The University of Regina men's hockey team fought hard but fell short, losing 3-1 to the Calgary Dinos at The Co-operators Centre on Saturday night.

Cain Franson, Coda Gordon and Elgin Pearce scored for the Dinos, who move to 7-8-3 with the win. Zach McPhee replied for the Cougars.

The Cougars (4-14-0) looked strong for the opening eight minutes, but Calgary was able to get on the scoreboard first thanks to a great wrist shot off the stick of Franson. Kevin King won a draw in the Cougars zone and Gordon tapped it to Franson who ripped one from the top of the circle, beating Mitch Kilgore high on the glove side.

Regina wasted no time evening the score in the second period, after Dylan Busenius was sent to the box at the 0:49 mark for interference. The Cougars powerplay seemed harmless for the first 45 seconds but after a Cody Fowlie shot was stopped by Myles Hovdebo, McPhee was in the right spot and was able to bang the rebound in. McPhee's first of the season, which was also assisted by Brody Luhning (pictured), drew the Cougars even.

The Dinos took the lead back with 8:43 remaining in the middle frame right after killing off a Cougar powerplay. Alex Dzielski fired a shot wide that rolled all the way around to Drydn Dow at the other point. Dow also ripped a shot towards the net, hitting a Cougar defender's stick on its way. The puck bounced right in front to Gordon who tapped it past Kilgore to make the score 2-1 for the visitors.

The third period was fast paced but didn't produce many good chances for either team. Regina had a great chance to score the equalizer with less than a minute left, as a long pass from Fowlie slipped between Dino defenders and sent Troy Hunter in on a partial break. Hunter fired a low shot but Hovdebo was just able to get a toe on it and kick it wide. Pearce collected the puck along the boards and fired a long shot into the empty Regina net, sealing the deal for Calgary.

Hovdebo was solid in net for Calgary, making 25 saves. Kilgore was also impressive in net, stopping 23 Dino shots.

The Cougars are back at home next weekend, as they take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Regina has a 2-0 lead in the season series against the Pronghorns, coming away with 7-4 and 8-4 wins back in November.