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.[2] 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.[3] 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).[4]
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
¿ Calgary forfeited 6 games during the season for use of ineligible player. Note: Games not counted towards University Cup appearances are not included.[5]
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