CALGARY – A hat trick from Jake Poole and a shutout from Carl Tetachuk fueled an 8-0 win by the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team versus the Regina Cougars on Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.

With one game left to play, the Dinos' playoff fate is still to be determined. The Dinos will need a win on Saturday and some help on the out-of-town scoreboard to secure a bye through the first round of the Canada West Playoffs. 

"We're trying to get in that playoff mindset," noted Poole. "We played well tonight, but there's still some things we can clean up and fix for tomorrow."

The first period started with a strong effort from the Cougars, with netminder Adam Evanoff making some tough saves. Jake Gricius opened the scoring for the Dinos halfway through the first. After a slap shot from the blue line by Dylan Anderson, Gricius directed the puck mid-air into the top corner. 

Poole picked up the Dinos' second tally on a power play, tipping the puck into the net after a slapshot from Colson Gengenbach landed on the toe of Evanoff's pad.

A cross-net pass from Marty Westhaver gave Dakota Krebs the third goal of the game, shooting the puck through the back door and bringing the score to 3-0 at the end of the first.

After a quiet start to the second, Poole secured his second and the Dinos' fourth goal of the game. After a shot from Noah King, Poole was able to stick the puck through the backdoor for the rebound, bringing the score to 4-0 for the Dinos at the end of the second.

The third period was aggressive, with the Cougars fighting to get in the game. Max Patterson scored the Dinos' fifth goal of the game early in the third, tipping in a shot from Zach Wytinck. 

Gengenbach got on the score sheet with a rebound from Sean Strange, putting the puck into the top corner.

Connor Gutenberg was able to capitalize on the power play, bouncing the puck off the top bar and into the corner of the net, bringing the score to 7-0 for the Dinos.

Poole finished off the game with a hat trick, positioning himself to shoot it in the back door after an assist from Patterson. 

Tetachuk finished the evening with 24 saves.

Beyond Tetachuk and Poole, the team showed a strong effort on the brink of playoffs.

"Carl Tetachuk played really well tonight. He made a lot of key saves in moments that could have changed our momentum," stated Poole. "Sean Strange blocked about 10 pucks tonight, and Gutenberg and Gengenbach led the team by example with their hard work."

The Dinos will honour their seniors during the season finale with the Cougars on Saturday with a 6 p.m. puck drop.