CALGARY – In what was supposed to be a weekend of separation, the picture in the Canada West standings only got more muddled last week – making this weekend's two-game tilt between the Calgary Dinos and the Alberta Golden Bears all the more intense with both squads looking to clear the air.

Just our points separate second and sixth place, with Calgary tied for third with the Manitoba Bisons. Alberta leads the league by six points, while seventh-place Regina trails their opponents by the same margin.

The Dinos, after a dominating 7-2 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds last Friday, looked the part of not only a playoff contender, but a dark-horse to challenge the Bears' recent supremacy as Canada West champions.

Goaltender Dustin Butler was snuffing out quality scoring chances in every which way, enjoying the best save percentage in the nation; newcomer Walker Wintoneak was destroying teams with opportunistic scoring and deft passing; and secondary scorers Tyler Swystun and Kodie Curran were heating up nicely, taking much needed pressure off of Calgary's top lines.

However the Dinos couldn't keep it up on Saturday, skating sluggish out of the gate against the 'Birds, giving up 12-shot and two-goal advantages in the opening frame in the process. Calgary lost the game 5-3, with only Wintoneak managing to keep up his hot streak with two goals.

The Dinos have no choice but to shake Saturday's loss off and consider it just a blip on their radar. Their all-around offensive potential with the addition of Wintoneak and Aaron Richards indeed remains an unsettling one for Canada West opponents, and Butler still sits as the top goaltender in the conference. Focus for Calgary now lies solely on an enormous opportunity to take advantage of a daunting but suddenly shaky opponent in the Alberta Golden Bears.

This past weekend the Bears had quite the battle with the Lethbridge Pronghorns, who in the comforts of their own rink gave the formerly No. 2-ranked team fits in two polar-opposite games.

Friday's game was a track meet in which the Bears had to overcome a 5-2 deficit and answer a late 8-7 difference in the third period to force overtime. Sean Ringrose would eventually end the insanity, giving the Bears the unconventional 9-8 victory.

Defying normal sporting conventions, the Pronghorns came out on Saturday with conviction after the spirit-crushing loss, defeating the Bears in a comparative snoozer by a score of 4-2.

Alberta's battle with Lethbridge gives Calgary hope, who has struggled with the Bears – winners of the past three Canada West titles. While Alberta can certainly score at will, strong offensive teams like the Dinos have the potential to stay with the Bears, whose goaltenders Real Cyr and Kurtis Mucha have struggled to meet the standard of years past in the provincial capital.

Calgary is 0-3-1 against Alberta this season and generally has had a miserable time at the Clare Drake Arena, where they are 0-11-0 in the past three years. Calgary does sport a more respectable 2-2-2 record at home against the Bears in that same time frame.

Chad Klassen and Derek Ryan sit far away from the conference scoring pack, each with 39 and 36 points respectively, while Reid Jorgensen is right in the thick of the list's second tier with 20 points to his name.

The first game of the home-and-home series goes in Edmonton on Friday, while the hosting favour will be returned by Calgary on Saturday. Following the weekend, Alberta will take a break, while Calgary will head to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatchewan Huskies.

-UC-