In an unusual Saturday/Sunday afternoon series, the University of Regina's men's hockey team hosts the Calgary Dinos this weekend. The matchup features two of the three teams that are currently jockeying for the final two postseason berths in the conference.
Entering the weekend, the 6-12-2 Cougars sit in fifth place in the conference, one point ahead of the Dinos (6-11-1) and two points ahead of UBC (5-11-2) – though both teams have two games in hand on Regina.
The Cougars will be playing their first games at home in over two months, as they've had six consecutive road games since hosting Saskatchewan on Nov. 21 and 22. The U of R has been a much better team at the Sherwoods than away from it, as the Cougars are 5-3-1 at home and 1-9-1 on the road.
Second-year forward
Kyle Ross leads the Cougars with seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points through the team's first 20 games. Rookie defenceman
Dylan Chapman, a strong candidate for this season's CIS All-Rookie Team, is second on the Cougars in goals (5), assists (8), and points (13).
Brant Hilton and
Adam Ward have split the netminding duties for the Cougars in recent weeks.
The Dinos enter the weekend hoping to snap a four-game conference losing streak which began with an overtime loss to the surprising Lethbridge Pronghorns on Nov. 28. Since that time, the Dinos have lost once more to the Pronghorns and have also dropped two games to the Canada West-leading Alberta Golden Bears.
Torrie Wheat has shouldered the offensive load for Calgary so far, as the third-year forward is ranked fifth in the conference with 21 points (11 goals, ten assists) in 18 games. Like the Cougars, the Dinos have two goalies that split time between the pipes, as Dustin Butler and Jeff Weber can both be expected to see action this weekend.
The two teams have already met twice this season, with Calgary recording a 3-1 win on Oct. 24 and a 4-3 shootout win on Oct. 25.
Saturday's game will go at 2:30 p.m. at the Sherwood Ice Sports Centre, with Sunday's game scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start.
