Dinos Playoffs Week 1: Dinos remain alive on the court and dominate on the track and field
By Maggie Hsu and Emma Djukic, March 2 2025—
Men’s Basketball: Dinos overcome slow start to advance to basketball semifinals
By Maggie Hsu
The Dinos’ men’s basketball team rallied from a 12-point first-quarter deficit to defeat the Trinity Western Spartans 98-84, securing a spot in the Canada West semifinals against the Victoria Vikes.
Trinity Western started strong, showcasing their scoring ability with 29 points in the first quarter, while holding the Dinos to just 17.
“We got punched in the first quarter,” said Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren. “I thought we played a little nervous and we lost a little bit of ourselves defensively for a while there but we battled.”
“Our matchups weren’t great in the first quarter and so it was important for us to shift that and once we did, we could get back to our normal lineup,” Vanhooren added.
However, the Dinos responded in the second quarter, tightening their defense and erupting for 26 points to shift the momentum.
A pivotal three-pointer from Dylan Lutes gave the Dinos their first lead of the game in the third quarter. As the Spartans faced mounting foul trouble, the Dinos’ depth proved decisive, with players like Lutes, Aidan Smith and Declan Peterson attacking while the Spartans’ defense was focused on shutting down offensive powerhouses Nate Petrone and Noah Wharton. This opened up Smith to deliver a season-high 22 points, demonstrating his reliability in crucial moments.
“[He’s] probably one of our best shooters,” Vanhooren commented on third-year guard Aidan Smith’s performance. “For him to come through in this scenario is really big.”
The game remained tight before the Dinos ultimately pulled away in the fourth quarter as their offensive firepower and defensive adjustments proved decisive as they secured the victory.
Looking ahead to the semifinal against the undefeated Victoria Vikes, Smith emphasized the team’s resilience.
“We have to prepare and act like no one can stop us,” Smith spoke on bringing the team’s resilience to Victoria, BC.
“They’re clearly number one in the country,” Vanhooren looks forward to their semifinal match against the Vikes, “We’re gonna have to play our best basketball to win and I think we probably are one of the only teams that have won in their building in the last five years so we’re comfortable with the idea. We’re going to have to play our best.”
Men’s Volleyball: When the Competition’s Good, but You’re Better
By Emma Djukic
The University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team secured their playoff series victory with a 3-1 win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday, February 21.
The Dinos dominated early, taking the first set 25-22 and following it up with a convincing 25-19 win in the second. Despite a few missed opportunities, they remained the stronger team throughout.
The Cascades, desperate to keep their season alive, came out swinging in the third. A powerful serving run from Nimo Benne put the Dinos on the back foot, forcing a timeout. The reset helped, but the Cascades held their momentum, taking the set 18-25.
Unshaken, the Dinos regrouped in the fourth. Their steady play secured a 25-20 win, clinching the match and their spot in the next round.
“These guys aren’t going to just roll over for us. This is the playoffs. This is everyone’s season, on the line.” said Erik Godwin. “Coach doesn’t say a ton, but he says, you know, let’s fight, let’s dig in. We’ve got more. So we had more, and we showed it.”
For head coach Graham Vigrass, the victory held extra significance—he was part of the last Dinos team to win a Canada West title in 2011. Now, he’s leading them in pursuit of another.
“I’m excited,” Vigrass said. “We have the potential to build something special here at U of C. I think it could take some time, but, like I said, the potential is here in the city. I’m just excited to be a part of building that new culture. It’s not just me, it’s finding people to help build it as well.”
Women’s Basketball: Dinos narrowly miss out on Canada West Semifinals
By Maggie Hsu
It’s the end of the road for the Dinos’ women’s basketball team as they fall short of the Canada West Semifinals by just three points at the hands of the Fraser Valley Cascades.
After a huge 89-64 win over the Manitoba Bisons to qualify for the Canada West quarterfinals, the Dinos were in prime position to overtake the Cascades as well going into the second half of the game. They took advantage of a number of turnovers during the first half to give themselves a decent seven-point cushion at the half however, their opponents would take the 15-minute lockerroom retreat to regroup and come back with a fighting spirit.
A brisk 9-0 run by the Cascades would overtake the Dinos’ lead, putting them into fight mode as the back and forth begun with the Dinos.
The inability to gain any offensive momentum would be the ultimate downfall of the Dinos as the Dinos shot just 5-36 after the half to conclude the game at 62-59, handing Fraser Valley the win at the end of the night.
“I think defensively we had a few mistakes, but we kept our identity and didn’t give them any more than they average,” Dinos interim head coach Jhony Verrone said. “Our problem was definitely on offence in terms of capitalizing on the things they gave us.”
Women’s Volleyball: After a miraculous berth, the Dinos are swept out of the CW Playoffs
By Maggie Hsu
The Winnipeg Wesmen swept the Calgary Dinos in their Canada West play-in series, winning a five-set thriller Thursday (25-23, 25-18, 25-17, 25-22, 15-13) and dominating Friday’s match 3-0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-16) at Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.
The Dinos started strong in game 1 on Thursday, taking the first set behind Daisy Olsen’s 14 kills, but Winnipeg responded with dominant performances in the second and third. Sophia Hansen led a Calgary push to force a fifth set, but Selva Planincic’s match-winning kill secured victory for the Wesmen.
Friday, the Dinos struggled early and fumbled three set points in the second set. The Wesmen’s Brooke Duncalfe’s five aces and a key late-game rally sealed the sweep for Winnipeg. Planincic again led the Wesmen with 10 kills and 14 digs, while Calgary’s Olsen had eight kills and 11 digs.
Head coach Christine Biggs cited missed opportunities, stating, “Our compete wasn’t there.”
Men’s Hockey: Nailbiting series comes to a close on the rink as Dinos fall to battle of Alberta rivals
By Maggie Hsu
The Alberta Golden Bears edged the Dinos 2-1 in overtime to open their Canada West quarter-final series. A scoreless first-period was broken in the second as the Bears struck first in game one. But the Dinos would hang on as Carl Tetachuk kept the Dinos in it with a 38-save performance and a third-period goal from Dallon Melin to force overtime.
Facing elimination in the third period of Game 2, down 0-2 the Dinos staged a dramatic third-period comeback, erupting with three unanswered goals in the final frame to steal the win from their Edmontonian foes. Connor Gutenberg and Jake Gricius scored 53 seconds apart to tie the game before Logen Hammett buried the game winner off an odd-man rush. Tetachuk was once again sensational, stopping 39 shots to preserve the win. The victory was Calgary’s first road playoff win against Alberta since 1992.
Despite the momentum shift, the Dinos couldn’t complete the series upset. Alberta responded with a commanding 4-1 victory in Game 3 to eliminate Calgary. The Dinos struck first with a goal from Brendan Lee, but the Bears took control in the second period with Calgary unable to answer back.
Track and Field: New records set as Dinos dominate in Canada West Championship Meet
By Maggie Hsu
The Dinos’ Track and Field team made a strong showing at the 2025 Canada West Track & Field Championships, bringing home 13 medals, multiple individual awards and a couple of records set over two days at Regina Fieldhouse.
Sienna MacDonald led the charge, winning gold in both the 60-meter hurdles and pentathlon, resetting her own conference record with a time of 8.12 seconds in the hurdles. Georgia Oland added a gold in the 300-meter sprint, becoming the first Dino to win the event since 2011. MacDonald would add to her medal collection as she took bronze in long jump, while River Sanoy claimed bronze in men’s long jump with a 7.00-meter leap.
On Day 2 of the meet, the Dinos women finished second overall with 123 points, while the men placed sixth with 59. Tatum Wade secured silver in the women’s 600-meter distance and Reagan Bliss earned silver in high jump with a personal-best jump of 1.71 meters, earning her the title of Canada West Rookie of the Year. Noel Vanderzee defended his title in men’s high jump, clearing 2.12 meters for gold.
The 60-meter sprint saw four Dinos finish in the top seven, with Dawn Richardson Wilson claiming her third straight title. Oland added a bronze to her medal count after finishing 0.10 seconds behind her teammate. The women’s relay teams each took bronze, while Tristan Friesen earned silver in men’s shot put.
With standout performances across events, Calgary’s athletes capped off a strong conference meet, setting the stage for nationals in Windsor, Ontario from Mar 6-8.