick to tie it at 1-1.

Then just 4:02 later Gauld scored his eighth of the year and 18th point when he finished off a nice tic-tac-toe play to give MacEwan a 2-1 lead.

Gauld's 18th point of the season tied him for most points in a season by a rookie in program history.

The momentum gained from the opening frame went away in the second period.

The Bears scored another power play marker just under eight minutes into the second period, and after Chorney tied it up just 49 seconds later, MacEwan gave up the lead just 2:18 later.

At times this year, the Griffins discipline has cost them, and in Saturday's loss it reared its ugly head again.

Down by a goal, MacEwan tried to even it up, but they fell into more penalty trouble, and while their PK units killed off five of the Golden Bears seven power plays, they gave Alberta three power plays in the third period, and that hurt their chances to tie it up.

In a game that meant nothing in the standings for both teams, it featured a little bit of everything. There were some good moments for both teams, some sloppy play, too.

In the second period, both starting goaltenders were pulled. After Chorney's goal at the 8:35 mark, Barwick was pulled in favour of Drew Sim, and after Lamanna's second goal, Zac Onyskiw was pulled in favour of Carson Ironside, who made 32 saves in Friday's win.

Ironside stopped all 12 shots he faced the rest of the way, including back-to-back big saves, including one off Lamanna in the slot.

The Griffins came close to tying it late in the third,  but Sim came up with a  a five-bell save when he robbed Rhett Dekowny who was left alone in the slot in the closing minutes of the third.

Joly's empty-netter with 34 seconds left salted the game away for Alberta.