CALGARY – In the final battle of two of the top-five hockey teams in U SPORTS, the No. 5 Mount Royal Cougars finished off a weekend sweep of the No. 2 University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team Friday with a 3-2 win from Father David Bauer Arena.

The feat is a rare one, as the Dinos have not been swept in a weekend set by the Cougars since way back in January of 2020 and have only dropped back-to-back games one other time since that span.

Mount Royal moves to 19-5 on the season, while the Dinos drop to 19-5-2.

The first period of this one saw aggressive efforts from both teams as they battled to protect their nets. With only four shots from each team, the Cougars' Robbie Holmes managed the game's first goal on Carl Stankowski in the 11th minute. After a battle at the net, the puck bounced out to Clay Hanus, who sent the puck to the right side of the ice to Connor Blake. Blake found Holmes with a pass across the ice where he shot the puck through Stankowski's backhand.

Into the second period, Adam Kydd put the Dinos on the board with a breakaway goal. A perfect deep pass from Max Patterson led Kydd who found a five-hole goal to make it 1-1 after two.

The third period saw the most action with two Cougars goals from Connor Blake and Jaden Senkoe. Blake found a short glove-side top-shelf goal quickly into the third at just over a minute in play. Senkoe followed him not long after as he put the puck behind Stankowski for a 3-1 score. 

The Dinos battled back as Jake Poole found his way behind Cougars netminder Shane Farkas. Poole caught a deflection from Captain Noah King's shot on goal to make the score 3-2 with just over 11 minutes remaining. 

Despite a furious effort by the Dinos down the stretch, they were unable to find the equalizer in falling 3-2.

"Mount Royal is a good team and they play fast," Calgary head coach Mark Howell said postgame. "We, unfortunately, didn't match it well enough. We have some work to do. We're thinking too slowly and it's hurting us. We have to play way faster and our effort and intensity need to be more consistent and not just in certain moments."

Calgary now has a bye week before finishing out the 2023-24 regular season at home, welcoming Regina to Father David Bauer Arena for two games Feb. 9-10.

The Cougars are back on their home ice next weekend, hosting Saskatchewan at Flames Community Arena.

-UC-