CALGARY – The Alberta Golden Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one and never looked back to start the weekend off on a strong note with a 7-3 road win over the Calgary Dinos Friday night from Father David Bauer Arena.

 "It was another rough start, and we need to have some better momentum out of the gate as it's a chase into the game," said assistant coach Jamie Foxx who is leading the team this weekend while head coach Mark Howell coaches Team Canada at the 2025 FISU Games in Torino, Italy. "Trying to build some momentum in the third to get us out of the hole we were in was the game plan. We still have some work to do, but the third period was better. Getting healthy and being able to have the whole team for the rest of the season is something we're looking forward to." 

A quick start out of the gate put the Golden Bears up 1-0 in the fifth minute. Sean Tschigerl and Alex Thacker made a joint effort as Tschigerl brought the puck down the center of the ice into Dinos territory. Quick back-and-forth passes between Tschigerl and Thacker at the top of the net lead to a goal by Tschigerl behind Dinos netminder Connor Martin. 

Six minutes later, Tyler Prezuiso scored the Golden Bears' second goal of the first period. Thacker gained his second assist of the night as he brought the puck down the left side of the ice and passed across the crease to Prezuiso for a one-time shot and score. 

Tschigerl scored his second goal of the night with five minutes still left in the first. Thacker, Aidan de la Gorgendiere and Tschigerl triangulated the puck in front of the net for a pass to Tschigerl on the right side, who took the open space for a goal and make it 3-0 after one.

Alberta padded its lead with a pair of goals in the second. The first came out of a face off, as Mason Ward caught a pass from Brett Hyland, who was beside the net on a broken play and used the empty space in the crease to score their fourth of the game. The second came from Hyland as he made it 5-0 to end the second period with a 2v1 against the Dinos with Connor McClennon. 

Into the third, Logan Hauer started the Dinos scoring run as he jumped in off the bench to pick up the puck and drive it home for a 5-1 score. Minutes later Dinos captain Noah King caught a pass from Patterson as he crossed the blue line into Alberta's zone and fired the long shot to make it 5-2.

Rookie Dylan Sydor followed behind as he brought the score within two. Sean Strange passed the puck up to Sydor as he came in hot and took the slap shot for a 5-3 game, with goalie Connor Martin also picking up an assist on the goal.

With momentum shifting toward the Dinos direction, Alberta flipped the game back in its direction with a goal from McClennon at the 15:44 mark before Josh Prokop closed things out with an empty netter. 
The two Canada West heavyweights are right back at it Saturday up in Edmonton, finishing the doubleheader weekend at the Clare Drake Arena at 7 p.m.

-UC-