Dogs aren’t taking underachieving Dinos lightly

Forget about the neutralzone trap. A paper shredder appears to have attacked the University of Calgary Dinos

With a stacked team listed on paper, the Dinos should be a top contender for a Canada West men’s hockey conference title.

Instead, they have been a major disappointment on the ice. They are currently in fifth place in the conference at 12-11-1.

University of Saskatchewan coach Dave Adolph, for one, isn’t fooled by that underachieving and somewhat deceiving record, which has been distorted by an injuryplagued season. He sees the Dinos as a legitimate Canada West contender and a potential threat down the stretch.

“They’re a very good team,” said Adolph, whose Huskies (15-5-2) play host to the Dinos tonight and Saturday night (7 p.m., Rutherford Rink) with first place in their sights, while Calgary continues to battle for fourth place and home ice for the Canada West quarter-finals.

“Calgary kind of slipped there the last part of November and a little bit at the start of January, or it’d be a four-horse race (along with Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba).”

First place is not out of the question for the hockey Dogs, who have three of their remaining six games on home ice. They’re looking to inch closer to securing a spot atop the standings as the top two Canada West teams are granted a bye through the first round of playoffs and a home playoff date for the league’s best-ofthree semifinal series March 2 to 4.

“I would say that every year, the first week in February, we’ve been either in first place, one point out of first place or tied for first place, it seems, and it’s happening again,” Adolph said.

Earlier this season, the Dinos swept a two-game series with the Dogs in Calgary. Last March, Calgary ousted Saskatchewan from the Canada West playoffs and snagged one of two University Cup playoff berths as a result.

“Maybe ( Dinos coach Mark Howell) out-coaches me, who knows, but they play us pretty well,” Adolph said. “They’re like Manitoba. Both teams are big and physical and they play a real demanding defensive game and make it difficult on their opponents.

“That’s why I said it’s a four-team race and it’s going to be a hell of a run down the stretch here.”

The Huskies, who had a bye last week, are coming off a pointless weekend in Winnipeg against the Bisons. Calgary swept two games with the Regina Cougars.

“Calgary won 2-0 and 2-1 last weekend, and that looks like the kind of game they want to play,” Adolph said. “We don’t want to slow the tempo down. We have to play to our strengths and our strengths are playing to speed. As big as Calgary is, we get to pucks first better than most teams in the league, so we have to make sure we’re gritty.”

DINOS IN DOG HOUSE

As far as the Dinos go, what’s gone wrong? Howell admitted that injuries have played a part. So did a tough road schedule through November when, academically, the players were missing Thursday and Friday every week and, by the end, “you could kind of tell your guys were tapped out,” Howell said.

“Those would be the only two excuses I would use. The rest of it, we just haven’t been good enough. There have been points in time when we’ve been very good and (others) when we just haven’t delivered.”

The Dinos have been hurt by injuries, with three of their top-six forwards and two top-four D-men being sidelined at different times this season.

“It makes things a little tricky to piece things together,” Howell said, “but luckily we got Kevin King at Christmas, and that’s helped for sure.”

King saw action in the American Hockey League and ECHL before Christmas. He had 33 goals and 76 points with the WHL champion Kootenay Ice last season.

DOG TALES: King and fellow Christmas add Spen

cer Edwards .joined a talented rookie crop which includes Tyler Fiddler, former Saskatoon Blades captain Teigan Zahn, Memorial Cup champion goalie

Jacob Deserres, former Moose Jaw Warrior star Dy

lan Hood (who piled up 83 points last season), Taylor

Stefishen, Max Ross and David Robinson. Stefishen leads the Dinos with 11 goals and 10 assists. A fifth-round pick of Nashville back in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Stefishen put up some big numbers for BCHL’S Langley before going to NCAA’S Ohio State for two seasons and then to Prince George last season.