BOX SCORE

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos captured the season series with their archrivals, the Alberta Pandas, for the first time in program history Saturday night – and they did it in dramatic fashion, scoring a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win at Father David Bauer Arena.

Four minutes into overtime, Jenna Smith finally converted after furious Calgary pressure throughout the extra session hemmed the Pandas in their own zone. Smith's OT winner, her first goal of the season, improved Calgary's record to 10-4-0 on the season, within striking distance of the conference leaders with the Dinos holding two games in hand. Alberta falls to 8-2-6 after dropping their sixth overtime decision of the year.

Trailing 4-2 with less than three minutes to play, Hayley Wickenheiser sparked the comeback on the power play, her second of the night that deflected off a Panda's skate past Alberta netminder Michala Jeffries. Just seconds later, however, the Dinos took a penalty – their 12th infraction of the night – and with 2:19 to play it looked as if the Pandas would be able to ride the man advantage to the victory.

And that's when Stephanie Ramsay took over. With Calgary's Kira Sonnenberg out of the penalty box for just five seconds and with just 13.4 ticks left on the clock, Ramsay – the former Panda star – stickhandled into the Alberta zone, moved smoothly around a couple of defenders, and out-waited Jeffries before sliding the puck into a wide open cage while flying through the air Bobby Orr-style. The spectacular tally was also the second of the night for Ramsay, and it set the stage for Smith's OT heroics.

“We talked about it between the second and third, that we can't be afraid to lose the game,” said Dinos head coach Danielle Goyette. “We didn't quit until we heard the buzzer, and that gave us a chance to win, and we just needed one shot to go in to have a chance.

“Stephanie made an amazing move and showed great patience on her goal,” said Goyette. “When you have players like that who want to win so badly, it rubs off on the rest of the team.” Goyette paused, then, laughing, said, “But that was a pretty good goal. I can't wait to see it again on video.”

The Pandas opened the scoring at the 10:25 mark of the opening period on Katie Stewart's first of the game. On the play, Stewart came down the right wing and speared the puck toward the Calgary goal. Dinos netminder Amanda Tapp and the puck both went sliding into the net, giving the Pandas the early lead on just their third shot of the game. Sarah Hilworth made it 2-0 for the Pandas midway through the second period on a nice tip-in from the slot with the Dinos caught running around in their own zone just over a minute after Jeffries had denied Wickenheiser on a penalty shot opportunity.

Ramsay stemmed the tide at the 13:12 mark of the second with a shot from the point that deflected in on the power play to make it 2-1. On a power play of their own just two minutes later, however, the Pandas regained the two-goal cushion on Hilworth's second of the night.

Wickenheiser scored shorthanded in the final minute of the second to bring the Dinos within one after 40 minutes, while Stewart's second of the night at 11:19 of the third gave the Pandas a 4-2 lead.

Alberta went 2-for-12 on the power play on the night, with Calgary also scoring a pair of goals on six opportunities with the man advantage. The Dinos outshot the Pandas 39-32 on the night, including 8-4 in the overtime period, with Wickenheiser firing 12 shots toward Jeffries.

Tapp stopped 28 shots to earn the win, while Jeffries made 34 saves in a losing cause for the Pandas.

The season series, which goes to the Dinos with a 3-1 record against their provincial rivals, is another important stepping stone in the development of the University of Calgary's women's hockey program in just its third year back in CIS competition after an extended absence.

"We know it's a big rivalry, and it's always going to be a battle when we play them," said Goyette. "We're still a young program in CIS and to improve, we need to be successful against good teams - and I think we've proven that this year we can compete against the best teams. Last night we didn't show up as a team, and against a team like Alberta if you don't battle for three periods you don't have a chance to win. Tonight, credit to the players - they battled all night."

Alberta returns home for a two-game series against first place Saskatchewan next weekend, while the Dinos play a home-and-home series with the Lethbridge Pronghorns, beginning Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

-UC-