By Еvan Osentоn
Should it be remembered as "The Pass"? Or maybe the "Miracle on 24th Ave."?
Decide for yourself: It’s last Saturday, and our hockeysaurs are down one to Lethbridge with five minutes left in the game. Your fingers are jammed in your mouth up to the second knuckles in sheer terror. All of a sudden Dinos defender Jeff Yopyk springs Tyler Murray on a partial breakaway. Sweet merciful Abraham! You lean forward in your seat, panting frantically. Murray bears down on the opposition net, lugging a cowardly Pronghorn on his back, who rakes his skate blades down Murray’s shin. It looks like Lethbridge’s cheating ways will prevail, and Murray will be lucky to manage even a bad angle shot… when suddenly, Murray turns and feathers a perfect drop pass to the trailing and unaccosted Sean Robertson. You gasp as Robertson rips the puck top corner. Game tied. You and the 60 other Dino fans in attendance go wild, spilling beer and sloppily kissing perfect strangers.
But it gets better. Riding said wave of emotion, Lonny Tetley scores 35 seconds later and Calgary emerges from a sweat-drenched Father David Bauer Arena with a miraculous come-from-behind 3–2 victory.
Not to overstate the matter, but Saturday’s win at FDB vindicates the Dinos, whose spotty performance since Christmas had caused sports writers from coast to coast to cast doubt on their ability. But doubt no more, you dirty cynics-the Dinos are back, and with a home and home series with the University of Alberta on deck this weekend and the playoffs just around the corner, their timing is perfect. With the victory, and a 6–3 win in Lethbridge the preceding night, the Dinos are riding a four-game winning streak and sit at 16–7–1 with two games left in the season.
Jordan Walker had three points and Trevor Segstro added two goals to lead the Dinos in Friday’s rout, while Saturday’s game saw Phillipe Choiniere score the Dino’s opener before Robertson and Tetley’s heroics sealed the deal. Scott Rideout started both games for the Dinos for the first time in almost a month but didn’t appear rusty. Not only is the Dinos’ goaltending situation rosy, but their offence is in top form (averaging nearly 40 shots a game over the past month) and their defence is playing as effectively as any in Canada West.
While Calgary and Lethbridge are already schedued to meet in the opening round of the Canada West playoffs on Feb. 22–24, this weekend’s series with the 19–2–4 Bears counts for more than simple bragging rights. Should Calgary carry their momentum from last weekend into the playoffs and should they make short work of the U of L they’ll end up in Edmonton again soon enough. Thus the series against the Bears, to be held Feb. 14 in Edmonton and Feb. 16 in Calgary, should match last weekend’s in terms of magnitude and likely intensity.
The games start at 7 p.m., but come early-if ever a Dinos game will sell out it will be this one.