CALGARY (CIS) - The University of Calgary Dinos defeated the Saint Thomas University Tommies by a commanding 4-0 score to claim 5th place in the 2016 CIS National Championships on Sunday, March 20.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

After a devastating 4-0 loss to the 2nd seed Montreal Carabins in their quarterfinal match-up, the Dinos bounced back to win their next two games. The host team did not crack the CIS top 10 all season, but managed to finish 5th in the country at the CIS National Championships. The 5th place finish was an improvement on last year, when they lost their first two games and were exited early from the tournament.

"I'm so happy, we came here and lost the first game it was a heartbreaker, but this team doesn't quit," said Dinos head coach, Danielle Goyette. "I'm so proud of them. This team made me grow as a coach, this group of girls is a really special team."

The 8th seed St. Thomas team had a win and two losses in the tournament, finishing 6th overall. After failing to qualify for the National Championships last year, they were quite happy with the 6th place finish.

"I think we had a great tournament here," said Tommies head coach, Peter Murphy. "I thought we showed well for the AUS. I'm pleased with the result and I'm proud of the girls."

Calgary's fifth year veteran forward Iya Gavrilova had a strong performance in her last game as a Dino, with a goal and two assists. Assistant captain Heather Berzins added a goal and an assist. Calgary goaltender Hayley Dowling stopped everything that the Tommies threw at her, earning herself a 33 save shutout.

"Players like Iya, when you see the work ethic she brings every day, it shows the younger players what you have to do to get better," explained Goyette. "When you have the opportunity to coach players like that, as a coach I feel very fortunate."

The Dinos opened the scoring at 8:28 of the first period when Sasha Vafina buried the rebound off a shot from Gavrilova.

Calgary added to their lead in the second with a highlight reel power play goal from Gavrilova. She came out of the corner and deked out the Tommies defender and tucked it past Cook on the backhand to give the Dinos a 2-0 lead going into the final frame.

Dinos rookie Delaney Frey added an insurance marker early in the third, and Berzins' backhand shot over the right shoulder of Cook at 14:53 of the third made it a 4-0 final for Calgary.

"In the end sometimes the puck just doesn't bounce your way," explained Murphy. "Power play could have done a little bit more, we had some chances just couldn't put it away. I think we had enough chances to score some goals, it just didn't go our way."

Myfawny Thomson received the Player of the Game award for St. Thomas. Hayley Dowling's 33 save shutout earned the Player of the Game award for the Dinos.

SCORING SUMMARY

Official Boxscore: http://en.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/2016/boxscores_champ/20160320_jluf.xml

FIRST PERIOD

1.CGY Sasha Vafina (1) (Iya Gavrilova), 8:28

PENALTIES:

Berzins (CGY) hooking, 16152;
Lumley (CGY) bodychecking, 17:53;
Lang (CGY) holding, 19:50.

SECOND PERIOD

2.CGY Iya Gavrilova (2) (Chelsea Court), 17:59 PP

PENALTIES:

Berzins (CGY) roughing, 10:13;
McCann (STU) holding, 14:15;
Francis (STU) too many men, 17:12.

THIRD PERIOD

3.CGY Delaney Frey (1) (Heather Berzns, Cheyann Newman), 4:23
4.CGY Heather Berzins (1) (Iya Gavrilova), 14:53.

PENALTIES:

Savoie (STU) hooking, 3:35;
Gavrilova (CGY) roughing, 4:40;
Gilbert (STU) slashing, 7:59;
Lang (CGY) interference, 18:13.

GOALS (by period)
CGY 1-1-2: 4
STU 0-0-0: 0

SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
CGY 15-11-9: 35
STU 8-13-12: 33
POWER PLAY:
CGY 1-4
STU 0-6

GOALTENDERS
CGY - Hayley Dowling (W, 2-1, 33 shots, 33 saves, 0 GA, 60:00)
STU - Taylor Clark (L, 1-2, 35 shots, 31 saves, 4 GA, 60:00)

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
CGY: Hayley Dowling
STU: Myfanwy Thomson

ATTENDANCE: 134
REFEREE: Vanessa Morin
LINESMEN: Casandra Gregory, Corrie Colter

START: 9:00
END:11:04
LENGTH: 2:04

SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times MOUNTAIN TIME)

Thursday,March 17
11:00 Quarter-final 1: Guelph 3, St. Thomas 0
15:00 Quarter-final 2: UBC 4, McGill 2

Friday, March 18
11:00 Consolation 1: St. Thomas 2, McGill 1
15:00 Quarter-final 3: Saint Mary's 1, Western 0
19:00 Quarter-final 4: Montreal 4, Calgary 0

Saturday, March 19
10:00 Consolation 2: Calgary 3, Western 1
14:00 Semifinal 1: UBC 2, Guelph 1 (SO)
17:30 Semifinal 2: Montreal 3, Saint Mary's 2

Sunday, March 20
8:45 Bronze: Saint Mary's 3, Guelph 1
9:00 5th-place game: Calgary 4, St. Thomas 0
12:30 Final (Sportsnet 360 & TVA Sports 2 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) *

* Webcast of the semifinals & final are on pay-per-view basis.