Hockey Dinos open against Bisons
Drop the puck, as these men are anxious to play
The Dinos men’s hockey team gets the 2018-19 Canada West season underway this weekend at the Father David Bauer Arena as they host the Manitoba Bisons.
The season opener takes place Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a rematch Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Dinos will try to improve after a fifth-place finish with a 1213-3 regular season last year and hope to take at least a step farther than last year’s playoff run that saw them defeat the UBC Thunderbirds two games to one in the first round before falling to the Saskatchewan Huskies two games to one in the Canada West semifinal round.
The team graduated five fifthyear players last season, including four players who played all five years of eligibility with the Dinos. Among those were team captain Dan Gibb and assistant captains Drydn Dow and Adam Kambeitz.
Calgary head coach Mark Howell unveiled his new leadership group this week, with Dylan Busenius becoming the team’s new captain and Cain Franson and Logan Fisher being named assistants.
The Dinos welcome eight new players into the fold this season, but none may be more high profile than Graham Black. The former Swift Current Broncos star played three seasons in the American Hockey League with the Albany Devils and Springfield Thunderbirds after signing an entry-level NHL contract with the New Jersey Devils. During his final season in the WHL, Black scored 34 goals and compiled 63 assists.
A staple of Dinos teams over the past decade has been strong goaltending, and the 2018-19 season should be no different. Jordan Papirny, Matthew Greenfield and Tyler Gutenberg all return this season and split time in net during the non-conference schedule. Papirny was named to the U Sports all-rookie team following a successful freshman campaign, while Greenfield dressed for the Minnesota Wild at the 2018 NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Mich.
The Bisons are coming off a 1610-2-0 season that saw them finish third in Canada West action. They then fell to the Mount Royal Cougars in the first round of the post-season.
FIELD HOCKEY
The Dinos field hockey team looks to get its season on track with back-to-back home games against the UBC Thunderbirds.
The games Saturday and Sunday begin at 11 a.m. on the newly laid turf of Hawkings Field.
UBC did not lose a game in the 2017 season and had just one tie. They started the 2018 campaign with back-to-back ties against the Victoria Vikes, and have a 0-0-2 record coming into this weekend.
RUGBY
Returning home after a pair of big road wins, the No. 5 Dinos women’s rugby team will play the Lethbridge Pronghorns in its final home game of the season at McMahon Stadium on Sunday with an 11:45 a.m. kickoff.
The two-time defending Canada West champion Dinos continued their unbeatable regular season by winning their 17th and 18th consecutive games last weekend against the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds.