CALGARY – University of Calgary Dinos women's hockey team captain Rebecca Clarke made sure her final game at Father David Bauer Arena was one to remember.

Scoring two goals and contributing on two others, Clarke finished with four points to lead her Dinos to a 5-1 win over the MacEwan Griffins on Seniors' Night at Father David Bauer Arena.

"It felt really good; I was happy, and my team was working for me," said Clarke. 

"I had so much fun out there, and my team made it a really great day for me. I had a good night with my parents and my friends and family here, so it was good."

Clarke and Kate Wagner joined the program in 2019 and were both honoured ahead of Saturday's contest.

"This whole week, I've just been thinking about all the memories I've had being a Dino, and this team and this group and the staff has just made my last year really, really special," added Clarke.

Firing 13 shots on goal in the first period, the Dinos finally broke through on the MacEwan net after being shutout a night earlier. A long pass up the middle and a deflection off Griffins defender had the puck end up on Clarke's stick,  seeing the end to the scoreless game at the 14:42 mark of the opening frame. The senior forward had no issues sniping it through goaltender Mikayla Christmann.

Calgary extended their lead in the second period off a two-on-one scoring chance. Picked up by Makenna Schafer at centre ice, the puck was brought across the blue line with Evelyn Lawrence at her side. A pass across the lone MacEwan defender allowed Lawrence an open lane to sneak one past Christmann's left pad, earning her first goal of the season.

The third tally for the Dinos came from a tangle at the centre circle with 1:26 remaining in the middle frame. As Clarke came free with the puck from the scramble, Josie McLeod had MacEwan's defence trailing behind her on a breakaway chance before simply tucking it in the bottom left corner between the pipes.

The third period started with another Dinos goal halfway through the frame. Emma Tait was net front, awaiting a rebound cleanup that put Calgary up 4-0. 

It was at the 12:19 mark of the third that the Griffins finally made the scoresheet for the first and only time, thanks to a power play goal from Ali Macaulay, who flipped the puck into the top right corner behind the Dinos brick wall, Amelia Awad. 

Clarke capped off the night with a power play goal with six minutes remaining to close out a 5-1 win.

"The group came in wanting to fight for our seniors, and they did a great job. Our seniors pulled the team into the fight, drove the bus today, and the group did a great job assisting it," stated Dinos head coach Josh Gosling.

"It's a year that's going to help us moving forward. It's a tough year for our senior group, but it's going to be a year that's going to help us grow and help us in the long run."

The Dinos will finish out their season next weekend, Feb. 14 and 15, when they face off against the UBC Thunderbirds on the road.

"We want to play our hearts out. They're first in the country and we want to battle them and show that we can play with them, so I think it's going to be a fun weekend." Clarke said.

The Griffins will return home Feb. 14 and 15 to battle the Regina Cougars.

-UC-