CALGARY – In the first game of a heavyweight weekend showdown between No. 5 Calgary and No. 3 Saskatchewan, it was the University of Calgary Dinos walking away with a 4-2 comeback win in Friday's opener from Father David Bauer Arena.

Saskatchewan jumped out to a 2-0 lead just nine minutes into this one, but the Dinos chipped away – tying things up early in the third before Carter Massier potted the game winner with just over six minutes remaining to set up an exciting finish.

The win is the fourth in a row for Calgary as they improve to 9-2 on the year. Saskatchewan suffers its second consecutive loss after a 6-1 start to the season that saw them outscore their opponents 36-18.

"I thought the start of the game was good," Calgary head coach Mark Howell said. "But in the last fifteen minutes of the first, we were on our heels and just kind of absorbing. 

"I thought our response to the second (goal by Saskatchewan) was great. We got on our toes, it got physical, and, you know, lots of great chances. The penalty kill was great in the second period. We scored a couple of big goals to take the lead, and, you know, some great blocks, great saves by our goaltender."

Huskies forward Connor Roulette opened up scoring Friday, jumping on a Calgary turnover for a one-on-one with Dinos goaltender Carl Tetachuk. Roulette's initial shot was turned away, but he was able to get a stick on the rebound and put it away just 1:44 into the game.

Saskatchewan doubled its lead just a few minutes later. Right after the Dinos successfully killed off a Huskies' powerplay, Jarrett Penner wristed one past Tetachuk to make it 2-0 just 8:44 into this one.

It was during the second that the Dinos found their footing again, with first-year forward Gavin Schmidt scoring his fourth goal of the year to get the Dinos on the board 3:02 into the frame. 

Still trailing heading into the third, the Dinos were able to completely flip this one over the final 20 minutes.

With momentum already building in Calgary's direction after a jaw-dropping scorpion-kick save from Tetachuk, Connor Horning finished off a beautiful sequence from Adam Kydd and Stephen Kirkpatrick to knot things up at 2-2 just 2:59 into the third.

It was back-and-forth, with both teams creating dangerous chances from there, but Massier was the first to find the net. The fourth-year forward collected the puck out of the zone and made a tremendous individual effort, driving at the net and slipping it past Jordan Kooy to make it 3-2 with just over six minutes remaining.

"It was a nice pass up by Smitty (Gavin Schmidt)," said Massier, when asked about his leading goal. "I just kind of saw that the defenseman was a bit slower, so I just took it wide and to the net and it just happened to go in."

Saskatchewan ramped things up down the stretch and created a number of threatening chances, but Tetachuk was up to the challenge, with 10 of his 27 saves coming in the third.

Kydd put this one on ice with an empty netter, giving him a U SPORTS-leading 21 points through the first 11 games.

Saturday's rematch between the two top-five programs is set for a 6 p.m. puck drop from FDB.

-UC-