A pre-season on thin ice

By Crystal Wong

Nowadays, it seems like you simply can’t watch NHL coverage and enjoy a beer without hearing some mumbo-jumbo about the salary cap, nonsense whining, rule changes and then some more whining. So, you turn your attention to the major junior leagues, hoping to watch some uncontroversial hockey. Then some guy decides to attack his 16-year-old teammate, knocking three teeth out in an incident that has ‘lawsuit’ written all over it.

Now what?

If you’re looking for some heart and soul hockey, the Dinos men’s hockey team is the right team for you. With the regular season on the horizon, they played in their last pre-season tournament in Edmonton Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

In their first of two games, the Dinos faced the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. They came out with a load of offense, leading to a 4-1 Dinos surplus going into the third period. However, they let their early success get to them in the third; the period was dominated by Lethbridge. With only 31 seconds left in regulation, Chad Rideout of the ‘Horns scored the game-tying goal, forcing an overtime period.

The Dinos had to re-group quickly; and did just that. In overtime, Brett O’Malley put the puck behind the ‘Horns’ goaltender to win the game for the Dinos and avoid what would’ve been an embarrassing breakdown.

The Dinos faced the University of Alberta Golden Bears the day after this near disaster. Historically, the Dinos haven’t had much luck against the Bears. This game was no exception. Although the Dinos never gave up, the Bears’ offense was just too much for them to handle. They would eventually be defeated 4-2.

The Dinos fought hard and came out with a 1-1 record. Fortunately for them, no teeth had to be sacrificed in the process. They will be playing two games on the road at the University of Regina Oct. 7-8 before coming home to once again face the Pronghorns Fri., Oct. 14.