Looking for a second-straight Canada West title, and fifth in the last six seasons, the Golden Bears Hockey team will visit the Calgary Dinos in the 2023 Canada West Final this weekend. 

The best-of-three final series will begin on Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena, with Game 2 schedule for Saturday, and a potential Game 3 slated for Sunday night. Puck drop for all three games will be at 7:00 p.m. MT. 
 

WEBCAST LINK

 

LIVE STATS LINK

Including 2023, the Bears have played in nine of the last 10 Canada West Finals, winning seven times. The Dinos are making their first finals appearance since 2015, and are seeking their first banner since 1996. 

Regular Season Sweep

Finishing atop the conference standings, the Dinos went a remarkable 25-3-0 during the 2022/23 regular season. Among those 25 wins came a pair agaisnt Alberta, with the Dinos winning both of their regular season meetings against the Bears. 

The Dinos earned a 4-0 home win over Alberta on November 25th, and followed it up with a 3-2 road win at Clare Drake Arena on Saturday night. It marked the first series sweep for the Dinos since 2020. 

Win Streaks

Of the Dinos 25 regular season wins, 23 of them came consecutively to end the season, which set a new Canada West record for longest win streak in Men's Hockey history. 

The streak of 23 crushed the previous record of 18-straight wins, set by the 1978-1979 Golden Bears. 

Alberta has won 17-straight playoff series against Calgary, and 34 consecutive playoff games against the Dinos. Calgary's last playoff win over Alberta came in the 1996 Divisional Final, part of a 2-0 series sweep over the Bears. 

Canada West Honours

The provincial rivals made a statement last week, as the Bears and Dinos combined to win four of the seven major Canada West Awards. 

Bears captain Matt Fonteyne earned the UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for Sportsmanship & Ability, while first-year Jakin Smallwood was named the CW Rookie of the Year. 

The Dinos were led all season by Goalie of the Year Carl Tetachuk, with bench boss Mark Howell being named the Coach of the Year.  

By The Numbers

• It will be the first time since 2014 and 2015 the Bears and Dinos will meet in the conference final. Alberta is 7-5 all-time against Calgary in the conference final, having won the last three finals matchups.
• The Dinos are 4-1, however, against Alberta in the final at home, with 1990 the last time Calgary hosted Alberta in the final. The Bears and Dinos also met in the final in Calgary in 1988, 1976, 1974, and 1970.
• The Dinos are looking for their first conference title since 1996, while the Bears are the defending champions, and have won four of the last five Canada West banners.
• The Dinos have lost their last four finals appearances, and are 8-12 all-time in the CW Final. Alberta is 30-12 all-time in the conference final. 

Bears vs Dinos in CW Final

YEAR	VENUE	RESULT	SCORE	SERIES
1970	Calgary	Alberta wins series 2-0	ALB 6 | CGY 3	1-0 ALB
1972	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 1-0	ALB 3 | CGY 1	2-0 ALB
1974	Calgary	Calgary wins series 2-0	CGY 9 | ALB 7	2-1 ALB
1976	Calgary	Calgary wins series 2-0	CGY 9 | ALB 2	2-2
1979	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 2-1	ALB 12 | CGY 9	3-2 ALB
1980	Edmonton	Calgary wins series 2-0	CGY 5 | ALB 1	3-3
1988	Calgary	Calgary wins series 2-1	CGY 18 | ALB 16	4-3 CGY
1989	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 2-1	ALB 9 | CGY 7	4-4
1990	Calgary	Calgary wins series 2-0	CGY 11 | ALB 6	5-4 CGY
2011	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 2-0	ALB 11 | CGY 1	5-5
2014	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 2-0	ALB 10 | CGY 2	6-5 ALB
2015	Edmonton	Alberta wins series 2-0	ALB 7 | CGY 3	7-5 ALB