Box Score Written by: John Gaudes

WINNIPEG  - Looking for a statement win against the #6-ranked UBC Thunderbirds, the Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team could not close the deal on Friday, November 22 at Wayne Fleming Arena. The Thunderbirds came from two goals down to win 3-2 in a shootout thriller.

With the win, UBC improves to 10-2-1, while Manitoba falls to 7-4-2 with the overtime loss.

UBC got their two regulation goals from two different players, as Nicole Saxvik and Sarah Casorso both notched goals. The Thunderbirds got assists from Tatiana Rafter and Devon Morrison. Goaltender Danielle Dube was solid when she needed to be down the stretch, making 33 saves on a sharp Manitoba offense.

The Bisons got their two goals unassisted in the first, from Rachele Bosc and Kyleigh Palmer. Dée-Ana Marion spent moments of the game on her head, and made a tough 29 saves in the loss.

"I thought we did a lot of really good things, it's unfortunate though, I think we deserved a lot better," said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel.

"We had chances at 2-0 to put them away, we had two chances hitting two goal posts. That was probably the difference."

Up to the challenge of playing Canada West's top team, the Bisons came out sharp and quick to start the first period. Just three minutes in, Rachele Bosc took a pass at the top of the face-off circle, made a quick move and put a wrist shot through Dube's five-hole to put the Bisons up. With Marion fighting off some great chances for UBC, Manitoba added to their lead with 25 seconds left in the period - Palmer intercepted a gimme pass in the goalie crease, then put a backhander top shelf to make it 2-0.

To start the second, Manitoba missed a step, failing to score on two more stolen passes in front of the UBC net - hitting the post both times. After that, a pair of dominant penalty kills saw the Thunderbirds finally get their legs under them. Turning defensive pressure into offense, Saxvik buried a rebound on the other end to get her team within one after 40 minutes.

The UBC momentum continued into the third, when four minutes in, Casorso broke in and sent a beautifully placed wrist shot past Marion glove-side to tie it up. Back-to-back Manitoba penalties followed, but the Thunderbirds could not capitalize. A furious finish and a 4-on-4 overtime period solved nothing, and Capozzi was able to get the only goal in the shootout to seal the comeback for UBC.

The Bisons women's hockey team completes their weekend back-to-back against UBC on Saturday, November 23. Puck drops at 6 p.m. CST.