A night to remember at the Crowchild Classic

Naomi Campbell, Staff Writer

On Thursday, Jan. 29, 13,324 fans packed the Scotiabank Saddledome to cheer on their respective schools. Mount Royal University (MRU) and the University of Calgary (UofC), for the last 12 years, have been coming face-to-face in the biggest game of the regular season. 

The odds for the women’s game were split pretty evenly, as they have been sitting first and second in the East division of Canada West since the start of the year. However, the men’s game had UofC running as the fan favourite, with the Dinos dominating the regular season so far and MRU hitting their stride in recent weeks. 

The energy was high both on and off the ice, and the record-breaking crowd were given an unforgettable night.

Women’s hockey

Heading into Crowchild weekend, MRU had won three of four previous matchups, giving them a bit of a one-up look to their game. Scout Anderson made her first Crowchild Classic start after backing up former goalie Kaitlyn Ross. Alongside her was second-year skater Breanne Comte, who spoke on the atmosphere coming into the night.

“I definitely had a mix of excitement and nerves because it’s one of those games you circle on the calendar, and there is so much attention put around that game,” Comte said. ”Knowing how great the atmosphere and energy were last year, I was definitely excited to relive that and really embrace the moment.” 

The game remained scoreless throughout the first period. Still, the second period of action started off with a bang as UofC took the lead only 57 seconds in, off of a beautiful shot by Caitlyn Perlinger — her first goal of the season. With MRU down by one, the Cougars ramped up the energy, putting the Dinos on their heels for a solid six-minute push in the offensive zone. 

Still unable to score, they headed into period three with a hunger to tie the game. Two minutes into the final frame, Josie McLeod doubled the Dinos’ tally, giving them a 2-0 lead. At 16:58, MRU struck back as Gabby Lindsay victoriously snuck past the Dinos defence and put the Cougars on the scoreboard, breaking the lead back to a one-goal game. A late MRU third-period penalty kill sounded the death knell for a comeback, and they took a 2-1 loss with the sound of the final buzzer. 

“Scoring in one of the biggest games of the year was really special, especially being able to do it in front of my parents,” Lindsay said.

With it not being the outcome they had hoped for, they laced up their skates and glided into a Saturday night rematch at Father David Bauer Arena. However, Dinos forward Brooklyn Anderson scored a golden overtime goal to win it for the Dinos, giving Awad and the Dinos a clean Crowchild Classic sweep.

After their bye week on Feb. 6 and 7, they will head back on the road to face up against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Feb. 13 and 14, for their last regular-season games. They will be heading to the Canada West playoffs, so be sure to check them out on CanadaWest TV. 

Men’s hockey

The women’s game set the stage and brightened the lights for what was already a highly anticipated game, one that turned into one of the most impressive in Crowchild Classic history. 

The Dinos came out victorious last year, sweeping on Friday night 4-0, but this year, MRU showed up Thursday night with a fire in their hearts and a determination to come out on top in the Saddledome. 

The starting goaltender for the MRU Cougars was fourth-year Shane Farkas, who didn’t see the ice until the start of the second half of the season after battling injuries. Playing only five previous games in the year, his teammates and Cougars fans were definitely excited to see him back in between the pipes.

“How many times in your life do you get to play a sport in front of that many people? Some people never have that privilege,” Farkas said. “It’s such a memorable moment where you can be in front of so many people, and even just for a second, their eyes and their attention are on you. What a rare and valuable experience.”

At the eight-minute mark of the first period, sophomore stickhandler Vaughn Watterodt charged into the Dinos offensive zone, flipping the puck from his backhand and lifting it past the glove of goaltender Carl Tetachuk to take the first lead of the night. Only a few minutes later, Tristan Zandee took a hooking penalty to force MRU on the penalty kill, which unfortunately resulted in a goal by Jake Poole of the Dinos to tie the game at one goal apiece. 

Fired up and ready to get back in the action, period two started with a goal by Clay Hanus off a beautiful down low pass from Blake Stevenson. With MRU up 2-1, and the Dinos on their heels, the men were able to keep them away from Farkas, resulting in the win on Thursday night. 

After the Friday night break, the teams showed up at the Flames Community Arena the next day with their sights set on a second consecutive win. The Saturday night scoring was opened up by Dinos Forward Brendan Lee within the first six minutes of play, off of a power-play opportunity. 

MRU’s Justin Lies tied the game only 51 seconds into the second, followed by Jayden Wiens 50 seconds later, giving MRU the lead. Hayden Pakkala ripped that away fairly quickly off of two more power-play chances, taking the Dinos up by one goal by the end of the second period. MRU defenceman Michael Ladyman re-tied the game in the third, pushing them into overtime. 

After five minutes of 3-on-3 action, the game remained tied, and after six shooters went for both teams, no one was able to sneak past either goaltender. Shooter number seven was Jayden Wiens for MRU, who buried the puck in the back of the net. Farkas made a crucial stop on Dinos player Connor Horning, giving MRU the win to sweep the Crowchild weekend. 

“I went once in the shootout earlier this year and didn’t score, but it was Vaughn who gave me advice on what to do. There had already been six guys before me, so I was watching them and taking notes on what not to do,” Wiens said. “I was just happy that his advice worked out and I scored to finally end the game.”

The men’s team will take a bye week on Feb. 6 and 7, but is back at Flames Community Arena on Feb. 13 and 14 for the last regular season games. They will be hosting their senior night celebration on Saturday night. Admission is free for students and all games are available on Canada West TV.