Trojans glide through Dinos in first round of playoffs

By Andrea Poupart

The Dinos women’s hockey team went into the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference quarter-finals as the underdog Feb. 16-17. With a 2-18 record they were up against the SAIT Trojans, who went 13-5-1-1 in the season. With some last-minute changes, head coach Dean Holden was trying to shake things up a little, hoping to find some new team dynamic. But what the Dinos really needed were the talents and size of Robyn Chapman and injured player Jen Cabana who were both unable to play.

On Thursday, the Trojans got an early lead and then relaxed a bit. The Trojans took penalty after penalty, giving the Dinos a man advantage for a good portion of the second period. The Dinos didn’t capitalize on any of those chances.

The Dinos finally got on the board, making the game 3-1 with a goal from Allison Mansell, who had moved up to the forward line from her regular spot on defense. But in the third the Trojans answered back to make the final score 4-1.

On Friday, the Dinos came out looking a little stronger, but by the end of the second period the Trojans were up 4-1 again with the lone Dino goal coming from scoring leader Beth Nerland. The Dinos, however, did not hand the game to their opponents and battled hard to the finish. They managed to slip another past the Trojans when Jen Mansell scored the only goal of the third period.

With a 4-2 final score and a series sweep, the Trojans move on to the semi-finals while the Dinos hang up their skates for the season.

The first-round elimination was not the Cinderella finish the Dinos were hoping for. It was more of a disappointing end to a rebuilding year that the team struggled through.