Hockey heats up

By Ian Waldbauer

The men’s Dinos kicked off their season with a huge 4-1 victory over the Manitoba Bisons on the road. The men’s hockey team looked to steal both games from the unfriendly confines of the Max Bell Centre in Winnipeg but the Dinos were heavily outshot by their opponents in the second meeting which resulted in a 1-1 tie. Calgary escaped Winnipeg having earned a big three points.

Manitoba came out strong in the second game of the two game set against the Dinos, but it was great goaltending that quickly became the story of the hockey game. Dinos goalie Aaron Baker turned aside 31 of 32 shots, including five in overtime to preserve the tie for his team. The scrappy affair kicked off with end-to-end action for both teams, but the game’s first goal went to the Bisons. With Sheldon Nedjelski in the box for tripping, Bison Kevin Saurette directed in a rebound in the first period to give Manitoba a one-goal edge.

The score would stay that way for some time, but the action remained intense with both teams getting a little sick of seeing each other.

Twelve penalties were called in the second period alone, as the frustration became increasingly evident. The scoring chances kept piling up for both teams but the goalkeepers simply kept shutting the door.

Baker kept the Dinos within striking range of the Bisons by stopping a number of good scoring chances throughout the early part of the affair.

However, not to be outdone was the Manitoba netminder Jomar Cruz who kept the Dinos off the score-sheet for the first half of the game. It all changed quickly when Dino Jason Boyd received a beautiful pass from linemate Trevor Segstro and was able to squeeze the puck underneath the outstretched arm of Cruz to draw the game even.

The fast pace of the game carried on into the third period, and the Bisons had a number of opportunities to pull ahead only to be denied by Baker. The defences for both teams buckled down nearing the end of the third and in overtime, to help earn a valuable point.

The Dinos will have their first chance to play in front of a home crowd this weekend as they will play host to the University of Regina Cougars for a pair of games.

The home opener will be on Fri., Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m., at Father David Bauer Arena.