CALGARY – Freshman forward Brock Nixon scored the lone goal of a five-round shootout as the University of Calgary Dinos came from behind to defeat the Regina Cougars 4-3 Saturday night at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.
The fifth Calgary shooter, Nixon beat Regina netminder Brant Hilton to the blocker side and Dustin Butler stopped all five Cougars in the shootout to give the Dinos a two-game sweep of Regina, their first of the season.
Nixon's heroics cam after a late tying goal by the Dinos, who played from behind for most of the game and were continually frustrated by an aggressive Regina forecheck as the Cougars played a textbook road game.
“They played their game tonight, and we fell into it,” said Calgary coach Scott Atkinson, who saw his team improve to 4-2-0 with the win. “They blocked a lot of passing lanes and we tried to force the play. When there was a deflection off a skate or a stick, we would get frustrated and quit moving our feet, and all of their chances came out of transition.”
Regina jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Dustin Bru and Dylan Chapman. Bru's came just as a Calgary penalty expired, while Chapman sent a blistering shot off Butler's glove and into the open cage.
Calgary tied it up with two goals just over four minutes apart in the second period. Brett O'Malley notched the first as he stickhandled past a Regina defender, then past a sprawling Hilton to deposit the puck in the net. O'Malley drew the assist on the second Calgary goal, winning a face-off back to Gary Sylvester, whose quick shot fooled Hilton five hole to tie the game at 2-2.
The Cougars took another lead midway through the third when Shayne Emmons' bad angle shot on the power play ricocheted off a skate in front and past Butler.
With less than four minutes to go, Regina defenceman Russ Nielsen's stick got up into the face of O'Malley, drawing blood and sending the Cougars blueliner off with a double minor. On the ensuing power play, Teegan Moore deflected a Tommy Mannino slapper past Hilton at 17:26 of the third, sending the game to overtime.
Regina carried the play in the extra period with five shots on goal, most of which came on a power play with Calgary's Logan Gorsalitz off for hooking. The Dinos were able to kill off the minor, setting the stage for the shootout.
With eight unsuccessful shooters having tried before him, Nixon was the lone man able to beat the two goaltenders, both of whom were solid in the shootout.
The loss drops Regina to 3-3-2 on the season, while the sweep vaults Calgary all the way from sixth place to second in the conference, five points behind Saskatchewan with four games in hand.
The Dinos will face off head-to-head with the Huskies next weekend as they travel to Saskatoon for a two-game series, while Regina makes its second straight trip west to face the Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton.
-UC-
Regina 3 at Calgary 4 (SO) - Status: Final
Oct 25, 2008 - Father David Bauer Arena
1st Period
Scoring - 1. Regina, D. Bru (3) (T. Shultz, R. Sawka) 5:59
2. Regina, D. Chapman (4) (K. Ross) 12:34 PP
Penalties - C. Senkow Cgy (hooking) 3:49, J. Preston Reg (interference) 9:03, T. Wheat Cgy (head butting, head butting) 9:44, G. Sylvester Cgy (elbowing) 16:37, J. Eisenkirch Cgy (roughing, 10-minute misconduct) 18:04, N. Kodman Reg (hooking) 19:16
2nd Period
Scoring - 3. Calgary, B. O'Malley (4) (T. Friedley, G. Sylvester) 8:13
4. Calgary, G. Sylvester (1) (B. O'Malley) 12:20
Penalties - L. Gorsalitz Cgy (hooking) 5:53, R. Sawka Reg (hooking) 9:39, B. Nixon Cgy (hooking) 15:20, R. Cruse Reg (holding) 15:32
3rd Period
Scoring - 5. Regina, S. Emmons (1) (D. Chapman, R. Cruse) 7:04 PP
6. Calgary, T. Moore (3) (T. Mannino, K. Annesley) 17:26 PP
Penalties - R. Nielsen Reg (hooking) 2:01, K. Annesley Cgy (hooking) 5:52, T. Friedley Cgy (hooking) 6:23, J. Eisenkirch Cgy (roughing) 8:43, C. Pearpoint Reg (high sticking, high sticking) 16:15
1st OT Period
Scoring - No Scoring
Penalties - L. Gorsalitz Cgy (hooking) 3:06
Shootout
Round 1 - Cgy - Kyle Annesley - No
Round 1 - Reg - Dylan Chapman - No
Round 2 - Cgy - Brett O'Malley - No
Round 2 - Reg - Kyle Ross - No
Round 3 - Cgy - Reid Jorgensen - No
Round 3 - Reg - Matt Rintoul - No
Round 4 - Cgy - Torrie Wheat - No
Round 4 - Reg - Laurent Benjamin - No
Round 5 - Cgy - Brock Nixon - Yes
Round 5 - Reg - Dan Bohemier - No
Reg Shots: 10 12 8 5 0 TOTAL: 35
Cgy Shots: 8 9 9 1 1 TOTAL: 28
Power Play Conversion
Regina 2-11. Calgary 1-7.
Goaltenders
Regina
Hilton 1-1-0-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 64:06 SV: 24 GA: 3 [SL]
Ward 2-2-0-0 Start: 3rd 11:57 Min: 0:54 SV: 0 GA: 0
Calgary
Butler 2-1-0-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 65:00 SV: 32 GA: 3 [W]
Start : 7:03 PM
End : 9:39 PM
Attendance : 195
Referee I: Ryan Thompson
LINESMAN I: Tyler Adair
LINESMAN II: Steve Cochrane
