Dino Tracks: Oct. 14-20

Dinos Men's Volleyball (0-0)
Friday, Oct. 17 | Calgary vs. MacEwan | Jack Simpson Gym | 5:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary vs. MacEwan | Jack Simpson Gym | 6:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats

Volleyball season is here as the University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team officially serves up the 2025-26 Canada West slate Friday with the start of a weekend doubleheader with MacEwan at home from the Jack Simpson Gym. Friday's opener starts at 5 p.m., with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 6 p.m. following the women's match.

The Dinos are coming off a 9-11 record a season ago in Graham Vigrass' first season at the helm of his alma mater. Calgary finished last year strong, winning four of their last five regular season matches to earn a home playoff berth where they swept UFV before bowing out of the playoffs at Alberta.

A total of nine players from last year's roster have moved on, with five talented newcomers looking to make their mark on this year's team. Cole Czepuryk figures to play a few role on this year's squad. The 6-foot-8 outside hitter enters his second year after being named to the Canada West All-Rookie Team a season ago.

Calgary's opens things up against MacEwan. The Griffins went 1-19 in league play last year, closing the year with a pair of loss to the Dinos in Edmonton. Calgary holds a 24-0 all-time conference record against their provincial foes since they joined the conference in 2014.

Dinos Women's Volleyball (0-0)
Friday, Oct. 17 | Calgary vs. MacEwan | Jack Simpson Gym | 6:45 PM | Watch | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary vs. MacEwan | Jack Simpson Gym | 4:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats

The season opener for the Dinos women's volleyball team also is set for this weekend, also going up against MacEwan. The two teams are set to battle Friday at 6:45 p.m. following the men's game before a 4 p.m. first serve Saturday. Both games are scheduled to take place inside the Jack Simpson Gym.

Head coach Christine Biggs enters her fifth season leading the Dinos. Biggs' squad returned to the postseason a year ago with a 7-13 record, falling at Winnipeg in a Canada West play-in series.

Eight newcomers are set to join the Scarlet & Gold this season, including fifth-year senior Ashley Ditchfield, who transfers to UCalgary after a solid four years at TMU where she racked up 352 kills, hit .290 and tallied 166 total blocks - 92 of which came in her final season with the Bold.

While they have a number of new faces joining this year's roster, the Dinos return all but one starter from a season ago. Sophia Hansen will draw plenty of attention from opposing teams, as the 6-foot-2 outside hitter was named the 2025 Canada West Rookie of the Year before earning U SPORTS All-Rookie honours, as well, following a breakout first season.

MacEwan is coming off a 3-17 campaign a season ago. The Dinos split with the Griffins in the final weekend of the regular season last year and are 15-9 all-time in the head-to-head series.

Dinos Wrestling
Friday, Oct. 17 | Dinos Duels | UC Red Gym | 6:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Dinos Invitational | UC Red Gym | 9:00 AM

The start of the season is also here for the Dinos wrestling program, as they get set to host their annual Dinos Duels Friday at 6 p.m. and the Dinos Invitational on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.. Both days of competition will take place in the Red Gym.

Calgary is coming off back-to-back Canada West Championships on the women's side, claiming the 12th and 13th banners in program history the past two seasons. In fact, the Dinos were a mere three points shy of their latest national title this past March, as four individuals were crowned national champions at last year's championship meet in Ontario.

Meanwhile, the Dinos men finished in the top-five at nationals each of the past two seasons, headlined in part by the outstanding wrestling by Nick Hooper. The 2024 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, Hooper now enters his third year as a Dino, coming off back-to-back U SPORTS gold medals at the 76kg weight class.

Dinos Football (2-4)
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary at Manitoba | Princess Auto Stadium | 12:00 PM MT | Watch | Live Stats

The home stretch is here for the Dinos football team (2-4), as they return to action for their final two games of the regular season, starting Saturday at Manitoba (3-3). Kickoff from Princess Auto Stadium is set for noon MT.

The bye week came at a good time for Calgary, as they have been plagued by injuries at a number of key positions of late. After a 2-1 start to the season, the Dinos have dropped three straight and sit in a tie with UBC for the fourth and final playoff spot heading into Week 7. The Thunderbirds hold the tiebreaker (head-to-head) over the Dinos.

Calgary now heads to Winnipeg, where they have not won since a 76-17 thumping back in 2017. Manitoba sits one spot ahead of Calgary in the league standings at 3-3 and is coming off a 35-31 win over UBC last time out. Bisons' quarterback Jackson Tachinski is the clear leader of his team, sitting in the top-five in Canada West in both passing touchdowns (five) and rushing touchdowns (four).

The Dinos and Bisons earlier this season in Week 2 at McMahon Stadium. After being held scoreless in the first half, Calgary was strong over the final 30 minutes and held off a last-second two-point conversion attempt by Manitoba for a 15-14 home win.

Dinos Men's Hockey (3-1)
Friday, Oct. 17 | Calgary at Manitoba | Wayne Fleming Arena | 11:00 AM MT | Watch | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary at Manitoba | Wayne Fleming Arena | 1:00 PM MT | Watch | Live Stats

The Dinos men's hockey team (3-1) travels outside of the city limits for the first time this conference season, making the long trek to Winnipeg to take on the Manitoba Bisons (2-0) Friday and Saturday. Friday's game will be a unique 11 a.m. MT start for the Dinos as Manitoba's home opener is scheduled to be a school day at Wayne Fleming Arena. Saturday's rematch is scheduled for a 1 p.m. MT puck drop.

Calgary suffered its first loss of the season Saturday in a 3-2 nail-biter just down the road against Mount Royal. The Dinos scored a pair late but couldn't find the equalizer as the young team showed some good fight after trailing for the first time this year.

The Dinos still lead all of Canada West with 20 goals scored through their first four games. An incredible 10 different Dinos have already found the back of the net this season, with Jake Poole, Mack Stewart, Hayden Pakkala and Stephen Kirkpatrick all tied for the conference lead with three goals in the early going. Captain Adam Kydd has a league leading nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) through four games.

Manitoba opened the season on a bye week before sweeping Regina on the road last weekend, 2-1 and 4-3. A season ago, the Bisons finished the year with an 8-18 mark, just a few points behind MacEwan for the final playoff spot in last year's East Division. Calgary has had its way with Manitoba of late, winning the last 10 in the head-to-head series dating back to 2022.

Dinos Women's Hockey (2-2)
Friday, Oct. 17 | Calgary vs. Manitoba | Father David Bauer Arena | 7:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary vs. Manitoba | Father David Bauer Arena | 2:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats

Calgary's women's hockey team (2-2) will host its first true weekend homestand of the year this Friday and Saturday when Manitoba (1-1) comes to Father David Bauer Arena for a pair of games. Friday's action is set to start at 7 p.m. with Saturday's rematch scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.

The Dinos have been solid to start the season and likely deserve a better mark than their 2-2 record suggests. Calgary opened the year with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Regina before out-shooting the Cougars in the finale and losing 3-0, with two of those goals coming as empty netters in the game's closing seconds. The Dinos followed that up with a 3-1 complete win over city rival Mount Royal this past Friday before a 2-1 loss to the Cougars on Saturday.

Fourth-year goaltender Amelia Awad has been a huge part of the Dinos early success. The Halifax product sits second in all of Canada West in the early going with a sterling 0.67 goals-against average in three starts, making 88 saves against her first 90 shots.

Manitoba comes to campus with a 1-0-0-1 record after going to a shootout in both of its first two games of the year, splitting with Regina in those contests. Last year, the Bisons finished 15-11-0-2 - good for second place in the East Division. In the postseason, the took care of Trinity Western 2-1 in the quarterfinals before a 2-0 sweep at the hands of UBC in the semis. Calgary and Manitoba met just one weekend last year, with the Bisons claiming both games at home back in late November.

Dinos Women's Soccer (11-0-2)
Sunday, Oct. 19 | Calgary at Mount Royal | MRU Campus Field | 1:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats

With a home postseason game already locked up, the nationally ranked Dinos women's soccer (11-0-2) team will look to add an exclamation mark on its 2025 regular season Sunday in a rematch with city rival Mount Royal (9-3-1) at 1 p.m. from the MRU campus.

Calgary heads into Sunday's finally looking to finish off the regular season unbeaten on the year. The Dinos have finished the conference slate without a loss just three times in recorded history, going 7-0-3 in 1993, 1996 and 2000. The program has also finished the regular season with just one loss three times in recent years in 2016 (9-1-4), 2018 (13-1) and 2019 (10-1-3).

The Dinos and Cougars just faced off this past weekend on the UCalgary campus, with the Dinos walking away with a 1-0 win after a 54th minute goal from Sofia DiGiacomo.

Calgary already knows it will be hosting a Canada West quarterfinal from McMahon Stadium on Friday, Oct. 24, with game time and opponent still to be confirmed. Should they win that game, the Dinos would advance to the CW Final Four, where they would then face the winner of either the second seed from the Pacific or the third seed from the Prairie. This year's Final Four is scheduled to be hosted by the highest remaining Pacific Division team.

Dinos Men's Soccer (7-5-1)
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Calgary at Mount Royal | MRU Campus Field | 3:00 PM | Watch | Live Stats

Calgary's men's soccer team (7-5-1) looks to head into the postseason with a bang, as they close out the regular season with a trip across town to Mount Royal (7-2-4) for a 3 p.m. game Saturday.

The Dinos still have an outside chance to claim the Prairie Division title. Calgary heads into the final game sitting in the No. 2 spot, while MRU currently holds the top spot. Because of a 4-0 win by the Cougars at McMahon Stadium earlier this season, Calgary would need to win by at least four goals to trigger the next set of tiebreakers, which also currently do not favour the Scarlet & Gold. The top seed from each division will host a pair of quarterfinal contests and a semifinal the weekend of Oct. 24-26.

After a 2-1 win over Victoria on Sept. 21 that catapulted the Dinos into the U SPORTS top-10, it's been tough sledding for the squad ever since - dropping three in a row before a 1-1 draw with Lethbridge the last time out. Calgary had a bye last week and will look to get healthy heading into the postseason.

Outside of this year's earlier result in the Crowchild Classic rivalry, the Dinos and Cougars have battled to some heated finishes in recent years. MRU holds a 5-1-4 edge over the last 10 regular season games in the series, with both of last year's contests resulting in 1-1 draws. The two teams have also met in the playoffs twice in recent years, with both of those contests going to the Dinos.

Dinos Golf
Monday, Oct. 20 | Canada West Championships | Chilliwack Golf Club
Tuesday, Oct. 21 | Canada West Championships | Chilliwack Golf Club

The 2025 Canada West Golf Championships tee off at Chilliwack Golf Club this coming Monday, where the Dinos will take on the eight other golf programs in the conference, looking for more hardware in both team and individual play from the two-day tournament.

It has been an impressive start to the year for Calgary. The men's team has won all three tournaments to start the season, winning in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton. The Dinos women also won at their home tournament, while finishing runner-up in the other two competitions. Individually, Sam McKeown and Adam Reed have both finished atop the leader board this season on the men's side, while rookie Brooke Tombs also brought home the gold medal once this year.

Established in 1958, the Chilliwack Golf Club offers a championship-level test set between Chilliwack and Abbotsford, just 45 minutes from Vancouver. With tree-lined fairways, meandering creeks, and breathtaking mountain vistas, it's the perfect backdrop for crowning this year's Canada West champions.

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