CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team had its unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday night following a hard fought 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Mount Royal College Cougars. The Dinos split the series due to a 4-1 victory on Friday night against their cross-town rivals.
Danielle Boyce, who was responsible for the lone Dino goal, commented after the game, ”It's hard to swallow when you lose a game and you know you played better.”
All of the scoring occurred in the first period starting when Boyce intercepted a clearing attempt by the Mount Royal defence; unopposed and in front of the net she easily slapped the puck in to put the Dinos on the board just 39 seconds into the game.
The lead wasn't to last though as Mount Royal scored their own marker a minute and a half later; that goal was attributed to Sash Hochlander who got a stick on the puck during a scrum in front of the Dinos net.
The game winner was scored in the same way as the initial goal after Heather Gaska stole a Dino clearing attempt and fired it past rookie goalie Nikki Love.
Love, playing in her first university level competition, stopped 19 of the 21 shots that flew her way; following the game she commented on her experience. “It's great to play but nicer when everything works out. [We have to learn] to go hard every period, we lost the game mainly due to that period.”
At the other end of the rink Mount Royal goalkeeper Sarah Oswald turned away 28 shots, half of which flew during an inspired offensive effort during the second period by the Dinos.
The powerplay was ineffective for both teams despite both teams having four chances with the man advantage. This is a recurring trend with the Dinos who are 100% on their penalty kill to date, unfortunately they have been unable to convert on their own advantages scoring just two goals on the powerplay so far this season.
The Olympic Oval ice has also been a puzzle the Dinos have yet to solve, scoring three goals in three games so far at home. Boyce commented on the larger ice surface after the game, ”it's not harder to play on the ice, we have the advantage because we practice on it, we are a quick team, we use that to our advantage (on smaller rinks).”
With their unbeaten streak ended the Dinos will look to their next opponent, the MacEwan college Griffins. The Griffins were responsible for defeating the Dinos in the finals last season, relegating the University team to silver. The Dinos will be looking for payback as they face-off in Edmonton on Nov. 9. The series will conclude the following weekend with a Nov. 15 matchup at the Olympic Oval and a 7:30 p.m. start time.
-UC-
