FREDERICTON, N.B. – They played an almost perfect game for 59 minutes and 55.9 seconds against the top-ranked team in the nation – but a heartbreaking redirection in the dying seconds of regulation time left the University of Calgary Dinos stunned Thursday night at the Aitken Centre, staring at a 2-1 loss to the host UNB Varsity Reds to open the 2011 CIS men's hockey championship.

BOX SCORE

With eight seconds remaining in the third period and the game tied at one, CIS goaltender of the year Dustin Butler gloved a shot from UNB's Dion Campbell to set up what should have been a regulation-ending faceoff in the Calgary zone. Kyle Bailey won the draw and the puck found its way back to the point, where Josh Kidd's slapper found its way through a bevy of bodies, off a Dinos defender, and past Butler with just 4.1 seconds on the clock.

The 2-1 victory sends UNB to their next game against the Western Ontario Mustangs Saturday night, while Calgary will have very little time to dwell on the result as the Dinos take on Western Friday in a must-win situation to keep their dreams of the school's first-ever national championship alive. Face-off goes at 7 p.m. local (4 p.m. MT), live at www.ssncanada.ca.

The late goal spoiled a spectacular team effort from the Dinos, who saw key contributions from their entire bench in a variety of ways. Butler finished with 28 saves, with more than a few of those coming in spectacular fashion. His UNB counterpart, Travis Fullerton, made 21 saves in the victory.

Despite the loss, Dinos captain Reid Jorgensen knows his team can bounce back Friday night.

“It's really disappointing, but it is what it is,” said the fourth-year forward from Vancouver. “All our guys are old enough men to know that we have to turn the page. It's not how we wanted it, but there is an outside shot we can do it. We need to keep our focus and trust it can fall into place tomorrow night against Western.”

The Aitken Centre was filled with a nervous energy for nearly the entire game, despite a packed house of 3670 spectators. First team All-Canadian Hunter Tremblay got the best chance in the opening period, rifling a hard shot in front square into the pads of Butler.

Calgary finished the first period a man down with Tyler Swystun in the penalty box for interference at 19:33 and they started the second period two men down after Luke Egener was tagged with a four minute high-sticking penalty.

The Varsity Reds capitalized on the extended power play, as Jordan Clendenning slapped it past Butler at 3:09 to make it 1-0 for the home squad, igniting the crowd for the first time in the game.

The Dinos silenced the crowd almost immediately with a bounce-back goal in just under a minute's time. With the UNB defence unable to track down a dump-in from forward Walker Wintoneak, Teegan Moore was Johnny-on-the-spot, jumping on the loose puck coming off of the end boards to send it past Fullerton to draw the game even.

UNB carried the play for the rest of the second period, outshooting Calgary by a 12-4 margin. Clendenning got his second terrific opportunity of the night on a partial breakaway in the middle frame, but rookie defenceman Brett Bartman got a piece of the third-year forward's stick to knock it away harmlessly.

The Varsity Reds thought they had regained the lead with six minutes to go in the game when they were able to jam the puck from underneath Butler into the net. The referee waved the goal off immediately, signalling Butler had stopped the puck, much to the chagrin of the Fredericton faithful. Both teams hada number of chances in the waning minutes, before the V-Reds found pay dirt at the last moment.

Reigning CIS coach of the year Mark Howell of the Dinos kept his focus on the next opportunity, despite the obvious disappointment.

“The level we played at - we executed the way we wanted to,” said Howell. “Really, our only letdown was early in that second period. We need to bring that same energy, emotion, and focus tomorrow.”

The Dinos can still qualify for Sunday's championship game, but they will need a little help to do so. Calgary is in a must-win situation against Ontario West champion Western Friday night, then must nervously await the result of Saturday's UNB-Western tilt. A UNB victory in that one would send the hosts to the final, while a Western triumph would create a three-way tie in Pool A – a tie that would be decided by goal differential.

None of that will matter, however, if the Dinos are unsuccessful on Friday – and Howell and his staff will work to shift the team's focus quickly.

“It's a tough one to swallow, but we came here to win a national championship and we're not out of this thing,” he said. “We have to regroup and be ready for tomorrow.”

SCORING SUMMARY

UNB 2, Calgary 1

FIRST PERIOD

(no scoring)

PENALTIES:

Jeff Lee (UNB) cross-checking, 13:53;
Tyler Swystun (CGY) interference, 19:33.

SECOND PERIOD

1. UNB Jordan Clendenning (1) (Nick MacNeil, Josh Kidd), 3:09 PP
2. CGY Teegan Moore (1) (Walker Wintoneak, Torrie Wheat), 4:03 PP

PENALTIES:

Luke Egener (CGY) double minor high-sticking, 0:04;
Marc-Antoine Desnoyers (UNB) holding, 3:43;
Aaron Richards (CGY) hooking, 5:38.

THIRD PERIOD

3. UNB Josh Kidd (1) (Luke Gallant, Kyle Bailey), 19:55

PENALTIES:

(none)

GOALS (by period)
UNB: 0-1-1:2
CGY: 0-1-0:1

SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
UNB: 9-12-9: 30
CGY: 10-4-8: 22

POWER PLAY:
UNB: 1-4
CGY: 1-2

GOALTENDERS
UNB – Travis Fullerton (W, 1-0, 26 shots, 25 saves, 1 GA, 60:00)
CGY – Dustin Butler (L, 0-1, 40 shots, 38 saves, 2 GA, 58:45)

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
UNB: Josh Kidd
CGY: Dustin Butler

REFEREES: Dominick Bédard, Mark Hulshof
LINESMEN: Benoit Martineau, Jay Doiron

ATTENDANCE: 3,760 (sold out)

START: 7:18
END: 9:31
LENGTH: 2:13

POOL STANDINGS & RESULTS (All times MT)

Pool A standings (after 1 of 3 games)

GP    W    L    GF    GA    PTS
1. UNB        1    1    0    2    1    2
2. Western    0    0    0    0    0    0
3. Calgary    1    0    1    1    2    0

Pool B standings (after 1 of 3 games)

1. McGill    1    1    0    2    1    2
2. Alberta    0    0    0    0    0    0
3. StFX        1    0    1    1    2    0

Thursday, March 24
Pool B #1: McGill 2, StFX 1
Pool A #1: UNB 2, Calgary 1

Friday, March 25
11:00 Pool B #2: StFX vs. Alberta (SSN Canada webcast)     
16:00 Pool A #2: Calgary vs. Western (SSN Canada webcast)     

Saturday, March 26
11:30 Pool B #3: McGill vs. Alberta (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast) 
16:30 Pool A #3: UNB vs. Western (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast) 

Sunday, March 27
17:00 University Cup Final (Rogers Sportsnet / SSN Canada webcast)

-UC-