Though he may eye the open skies, Tylan Stephens will have to settle for much slower speeds on the ice. The former Western Hockey League player has joined the Dinos men's hockey team for the 2009-10 season. A native of Calgary, Stephens chose to pursue his academic career despite having another year of eligibility in the WHL.

Dinos head coach Mark Howell says that living at home comes with a number of benefits for Stephens. The comfort and support network will help him when it comes to managing his studies and hockey.

After eight seasons under head coach Scott Atkinson, the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team will be moving in a different direction for the 2009-10 season. The Dinos announced Mark Howell, a former assistant coach for team Canada at three world junior championships and one world hockey championship, would be taking over the program June 3.

"We feel we're taking a first step here towards that ever elusive goal of a national championship in men's hockey," Dinos Athletic Director Kevin Boyles said.

The Dinos waited a long time to avenge last year's championship defeat but finally finished the job and claimed the top prize in the province this season. The Dinos finished the year with drama on Sunday and lifted the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship trophy with a 1-0 win over the Mount Royal Cougars, wining the series 3-2. The final game was filled emotion and suspense, and saw pivotal action at both ends of the ice determining victory and defeat.

During the playoffs the bleachers become crammed full of parents, friends and hockey fans, all looking to help the Dinos achieve victory. A boisterous crowd at the Olympic Oval cheered the Dinos to a 4-3 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday. There were fans dressed in Dinos jerseys, a man with a red wig banging away on a water jug and a lady emphatically ringing a cowbell.

"It makes it fun to play in front of a lot of people who are cheering you on," said Dinos assistant captain Ali Webb.

There comes a time during the year when the adrenalin really starts flowing, the rage inside increases and players realize that if they screw up, it's over-- the playoffs.

The University of Calgary women's hockey team won the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference semi-final playoff series 2-0 against the Grant MacEwan College Griffins last weekend. Game one of the series went to the Dinos 1-0 and the Dinos won game two 3-2.

The first game of the series was dominated by Calgary, who outshot the Griffins 28-9.

With the playoffs on the horizon the University of Calgary Dinos Women's hockey team received a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of the SAIT Trojans at the Olympic Oval on Feb. 14.

"It's a disappointing loss, but [there's] nothing we can do," said forward Becky Niehaus.

Grant MacEwan has flashier jerseys and socks that are modern, streamlined and flashy, but everyone knows that the aesthetics of a team only carry it so far. The Dinos women's hockey jerseys, on the other hand, have not received the upgrade that is deserved, but there is little upgrade needed for their skills.

On an exciting Friday night at the Olympic Oval, the Dinos did what was expected and defeated the Grant MacEwan Griffins 2-1. The Dinos followed up the win with a 2-1 victory in the rematch in Edmonton on Saturday.

It was a David versus Goliath contest and this time Goliath kicked the snot out of David.

The Dinos women's hockey team defeated the Mount Royal Cougars 2-1 on Friday and followed that up with a 6-0 walloping on Saturday. Everything went perfectly for the Dinos at the Olympic Oval Saturday night and they improved their stranglehold on first place in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference standings, moving four points up on the second place SAIT Trojans.

With a dismal record of 6-13-1, the University of Calgary Dinos men's hockey team had a lot to gain from their two-game home series last weekend. Thankfully, they swept the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. The Dinos smashed their slanted odds and left the ice with a 6-3 victory on Friday. They followed this win with a 7-0 win on Saturday.

The Dinos began Friday's game with a flurry as veteran forward Brock Nixon scored 26 seconds into the game, but it didn't phase the hungry Huskies.

It was an evening of despair and frustration for the Dinos women's hockey team as all valiant efforts to score were beaten by NAIT netminder Lauryn Dzioba and they lost their first game of the new year 2-1 to the Ooks at the Olympic Oval on Friday.

The Dinos followed this loss with a commanding 8-1 victory over the Ooks in Edmonton on Saturday night.

The failure for the Dinos on Friday was their power play, which went 0-2 in the first and 0-8 in the game.