Max Sturley, Dinos Communications
CALGARY – After a dramatic win the night before, the University Of Regina Cougars found themselves back in the win column, defeating the University of Calgary Dinos 2-1 in regulation, Saturday afternoon at the Father David Bauer Arena.
"Overall, it's frustrating," said Dinos assistant captain Delaney Frey.
"We're coming to almost Christmas and we need to find a way to win."
The Dinos controlled the opening 20 minutes, eventually scoring at the end of a 5-on-3 power play opportunity.
Forward Rachel Paul with less than three minutes to go in the period, collected a rebound off a Dana Wood point shot and was able to muscle the puck into the yawning cage making 1-0.
The goal was Paul's third of the season, with Wood and forward Sara Craven picking up the assists on the play.
Early on in the middle stanza, the Cougars capitalized on a 2-on-1 rush.
1:13 in, forward Jenna Merk entered the zone before stopping and feeding defender Nikki Watters-Matthes, who roofed the puck over an outstretched Kelsey Roberts, tying the game at one a piece.
Two minutes after the goal, Cougars forward Jordan Kulbida checked Dinos forward Priya Sidhu from behind, resulting in a five minute major and a 10 minute game misconduct. Sidhu returned later in the period.
The Dinos thus had five minute of power play time to work with, but failed to beat Cougars netminder Jane Kish. The Dinos ended the night 1-for-6 on the power play, with a weekend total of 1-for-12.
After the early goal, neither team found the score sheet until the third period.
At the 14:10 mark, the Cougars took the lead.
Cougars forward Chelsea Hallson floated the puck towards the goal from the right circle, where it took a deflection of a Dino before trickling past Roberts giving Regina a 2-1 lead.
The Dinos pulled Roberts in an attempt to tie, but the Cougars defense held up, giving them a second straight one goal victory.
"We played better than yesterday, that's for sure and it's not always easy to do after the loss we had last night," said head coach Danielle Goyette.
"But again we came up short… and we need to figure this out."
Next weekend, the Dinos will have a home-and-home split with Alberta, while the Cougars will host UBC.
-UC-
Photo by David Moll