Talent: The Dinos excelled all season long at the defence, stickwork and forechecking aspects of their game, creating one of the most frustrating teams in the league to play against, as opposing players were often thrown off their game. Overall team speed and the ability to score goals were two major traits that were lacking for most of the season, but they can be forgiven considering the youth of the players.
Effort: Hard work was the main focus of the girls all season long and for good reason. The Dinos showed incredible determination and resiliency, as they played a full 60 minutes every game, overcoming the superior talent of other teams on their way to victory. Merciless and unrelenting, they found their greatest successes by wearing down their opponents, which was made possible by dedicating themselves to strict and extensive training programs.
Coaching: Danielle Goyette deserves much praise for her first season leading a team from behind the bench instead of on the ice. She put her wealth of women’s hockey experience to good use, running her team with bold efficiency and getting the maximum output from all of her players.
Achievements: The expectations for the women’s hockey team were very bleak going into the 2007–08 season but the lady hockeysaurs effectively silenced their critics. Their 12–9–6 finish was good enough for third in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, but the Dinos proved they were better than that when they fought their way to win Silver in the ACAC finals, knocking off two-time defending champions, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans, along the way in the semifinals.
Grade: Iguanodon
These creatures possessed spikey thumbs for protection against predators and lived around 120 million years ago.