A promising upcoming season for the Dinos men’s hockey team
By Julieanne Acosta, October 24 2023—
After an impressive last season, the Dinos men’s hockey team is returning to defend their title and for another shot at the national championship. The team brought home the Canada West championship for the first time since 1996 last season after winning game three against the University of Alberta Golden Bears. However, their journey to win the national championship was cut short after a 4–2 loss against the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers.
Going into their opening game on Sept. 28 — which saw a 4–3 win over the MacEwan University Griffins — the Dinos team carried a 23-game win streak from the last regular season. This quickly ramped up to a 27-win streak which only recently came to an end at the hands of the Mount Royal Cougars after a 2–1 loss on Oct.12.
“It doesn’t matter what level you get to, if you don’t play hard, you’re not going to win games. There are a lot of guys in the locker room that know they could’ve played better,” said head coach Mark Howell after the game that ended the team’s streak.
The season, however, still looks bright for this young team. Prior to the opening game, the men’s hockey team won all their preseason games — winning two games over the University of Alberta, University of Saskatchewan and Mount Royal.
In an interview for UToday, third-year defenceman Dakota Krebs assures fans that even with the Canada West championship trophy, this team is determined to go further.
“We still haven’t achieved the ultimate goal of winning a national championship, so there’s still a ton of motivation for our group,” he said.
This season, the Dinos will head out of the province to Regina in early November for a four-game swing out East, followed by a trip to Manitoba and the University of British Columbia in mid-November. The team will then take on Trinity Western in early December.
In the new year, the team will continue the Crowchild Classic series against provincial rivals, starting with MacEwan University and quickly after, taking on the University of Alberta. Afterwards, the team will head to Manitoba before taking on the final Crowchild Classic series game at the end of January.
After the 28-game season, the top-six teams will qualify for the postseason and the top two will then advance into the semifinals. The Canada West championship game is scheduled for March 1–3.
To learn more about the Dinos men’s hockey team, visit their website.