Originally posted on MacEwanGriffins.ca on January 15, 2026. Read the original story. 

Scoring big goals near the end of every period, the MacEwan Griffins held off a resilient Chinese National Team squad to post a 6-4 victory in exhibition men’s hockey action at the Downtown Community Arena on Wednesday night.

Rookie defenceman Dylan Bidyk paced the Griffins with a goal and three assists, including scoring the game-winner off front-of-net traffic 3:54 into third period.

“It was fun,” said Bidyk, who, like most of the Griffins, was playing against a national team for the first time in his career. “We had no idea what these guys were going to be like. It was super fun out there and they enjoyed it, too. It was good.”

The game lacked the usual playoff-level physicality often seen at the Canada West level, which is befitting of an exhibition game where the cultural experience and the respect that comes with it mattered, too.

Griffins team captain Sam Simard and Chinese captain J.Q. (Jacky) Zhang exchanged mementos prior to the opening faceoff and both teams posed for a group picture on the ice following the contest.

It’s the first of nine exhibition games the Chinese National Team will play while here until Feb. 6. The squad will also play a bunch of games against ACAC teams, including against NAIT – where head coach Perry Pearn spent the early days of his coaching career – this Friday and Saturday. 

Wednesday’s game against MacEwan – the highest-level team they will face on this tour – was a great way to kick things off.

This story was originally published on MacEwanGriffins.ca. Read the full story.