CALGARY – The top-ranked University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team returns to the Cavendish Farms University Cup for the first time in eight years, facing the host UPEI Panthers in a national quarter-final on Friday night.
 
The eight-team tournament begins on Thursday, in Charlottetown, P.E.I., with the Dinos and Panthers closing out the opening round games at 4 p.m. MT from the Eastlink Centre. All games will be webcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms, up to and including Sunday's gold medal game. The full webcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. HOW WE GOT HERE – The Dinos entered the Canada West Playoffs riding a 23-game win streak that broke a conference record en route to a first-place finish in the regular season. After an opening-round bye, Calgary faced the Saskatchewan Huskies and was handed a defeat in Game 1. The Dinos responded with their backs against the wall and earned back-to-back wins to advance to the Canada West Final. Josh Maser netted the overtime winner in the series opener against the Alberta Golden Bears before the perennial contender held off a remarkable four-goal Calgary comeback in Game 2 to force a decisive game. The Golden Bears led for 50 minutes in Game 3, but Tyson Upper and Maser got third-period goals to lift Calgary to its first conference title since 1996.
 
2. U CUP HISTORY – This is Calgary's first trip to the U SPORTS Men's Hockey Championship since 2015. Six of the eight teams from that year's tournament are back in 2023, including the Windsor Lancers who are also making their first appearance since the 2015 tournament in Halifax. This is Calgary's 13th appearance at the Cavendish Farms University Cup, but the program is looking for its first win on the national stage since 1981 when they defeated the Brandon Bobcats 6-3 in round-robin pool play.
 
3. FISU FRIENDS – In January, Canada captured men's hockey gold at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, New York. Dinos head coach Mark Howell served as the general manager and assistant coach for the team, while Calgary team captain Noah King played a key role on the Canadian blue line. On Friday night, they will face three former national team teammates – Matthew Brassard, Kyle Maksimovich, and TJ Shea of UPEI.
 
4. THE REST OF THE FIELD – The Dinos are joined at this year's national championship by the defending national champions and 2023 OUA champions, the UQTR Patriotes, AUS champion UNB Reds, OUA finalists Windsor Lancers, Canada West finalists Alberta Golden Bears, OUA bronze medallists Concordia Stringers, and host UPEI Panthers. Thursday will see Saint Mary's face UQTR in the tournament opener, followed by Concordia versus UNB. Alberta takes on Windsor on Friday afternoon before Calgary's matchup with UPEI.
 
5. CANADA WEST HONOURS – A trio of Dinos – Noah King, Riley Stotts, and Carl Tetachuk – were named Canada West First Team All-Stars in February. The feat was particularly impressive for first-year Tetachuk, who was also named to the all-rookie team and the conference's goaltender of the year. Tetachuk also shared the Adam Kryczka Memorial Trophy with fellow puck stoppers Brodan Salmond and Carl Stankowski for being the team to allow the fewest goals against in the regular season. Head coach Mark Howell was crowned the Canada West Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
 
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