Playoff hoopla at U of Calgary
Men’s and women’s teams begin pursuit of Canada West titles
Bring on the Huskies.
And the Vikes.
Yes, it’s playoff time at Jack Simpson Gym, with the University of Calgary Dinos basketball teams both hosting U Sports Canada West Conference best-of-three, quarter-final series.
The women come off a firstround bye to welcome the Victoria Vikes, beginning with Game 1 on Friday night at The Jack (6 p.m.). Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 go Saturday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at The Jack.
“We’ve both had very impactful players pick up injuries, but both teams have galvanized really well,” said Dinos head coach Damian Jennings. “They’ve won 13 games in a row, and their offensive machine is going really well, and we’ve had the most stingy defence in the conference, so what a great matchup this is. We’re excited about the battle. It’s one of those ones that is hard to call, and it could go to Sunday. There will be no surprises if either team were to take the series.”
Calgary enters the playoffs on an impressive seven-game winstreak, having not lost a game since Jan. 12.
With last week’s 91-62 play-in win over the Fraser Valley Cas- cades, the Vikes have strung together a Canada West high 13 consecutive wins.
“Our two Latvians, Liene (Stalidzane) and Laura (Grabe) are really finding their feet and their style of play, and the current style of performances they’ve been having will be impactful for us,” Jennings said. “Shannon (Hatch) has really stepped up since the beginning of the season, and then you’re starting to see people like Michaela (Nieuwenhuizen) who are starting to raise their profile, and we really need that because it makes us different. I don’t think it’s one single person, but I would push toward that group that has really stepped up in 2018.”
On the men’s side, the best-ofthree quarter-final features the Saskatchewan Huskies taking on the host Dinos in a series expected to be chalked full of offence.
Like the Calgary women, the men earned a first-round bye ahead of this series, which goes Friday with Game 1 (8 p.m.), Saturday with Game 2 (7 p.m.) and, if necessary, Sunday with Game 3 (3 p.m.), all at The Jack.
This marks the second consecutive year Calgary and Saskatchewan have met in the Canada West playoffs. Last season, the Dinos defeated the Huskies 111-106 in overtime to claim the bronze medal.
“They’ve re-tooled, and they’re very talented on the perimeter,” said Dinos head coach Dan VanHooren. “They have some great players and great experience, and we’re going to have to be on our best to beat the Saskatchewan Huskies.”
Entering the weekend at a torrid pace, the Dinos have won seven of their last eight games. Calgary has been able to consistently control the pace of the games during that stretch.
“Our depth is an advantage, and we will need to keep the tempo high and keep things tough on them defensively,” Van Hooren said. “In this scenario, they played last week, so they’re in their rhythm, and we’ve been outside of ours for a week-and-a-half, so it will
Our depth is an advantage, and we will need to keep the tempo high and keep things tough on them defensively.
be interesting to see how we start on Friday night. I’m confident in our group. I like how we’ve practised. It’s nice to be healthy, and we have enough talent to make some noise in this league. We’re in a good space — we’re at home, everyone seems focused. And if we can stay on that razor’s edge, we’ll be in a good space.”
DINOS HOCKEY
After finding themselves out of a playoff spot to start the second half of the season, the Dinos men’s hockey team has clawed back into fifth place thanks to six straight victories, earning them a quarterfinal rematch with the UBC Thunderbirds.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said fifth- year forward Chris Collins on his team battling through adversity. “It was a bit eye-opening for us that we could possibly miss playoffs and we knew coming into the second half that we’d have to get on a roll to make (the playoffs), which we have been.”
This will be a rematch of last year’s Canada West quarter-final, in which the Dinos earned a sweep of the T-Birds. However, the Dinos will be on the road this year, rather than at home, playing the series in Vancouver.
Both teams have been playing their best hockey of the season in the second semester. The Dinos are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, while UBC is 8-1-1.