CALGARY – Five different players scored for the University of Calgary Dinos as they defeated the Manitoba Bisons 6-3 on Friday night at the Father David Bauer Arena.
Kaden Elder (1g, 2a) finished with a team-high three points, while Coda Gordon was the lone player to find the back of the net twice.
Devon Skoleski contributed on all three goals by the Bisons, earning a trio of assists.
The win is the Dinos' eighth in a row and moves to 14-3-2 on the season, while the Bisons drop to 8-10-1 in a tight battle for playoff positioning.
The Dinos' power play was a big factor in the first period as they scored on two of their three chances. The Bisons were called off for interference halfway through the period and an excellent passing play between Dane Gibson, Dallas Hines, and TJ Brown led to a Gibson power play finish, giving the Dinos a 1-0 lead.
Four minutes after the opening goal, the Bisons took another penalty for roughing, and with a scrum in front of the net, Gordon tapped in an Elder rebound to increase the Dinos' lead to 2-0.
"It was a really nice job by our guy in front, getting involved and just taking it to the net and I was just fortunate enough to be in the right spot there," explained Gordon when asked about the goal.
Shortly after the goal by Gordon, The Bisons narrowed the lead on a deflection by Jeremy Leipsic. With 30 seconds remaining in the period, Josh Uhrich picked up a rebound off the boards and fired the puck past Manitoba netminder Tyler Brown, giving the Dinos a 3-1 lead going into the first intermission.
The Dinos padded their lead to four in the second period with goals from Brad Schoonbaert and Elder before the mid-way point of the frame.
Colton Veloso netted a shorthanded tally with just over six minutes left in the period, but another late period goal by the Dinos – Gordon's second of the night – reestablished the four-goal advantage.
The Bisons scored the only goal of the third period as Geordie Keane connected in the late stages.
Matthew Greenfield made 17 saves on 20 shots in the victory. Brown saved 20 of the 26 shots he faced before being replaced by Riley Lamb at the start of the third period, who stopped all 11 shots his way.
"We want to have the same game plan, just stay fast and heavy on them and not let them get chances in our zone, and just continue to play low," said Gordon previewing Saturday's rematch.
Game 2 of the weekend between these two teams is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m at Father David Bauer Arena.
