CALGARY – A Halloween faceoff between the University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team and the MacEwan Griffins turned into a goaltending battle Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena.
Both in their first year of Canada West action,
Maisie Cope and Taya Currie combined for 46 saves, but Sydney Olsen provided the difference, scoring the lone goal in overtime to lift the Griffins to a 1-0 win.
Calgary outshot MacEwan 28-19 in the contest but was shut out for the third time this season.
After an even first period with limited scoring chances, the Dinos coaching staff – operating without head coach
Josh Gosling, who is leading Team Alberta's U18 squad at the 2025 National Championships – had a clear message for the team.
"We need more," said Dinos assistant coach Mackenzie Ebel. "We're a better team than what we were showing in that first period, and whether it was tiredness from the day before or bus legs, they're feeling it too. So we just needed to find that extra gear.
"That was the big emphasis: find that next gear and take the puck to the net. We hadn't seen this goalie before, so we just needed to test her more than we did in the first period."
Calgary controlled much of the play over the next two periods, firing 19 shots – 13 in the second and six in the third – while holding the Griffins to just 11 over the same stretch. Despite the pressure, both goaltenders stood tall to keep the game scoreless through regulation.
In overtime, the Dinos created several early chances, but a penalty just over a minute in proved costly. On the ensuing power play, Olsen quarterbacked the attack and wired a shot from the point for her first goal of the season, breaking the deadlock.
Despite the setback, Calgary remains atop the Prairie Division standings with a 6-3-1 record, while MacEwan improves to 2-7-1 in the West Division of the conference.
The Dinos return to action next weekend when they travel to face the Saskatchewan Huskies, while the Griffins host the Regina Cougars. Both weekend matchups run Nov. 7–8.
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