The University of Calgary Dinos return for their second shot at the Bell Varsity Cup title. The Dinos had a perfect record in last year's tournament but fell to the Thunderwolves in the tournament final. Calgary is a perennial Canada West playoff contender and has been ranked in the CIS Top 10 this season.
This season the Dinos have posted a 8-5-1 Canada West Record (.607 percentage) and are 10-12-1 overall. The team is ranked 15th in the CIS in offense with 3.2 goals per game. They are tied for seventh with Lakehead in team defense, allowing 2.8 goals per game.
Head Coach Scott Atkinson is very happy to be back at the Bell Varsity Cup.
"We at Dinos Hockey feel privileged to be returning to Thunder Bay this year to participate in our second Bell Tournament. The tournament always offers outstanding competition and affords us the opportunity to play in front of a great crowd. In addition, the people at Bell and Lakehead University always treat our team in a first class manner. Thanks for including us."
Last season saw the Dinos finish third overall in the very competitive Canada West Conference. With a record of 14-12-2, they went on to defeat the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in a hard fought quarter final series, before being eliminated by the University of Alberta Golden Bears in semi-final action. The Dinos brought in 12 new players this year in the hopes of improving on their 2002-2003 performance. Once again the Dinos will emphasize defensive responsibility in their game plan, but they have bolstered their offence with skill and speed, which should yield more goal scoring.
Players to Watch on the Dinos are goaltender Aaron Baker, who was outstanding in last year's Bell tourney. High scoring forwards Ken Mckay and Sean Robertson return as well. Both were named to the 2003 World University Games All-Star team. The Dinos also feature last year's leading scorer Jordan Walker. Other forwards to watch are Richard Mueller, Ryley Layden, and Colin McRae. Defenseman Brett Thurston anchors the Calgary blueline.
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