CALGARY — The long wait for Canada West hockey was finally over on Friday night as five first-year University of Calgary Dinos combined to produce seven points in a 5-2 win over the University of Manitoba Bisons at Father David Bauer Arena.

Among the freshmen to contribute to the Dinos' win were Connor Gutenberg and Josh Maser, who both tallied their first collegiate goals.

"The league is a really good league, I think it deserves a lot more respect – the young guys carried a lot of energy," said defenceman Ryan Gagnon, who was introduced as the new Dinos captain before the game.

"I think we started strong, we had a really strong first period, and that really helped us feel comfortable. I think we need to play that full 60-minute game, in the second we gave them a lot of opportunities and they got a couple of goals there."

The Dinos were able to strike first at 15:27 of the opening period when fifth-year transfer Josh Rieger connected with a seeing-eye shot through a crowd. Kaden Elder doubled the Dinos' lead less than a minute later, burying a cross-ice feed from Zack Wytnik at 14:40.

Calgary continued to keep Manitoba hemmed in their zone, throwing several shots and rebounds at Bisons goaltender Liam Hughes, including a shorthanded breakaway chance. The Dinos increased their lead to 3-0 late in the first when Max Patterson wove his way towards the goal and Maser followed through and tucked the puck behind Hughes before it could be covered.

After a fast-paced first, that featured three goals and three penalties, both teams settled in for a back and forth second period. Colton Veloso got the Bisons on the scoreboard with 6:12 remaining in the period as his shot found a way through a crowd and past Dinos goaltender Brodan Salmond. The Dinos struck back three minutes later as Riley Scotts made a backhand pass in front of the net to Bradley Schoonbaert who tapped it past a sprawling Hughes.

The Bisons cut the Dinos' lead in half in the final seconds of the period with Keaton Jameson shooting the puck from the blue line past a screened Salmond.

Gutenberg restored the three-goal lead for Calgary on the power play early in the third period. The Dinos had opportunities to push the lead further with an extended power play, but could not beat Hughes following several highlight-reel saves.

These two teams will meet again Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. MT puck drop at Father David Bauer Arena.