CALGARY – With a great burst of energy to start the game, and a gutsy effort to finish it, the University of Calgary Dinos are headed to the Canada West Finals and the University Cup with a 4-1 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies, winning the deciding game of the best-of-three semifinal series.
BOXSCORE
The victory assures the Dinos a berth at the University Cup on March 24-27 in Fredericton, N.B., and a chance to win the conference crown next weekend in Edmonton against the Alberta Golden Bears. The Bears defeated the Manitoba Bisons in straight games in their semi-final series, and are looking to make it four Canada West titles in a row against Calgary next weekend.
It marks the first time since 1996 that the Dinos have gone to the Canada West championship, a series in which they defeated the Alberta Golden Bears to advance to the University Cup. Calgary had another shot at the national tournament in 2000 as a wild-card entry, but has not been since. The Dinos have no CIS banners to their credit in their history, and are 7-13 all-time at the national stage.
Jevon Desautels scored the game-winning goal midway through the first period on a nifty move to get it onto teammate's Matt Isbister's stick. Banging home Isbister's subsequent rebound, the fifth-year scored his second goal of the playoffs from his spot on the fourth line, making it 2-0 Dinos, which would be all they would need.
Brock Nixon was sensational all night long, using his speed to generate chances, blocking shots and feeding his teammates. Kodie Curran's game-opening goal was a result of a well-timed pass from Nixon to get the rookie defenceman open, while Aaron Richards was the beneficiary of another Nixon pass in a remarkably similar play midway through the third. Both goals were on the man-advantage, where Calgary was two for four.
Walker Wintoneak iced the game with one of the more exciting empty-net goals in recent memory at Father David Bauer. With the Huskies pressing hard down two, the puck was turned over in the neutral zone and trickled slowly over the blue-line towards the empty Saskatchewan net.
The closest players to the puck, Wintoneak and Saskatchewan defenceman Jason Wagar, both knew what was at stake, and each lunged for the puck. Wintoneak got to it first by sprawling out on to the ice, pushing it into the net for the late 4-1 advantage which sparked mayhem both on the Calgary bench and in the stands.
Dustin Butler was rock-solid, stopping 32 shots with just one goal against. Kyle Ross beat him for the fourth time in the postseason for the lone Huskies goal of the game, batting in his own rebound. David Reekie made 20 saves in the loss.
Head Coach Mark Howell commented on the big win, and looked ahead to the Canada West finals.
“I thought we came out with great energy, we were excited to make amends for last night,” said Howell. “We had waves throughout the game, but to win in the playoffs you need great goaltending, and Butler was phenomenal for us.
“The boys do know they get to go to Nationals, but it's not just about going to the dance,” said Howell. “They want a trophy, and they want to go in as Canada West Champions. We'll be ready to go and energized when we get up to Edmonton.”
With the loss, the Canada West season is now finished for the Saskatchewan Huskies despite a 17-11-0 record and a third place finish in Canada West. It also marks the last game for fifth year forward Jason Wagar.
The Calgary Dinos, on the other hand, will now pack their bags for Edmonton next weekend, where they will tangle with the three-time defending Canada West champion Alberta Golden Bears for the conference crown. Games will be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary), with 7:30 p.m. start times. The result of the series will not only determine a conference champion, but will help sort out seeding at the University Cup.
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