Box Score CALGARY – 13,324 fans packed the Scotiabank Saddledome to watch the Mount Royal University Cougars men's hockey team defeat the University of Calgary Dinos 2-1 in the 12th annual Crowchild Classic on Thursday.

The Dinos and Cougars traded early high-danger chances but goaltenders Shane Farkas and Carl Tetachuk fended them off. 

The duelling netminders were each playing in their fourth consecutive Crowchild Classic. In the past three editions of this game, Tetachuk has made 34, 39 and 46 saves, respectively. He was solid once again on Thursday, stopping 39 of the 41 shots he faced.

Midway through the first, Mount Royal got on the board first. Vaughn Watterodt drove in along the wall, cutting to the net on his offhand. The winger caught Tetachuk cheating on his post and roofed a Sidney Crosby-esque backhand over the shoulder of the netminder.

The phenomenal goal from Watterodt sent the MRU faithful into bedlam.

Later in the period, the Dinos would find twine for the first time in the game. With Tristan Zandee sent off for a hooking minor, Calgary went to work on the man advantage. Jake Poole parked himself right in front of the crease, waiting for a tip or rebound. That rebound came and he was right there to tap it in, levelling the score at one.

Wanting to put last year's 4-0 Crowchild Classic loss in the rear-view mirror, Mount Royal approached this year's game with a different mindset.

"Last year, we got embarrassed. Our coaching staff challenged the captains after the game. To be better prepared," said Cougars captain Kyle Walker. " We talked about the importance of this game from a season standpoint. We needed these two points. Who cares if it's at the Saddledome."

A major point of emphasis for the Cougars was to play this game for the seniors. This would be a lot of players' last Crowchild Classic and the team wanted to make sure it was a successful one.

"It was special for our graduating guys. We're glad we got this one," said Walker.

The Cougars looked to regain control of the game after the Dinos tied it at one.

In the second period, they looked to a guy who has performed at the top of his game every minute he's spent in a Cougar uniform: Clay Hanus.

Blake Stevenson fed Hanus a pass and the defenceman unloaded on a one-timer, beating Tetachuk under the pad. Hanus' celebration felt cathartic, letting his emotion fire up his entire bench and the loud MRU crowd.

It's been a unique season for the fourth-year blueliner. After winning national player of the year last season, Hanus departed for Europe to play pro. He later returned to Mount Royal and rejoined the Cougars partway through the season. The go-ahead goal was a culmination of all his hard work this year.

"I give him a lot of credit. You can tell this is where he's supposed to be," said Gilling on his star defenceman. "There was a lot of pressure on him with pro offers and everything. I'm just so happy for him. You could see the emotion and how much it meant to him."

With the narrow lead, Mount Royal shifted their focus to shutting down the Dinos the rest of the game. 

In the third period, Calgary struggled to generate offence, other than a magnificent opportunity that was denied by a ten-bell save by Shane Farkas.

In his appearance on Thursday, Farkas became the MRU all-time leader in games played by a goalie with 47 (in the U SPORTS era), passing Colin Cooper.

Farkas was phenomenal for the Cougars. The veteran netminder has battled several injuries throughout his career, including this season. His coach was immensely proud of how he battled and credited the rest of the group for rallying around him.

"He's overcome a lot of stuff," said Gilling. "Again, I think it's the uniqueness of our senior group. They pull all our guys back in. There's a brotherhood there."

Farkas was named the second star of the game.

The Cougars controlled the rest of the game, cruising to the hard-fought win.

A sense of redemption was felt around the Mount Royal locker room after the game. With the victory, the Cougars have punched their ticket to head back to the Canada West playoffs.

The Dinos will have another shot at the Cougars on Saturday at Flames Community Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST.