CALGARY – The University of Calgary women are battling for their playoff lives this weekend, while the men's team battle for seeding with a playoff berth already clinched.

The Dinos women took care of business on the West Varsity Pitch this past weekend, beating the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 before getting a huge break in the final minutes to tie the formerly no.1 ranked Alberta Pandas 1-1.

However the Dinos didn't get much help in the standings, where they currently sit in sixth place, albeit just one point out of fourth. This ensures that Calgary cannot back into the playoffs without a point this weekend; they must go for all-out for the victories.

Calgary will travel west to take on the Fraser Valley Cascades and the Victoria Vikes on Saturday and Sunday respectively, with the Fraser Valley game taking on the most significance in the Dinos' playoff push. The Cascades are currently tied for fourth with the Saskatchewan Huskies, one point up on Calgary. For the Dinos to leapfrog the Abbotsford-based squad, an outright win is the only feasible option in order to control their own destiny.

The Huskies, on the other hand, are playing host to the second and third best teams in Canada West this weekend, which could play well into Calgary's hands. If the Dinos can win both of their games on the West Coast, it would put Saskatchewan in the pressure packed position of winning both of their games in order to remain one point ahead of Calgary.

Calgary already owns the tiebreaker in the standings with Saskatchewan thanks to their big win this past Saturday, and would own the tiebreaker as well with the Cascades should they defeat them this weekend. While no-one on the Dinos hopes to be mired in a tie-breaking situation at the end of the weekend, it is a nice cushion nonetheless.

Forward Tessa Miller is currently tied for first in the conference in total points after a two-point effort on Saturday afternoon against the Huskies, and leads the Dinos front line. Her partner in crime, Morena Ianniello, finally broke out of her goal-scoring slump in the most dramatic of ways, deflecting a long shot in off of an Alberta defender on Sunday to salvage the tie for Calgary.

Ellen Kuyer and Megan Webster lead the Cascades attack with five and four goals respectively, while Jaclyn Sawicki stands out for Victoria, herself with four goals.

Shortly after their biggest victory of the season against Alberta, the Calgary men (7-3-2) received more good news when the previously 1-9-1 Victoria Vikes suddenly found their offence in a 5-4 upset of the Trinity Western Spartans.

The help from Victoria solidified a playoff berth for Calgary, as neither Trinity Western or Saskatchewan can collect more than four points in the standings this weekend because of their head-to-head matchup in Saskatoon.

Calgary, whose last Canada West playoff appearance came in 2006, can now breathe easier with knowledge that they are only playing for playoff positioning, with third looking to be the most likely spot for the Dinos.

Currently in third place, if Calgary wins both of their games this weekend against Fraser Valley and Victoria, teams they beat at home to start their season, it would leave them at 29 points in the standings.

With Alberta sitting at 30, Calgary cannot finish in first, but can finish in second should they go undefeated and UBC be held to two points or less in their prairie road swing against Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Dinos would finish in fourth if they were swept on the west coast and Saskatchewan collected four or more points.

Forward Brett Howard came out of his slump in a big way on the weekend, scoring twice against Saskatchewan and once against Alberta, which should bode well for Calgary moving ahead. Izak Lawrence, with two assists against the Golden Bears, sits tied for second in points in Canada West at 11.

Fraser Valley relies on Sasa Plavsic, who is tied for eighth in Canada West with eight points, while Victoria is lead by Andrew Ravenhill, who scored twice in their upset of the Spartans.

-UC-