The Calgary Dinos men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team representing the Calgary Dinos athletics program of University of Calgary. The team is a member of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association conference and compete in U Sports. The Dinos play their home games at the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena in Calgary, Alberta.

History Shortly before it was renamed as the 'University of Calgary', the Dinos ice hockey team hit the ice for the first time. For their inaugural season in 1964–65, the team joined the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WCIAA), alongside its parent institution, Alberta. They did so in part due to the temporary loss of British Columbia as a league member in order to keep the conference as a viable outfit. As may be expected for a program who had never before fielded a team, the Dinos got off to a slow start; Calgary went winless in its first three seasons, however, Al Rollins was finally able to lead the club to its first wins in year four.

The arrival of George Kingston in 1968 was the turning point for the program. In his first season, Calgary posted a winning record and then finished in a tie for first the very next year. Despite a few near-misses, Calgary was unable to make any appearances in the University Cup tournament until the mid 1970s. By then, the team had become a founding member of Canada West Universities Athletic Association and would remain one of the top teams while Kingston was in charge.

Kingston left in 1988 for the NHL, turning the team over to Willie Desjardins. Despite the team posing winning records in each season, they made just one trip to the national tournament over a 6-year span. Desjardins left for professional opportunities, leaving Tim Bothwell to take over in 1994. He promptly led the Dinos to back-to-back Canada West championships, as well as a third trip to the University Cup in 2000, before accepting an assistant coaching position in the NHL. The program saw less success under Scott Atkinson's 9-year run with no league titles and the first losing records since the mid-80s.

In 2009, Calgary appointed Mark Howell as the 8th head coach and it didn't take long before the team was able to recapture its former glory. The Dinos promptly returned to their winning ways and ended their University Cup drought in 2011. Several additional trips followed, however, the team had a bit of a setback in 2018 when they were forced to forfeit 6 games for using an ineligible player. However, since the team was proactive in reporting the violation, no additional sanctions were imposed.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020–21 season, Calgary returned to the top of the conference, winning the league championship in 2023, its first in 27 years. Despite all of the team's success in Canada West, Calgary has had a very difficult time winning at the national level. Calgary had some success in the 70s, but the team had lost 13 consecutive University Cup games, dating back to 1986 (as of 2024).

Senior hockey Calgary played senior hockey in various leagues from 1967 until 1970. They did so concurrently with their college schedule.

Season-by-season results Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points U Sports Champion U Sports SemifinalistConference regular season championsConference Division ChampionsConference Playoff Champions SeasonConferenceRegular SeasonConference Tournament ResultsNational Tournament Results Conference OverallGPWLTOTLSOLPts*FinishGPWLT% 1964–65WCIAA120120––04th120120 1965–66WCIAA120120––04th120120 1966–67WCIAA160160––05th160160 1967–68WCIAA162140––45th162140 1968–69WCIAA201190––223rd201190 1969–70WCIAA141130––22 1st181350 Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (British Columbia)Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Alberta) 1970–71WCIAA201370––263rd231490 Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (British Columbia) 1971–72WCIAA201550––302nd221660 Won Semifinal, 6–5 (Winnipeg)Lost Championship, 1–3 (Alberta) 1972–73Canada West241680––32T–2nd241680 1973–74Canada West181440––22 1st241860 Won Championship series, 2–0 (Alberta) Won West Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Brandon)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Waterloo) 1974–75Canada West2411121––233rd2411121 1975–76Canada West241770––32 1st302280 Won Championship series, 2–0 (Alberta) Won West Regional Semifinal, 6–4 (Brandon)Won West Regional Final, 3–1 (Alberta)Won National First Round, 5–4 (Toronto)Lost National Semifinal, 1–4 (Guelph) 1976–77Canada West248160––163rd248160 1977–78Canada West2411130––223rd2411130 1978–79Canada West241590––302nd2716110 Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Alberta) 1979–80Canada West2918110––362nd3321120 Won Championship series, 2–0 (Alberta) Lost Pool 1 Round-robin, 0–2 (Alberta), 5–1 (Concordia)1980–81Canada West241860––20 1st292090 Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Saskatchewan) Lost Pool 1 Round-robin, 2–5 (Moncton), 6–3 (Brandon)1981–82Canada West2414100––282nd2614120 Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 1982–83Canada West2410140––203rd2410140 1983–84Canada West2411130––223rd2411130 1984–85Canada West248160––164th248160 1985–86Canada West281990––382nd3623130 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Manitoba)Won Championship series, 2–1 (Saskatchewan) Lost Quarterfinal series, 0–2 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières)1986–87Canada West282350––46 1st332580 Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (British Columbia)Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Saskatchewan) 1987–88Canada West282350––46 1st352780 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Manitoba)Won Championship series, 2–1 (Alberta) Lost Semifinal, 3–4 (York) 1988–89Canada West282170––42 T–1st3424100 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Saskatchewan)Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Alberta) 1989–90Canada West282161––42 1st342581 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Regina)Won Championship series, 2–0 (Alberta) Lost Semifinal, 4–5 (Moncton)1990–91Canada West282251––45 1st3424100 Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Regina) 1991–92Canada West2815112––323rd3116132 Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Alberta) 1992–93Canada West281773––373rd332274 Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Regina) 1993–94Canada West281774––382nd332094 Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Alberta)Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Lethbridge) 1994–95Canada West282062––42 1st332472 Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Lethbridge)Won Championship series, 2–0 (Manitoba) Lost Semifinal, 1–4 (Guelph)1995–96Canada West281891––37 1st3322101 Won Division Final series, 2–0 (Alberta)Won Championship series, 2–0 (Regina) Lost Semifinal, 2–5 (Waterloo)1996–97Canada West262123––45 1st282143 Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 1997–98Canada West2813123––294th3315153 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 1998–99Canada West2813105––313rd3315135 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Lethbridge)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 1999–00Canada West281693––353rd3620133 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (Lethbridge)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta)Won Third Place series, 2–0 (Brandon) Lost Pool B Round-robin, 2–3 (Quebec–Trois-Rivières), 2–4 (Alberta)2000–01Canada West2813123––294th3315153 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Lethbridge)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2001–02Canada West2816111––333rd3218131 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Lethbridge)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 2002–03Canada West2814122––303rd3316152 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Lethbridge)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2003–04Canada West2816102––342nd3318132 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2004–05Canada West2812106––304th3214126 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–0 (British Columbia)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2005–06Canada West2813132––284th3315162 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2006–07Canada West281113–4–266th3313200 Won Division Semifinal series, 2–1 (Regina)Lost Division Final series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 2007–08Canada West28168–4–363rd3218140 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Regina)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 2008–09Canada West281016–20227th2810180 2009–10Canada West28139–33324th3013143 Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2010–11Canada West28178–12372nd3519142 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Saskatchewan)Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Alberta) Lost Pool B Round-robin, 1–2 (New Brunswick), 2–3 (Western Ontario)2011–12Canada West281511–11324th3620151 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Won Semifinal series, 2–0 (Manitoba)Lost Championship series, 1–2 (Saskatchewan) 2012–13Canada West281711–00344th3319140 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2013–14Canada West28214–30452nd3323100 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Manitoba)Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2014–15Canada West28208–00402nd3422120 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Mount Royal)Lost Championship series, 0–2 (Alberta) Lost Quarterfinal, 1–3 (Guelph)2015–16Canada West281212–4028T–4th3314190 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Manitoba)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 2016–17Canada West28189–10393rd3220120 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (British Columbia)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2017–18Canada West281213–30275th ¿3415190 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (British Columbia)Lost Semifinal series, 1–2 (Saskatchewan) 2018–19Canada West28187–21393rd3220111 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Lethbridge)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2019–20Canada West28187–30393rd3220120 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–0 (Manitoba)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Saskatchewan) 2020–21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021–22Canada West20127–10255th2514110 Won Quarterfinal series, 2–1 (Saskatchewan)Lost Semifinal series, 0–2 (Alberta) 2022–23Canada West28253–0050 1st352960 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Saskatchewan)Won Championship series, 2–1 (Alberta) Lost Quarterfinal, 2–4 (Prince Edward Island)2023–24Canada West28215–11442nd3524101 Won Semifinal series, 2–1 (Mount Royal)Lost Championship series, 1–2 (British Columbia) Lost Quarterfinal, 1–2 (2OT) (Toronto Metropolitan)Totals GP W L T/SOL %ChampionshipsRegular Season 1602 868 581 53 1 WCIAA Championships, 12 Canada West Championships, 2 Mountain Division TitlesConference Post-season 196 99 97 0 9 Canada West ChampionshipsU Sports Postseason 25 7 18 0 14 National tournament appearancesRegular Season and Postseason Record 1723 974 696 53 ¿ Calgary forfeited 6 games during the season for use of ineligible player. Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included.

See also Calgary Dinos women's ice hockey

References

External links