EDMONTON – The University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team struck first on Sunday but could not hold on in a 4-1 defeat to the Alberta Golden Bears in Game 3 of their quarter-final series. 

The win sees Alberta advance to the Canada West Semifinal, where they will visit the Mount Royal Cougars next weekend.

The quarter-final loss for the Dinos is their first in the Mark Howell era, as their season comes to an end in Edmonton. 

Bears goalie Tyler Palmer stopped 25 of the 26 Dinos shots he faced in Game 3, finishing the series with 71 saves and a .934 save percentage. 

Game 2 hero Carl Tetachuk made 22 saves in Game 3, with the Bears finally solving that riddle midway through Game 3. Tetachuk made a remarkable 99 saves over the three-game quarter-final series, finishing with a .925 save percentage.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring first, who carried over momentum from their comeback win in Game 2. Brendan Lee scored his first of the series, taking advantage of an impromptu three-on-one Dinos rush in the Bears zone. 

Needing a spark trailing by one, Adian de la Gorgendiere provided it in the second, scoring twice and adding an assist as Alberta took control over Game 3. 

de la Gorgendiere's first came off a blocked shot in front of the net, beating a helpless Tetachuk with a floater in the top corner. He gave Alberta their first lead of the game 10 minutes later, ripping a shot over Tetachuk's shoulder from the short side. 

A de la Gorgendiere point shot just two minutes later was tipped in by Brett Hyland, giving the Bears a commanding 3-1 lead through 40. 

Palmer was excellent in the third, stopping all 14 shots he faced in the final frame. Calgary had a handful of good looks, including hitting one post and one crossbar, but couldn't get one past the Bears rookie goalie. 

Thacker iced the game with an unassisted goal off a Dinos turnover deep in their own zone with four minutes left. 

The Dinos graduate seven players in 2024-25.  Colson Gengenbach, Jake Gricius, Connor Gutenberg, Jadon Joseph, Noah King, Max Patterson and Zach Wytinck played their final games with Calgary on Sunday night – all seven were members of the 2023 Canada West championship team.

Game 1 of the Alberta vs MRU semifinal series is set for Friday night in Calgary.