CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos are out to make a little history Saturday afternoon. Winners of four straight Canada West titles, the Dinos look to become the first team in history to win the conference five straight years when they host the Regina Rams in Saturday's 76th edition of the Hardy Cup.

Kickoff goes at 2 p.m. MT from McMahon Stadium, live on TSN and QR77 radio. The game kicks off a busy weekend at McMahon, with another Calgary-Regina match-up set for Sunday afternoon in the Canadian Football League when the Calgary Stampeders take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Semi-final.

Fans showing a ticket to Sunday's CFL game will receive admission to the Hardy Cup for just $5

GAME NOTES - CALGARY (.pdf)          GAME NOTES - REGINA (.pdf)

Hosting the Hardy Cup is nothing new for the Dinos, who welcome the game to McMahon Stadium for the third year in a row and the fourth time in five seasons. And in the Rams, they face their fifth different opponent in as many Canada West championship games: Simon Fraser in 2008, Saskatchewan in 2009, Alberta in 2010, UBC in 2011, and now Regina in 2012. It's the first-ever Hardy Cup meeting for the two teams and the sixth playoff meeting overall. All previous outings have come in the semi-final round, with Calgary holding a 3-2 lead in the all-time postseason series.

Regina is making its fourth appearance in the title game since joining Canada West prior to the 1999 season. The Rams won the Hardy Cup in their first try in 2000, then lost back-to-back to Manitoba (2001) and Saskatchewan (2002). In their last appearance, the Rams fell to the Manitoba Bisons in 2007 – and 2012 will mark the first time in team history that Regina will face a team other than Saskatchewan or Manitoba in the Hardy Cup game.

The last three playoff meetings, all semi-final wins by the Dinos in 2008, 2010, and 2011, have been decided by 12 points or less. The Rams have provided the toughest competition of the season for the Dinos in both of their earlier meetings this season, with Calgary winning 37-12 in Week 1 followed by the Rams taking a 12-9 victory Week 7 in Regina – the Dinos' only loss of the season.

The winner of Saturday's contest heads east to face the Ontario champion in the Mitchell Bowl for a berth in the Vanier Cup. Other conference finals on the docket Saturday include Saint Mary's at Acadia in the Atlantic's Loney Bowl, Sherbrooke visiting Laval in Quebec's Dunsmore Cup, and Guelph facing No. 1 McMaster in the Ontario Yates Cup.

Here's a look at the two teams:

No. 3 Calgary Dinos (7-1)
Last week: defeated Manitoba 57-18

After being held to their lowest offensive output of the season – in terms of both yards and points – in their 12-9 loss to Regina back in Week 7, the Dinos have regained their form in posting back-to-back big wins over the Manitoba Bisons. A 78-54 shootout ended the regular season, and last weekend's 57-18 conference semi-final win booked the Dinos their ticket back to the Hardy Cup game for the fifth consecutive season.

Eric Dzwilewski has picked up his game in the last two outings, tossing for a school-record 92.6 per cent in the first Manitoba game, then directing the Calgary offence to another impressive showing and a 42-0 halftime lead over the Bisons in last weekend's semi-final. The explosive offence, coupled with a stingy defence that went more than four full games on the season without allowing an offensive touchdown, make the Dinos a formidable opponent as they embark on their quest for a fifth straight Canada West title.

The Dinos, who led the conference in virtually every statistical category on both sides of the football, were rewarded with 12 all-star selections by Canada West. QB Eric Dzwilewski, RB Steven Lumbala, IR Chris Dobko, G Sean McEwan, T Kirby Fabien, and C Quinn McCaughan landed on the all-conference team on offence, while DT Josh Symons, DE Linden Gaydosh, LB Mike Edem, HB Tye Noble, and CB Jamahl Knowles made the cut on defence. Placekicker Johnny Mark rounded out the Dinos' dozen on the 2012 Canada West football all-star team.
The Dinos will again face their toughest test in the Rams with fifth-year quarterback Marc Mueller back under centre and an inspired defence that shut down the Huskies last week.

Calgary's Jake Harty was named Canada West and CIS special teams player of the week after his impressive performance in the semi-final last Saturday, including a conference-record 110-yard kickoff return touchdown.

All-time, the Dinos are 17-3 at home in the playoffs and are a perfect 9-0 at McMahon Stadium in Hardy Cup games. Two of those playoff losses, however, came at the hands of the Rams, who remain the only Canada West team to have ever won a playoff game in Calgary after their back-to-back semi-final victoriess in 2001 and 2002.

No. 7 Regina Rams (7-2)
Last week: defeated Saskatchewan 31-9

The Rams qualified for their fifth Hardy Cup in program history after defeating Saskatchewan by a 31-9 margin last Friday at Mosaic Stadium in the Canada West semifinals.
 
Marc Mueller was named the Canada West and CIS Offensive Player of the Week after completing 21 of his 32 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns against the Huskies, but equally important was the breakout contribution from third-year slotback Landon Buch. Buch – who came into the game with two receptions in his career – caught six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, had a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and added a fumble recovery on special teams duty.
 
Mueller's targets also include slotback Jared Janotta, whose 44 receptions during the conference schedule stand as the fourth most in a single season by a University of Regina receiver. Wide receiver Kolten Solomon was second on the team in both receptions (36) and receiving yards (471) and caught a team-leading four touchdown passes during Canada West play, while slotback Jay Smith caught 27 passes for 359 yards.
 
Michael Kiapway led the Rams with 571 rushing yards this season, but the Rams could also plug in Dillon Dawson or Mark Coons at running back at any given time.
 
The Rams' defence has been spectacular in recent games, allowing no points in the past two games and just one touchdown in the last three. Leading the way against Saskatchewan was defensive end Ryan Wellman, who earned Canada West Defensive Player of the Week honours after collecting 2½ tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup in the win over the Huskies.
 
Regina's defensive backfield has been among the most prolific in the nation this year, tying for the CIS lead with 16 interceptions during the conference schedule. Jamir Walker and Kirby Kezama both tied for the team lead with four picks each, while Justin Edralin ended up with three. Chris Sciog led the Rams with 42 total tackles, while Wellman had a team-high 7½ tackles for loss and tied Benton Gieni for the team lead with three sacks.
 
The Rams enter Saturday's game with an all-time postseason record of 6-10.

-UC-