Calgary Dinos break CW record for longest win streak
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CALGARY – Before a roaring crowd at Calgary’s Saddledome, the Dinos Canada West men’s ice hockey team made history. The team won its eighteenth straight game, breaking a 42-year-old record set by the Alberta Golden Bears in two seasons in 1978-79.
The Dinos ended their winning streak in a season in which coaches ranked them fifth out of nine before the first puck drop. With just two weeks left in the season, the Dinos sit first on the widely favored Golden Bears.
To top the performance of the evening? They made it at the Crowchild Classic against Mount Royal, the team’s biggest game in terms of fanfare and enthusiasm, tying the two Calgary rivals together on the NHL ice.
In a building vibrating with the screams and howls of Mount Royal and Calgary fans, the Dinos fought back from a 0-1 deficit and a 2-1 hole thanks to goals from Jake Gricius and Colson Gengenbach.
Carl Tetachuk, goaltender and WHL Graduate of the Month for November, kept an eye on his team as they faced an early offensive attack from the MRU Cougars. He stayed brilliant the entire time as the Cougars plastered him with 48 shots.
The game-winning goal came from a beautiful pass from Jake Gricius, who fired it at line-mate Riley Stotts, who quickly tapped it back in for Gengenbach just before the kink. Gengenbach shot clean in the one-timer to the delight of the Dinos’ Red Army.
The sophomore forward scored a hat-trick with an empty net insurance marker.
“It’s unreal. It’s a one-time thing,” Gengenbach said afterwards when asked what it means for him to break the winning streak record.
Coach Mark Howell beamed.
“I’m really proud of the lads. The last time we lost was against Mount Royal and they bought straight into it the next week when we were talking about what we need to do. From that moment on, they’ve really bought into it, accepting how hard they have to play, how hard they have to train… winning 18 straight in our league is kind of surreal, it’s been a long time,” he said.
“It feels great. I had no doubts about the guys. We came out, we worked hard in every training session, so I think it was coming. I’m really excited about it,” said Tetachuk.
The Dinos’ winning streak began on October 15 with a 4-3 win over (appropriately) the Mount Royal Cougars. They will attempt to extend the historic series in a rematch with the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night at Flames Community Arena. You can catch the action exclusively on Canada West TV or in person by purchasing tickets at the gate or through this link.
