CALGARY – It has been all down hill for the University of Calgary Dinos in their first season back in Canada West. After opening the season with an inspired 3-1 road win at UBC, the Dinos have dropped their last 13 straight and sit 12 points back of the fourth and final playoff spot with 10 games remaining – a daunting task.

The schedule has certainly not been in Calgary's favour during this stretch. Their home action has come against the top three teams in the conference in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta – all ranked in the CIS Top 10 this week – while they've also faced the Huskies and Pandas on the road. Perhaps the most disappointing losses came at the hands of the Regina Cougars by 1-0 and 5-2 scores Nov. 20-21 in the Queen's City, and the Dinos will have the opportunity to right the ship and make amends when the Cougars visit for a two-game set this weekend.

Next weekend's trip to Manitoba will be the Dinos' last games of the season against a team with a record currently above .500 – so the teams Calgary has to catch are the ones the Dinos are going to play to close out the year.

Regina enters the weekend with a 5-5-4 record and 14 points, currently holding down the final post-season spot in Canada West.

The Dinos' last four games have all featured the same opponent – undefeated and No. 3-ranked Alberta. While the result was the same in all four meetings, a Pandas victory, Calgary showed signs it can compete with the top teams. Head coach Danielle Goyette raved about her team's performance in a 2-0 loss Nov. 28 to close the semester, while Calgary's goaltending was spectacular in last weekend's losses of 2-1 and 6-1.

Jennifer Mallard made 29 saves on 31 shots, including 19 in the second period, of Friday's 2-1 game, while Katie Urness was solid for the first 40 minutes of Saturday night's contest in Edmonton before the high-octane Pandas exploded for three goals in the first 4:17 of the third period. The 6-1 final score was not indicative of the contest, as the Dinos held their own with the Pandas for 40 minutes, scoring first and taking a 1-1 tie into the third period. For her efforts, Mallard moved into fifth place among the conference's goaltending leaders with her .901 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against average.

Offence has been the struggle for Calgary all season, and last weekend was no exception. Friday night the Dinos were awarded 10 power play opportunities but converted just one of them. Calgary has scored on just 5.3 per cent of its power play chances with four goals on 76 tries, while the penalty killing hasn't been much better in giving up 22 goals on 72 situations (69.4 per cent).

Elana Lovell and Danielle Boyce remain tied for the team lead with six points apiece heading into the Regina series, with four players tied with four points each.

The Cougars are led by Kelsie Graham's 10 points, while Rianne Wight has chipped in nine and sniper Kelcie McCutcheon seven, five of them goals. The Cougars' 'keeper, Lisa Urban, is one of the best in the league and has earned the decision in every game Regina has played this season. Her save percentage is an impressive .923.

As mentioned, the Dinos fly to Winnipeg next week to face the high-flying Manitoba Bisons before closing the season with two home-and-home series against Lethbridge with a two-game home set against UBC sandwiched in between.

-UC-