MacEwan ladies grant Dinos their first win

By Andrea Poupart

After a fairly successful tournament Jan. 6-8–with at least a point in all but one game–the Dinos looked prepared for their first league games of the new year.

Friday, Jan. 13 was a fast-paced game played at Grant MacEwan College on smaller ice than our ladies are accustomed to. Although they fought a solid game, the Dinos couldn’t buy a goal.

They hit a few posts and had some great opportunities, but just couldn’t capitalize. The GMC Griffins got lucky when the puck bounced off of a Dino player’s stick and into her own net. The Dinos worked hard the whole game, but the Grifffins came out on top 2-0.

At home for a rematch Sat., Jan. 14, the hard work and perseverance paid off for our Dinos. Jen McLean opened the scoring with her first goal of the season on a wrap around. The second goal was hard-earned by Dianne Ikeda, who crashed the net to score on her own rebound.

After playing a great game with tight D-zone coverage, the women’s hockey team almost posted their first shutout of the season with a 2-0 lead going into the third period.

However, heavy pressure by the Griffins during the last few moments of the game earned them a goal with just 32 seconds left. Thankfully, it was not enough to spoil the Dinos’ first win of the season and they are happy to get that monkey off of their back.

“It’s great that the hard work and five o’clock mornings finally paid off,” gushed forward Felicia Fletcher. “It was a great game and all lines were firing!”

The win doesn’t surprise Assistant Coach John Castrillon.

“We stuck to the plan, performed well and [goaltender] Natalie Gertsmar came big,” he explained.

Hopefully the Dinos can take this consistency and newfound confidence into their games against the first place SAIT Trojans. The Dinos play at SAIT Fri., Jan. 20 at 7:30p.m. and in the Olympic Oval on Sat., Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.