The University of Calgary Dinos dominated both the women’s and men’s games in dramatic fashion.
The Mount Royal Cougars and the University of Calgary Dinos took to the ice for the 11th Crowchild Classic.
This iconic doubleheader between the two Calgary universities takes place yearly at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“I think it’s one of the best university events in North America,” said Cougars Men Captain Kyle Walker, prior to the game, comparing the tournament to Boston’s Beanpot and the National Collegiate Athletics Association.
“We sold out this week, so [almost] 14,000 people will be there which is crazy, and all students as well.”
Dinos women’s team victorious in shootout
The Cougars Summer Fomradas opened the scoring for the women’s game 2:10 into the second period.
“It was really exciting,” she said of her opening goal. “What made it even better was when teammates came to hug me – we drifted into the bench and everyone could celebrate together.”
University of Calgary’s Brooklyn Anderson tied the game up with 7:06 to go in the third period.
MRU goaltender Kaitlyn Ross had a .947 save percentage this season prior to the Crowchild Classic.
The fifth-year goalie had several highlight-worthy saves stopping 22 of 23 shots on goal earning herself the second star of the game.
Dinos goalie Amelia Awad also put on an impressive performance, stopping 34 of 35 shots on goal, securing the first star of the game.
After 60 minutes the game would remain 1-1, and three-on-three sudden-death overtime would be needed.
However, overtime would solve nothing and the game would head to a shootout.
It would be the Dinos Sydney Mercier scoring the only goal of the shootout, securing the 2-1 win for the University of Calgary.
Awad expressed her excitement post-game. “I remember … watching these games and being like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to be here,’ and I finally got that chance to pull off the win.”
Dinos shutout Cougars
The Crowchild Classic is something that players look forward to every year.
“It’s bigger than just me – it’s more to the school and to the jersey. I just want to put myself out there for the team and see what we can do,” said Mount Royal University’s rookie Teague Patton ahead of his first Crowchild Classic. “It’s an exciting game and I’m pretty fortunate that I get to play in it.”
However, this year the men’s game did not go the Cougars way.
Dinos Jake Gricius opened the scoring for the men’s game 9:50 seconds into the first period.
University of Calgary scored once again in the second, this time by Colson Gengenbach on the four versus three powerplay to make it 2-0 on only their sixth shot of the game.
Tyson Galloway scored his second goal of the season with 2:59 left in the first period to make it 3-0 Dinos.
The Dinos’ fourth goal was scored by Dallon Melin halfway through the third period.
Dinos goaltender Carl Tetachuk put on a dominant performance, recording a 34-save shutout, and securing the first star of the game.
Despite the score, it was an aggressive game with lots of goal opportunities on both ends of the ice.
“Any time you play against a team you have a history with, you have some battles. We played them in the playoffs last year,” said Mount Royal University’s Connor Bouchard. “It’s going to create these rivalries and as players, it is fun to be a part of it. It makes you feel like you are a part of something.”