Dinos hockey swept in season openers

By Johny Faul, October 13 2015 –

The Dinos men’s hockey team saw their home opener against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies slip away in a high-scoring affair as they suffered a 6–5 loss in overtime.

The Dinos started the game well, leading 2–0 after the first frame. But when the second period began, head coach Mark Howell noticed a different team taking the ice.

“We came out unfocused,” Howell said. “When you come out unfocused you take penalties and we couldn’t kill penalties either.”

The Dinos’ special teams struggled, allowing the Huskies to rack up four goals in the second period. U of C fought back, however, scoring two goals to tie the game up at 4–4 heading into the final period.

The third frame began like the first, with the Dinos bringing a strong effort level and the team generating an abundance of chances. With 11:02 left in the third period, Dinos forward Elgin Pierce tallied a brilliant four-on-four goal to give his club a one goal lead.

But the Huskies continued to wear down the Dinos with their physical play. With 1:15 left in the game, U of S pulled their goalie. They were able to wire the tying goal past Steven Stanford seconds later, sending the game to overtime.

The Dinos’ lack of discipline sunk them as the action ramped up. They took a game-changing cross checking penalty at the end of regulation.

On the man advantage to start the extra frame, the Huskies were able to complete the comeback, scoring a powerplay goal just 53 seconds into overtime.

“Consistency is hard,” Howell said after the loss. “It’s what makes good teams and we were letting ourselves drift mentally tonight. We have to be more consistent and be better defensively.”

The Dinos and Huskies continued with a rematch on Oct. 10, that saw the Huskies win 1–0, handing the U of C their second straight loss. The Dinos now look ahead to a back-to-back set of games against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Oct. 16–17 in Vancouver.