Lethbridge – The University of Calgary Dinos, coming off a big win Friday night, completed the weekend sweep of the home and home series against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns with a 4-1 win.
Boxscore
Goals by Ryan McNaught and Walker Wintoneak gave Calgary an early lead that they would not relinquish, with Dylan Hood and Teigan Zahn also netting goals for the Dinos.
Both teams came out flying in the first, looking to score an ever-important first goal, but it was Calgary who started the scoring. McNaught beat ‘Horns net-minder, Scott Bowles, for his second goal of the regular season, midway through the frame.
Lethbridge wouldn’t let up offensively, however, and the ‘Horns continued to increase the pressure on Dino’s Kris Lazaruk. Desperately trying to knot things up prior to the second period, shots by Potruff, Iwanski and Henke were no match for the quick keeper, who made 11 stops in the period.
With only three seconds remaining on the clock, Dino’s sophomore Wintoneak delivered on a stellar second effort, banging a loose rebound past Bowles and in, increasing their lead to a margin of two after one period of play.
Both teams seemed to struggle to find a rhythm offensively as the game approached the halfway mark. Trading penalties within the opening two minutes, each club looked to capitalize with aggressive four-on-four play. Dylan Hood did just that; streaking through the middle off a hot pass from Taylor Stefishen, he released a quick wrister top shelf, beating a outstretched Bowles.
With a stack of late penalties handed out prior to intermission, the Dinos started the third with a lengthy two man advantage. Despite being unable to make the most of their power play opportunity, Calgary was tenacious and continued to control the pace of the game.
Freshman Mark Hall, midway through the third, provided what seemed like a well-needed momentum shift for the Pronghorns as he buried his first CIS goal at 9:16. Calgary answered back quickly; just over a minute later, with a goal by Zahn, notching his second of the season.
Despite outshooting the Dinos 11-9 in the third period, the ‘Horns were unable to complete a comeback. With this win, the Dinos move into a tie with Manitoba for second in the division (5-3-0 CW) while the Pronghorns remain in sixth spot (2-4-1 CW).
The Pronghorns are back in action next weekend when they host the University of Alberta Golden Bears Saturday and Sunday, with games at 7pm and 3pm respectively. The Dinos travel to Vancouver where they visit the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, Friday and Saturday, at Doug Mitchell Winter Sports Center.
