EDMONTON – A matchup of the conference's top two teams turned into a lopsided affair on Saturday night at the Clare Drake Arena as the No. 1 University of Alberta Golden Bears defeated the No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos 6-1 to kick off the season's unofficial second half.

When they last met in November it was the stingy Calgary defence that shutdown the dangerous Alberta attack for back-to-back wins. This time around, the Golden Bears were able to capitalize on their chances – including three times on the power play as they won their first game against the Dinos this season.

"I thought we had a really good week of practice. We started well tonight but after that first one went in – I don't know if it was our belief went down – but we stopped competing," stated Dinos head coach Mark Howell.

Five different Golden Bears found the back of the net as the country's top team improved their record to 16-3-0. Veteran defenceman Jesse Craige scored twice while Brett Ferguson and Stephane Legault collected three assists. Elgin Pearce netted the lone goal for the Dinos as they fall to 13-6-0 on the year.

"Really disappointed with our effort tonight, for the last 50 minutes they were the better team, their desire was much higher than ours," said Howell. "It has nothing to do with X's and O's, it is about desire and wanting to be in first. They wanted it more."

Despite a spirited effort out of the gate by the Dinos, the Golden Bears took a 2-0 lead out of the first period. A short side attempt from a hard angle by first-year Riley Kieser opened the scoring as his shot sneaked over the glove of Jacob DeSerres for his seventh of the year at 4:50. Kruise Reddick doubled the lead minutes later as he pounced on a rebound while on the power play for his seventh of the season.

DeSerres was kept busy in the first period, making 15 saves on 17 shots. Kurtis Mucha made seven of his 19 stops in the opening stanza.

Half way through the middle frame, Alberta extended the gap to three. Reddick tapped the puck through a pair of Dinos defenders, spotting James Dobrowolski for a quick shot in front of the net where he beat the Calgary netminder. The tally was Dobrowolski's third of the campaign.

Just as a Golden Bears was leaving the penalty box, T.J. Foster registered his 13th marker of the year as he batted a Jordan Hickmott pass from the right side through DeSerres.

Two goals in 10 seconds from Craige signalled the end of DeSerres' night as Kris Lazaruk relieved him for the final 15 minutes of the third period. The goals by Craige brought his total up to four.

With 12 minutes left in the final frame, Calgary notched their only tally of the evening. Second-year forward Chris Collins drove hard to the net, creating havoc for Pearce to knock in his 12th of the season. Dylan Walchuk would also pick up an assist on the play.

Alberta outshot Calgary 47-20. The Dinos went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Golden Bears went 3-for-4.

The Dinos and Golden Bears take to the ice again tomorrow night at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary. The game gets underway at 6:00pm with minor hockey players getting free admission by wearing their team jersey.

-UC-