Dinos head into playoffs on a high
Playoff quest opens with best-of-three quarter-final series against the T-Birds
You can’t exactly fly under the radar in Canada West men’s hockey, but you can, with a rip-roaring end to the regular season, become an unforeseen playoff contender.
“I don’t think there were a lot of expectations in the league or inside the country for our team,” said University of Calgary head coach Mark Howell.
“I think even some of our players weren’t sure how good we could be. As a coach, I think we can be a lot better. I don’t think we’ve hit our stride yet. If we can play a 60-minute-plus game in the playoffs, every game, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
Winners of six of their last seven games, the third-place Dinos, 189-1, have become hot at the most critical time as they host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds this weekend in a bestof-three conference quarter-final. Game time on Friday at Father David Bauer Arena is 7 p.m., while Saturday’s contest gets underway at 6 p.m. Game 3, if needed, will begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Calgary has taken three of four games from the T-Birds (12-13-3) this season, but the team isn’t looking beyond this series.
“In the playoffs you have to take into account that things change,” said Calgary fourth-year sniper Elgin Pearce. “Teams get hot, teams get cold. They’re rolling, too. I expect them to be ready to go and I don’t expect them to play anything less than their best.”
“They’re a good team,” said Howell. “They had a slow start, but they’ve got lots of talent. They present a lot of problems. We need to make sure we play really well. They’re going to be close games.”
A fourth loss in five games on Jan. 27 had the Dinos players and coaches scratching their heads and taking a hard look at exactly what was needed to improve.
“I think after the Manitoba weekend we kind of changed our philosophy,” Pearce said. “Going into the Crowchild Classic (against Mount Royal University), practices were a little more intense, everyone kind of tightened up a bit and I think it really helped our team move forward to the end of the season.”
It also helps that Pearce, originally from Port Coquitlam, B.C., has contributed in a large way. He finished the season with 20 goals and 31 points in 28 games, the Canada West leader in the goal department.
“If I look at his four years here, he’s grown so much as a young man, as a hockey player, as a human being,” Howell said of Pearce. “He takes his life very serious, from nutrition to fitness to school, and I think it translates into how he plays. His intensity, his will, his want, have gone up even higher this year. He’s a leader by example.”
“(Leading Canada West in goals) was a milestone that I wanted to achieve,” Pearce said. “Going into this season, I thought if I played well and worked hard, played for my teammates, I would be able to reach 20. But personal goals don’t win championships. As long as we’re ready to go on Friday and I’m contributing to our success, I’m happy with that.”
He’s hoping, like everyone associated with the squad, that the second half of the season is more indicative of what the Dinos are as a collective this year.
“I give credit to our coaching staff, too,” said Pearce. “They figured we had to change something, we had to figure some things out and we were able to do that quickly.”
“We’ve been a little bit inconsistent,” said Howell, discussing the season as a whole. “Even some of our veteran guys weren’t playing as consistent as they needed to. Hopefully, at this time of the year, the guys have learned what we need to do to play well. We have more guys playing better hockey every day, every period. Our goalies have been good and, as a group, we’ve been good.
“It’s been a fun year. It’s an enjoyment to come to the rink. A real good group of guys. They’re receptive, they work hard, so it makes your job as a coach a lot easier.”
As well as the Dinos, the fourthplace Mount Royal men’s team (1511-2) are hosting a playoff series on Friday and Saturday (and Sunday if necessary) against the Manitoba Bisons.
Games at Flames Community Arenas all start at 7 p.m.