CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos (3-0) jumped out to a 4-0 lead en route to a home-opening 4-1 win over the UBC Thunderbirds (0-2-1) on Friday evening at Father David Bauer Arena.

The Dinos' strong power play performance and Matt Alfaro's continued hot streak led No. 6 Calgary to the victory, improving them to 3-0-0 on the season.

"We came out and played a smart first ten minutes, we took a penalty and they capitalized on their power play and scored in quick succession after that," explained UBC head coach Sven Butenschon. "We're still playing with only three lines right now and when you fall behind like that with a short bench it's really hard mentally and physically."



Calgary put pressure on UBC early, keeping play mostly in the Thunderbirds' zone. Early penalty trouble for UBC gave Calgary the advantage they needed to get on the board. Alfaro opened scoring on the man advantage 8:05 into the period, receiving a pass from Graham Black and firing a wrist shot through a screen past UBC goalie Rylan Toth for his fifth goal of the season.

Not easing on the pressure, the Dinos increased their lead to 2-0 with another power play tally. TJ Brown fired a shot at the net from the right of Toth, the rebound popped out in front and was fired home by Logan Fisher, waiting in the slot. Less than a minute after Fisher's goal, Ryan Gagnon fired a shot at net off a faceoff win, and Tim Vanstone tipped it in to increase the Dinos' lead to 3-0.

UBC held Calgary's offence at bay for the first half of the second period and had their best chance of the game early in the frame off a three-on-two chance by Quinn Benjafield. But it was the Dinos who scored next on their first shot of the period when Chris Rauckman fired a shot over Toth's shoulder from the right hashmarks.



UBC got on the board with five minutes remaining in the second frame when Tyler Sandhu carried the puck through the neutral zone and shot it past Dinos goalie Matthew Greenfield.

Despite chances for each team, both goalies remained perfect in the third period not letting anything past them. Toth stopped 15 of the 19 total shots he faced while Greenfield picked up the win saving 19 of 20 shots.

"We have to somehow find a way to have a better start tomorrow, try to get on the scoresheet early and get some good vibes on the bench."

The 'Birds and Dinos are right back at it again Saturday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. PT puck drop at Calgary's Father David Bauer Arena.