As the University of Calgary Dinos entered the Alberta College Athletic Conference women's hockey finals against the Mount Royal College Cougars Feb. 27-28, one question bothered them. Where are we?

The answer? On thin ice.

As their mediocre regular season record of 7-9 attests, the Dinos and their superior university-level intellect have no business facing the 16-2 Cougars and their paltry collegiate level reasoning in the Stanley Cup of ACAC women's hockey, yet here they are.

Unfortunately for our ladies in red and gold, what the Cougars lack in academic prowess they more than make up for with athletic brilliance.

Friday night saw the Dinos fall 5-2 to the Cougars with Allison Mansell and Melissa Barcelos pocketing a goal apiece in the losing effort.

"We need to battle a bit harder," lamented Head Coach Julie Healy. "We were too nice."

Although the Cougars wouldn't know it, their 4-1 win on Saturday was proportionally larger than Friday's triumph. The lone Dino to hit the back of the net was Jennifer Mansell. On a brighter note, the Dinos were able to use their extensive knowledge base to devise plans to thwart the Cougars' four power-play attempts.

"We are better with our backs against the wall," assured Healy.

If these two heartbreaking losses suffered by our Cinderella Dinos made you decide life is no longer worth living, dial 9-1-1. Paramedics can hopefully reverse the self-inflicted damage and you can visit Centennial Arena Fri., Mar. 5 for the third game of the best of five series.

"I know our probability of winning Friday night is 2/π," boasted Dino and engineering student Andrea "Poupy" Poupart after consulting the calculator she produced from her pocket protector.

When asked how many Cougars could figure this out she giggled, "none of them, they go to Mount Royal."

The fourth and fifth games go Sat., Mar. 6 at Father David Bauer Arena and Sun., Mar. 7 at Centennial Arena, if necessary.

"We have a very good chance [of winning all three games]," Healy said optimistically. "Being the underdog, nobody expects anything."