CALGARY - With the first half of the season in the books the Calgary Dinos women's hockey team will try to do more of the same things that have brought them near the top of Canada West as they play host to the Regina Cougars this weekend.

Currently the Dinos sit in the third spot in Canada West with a 7-4-0 record after heading to two extra-time contests against Manitoba two weeks ago in their last action. The last six games have been against the teams that have risen to the top of Canada West, and in those games the Dinos have gone 3-3-1.

Most notable among those wins are a pair of back-to-back victories over the Alberta Pandas, the first win over their provincial rivals in 11 years. Following those victories the Dinos went on the road to Saskatchewan and were put-down by the Huskies 3-1 and 4-3.

Regina enters this week with a 5-5-2 record after starting strong before struggling recently. Their last series was against Lethbridge where both teams walked away with an overtime win with Lethbridge taking the first game 3-4  and Regina responding with a  6-5 win. Prior to that win the Cougars were struggling to break a five game losing streak that saw them beaten soundly in series' against Manitoba and Alberta.

The last time these teams met was the opening weekend of the season in Regina where the teams split the series with Calgary taking game one in a 4-3 decision while Regina evened the series with a 2-1 win the following night.

The Dinos enter this weekend with a huge boost to their offence as Hayley Wickenheiser returns to the lineup after winning the Four Nations Cup with team Canada. Despite being away for the last four games Wickenheiser is still at the top of the Canada West scoring race with nineteen points.

Alongside her impressive production comes the totals of third year striker Elana Lovell who has notched 11 points in 12 games, five of them goals.

Fellow third year Melissa Zubick, an assistant captain and defender, rounds out the Dinos top scorers with her seven assists this season.

Also impressing is the trio of rookie forwards that joined the team this season who have all contributed five points to the team this campaign. The goal-scorer among those is Erika Mitschke who has four goals and an assist including the game winning goal that ended the overtime against Manitoba the last time the Dinos took to the ice.

Jenna Smith and Chelsea Peterson round out the trio with contributions of two goals and three assists each.

In net the Dinos chose to split the load between Jennifer Mallard and Amanda Tapp with both goalies putting in overtime-worthy performances two weeks ago. The last time she played, Mallard turned away 27 pucks in the shootout loss to Manitoba. So far this season she has posted a 2.14 GAA and a 0.909 save percentage in two games.

Tapp's effort in the Dinos last game earned the team an overtime win after she turned away 31 shots to keep her team in the game. So far this season Tapp has posted a 1.67 GAA and a.932 save percentage in 10 outings. Tapp is also currently tied for the most shutouts in Canada West with three perfect games. Only Manitoba's Tara Lacquette can claim the same feat halfway through the year.

Regina enters the game with three players that stand out as offensive threats: Rianne Wight, Paige Wheeler and Kelcie McCutcheon. Wight, a third year striker, leads the team in goals and points after lighting the lamp 12 times and assisting on four more. Wheeler, a fellow third year, is one point behind her on the stat sheet with her 15 points coming from six goals and nine assists. McCutcheon, one of two fifth year players on the Cougars roster, comes in behind those two with 11 points in the 12 game-old season, two goals and nine assists.

In net the Cougars have been relying on fourth year netminder Lisa Urban for most of their games. So far this year Urban has stopped 314 pucks on route to a 4.00 GAA and a.870 save percentage.

-UC-