By Crystal Wong
The Dinos men’s hockey team began their regular season on the road Oct. 7-8, playing back-to-back games against the University of Regina Cougars. This turned out to be a great road trip as the Dinos came home with all four possible points in hand.
Going into the first game, the Dinos were confident about their team and the way they play. This confidence showed early on, with the Dinos making 19 shots on goal in the first period. From the get-go, the game was a special teams bout. Seven of the eight goals were scored on the power-play or short-handed. The Dinos went into the break up 2-0 from a power-play goal by Brett Thurston and a short-handed goal by Colin McRae.
Despite having the lead after the first, the Dinos did not just sit back and relax. They took advantage of the Cougars’ lack of discipline and added three more power-play goals in just six minutes. They would go on to win the game 6-2.
Although the Dinos won the first game quite convincingly, the momentum was on the Cougars’ side–they were the only ones to score in the third period. This momentum carried into the second game, translating into an early 2-0 Cougars’ lead.
But, the turning point of the game came at 13:26 of the first period when Wes Reid took advantage of two careless Cougar penalties, making the score 2-1. McRae then tied the game at two with 11 seconds left in the period.
After several roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct calls in the first half of the game, both teams focused on playing rather than fighting. They exchanged goals in the second period, leaving the score deadlocked again to start the third. The Dinos eventually broke the tie for good when Rob Woods scored the game-winning goal at 11:32.
McRae had the highest point total over the two games, recording three goals and one assist.
It will be important for the Dinos to maintain their focus on home ice. The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns visit Fri., Oct. 14 for the Dinos’ home opener.