Dinos Men’s Hockey (8-5-1)
Fresh off two lopsided home wins, the Dinos men’s hockey team closes out the first semester with two more games from Father David Bauer Arena as Trinity Western comes to campus for a pair. The Dinos and Spartans drop the puck on the weekend Friday at 7 p.m. before Saturday’s rematch at 6 p.m.
Calgary picked up a pair of much needed convincing wins last weekend, outscoring Manitoba by a combined 11-2 to move to 8-5-1 on the year. Second-year forward Dallon Melin led the way with four goals in the sweep of the Bisons, including netting his first university hattrick in Saturday’s finale. With 14 games played and at the midway point of the conference slate, the Dinos sit tied for second in the conference’s West Division standings, as both Calgary and UBC have 17 points. Mount Royal leads the way with 22 points, while TWU is fourth with five points.
The Spartans head into the weekend with a 2-11-1 record, with their lone wins of the year coming at home in a sweep of Regina Nov. 1-2. TWU also picked up a point in an OT loss at home to MacEwan. Second-year goalie Leon Sommer has made 12 starts in net for Trinity Western and made 413 saves on the year – by far the most in Canada West thus far.
The Dinos still haven’t lost to the Spartans since they adopted the sport for the 2021-22 season, outscoring them by a combined 53-17 over 10 games, including tallying a pair of wins (5-1 & 6-3) at home earlier this season.
Dinos Women’s Hockey (6-6-2)
It’s a big weekend for the Dinos women’s hockey program, as they head to Langley, B.C. for two games with Trinity Western. Both Friday and Saturday’s action is set for 2 p.m. MT from the Langley Events Centre.
With 14 games in the books and sitting at the halfway point of the conference slate, the Dinos sit at 6-6-2 on the year for 14 points. That’s good for a tie for third place in the West Division with this weekend’s opponent in Trinity Western, who is 7-7-0 on the year, also for 14 points. That is significant as this year’s playoff format sends the top three seeds from each division into the playoffs. Calgary is coming off a tough road trip against Manitoba, dropping a pair of close ones with the Bisons following a big win over No. 2 UBC at home Nov. 16.
Meanwhile, the Spartans head into the weekend also looking to bounce back following a weekend sweep, dropping a pair of home contests against Mount Royal. TWU continues to find itself in close contests. While they have only netted 29 goals on the year, they have only allowed 25.
The Dinos and Spartans battled to a split in BC earlier this year to give the Dinos a 7-3 lead in the all-time series. A season ago, Calgary won three of four over TWU, though all four games were close to the end.
Dinos Women’s Volleyball (2-6)
Calgary’s women’s volleyball squad closes out the first semester with two big games at home, hosting UBCO Friday (6 p.m) and Saturday (5:30 p.m.) inside the Jack Simpson Gym.
It’s the annual Block Party Friday night inside ‘The Jack,’ with a big crowd expected for the annual event. The women’s game kicks off the night, with the men’s game immediately scheduled to follow.
The Dinos sit at 2-6 with two games to go in the first half of the conference season. Last time out, Calgary dropped a pair of straight-set decisions to a nationally ranked Alberta squad.
UBCO kicked of the 2024-25 conference slate with two convincing wins over MacEwan but have struggled since, sliding to 3-5 after a sweep at the hands of No. 2 Fraser Valley last weekend. One notable area of strength so far for the Heat is the blocking. Madison Gardner leads the conference with 1.35 blocks/set, with Natalie Funk right behind at 1.11 blocks/set for third in the individual CW standings.
Calgary and UBCO are knotted at 10-10 in the head-to-head series in the last 20 conference games. Last year, the two teams battled for the first time in four years, with the Dinos winning the weekend opener in Kelowna before the Heat claimed a sweep to close the weekend.
Dinos Men’s Volleyball (3-5)
Block Party is here as the Dinos men’s volleyball team gets set to welcome the UBCO Heat into the Jack Simpson Gym Friday for a big crowd, with a scheduled start of 7:30 p.m. immediately following the women’s game. Saturday’s first-half finale gets underway at 4 p.m.
Calgary sits at 3-5 with two games to go before reaching the midway point of the first season under head coach Graham Vigrass. There have been plenty of bright spots so far this year, arguably none brighter than a sweep of crosstown rival Mount Royal back on Nov. 8-9. Last time out, the Dinos dropped a pair in the Battle of Alberta, but showed they have what it takes by stealing a set off the No. 1 team in the country – just the fourth time all year the Bears have dropped a set in conference play.
Meanwhile, the Heat come to town sports in a 6-2 record in league action. UBCO owns an impressive split with Trinity Western (7-3) while also posting wins over Thompson Rivers (2-6), UFV (2-8) and MacEwan (0-8). They have yet to play a five-set match this season, with last weekend’s home sweep of the Cascades coming in straight sets.
The Dinos and Heat had one of the most memorable games of the year this past January in Kelowna. After Calgary opened with a convincing sweep in the opener, the rematch proved to be a doozy, winning 25-23, 25-22, 28-30, 38-36 in one of the longest sets in either program’s history finally falling the Dinos way to finish things off. UBCO’s last trip to Calgary came back in mid-November of 2022, with each team claiming a win.
Dinos Wrestling
The Calgary Dinos wrestling program is back in action this weekend, heading to Saskatoon for two days of competition. It all starts Friday in a dual meet with the Huskies before Saturday’s open meet on the UofS campus.
The first national rankings of the 2024-25 season were announced just last week, with both Dinos teams cracking the national top-10. In fact, Calgary’s women once again are ranking No. 1 in the nation – a spot they held in seven of last year’s nine rankings, as well. Meanwhile, the men open the year ranked eighth in the nation.
Calgary is competing in conference action for just the second time this season and the first since opening the year at home in a strong start back on Oct. 18-19.