For the third year in a row, Mount Royal and U of C split wins at the Crowchild Classic. With an attendance of 10,474, it marked the seventh classic in a row with a five-digit crowd.
In the men’s game, the Dinos struck first as Jake Gricius scored 22 seconds into the game. After that, the teams both had their chances on the powerplay but the first period ultimately ended at 1-0.
Early in the second period, history was made as Connor Bouchard assisted the Cougars first goal of the game. That assist set the record for the most assists in a season by a Cougar and also tied the MRU record for points in a season previously set at 49 by Riley Sawchuk.
Once again, the teams both got their turn on the powerplay in the second. Colson Gengenbach found the back of the net on a late second period powerplay to give the Dinos the lead heading into the second intermission.
With about seven minutes to go, Blake Stevenson tied the game for the Cougars and that goal would send the game to overtime.
After the teams both had their chances in the extra frame, the game eventually went to a shootout where Connor Bouchard and Connor Blake scored for MRU and Shane Farkas shut the door on both Dino’ attempts to seal the victory for Mount Royal.
This win for Mount Royal was massive as they are in a tight race with the Dinos in the Canada West Division. UBC is currently in first place, but both MRU and Calgary are immediately behind them. The playoff race is so important because the top two seeds will get a first round bye in the playoffs.
The annual game is an event university students in Calgary look forward to all year, and the MRU students, like Khaoula Choual were feeling great after the first game:
“I loved it,” one student said. “This was my first time going to the game and it exceeded my expectations. I’m so happy the men’s team won.”
The women’s game featured a ton of coast to coast action, with the Cougars and Dinos both getting 21 shots on goal, both goalies Kaitlyn Ross and Gabriella Durante stood on their heads.
Unlike the first game, it took just over 45 minutes for a team to get on the board when a former Cougar, Courtney Kollman tipped in a puck to give the Dinos a 1-0 lead.
Late in the game the Dinos defence held up strong against the Cougars attack with the goalie pulled.
Eventually, Elizabeth Lang was able to bury one on the empty net with five seconds left to seal the deal for the Dinos.
Despite the loss, MRU are now in second place in their division. If the Cougars can win out, they give themselves a chance and a top two spot in the division, which would give themselves a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Check out El Reid’s photo gallery from the Crowchild Classic: https://calgaryjournal.ca/2024/01/25/photo-gallery-crowchild-classic-thrills-more-than-10000-fans-at-the-saddledome/
Interview files from Sannah Chawdhry
