EDMONTON - Three costly first-half interceptions returned for touchdowns proved to be too much for the Golden Bears to overcome, as they dropped a 36-22 home decision to the Calgary Dinos on Friday night. 

Nate Beauchemin returned two interceptions to the house himself, finishing the win with 148 interception return yards, two touchdowns, and six tackles. Gideon Agyei returned an Eli Hetlinger interception himself in the first quarter, as Alberta turned the ball over eight times in the 14-point loss. 

Bears corner Charlie De Land opened the contest with a pick-six of his own, in a wild game that saw four interceptions returned for major scores. 

Alberta held possession of the ball for over 35 minutes, and earned over 140 more yards of offence than Calgary, but struggled to turn possession into points. Chevy Thomas scored the lone major for the Bears late in the fourth quarter, with Jonathan Giustini adding two field goals on two attempts. 

Hetlinger finished the night 26/45 passing for 245 yards and one touchdown. Kolby Hurford (8/89) and Thomas (6/79/1) were his primary targets. Usually the focal point of their offence, Alberta struggled to generate a consistent ground game, rushing for 125 yards on 24 attempts. 

With only 217 yards of offence themselves, Calgary took full advantage of short fields. Dom Britton tossed for 156 yards on 10/22 passing, with Matthieu Clarke adding 52 yards on the ground. 

Four interceptions returned for TD's, coupled with three field goals from Vince Triumbari gave the visitors a 30-12 halftime lead.

Neither team generated much offence in the second half, with a handful of clock-munching Calgary drives killing the Alberta comeback bid. 

Alberta (1-1) will visit the 2-0 Manitoba Bisons next Saturday, while Calgary (1-1) will head to Saskatchewan and battle the 0-2 Huskies.