Hockey Dinos battle ‘Horns to split

By Mike Flach

The Dinos fell flat in the first game of their home and home series this weekend with the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

After a miserable 6-1 loss Friday night to the Pronghorns, the Dinos picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and kicked a little heinie with a 4-3 win on Saturday.

"We were poorly prepared on Friday," said Dinos coach Tim Bothwell. "We were definitely not prepared to battle and do the little things you need to win… at any time, let alone in somebody else’s building."

Ronnie Grimard returned from a charley horse to lead the team with four points, a pair each of goals and assists.

The coaching staff found the goaltending spotty this weekend. Tyler Nilsson started on Friday and Scott Rideout started Saturday. Nilsson didn’t have a strong game on Friday.

"He only got 27 shots, which is unacceptable," said Bothwell referring to Nilssons .778 save percentage.

Bothwell commented that Rideout could have stopped three of the Pronghorn’s goals Saturday.

"[He] had a good, strong third period which we needed at the time," said Bothwell. "Neither [goaltender was] as good as we need them to be or as good as they want to be."

Brock Hodgson made his debut on defense, having a strong couple of games, playing very strong positionally.

"Brock went in in a pretty tough spot, he hasn’t played a game since April or March, he actually played pretty well," said Bothwell. "He positioned himself well and played within his limitations."

Further ice time should allow him to come into his own for the remainder of the season.

"I’m sure he’s not ecstatic about everything he accomplished on the weekend, but generally he did a pretty good job," commented Bothwell.

Trevor Murray, in his second weekend back, had a slower weekend than last. His five-point performance last week would have been incredibly difficult to duplicate.

"Trevor dropped off quite a bit this weekend. His play was kind of spotty this weekend," said Bothwell. "The intensity was still there, but he didn’t play as smart a game. He wasn’t as involved offensively. I don’t mean only point-wise, but creating opportunities as well."

Did any players stand out in turning the team’s attitude around on Saturday night?

"Not in particular," answered Bothwell. "I think they all knew they had to be more physical and intense and determined."

"If we could have won two games this weekend, we could have pretty much clinched second place and home ice in the first round," said Bothwell. "We’re still in a good spot, but we kind of left the door open a crack for them."

Bothwell wants some intensity this week in practice, as the Dinos face off against the University of Alberta Golden Bears next
weekend.

"We need a good week of practice, the main problem last week was that we were way too casual at practice," commented Bothwell. "Those lazy habits creep into your game when you spend a week building them into your game."

With the intensity Bothwell is looking for, the coach has high hopes for the Dinos to smack some Golden Bear.

"There’s no reason we can’t go into Alberta and win a game. We did it at the start of the year."

6 comments

Leave a comment