Dinos blanked in Crowchild Classic

By Sonny Sachdeva, January 22 2015 —

The University of Calgary Dinos and Mount Royal Cougars men’s hockey teams faced off for the fourth annual Crowchild Classic on Jan. 15, battling it out in front of a record-setting 8,882 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

After losing all three previous contests against the Cougars this season, the Dinos headed into the matchup hoping to turn the tide against their crosstown rivals.

But their redemption was not to be.

The Cougars outplayed the Dinos all night, outshooting them 23–19, capitalizing on two chances to earn a 2–0 shutout victory.

Dinos head coach Mark Howell stressed his disappointment with their effort after the team rang off two dominant wins over the previous weekend against the University of Saskatchewan.

“[Last weekend] we played with care and urgency and did the right things,” Howell said. “I think we took it for granted that it would just happen again.”

A lack of preparation also played a role in the Dinos’ loss, according to Howell.

“You’ve got to really respect how miserably hard it is to prepare to be successful in this league,” he said.

The Dinos ended up on the wrong end of this one after failing to break through Mount Royal’s stifling defence despite a number of opportunities.

The first came two minutes into the opening period when the Dinos had a five-on-three power play. Despite a couple of good chances on net, Cougars netminder Cam Lanigan kept the Dinos at bay and allowed his team to kill both penalties, beginning a swing in momentum that tilted the game in MRU’s favour.

Five minutes later, the Cougars were awarded a power play of their own. Ten seconds into the one-man advantage, forward Matthew Brown tipped a point shot by Dinos
goaltender Kris Lazaruk to give Mount Royal a 1–0 lead.

The Cougars added their second goal five minutes later when Jamie King wheeled around the Dinos’ net before firing in an uncontested wrist shot.

King’s first-period tally was the last goal of the game. The two teams traded chances throughout the second and third periods, but they were ultimately held off the scoreboard due to strong goaltending from both clubs.

Defenceman Kodie Curran, the Dinos’ second-leading scorer and one of the club’s veterans, suggested that his team didn’t execute their game-plan.

“Going into the week, we wanted speed in numbers and I think we lacked that tonight,” Curran said. “You’ve got to give credit to Mount Royal. They’re a team that works super hard and we didn’t match that tonight. It was just us not being prepared.”

Despite the loss, Curran stressed that playing at the Saddledome was still a memorable affair.

“It was unbelievable. We wouldn’t be here without our fans and it’s great for both the [Dinos’ and Cougars’] programs. It was a great experience,” said Curran.

The Dinos will travel to Lethbridge on Jan. 23 to take on the Pronghorns.