CAMPUS PREVIEW: Playoff picture to clarify with hoops, hockey finales

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The record-breaking University of Calgary hockey Dinos are on the precipice of digging up more history.

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This year’s Dinos (23-3-0) have a chance to etch their name in the books — again — when they play the MacEwan Griffins (9-16-1) this weekend in the final regular-season series of the Canada West calendar.

Calgary’s conference mark is tied for most in program history with both the 1986-87 and 1987-88 squads, This year’s 46 points are also just one shy of the program-record 47 set back in the 1996-97 season.

“We have a really important weekend coming up, and we need to dial it in, be a little crisper and fast out there,” said Dinos head coach Mark Howell. “We need to stay focused if we still want to accomplish our ultimate goal of winning a championship.”

As the Dinos continue their CW record-breaking season with a 21-game win streak, they sit in first place in the Canada West standings and have clinched the top spot in this year’s conference playoffs. The Griffins, meanwhile, are 9-16-1 and in a fight for the final playoff spot. MacEwan enters the weekend tied for sixth place with the Regina Cougars, though the Cougs currently hold the tiebreaker between the two teams. The Manitoba Bisons also have an outside chance to claim the sixth seed, entering the weekend two points back of the Cougars and the Griffins.

This will be the second time this season that the Dinos and the Griffins will face off. The two teams also met during the first weekend out of the winter break, resulting in a pair of wins by the Dinos.

Former Calgary Hitmen forward Riley Stotts ranks third in the conference with 25 assists, trailing only the Canada West’s top scorers in Riley Sawchuk and Nolan Yaremko of Mount Royal. Dating back to Nov. 11, Stotts has points in every game except for a Jan. 6 matchup against MacEwan. On Jan. 27 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Stotts had a season-best four assists in a 4-2 win over Mount Royal in the Crowchild Classic.

The first game of the weekend home-and-home will take place in Edmonton, with puck drop on Friday scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Downtown Community Arena. On Saturday, the Dinos return home, where the regular-season finale will begin at 6 p.m. at the Father David Bauer Arena.

— Chiara Raguso

WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Dinos playing for home ice in final weekend

The Dinos women’s hockey team (13-9-4) will play a home-and-home against the MacEwan University Griffins (6-19-1) this weekend.

The Dinos will open the weekend at home with Seniors’ Night at Father David Bauer Arena, starting at 7 p.m. The teams will then travel north to face each other one day later at 5 p.m. at the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton.

Having already secured a playoff spot last weekend, the Dinos will look to hold their fourth-place position in the standings and clinch a home quarterfinal series. Before this weekend’s games, the Griffins were officially been eliminated from playoff contention. This weekend marks the final regular season games of the 2022-23 season.

The Dinos are coming off a successful weekend, having won both games against the Manitoba Bisons, en route to securing a playoff berth in this year’s Canada West playoffs. The Dinos are playing their best hockey at the right time. Over the past 10 games, Calgary has an impressive 8-1-1 record.

This season, Dinos fifth-year forward Alli Borrow has proved her fondness for putting pucks in the net. Borrow currently leads Canada West with 14 goals and has two hat trick performances this season. Borrow has also come up big in the clutch this season, racking up three game-winning goals. With just two games left to play, Borrow is in pole position to take home the scoring title.

Dinos third-year netminder Gabriella Durante has been nothing short of incredible this season. Durante leads Canada West in minutes, having spent more than 1,450 minutes in the crease for Calgary this season. Durante also leads Canada West in shutouts with seven and has an impressive .933 save percentage and 1.94 goals-against average.

Calgary forwards Sydney Mercier and Rebecca Clarke have provided solid offence throughout the season. The rookie Mercier ranks in the top 10 in the conference for points and leads the Dinos in assists with 12. The third-year forward Clarke has stepped up big as of late, scoring goals in three of the last five games and contributing three game-winning goals this season. Dinos fourth-year defender Annaliese Meier has proved to be a force on both ends of the ice, tallying 11 assists for the Dinos so far this season. The Griffins have a two-way defender of their own. Sydney Hughson leads all Griffins in goals from the backend with five and has also added five assists to her name, as well. MacEwan’s leading playmaker is third-year forward Makenna Schuttler, who has found her teammates seven times this season.

Dinos second-year head coach Carla MacLeod has a chance to secure her first winning season this weekend in just her second year as the Calgary bench boss. MacLeod led the Dinos to seven wins last year in the unique pandemic-altered schedule. This season, she has nearly doubled that total (13) and has a chance to do so in the final two games of the regular season. Later this month, MacLeod will get her first crack at the playoffs.

— Darnell Wyke

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Dinos honour seniors against local rival

The University of Calgary Dinos women’s basketball team (11-7) will play host to the Mount Royal Cougars (11-7) this weekend in their last set of regular-season games at Jack Simpson Gym.

Calgary and Mount Royal have both secured playoff berths. The Cougars are coming off a weekend sweep against the Brandon Bobcats, while the Dinos took home a win and loss last weekend against the top-ranked Regina Cougars. Last season marked the first split between the two programs in the Crowchild Classic series, and this weekend figures to be another competitive one.

Calgary currently ranks fourth in offence in Canada West with a total of 1,332 points and notching an average of 74.0 points per game. The Dinos also rank fifth in three-point field goals made, making a total of 129 and an average of 7.2 per game.

Mount Royal has some strong defensive players that will surely test Calgary’s offence. Tanis Metcalfe is ranked fourth in the league for blocked shots with 29 for an average of 1.6 per game. Also, teammate Jamie Lalor ranks third in the conference for steals, notching 49 and has an average of 2.7 per game.

Following Saturday’s game, the Dinos will recognize three fifth-year players: Bobbi-Jo Colburn, Madison Landry, and Mackenzie Trpcic. A native of Cranbrook, B.C., Colburn joined the Dinos in 2016 and will become the fourth women’s basketball player to complete all five years of her eligibility at Calgary under head coach Damian Jennings.

“Like every game, the number one focus is on a performance both defensively and offensively that moves us forward from last weekend and creates two wins,” said Calgary head coach Damian Jennings. “We are excited to finish the regular season celebrating our Seniors and welcome our alumni for the annual Alumni evening.”

Friday’s matchup will start at 6 p.m., while Saturday’s is at 4 p.m.

— Christina Pelaccia

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Crowchild Classic closes out hoops regular season 

Hosting Senior Night and their crosstown rival, there will be electricity in the air when the Dinos men’s basketball team (9-9) host the Mount Royal Cougars (8-10) to close out the 2022-23 regular season.

Both teams have their place secured in the upcoming Canada West playoffs, with some jostling of seeding in the play-in game still to be determined.

This weekend, Calgary will recognize three standouts that have epitomized Dinos basketball. Ezeoha Santiago, Mason Foreman and Jackson Bayles will suit up for their final games at the Jack Simpson Gym. Across the court, the youth movement Cougars feature no fourth or fifth-year players.

Despite surrendering 2021-22 all-star guard Nate Petrone to the Dinos this past off-season, Mount Royal may boast the best backcourt in the province. Holt Tommie has flourished in his expanded role and is leading CW with 23 points per game. Alongside first-year Keivonte Watts, the Cougars starting backcourt accounts for half of the team’s points this season.

The Cougars could not contain Brandon big-man Anthony Tskegakele last week, conceding an average of 24 points and nine rebounds to the all-star forward. On tap this week? Fellow 2021-22 all-star Mason Foreman, who comes in averaging 20 and 11 since his return to the lineup in January.

There is no doubt heading into playoffs that the Dinos are prepared for clutch moments. Last week’s 94-90 OT victory over Regina marks their fourth game of the season that has gone into the extra frame. The battle-tested Dinos will carry their composure into their eighth consecutive trip to the conference’s second season.

The Dinos and the Cougars have met 14 total times in conference play, with Calgary claiming 13 of those matchups. Despite the one-sided nature of the final results, last year featured four wins by the Dinos — three of which came by single digits, including an 80-78 finale from Kenyon Court to complete last year’s four-game sweep for the Dinos.

— Jack Pengelly

WRESTLING: Dinos take to the mats at CW Championships

The Dinos descend on Edmonton on Saturday to battle for conference supremacy at the 2023 Canada West Wrestling Championships.

In dual-meet format, the Dinos will start the competition against the Alberta Golden Bears and the Pandas at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Saskatchewan Huskies at 1:30 p.m.

Last year’s conference wrestling meet was held in Saskatoon where Calgary won a trio of gold medals. Eilidh Wist was the headliner, winning at 67kg in her first year and earning Canada West Rookie of the Year. Also topping the podium were seniors Grace Chambers (56kg) and Emmanuel Olapade (68kg).

The Dinos women’s wrestling team is the all-time leader with 11 conference titles. Their most recent Canada West championship came at home in 2020. Ellise Daynes, Grave Lew, and Miki Rowbottom all won gold medals that year and are set to compete in 2023.

Calgary last saw action on Jan. 13-14 when the teams travelled to Edmonton for the Alberta-hosted duals and invitational. It was a particularly strong tournament for the Dinos men who finished first with 50 team points, led by Vincent Gov at 57kg. Erin Geddie (82kg), Lew (56kg), and Rowbottom (63kg) won their categories on the women’s side.

Joseph DeMaio is in his second year of study at UCalgary but will be competing at his first CW Championship this weekend. Contending at 100kg, DeMaio was named the conference men’s wrestler of the week after winning his weight class at the Huskies’ home meet in November. DeMaio finished second at the Alberta meet in January.

This fall two wrestlers were inducted into the Dinos Hall of Fame. Justine Bouchard was the first female wrestler to enter the hall. She won three national championships to go with four Canada West titles. In all, the three-time All-Canadian was a perfect 10-for-10 in claiming medals at conference and national meets. Joining her was Peter Guterson who won a national championship as a rookie in 1981. He would go on to claim two more medals at national championships, including another gold in 1986, to go with multiple Canada West medals in that same period.

The action will be streamed live on Canada West TV.

— Postmedia news services

HOME EVENTS

Women’s Basketball (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 6 p.m., Jack Simpson Gym

Saturday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 4 p.m., Jack Simpson Gym

Men’s Basketball (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 8 p.m., Jack Simpson Gym

Saturday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 6 p.m., Jack Simpson Gym

Women’s Hockey (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos vs. MacEwan, 7 p.m., Father David Bauer Arena

Men’s Hockey (Canada West)

Saturday: Dinos vs. MacEwan, 6 p.m., Father David Bauer Arena 

AWAY EVENTS

Wrestling (Canada West)

Saturday: Dinos at Canada West Championships, 11 a.m., Main Gymnasium (Alberta)

Men’s Hockey (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos at MacEwan, 7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena

Women’s Hockey (Canada West)

Saturday: Dinos at MacEwan, 5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena

Track & Field (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos at Pandas Open, 4 p.m., Butterdome

Saturday: Dinos at Pandas Open, 12 p.m., Butterdome 

Women’s Rugby 7’s (Canada West)

Saturday: Dinos vs. Alberta, 11:52 a.m. MT, Wallace Field

Saturday: Dinos at Victoria, 2:29 p.m. MT, Wallace Field

Saturday: Dinos vs. Lethbridge, 4:44 p.m. MT, Wallace Field

Sunday: Dinos vs. Trinity Western, 12:22 p.m. MT, Wallace Field

Sunday: Dinos vs. UBC, 3:16 p.m. MT, Wallace Field

Women’s Volleyball (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos at Saskatchewan, 5 p.m. MT, Physical Activity Complex

Saturday: Dinos at Saskatchewan, 2 p.m. MT, Physical Activity Complex

Men’s Volleyball (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos at Saskatchewan, 7 p.m. MT, Physical Activity Complex

Saturday: Dinos at Saskatchewan, 4 p.m. MT, Physical Activity Complex

Women’s Hockey (Canada West)

Friday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 4 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome

Saturday: Dinos vs. Mount Royal, 6 p.m., Father David Bauer Arena