MHKY | Dinos strike first in Crowchild Classic

CALGARY – A two-goal second period proved to be the difference for the University of Calgary Dinos men’s hockey team as they defeated the Mount Royal University Cougars 4-2 in Game 1 of their Canada West semifinal series at Father David Bauer Arena.

An outstanding individual effort by Dallon Melin put the Dinos ahead in the middle frame before a Jake Gricius power play goal gave the home team some insurance. 

The Calgary defence kept a potent Mount Royal attack at bay in the third period, holding the conference’s top scorer Connor Bouchard to a single shot.

“The biggest thing for us was our consistency. In the past, we have gotten into a bad habit of getting a little bit too pretty but today we just really stuck with what was working – the really simple plays,” said Jadon Joseph, who matched up against the Cougars’ top line alongside Arjun Atwal and Max Patterson. “We are physically, and we cycle the puck well. When we get the chance to attack the net, we are all good at that and can put it in.” 

In front of more than 500 fans wearing both red and blue on Thursday, the Dinos and Cougars traded goals during an energetic first period.  

Adam Kydd opened the scoring mid-way through the frame as he capitalized on an odd-man rush and finished the play with a one-timed slap shot. 

The Cougars responded with four minutes left in the first as a perfect bounce off the end boards set up Tristan Zandee for a shorthanded marker. 

Marty Westhaver put Calgary back ahead before a goal from Jaden Senkoe in the final minute tied it. 

The Dinos took control of the game in the second period, outshooting the Cougars 19-7.

Melin put the home team back ahead with a highlight reel goal six minutes into the second. The first-year forward split the defence and with a Cougar pulling him down managed to poke the puck through netminder Riley Sims. 

Calgary nearly struck again moments later, but Sims stretched across to deny Arjun Atwal.

Already on their heels, Mount Royal found themselves shorthanded for five minutes after a major penalty in the middle of the period. The Cougars looked on their way to a strong special teams performance, but a long-distance shot by Gricius hit a body in front and fooled Sims to put the Dinos ahead by two.

“The second period was where it got separated from us a little bit. Killing a major penalty doesn’t help in a situation like that. That was where it flip-flopped for us,” explained Cougars head coach Bert Gilling. “We were not very good with the puck. We were not connected as a group of five on the ice and we were not as organized.

“From our perspective, we turned over too many pucks and had a hard time getting it out of our zone to their zone.” 

The Cougars regained some of their earlier form in the third period, but the Dinos remained diligent in their end. With Sims called to the bench for an extra attacker, Mount Royal was unable to beat Carl Tetachuk with a barrage of shots. 

The Calgary goaltender finished the evening with 21 saves. Sims countered with 28 stops in the Mount Royal net.  

The Dinos will have an opportunity to advance to the Canada West Final with a victory on Friday when they host Game 2 of the semifinal. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Father David Bauer Arena with tickets available at GoDinos.com/tickets.