THURSDAY: vs. Calgary, 7:00 p.m. (The Co-operators Centre)
FRIDAY: vs. Calgary, 7:00 p.m. (The Co-operators Centre)

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The University of Regina men's hockey team will be playing for pride in the final games of their season this weekend after being eliminated from Canada West playoff contention last weekend following a split with the UBC Thunderbirds.

The Cougars (8-16-2) will host the Calgary Dinos this week, with games on Thursday and Friday night at The Co-operators Centre.

Regina got the help that it needed last weekend as the Manitoba Bisons swept the Saskatchewan Huskies, but the Cougars could not complete the sweep against UBC that they needed to stay alive. The Cougars won 3-2 in double overtime on Friday night, but could not solve Matt Hewitt on Saturday, falling 1-0 in regulation.

Brock Appleyard (pictured) and Sanfred King scored in regulation on Friday before Ian McNulty netted the winner with 1:33 left in double overtime.

The line of King, McNulty and Dylen McKinlay has been on fire in 2015, combining for 21 points in the Cougars' eight games since the break.

"They're similar players who work well together and have taken advantage of the opportunities we've given them," head coach Todd Johnson said. "McNulty is a playmaker, King is a shooter and McKinlay is a bit of both so they mesh really well."

Lucas Gore started both games in net for the Cougars, making 40 saves on Friday and 28 on Saturday.
Gore holds a 5-14 record with a .910 save percentage and a goal-against average of 2.81. Mitch Kilgore has also seen time between the pipes and has posted a 3-3-1 record with save percentage and goals-against marks of .908 and 2.98.

The Dinos enter this weekend holding second place in Canada West and the No. 4-ranking in the country with an 18-8 record.

Leading the way for the Dinos is Elgin Pearce, who is tied for first in the conference with 17 goals and fourth in Canada West with 31 points. Fifth-year Dinos defenceman Kodie Curran leads Canada West blue liners with 23 points on the campaign.

In net for the Dinos, Kris Lazaruk and Jacob DeSerres have split time. Lazaruk has earned an 8-4 record and leads the conference in both save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.72). DeSerres has a 10-4 record with a .918 save percentage and a 2.16 GAA.

"It's going to be tough for the guys knowing these are the last two games, but we're going to approach it the same," Johnson added. "It's important for the program to show that we can play well against the best teams so we're going to leave it all out there this weekend." 

"We made progress all year and saw lots of improvement; it's unfortunate that our hard work didn't pay off more, but we're moving in the right direction as a program."

The DInos swept the Cougars early this season in Calgary, winning 5-0 and 3-2 in October.

Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.