CALGARY - The Calgary Dinos women's hockey team will face the University of Manitoba Bisons this weekend in their last series before the squad heads into semester break, and the Dinos will have a little extra motivation this week as they face the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year.

Up first for the Dinos, however, is a unique opportunity – they'll take on the Russian senior national team Thursday night in an exhibition contest at the new Athletics and Ice Centre at Canada Olympic Park, the first of two tilts between the Dinos and Team Russia. The second goes next Friday, Dec. 2.

It'll be a unique experience for several Dinos, including second-year forward Iya Gavrilova – a member of the Russian national team who will be playing for Russia and taking on her own team in the exhibition tilt. And Dinos star forward Hayley Wickenheiser, no stranger to international play herself, is expected to play as well.

Following that, the Dinos get back to business Friday night as they host the Manitoba Bisons in what has developed into one of the most intense rivalries in Canada West in just two short years, with Manitoba knocking Calgary out of the playoffs in 2010-11.

Last weekend the Dinos travelled to Saskatoon to face the Huskies in a two game set. The Dinos split the series against the Huskies, falling to the home team 5-3 Friday night. The following evening the Dinos notched their eighth win of the season beating the Huskies 6-2. The Dinos sit at 8-2-0 on the year, tied at the top of Canada West standings with 16 points. Calgary boasts an impressive .800 win percentage, and the CIS Top 10 rankings have the Dinos ranked No. 3 in the nation.

The Dinos' only losses come against the Huskies and Lethbridge Pronghorns, while key wins for the Dinos have come in series sweeps against the Alberta Pandas, UBC Thunderbirds and the Regina Cougars. Home ice has proved to be a definite advantage for the Dinos as the team has an impressive 6-0 record at their new home at Father David Bauer.

Manitoba holds a 5-3-2 record and sits in fourth place in the Canada West. The Bisons are coming off a series sweep of the UBC Thunderbirds beating the Thunderbirds 5-0 Friday night and 8-1 Saturday. The Bisons have turned their season around after being dealt three straight losses at the beginning of the year, going 4-1 in their last five conference games. Manitoba is currently on a three-game win streak with a 3-1 road victory against the Lethbridge Pronghorns Nov. 12 starting it off.

The top two scorers in the Canada West both are members of the Dinos squad. Elana Lovell leads the league with 11 goals and six assists, and the fourth-year forward also has an impressive +11 rating. Second-year forward Iya Gavrilova is right behind Lovell in scoring with 14 points coming from eight goals and six assists. The Dinos also hold the top scoring defenseman in the league in Stephanie Ramsay, who has three goals and eight assists on the year along with a +10 rating.

Fourth year forward Nellie Minshull leads the Bisons in scoring with 6 goals and 6 assists. Bison forwards Maggie Litchfield-Medd and Meagan Vestby have also been top scorers for Manitoba, with Medd garnishing 10 points off seven goals and three assists and Vestby with seven points.

Dinos goalie Amanda Tapp has had a strong first half of the year. Tapp boasts an impressive.929 save percentage and 1.32 GAA. Jennifer Mallard has been solid in a backup role for the Dinos; she has played in two games and holds a.889 save percentage and 1.80 GAA.

The Manitoba Bisons have been relying on dual goalies this season with Tara Lacquette and Leiette Klassen splitting the load. Lacquette has appeared in four games holding a .922 save percentage and 3 wins on the year. Rookie goalie Klassen has a .892 save percentage and 2.59 GAA in 6 games.

After this weekend's series the Bisons will hit the road again to face the Alberta Pandas before they head into the semester break. The next regular season game for the Dinos will not come until Jan. 6, 2012 when they will face their provincial rival Pandas in a home and home series.

-UC-