‘Goin’ Back To Saskatoon’

Where would we rather be in mid-February? Well, almost anywhere, frankly. The Dinos are, however, happy to be in the Canada West playoff picture after a horrendous 3-8 start in league play was rescued by an impressive 8-3 finish for 3rd spot behind Saskatchewan - 13-9 and Alberta, first at 15-7.

This will be the 3rd trip to the ‘Bridge City’ ( wait a minute … isn’t that Lethbridge ), and the team is hoping for better results than the previous three games, which were won by the Huskies. With only 1 win in 5 starts against the green and white this season, there appears to be little cause for optimism by the Dinos, but, playing well at the end of the year is crucial to playoff success, and the Dinos are on the right track now.

… Dinos Notes …

- Wing man Jeremy Odland is now at home under the care of his wife Shannon, who is a student and also working part-time. Jeremy’s grandparents are in town for a week or so in order to lend a hand. He will be enjoying meals through a straw for at least a month, so should look like Tony Dhaliwal ( no, not the brown part) when he finishes his ‘fast’. Jeremy is in good spirits and is looking forward to the Dino ‘web-cast’ of the weekend’s action.( Not a real web-cast, but some hair-brained scheme on Dean McCord’s part somehow involving his cell phone and /or laptop).

- In sympathy for Jeremy, McCord, our ace team manager, sliced open his finger in an ugly bow-tying accident at work on Tuesday afternoon. ‘Blood everywhere “, remarked the ashen-faced all-around athlete. A good supply of Batman bandaids should keep Deano going on the trip.

- The Dinos are bolstered by the return of post player Joe Schow to full-time practice. Joe is trying to knock the rust off his game so he can contribute to a couple of wins this weekend.

- The team will take the south route to Saskatoon with a stopover in beautiful Maple Creek and the Unsworth Ponderosa. Chief cook and bottle washer, Art Unsworth, will be serving up a team banquet of fresh ‘road kill’ , as he so tastefully puts it. It has been a real treat for the team to enjoy the hospitality of several Dinos’ families this season as we travel across Western Canada.

The Dinos double secret game plan for the best of three series … stop Andrew Spagrud ( Canada West scoring and rebounding leader), Rejean Chabot, and Kyle Grant, the three high scorers for the Huskies. Brilliant ! On their part, Saskatchewan will, undoubtedly, afford some extra attention to Josh Feist, the Dinos high scorer and the Canada West assist leader. With Odland out of the Dinos rotation it will fall on Tony Dhaliwal, Joel Bancroft, and, perhaps, Ross Bekkering to relieve Brian Finniss at the wing position.

Game time on Friday and Saturday is 7:00 pm in Saskatoon, with the Sunday game scheduled for 3:00 pm , if a third match is necessary.