If Superman were a Dino then the West Coast would be kryptonite.
Any superhero needs an arch nemesis; someone cunning and evil with some sort of super power. Unfortunately for Calgary, their nemesis is the West Coast which has neither of these qualities, just some unknown power that weakens our Dinos like kryptonite on Superman.
It seems to be the same story time after time; the majority of Dino teams that travel out west fail to come home with the desired results even when favoured to do well. This time, it was the field hockey team’s turn to feel the inevitable wrath of the west.
The Dinos were sitting in second place in the Canada West Conference and third in the nation before going into their second tournament of the year. But that would all change in the end.
The Dinos lost a tough first game to the University of Alberta Pandas 1-0 by a quick goal in the 16th minute by Roxanne Perry. This goal would have an after effect, as the Dinos were unable to score a single goal against the University of British Columbia the following day. Calgary would have to swallow the fact that they had suffered an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Thunderbirds.
“I think it was a lack of focus,” said Natalie Peterson. “We didn’t want it as much as the other teams did. We also didn’t play like a team all weekend; it was as if communication was nonexistent.”
Peterson managed to break the scoring drought by putting one in against the Manitoba Bisons in the eighth minute on Sunday.
Calgary was able to take the Manitoba game 5-0 thanks to two goals by veteran Ashley Reaburn. This win did redeem the team, but would not change the pace of the weekend as the Dinos lost 2-0 to the University of Victoria Vikings later in the day.
“I felt our game against U of A was our worst game of the year,” said Reaburn. “We did not do the things that were successful for us, and we had no team effort.”
“The refereeing did not help either, it was terrible, but that’s no excuse. It was bad for all teams,” said Reaburn. “We had two tough goals against us in the UVic game, the first on a stroke and the second on a corner. During the game we realized we could play, we had such a strong second half.”
Even after such tough losses, both Peterson and Reaburn agreed that there was something positive to look at, that being the play of goaltender Burgundy Biletski.
“She played so well and kept us in the games,” said Peterson.
“After being crashed into she decided that that was it, and for the rest of the time there she was not going to get pushed around anymore,” added Reaburn. “The net area was hers.”
If they hope to go to nationals, the Dinos have one last chance to steal a wild card in their final tournament of the year held in Vancouver. It will now be a question of whether or not our heroes are ready to face their enemy once again.
“We will have to step it up, work as a team and communicate if we hope to move the ball well,” said Reaburn. “And hopefully, we will be ready.”
Peterson agreed that teamwork will be essential.
“We will need to be more aggressive and attack more. We also need to be more consistent next time.”