CALGARY – With a three-point lead over Regina for top spot in the Canada West standings, the No. 2 University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team will look to maintain or extend that heading into the Christmas break as they wrap up an arduous first-half schedule with a home-and-home series against Lethbridge this weekend.
The set opens Friday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena in Lethbridge with a 7 p.m. puck drop, followed by a 6 p.m. start Saturday back home at Father David Bauer Arena. Both games will be streamed live on cgy.CanadaWest.tv.
The Dinos started the season with a 5-0-1 record in their first six games – and haven't had a full line-up since. With
Hayley Wickenheiser and
Iya Gavrilova both missing games due to their respective national team commitments and the injury bug starting to bite late in the season, Calgary has gutted out some tough games – and managed to go 6-2 with a depleted lineup.
Most recently, the Dinos picked up two key victories against Mount Royal in their first-ever CIS match-up last weekend. A 3-1 victory Thursday was followed by a tight 1-0 win last Friday. And with three of their four out-of-province road trips already behind them, the Dinos hope that the sweep of the Cougars will spark a solid run through the end of the regular season – with only two of their final 16 games outside the province of Alberta.
“We played better in the 1-0 game last week than we did in the 3-1 game,” said head coach
Danielle Goyette. “We had 11 power play chances and only scored on one of them, but it's not like the chances weren't there.
“We know Lethbridge has struggled lately, but we know that every time we face a team this year they're going to be ready to play us. We had some trouble with them the first week of the season, and we can't take anybody for granted. After 12 games, we haven't had a single easy game this year – and that's not going to change this weekend.”
The 'Horns head into the weekend holding down the final playoff spot in the conference by just a single point, one ahead of Saskatchewan and only two in front of last-place Manitoba. With a 5-6-3 record, Lethbridge has had some success against top teams in the conference, splitting with Alberta, UBC, and Regina. Most recently, the Horns came out of a home set with Saskatchewan with a 2-1 loss and a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Dinos will be without their top two scorers this weekend as Gavrilova continues to play with the Russian national team while
Jenna Smith battles injury. Wickenheiser should be back in the lineup, however, and the absence of top players gives others a chance to step up – and Goyette pointed to captain
Tanya Morgan and veteran
Calaine Inglis as two of the unsung heroes for the team through the midway point of the 2012-13 season.
“Injuries are part of the game, and we have to deal with it,” said Goyette. “Tanya is one of those players that isn't necessarily a star but is always doing the right thing and is a great role model for the team, and I've really been impressed with Calaine this year. She has been one of the most consistent players on the team.”
Inglis comes into the weekend fifth in team scoring with nine points and a plus-six rating, while Morgan has three goals and four assists – with two of her tallies coming on the man-advantage.
Lethbridge has scored just 29 goals through 14 games, well off the Dinos' league-leading pace of 47. Megan Bailey and rookie Sarah Spence have 10 points each to lead the Pronghorns, while Kirsten Reeves comes into the weekend tied with Gavrilova and two others as the leading goal scorer in Canada West with eight.
This series wraps up play in 2012 for both teams, with both set to start up again early in 2013. The Horns will play host to the Regina Cougars Jan. 4-5, while the Dinos will remain home to face the upstart UBC Thunderbirds in a two-game series, also on Jan. 4-5.
-UC-
