CALGARY – A goal at 1:15 of the second overtime by Dylan Walchuk brought to end an epic Game 1 in the Canada West semi-final between cross-town rivals as the No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos edged the No. 9 Mount Royal University Cougars with a 3-2 win on Friday night at the Father David Bauer Arena.

With 814 fans packed into the arena from both schools, the Dinos and Cougars treated the city to a game with a bit of everything. With Mount Royal controlling the tempo through the first half of the game, Calgary slowly chipped away at the visitors and took over the play as the game went beyond regulation.

Without a single penalty on the board for either team in the contest, the Cougars were served a massive blow when goaltender Cam Lanigan went down with an injury in the first overtime period. While replacement Dalyn Flette was given the opportunity to settle into the game, he had no chance on the game-winner by Walchuk. At the opposite end, Kris Lazaruk had a stellar night as he finished the evening with 30 stops.

"We got better as the game went along. In the last part of the third I thought we really started to play well," said Calgary head coach Mark Howell. "We had not played in four weeks, but that is not an excuse. You could tell they had played playoff hockey, we had moments, but we have got to be better."

The Dinos now lead this Canada West semi-final match-up 1-0. The team is now just one win away from their fourth trip to the conference finals in five years - and a trip to Halifax for the University Cup as well.

Taking advantage of some early speed and a Dinos team that had not played since the end of January, the Cougars were able to score the series' first goal. Given enough room in the center of the zone, Cody Cartier closed in on the net and fired a shot past a screened Lazaruk for his first goal of the playoffs at 2:46.

Mount Royal seemed en route to a one-goal lead after the first when the checking line for Calgary tied the score. After Colton Grant kept the puck in the Cougars' end, Adam Kambeitz got a quick shot off from in close and beat Cam Lanigan with less than two minutes left in the opening frame.

"They work extremely hard and play a very structured game," said Walchuk. "They are tough to play against because they work so hard. We just wanted to get pucks on net."

Getting off to a good start in the second period, the Dinos took a 2-1 lead at the 6:56 mark. Receiving a pass from the left side by Walchuk, Alex Dzielski quickly corralled the puck and roofed it on the Mount Royal netminder.

In front for the first time in the game, Calgary looked to take that lead into the third – but that plan was halted in the final minute. Taking the puck from Scott McKay, fourth year MRU forward Tyler Jewitt went straight to the goal where he backhanded a chance through Lazaruk to knot the score at two.

The third period went back and forth before going into overtime. While Mount Royal had some chances early, Calgary managed to dominate the possession time in the late going and did their best to gas the top lines of the Cougars.

Despite two tight chances for the Dinos that were waved off, the first overtime would end without a goal. With Flette in goal for the second overtime, Walchuk found a way to strike quickly. Dzielski rifled the puck towards the net where the second-year forward caused a screen and got the last touch. With his arms in the air, the Dinos flooded the ice in celebration.

"Dzielski made a good shot on net and the rebound came out and I slid it in the empty net," explained the overtime hero. "I was lucky it slid through Flette."

Mount Royal outshot Calgary in the game 32-26. Neither team had a special teams opportunity.

"Good teams find a way to win, but everyone in that room knows we got to put more in to get more out of it," said Howell.

This series resumes Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Father David Bauer Arena with Game 2 getting underway at 7 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 would take place Sunday, also at the Dinos' home rink with a 6 p.m. puck drop.

-UC-