EDMONTON - After enduring a shootout loss the night before in Calgary, the University of Alberta Golden Bears completely turned the tables on the University of Calgary Dinos this evening, handing them a 9-2 loss at Clare Drake Arena, Saturday night in Edmonton.

BOX SCORE
 
“Last night, I thought we worked hard,” commented Alberta head coach Eric Thurston.  “We controlled the play for 45-50 minutes, we just weren't able to close it out.  I was pleased tonight with our work ethic and the way we were able to get pucks to the net and get bodies to the net.”
 
The Bears pounced early in the game as Jason Fransoo (3rd, North Battleford, SK) threw the puck on net, which then ricocheted off of Chad Klassen (4th, Saskatoon, SK) and dribbled over the goal line just 1:14 into the game.

The Bears continued to press for the rest of the period, outshooting the Dinos 14-7 while getting goals from Ian McDonald (4th, Edmonton, AB) as well as rearguards Mark Ashton (3rd, Fort Saskatchewan, AB), and Reade Wolansky (2nd, St. Albert, AB).  McDonald's goal, his first of the season in conference play, persuaded the Calgary coaching staff to switch from Dustin Butler (2nd, Calgary, AB) to veteran goaltender Jeff Weber (5th, Ottawa, ON).

“It was disheartening the way we started,” lamented Calgary head coach Mark Howell.  “Our guys have to take pride in the little things and, tonight, it was evident on the first two goals that we weren't ready to play.”

Former Kalamazoo Wing Derek Ryan (3rd, Spokane, WA) continued the onslaught early in the second when a point shot by Wolansky caromed off of the forward and into the net just 1:17 into the middle frame.

The Dinos seemed to be no match for the high-flying Bears, literally in the case of McDonald who experienced an end-over-end hipcheck just inside the Dinos zone, courtesy of rookie Mark Stojan (1st, Grande Prairie, AB).

Then the game came to a grinding halt.

With 10:24 left in the second stanza, Calgary Dino Tyler Swystun (1st, Cochrane, AB) got checked awkwardly into the boards by Tyler Metcalfe (5th, Headingley, MB), forcing Metcalfe to be ejected from the game while Swystun left on a stretcher for precautionary measures and was rushed to hospital immediately.

“He had some tingling in his legs and arms, but that is all we know right now,” commented Howell.

“Everybody's gut on the bench was in a knot,” relayed Thurston.  “You see things like that happen on TV, and the players realize how fragile things can be, but you still have a job to do.”

Teegan Moore (3rd, Thompson, MB) would break the Alberta shutout on the corresponding boarding major that Metcalfe received, but Alberta would kill off the rest of the power-play.

“Greg Gardner (2nd, Cold Lake, AB) was very vocal and helping guys stay focused.  I didn't have to say anything.  The guys were focused and we knew we had to kill off that five-minute major and get back to work.  They got the one, but we stayed the course.”

Despite being outshot 9-11 in the final frame, the Bears would outscore Calgary 4-1, getting goals from Brian Woolger (4th, Edmonton, AB), Jesse Gimblett (4th, Newtonville, ON), and Mike MacAngus (1st, Edmonton, AB) before McDonald got his second of the night to finish off the busy night on the scoresheet. 

Most of the Alberta's nine goals came off of deflections or rebounds right in front of the net, making it harder for the Calgary goaltending tandem to do their job.

“We work on that a lot…staying in front of the net.  We have to play in those gritty areas.  If you just play outside the dots, you won't get rewarded.  We have guys on our team up front who may not be all that big, but they go to those high traffic areas.”

Reid Jorgensen (3rd, Vancouver, BC) scored Calgary's second goal and the Dinos went 1 for 5 on the power-play.  The Bears went 2 for 8 and outshot the opposition 33-26.

Alberta will take the bye next weekend before hosting the Saskatchewan Huskies on Oct. 23-24.  Calgary will take part in a home-and-home series with another provincial rival, the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

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