CALGARY – A penalty-filled matchup between the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team and the MacEwan Griffins ended with the Dinos skating to a 4-1 victory Saturday night at Father David Bauer Arena, powered by their special teams.

First-year forward Andrej Kovacevic scored his first and second Canada West goals, while Stephen Kirkpatrick added a pair of his own to lead Calgary to its eighth win of the season and an 8-2-0 record.

"It feels pretty good to score one after a couple of games, and it's even better to do it when we sweep the weekend," said Kovacevic. "I think I played a solid game tonight. It wasn't our best game overall, but we got the win. It was nice to get an opportunity on the power play and make the most of it."

Much like Friday's contest, it was the Griffins who opened the scoring, just over five minutes into the first period. A bounce from behind the Dinos' net landed in front, on the stick of Tanner Fincaryk, who lifted the puck over Carl Tetachuk's left pad for what would be MacEwan's only goal of the night.

The Dinos responded quickly. While shorthanded at 10:46 of the first period, Carter Massier carried the puck up ice and fed Kirkpatrick, who redirected it in front for his first of the night to tie the game 1-1.

With just four seconds left in the opening frame, Kovacevic made his mark on the power play. After a scramble in front of the net, he jammed the puck past Griffins goaltender Zac Onyskiw, giving Calgary a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission.

The second period featured several scrums and strong goaltending at both ends before Calgary struck again late in the frame. Four-on-four, a Griffins turnover created space for Kirkpatrick, who fired from the right circle's inner hash marks and beat Onyskiw top corner to extend the lead to 3-1.

Kovacevic sealed the win with another power play goal at 15:19 of the third. After Adam Kydd moved the puck into the slot, Kovacevic tipped it up and over Onyskiw's right pad to make it 4-1.

"In a game like that, when there are that many penalties, you need to score on your special teams," said Dinos head coach Mark Howell. "When things were going sideways and we took some penalties, we scored a shorty, and then in the second and third period, we scored power-play goals. You can win games with good special teams for sure."

The Dinos will host the defending Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend, Nov. 7–8, at Father David Bauer Arena.

"They're a big, veteran, skilled team and the former champs, so we're going to have to do a really good job," Howell said. "We'll need to manage the puck better and make sure we understand how heavy and hard we have to play."

Added Kovacevic: "We need to work on having a better start and playing the full 60. We can't be making sloppy plays and giving them chances. Saskatchewan is one of the top teams in the league, so we have to come ready to play or it's going to bite us."

The Griffins continue their road trip next weekend, facing the Regina Cougars.

-UC-