Horns miss playoffs despite victory

First off the good news, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s hockey team earned a win Friday night. Now the bad news, so did the Calgary Dinos. The Pronghorns snapped an eight-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the Regina Cougars in Canada West action at Nicholas Sheran Arena to improve to 9-15-2.

Heading into the weekend the Pronghorns trailed the Dinos by four points for the final playoff spot, needing a combination of a 2-0 weekend over the Cougars combined with an 02 weekend for the Dinos in order to steal the sixth post-season berth.

On Friday in Calgary, the Dinos mathematically eliminated the Horns with a 51 win over the Manitoba Bisons.

The Pronghorns will complete their regular season schedule today at 1 p.m. against the Cougars at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Spencer Jensen, Sam McKechnie and Evan Wardley scored in the first period for the Pronghorns Friday. Brooks Maxwell and Blake Orban added the other goals for the hosts.

Horns goaltender Garret Hughson faced 37 shots.

In women’s play Friday, the Pronghorns were edged 4-3 in overtime by the Cougars in Regina and are 3-17-2-5.

The Horns took a 2-0 lead in the second on a shorthanded goal by Keely Chalk and powerplay marker from Delaney Duchek before the Cougars answered back with a pair to tie it.

Lethbridge added another power-play goal from Tricia Van Vaerenbergh 13:48 into the third, but Regina tied it back up a little under two minutes later and earned the extra point 1:46 into overtime.

Pronghorns goaltender Brooklyn Paisley faced 37 shots.

The women’s team wraps up their regular season today in Regina at 2 p.m.