(November 28, 2014) EDMONTON – Despite the University of Manitoba Bisons coming back twice, the No.1 University of Alberta Golden Bears emerged victorious with a 5-3 men's hockey win, Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.

Former Red Deer Rebel Brett Ferguson had a four-point night, netting a pair of goals and  two assists, while freshman Stephane Legault reclaimed his spot as the Canada West rookie scoring leader with a goal and two helpers, now with 13 points on the season. Team captain Kruise Reddick tallied the game-winner while conference scoring leader Jordan Hickmott added the insurance goal.
 

Hailing from Minnedosa, Man., Shaquille Merasty potted a pair for the visitors, rearguard Channing Bresciani adding a single. Another former Red Deer Rebel, Deven Dubyk, made 39 saves in the loss.
 

Making up for two straight losses to the Calgary Dinos last weekend, the Bears came out hungry, capitalizing at the 5:58 mark of the opening frame when a Ferguson pass from behind the goal line found Legault at the side of the net, the former Edmonton Oil King sliding the puck off his stick as soon as he got it and putting it just inside the far post for the 1-0 lead.
 

Only 33 seconds later, however, Manitoba knotted things up at one when Bresciani circled into the faceoff dot before letting a wrister loose that got through the gloveside of Alberta goalie Kurtis Mucha. 

The former CIS Goaltender of the Year made amends three minutes later, stopping the Bisons' leading scorer, Jordan DePape, coming in on a breakaway out of the penalty box. As the Winnipeg native got in to tight to lift the puck, Mucha outstretched his left pad along the ice to keep the game tied.
 

Ferguson then put the Bears ahead with his first of the night at the 10:18 mark, almost losing the puck in the Manitoba slot, but moving around a Bison defender, regaining control, and shelving it for his fifth of the season.
 

Crisscrossing with Legault in the Manitoba high slot with just under four minutes left on the clock, Ferguson took the Legault pass off-balance but still managed to put his one-timer on goal, finding the far side for the two-goal lead.
 

Yet the Bisons wouldn't go into the dressing room down by two, Merasty getting a partial break in the dying seconds, firing his first shot off of Mucha's pad but making no mistake on the rebound, getting the puck up and over the helpless netminder with 2.3 seconds left.
 

Alberta came out furiously to open the middle frame, severely outshooting Manitoba 11-1, with several great chances on odd-man rushes, but Dubyk held his ground, giving Merasty an opportunity to tie the game on a Bison power-play late in the second.
 

With a faceoff in the Manitoba zone, Merasty rushed Bear defender Jordan Rowley at the point, chipping the puck past him for the long-distance breakaway before roofing the puck blocker side on Mucha to deadlock the score at three.
 

Alberta reclaimed the momentum, however, taking only fifty seconds to respond on a delayed penalty, rookie rearguard Dylan Bredo finding Reddick at the top of the circle for a one-time laser to the top deck.

The Golden Bears then applied their patented defence in the final 22 minutes of the game, not even letting the Bisons get another shot on goal until midway through the third period. With fresh-faced Manitoba newcomer Brett Dudar in the box for high-sticking, Hickmott scored the insurance marker when linemate T.J. Foster fed him a one-timer, the slapshot finding the back of the net with 7:01 to go.
 

Despite pulling their goalie for the extra attacker, the visitors could only muster one more shot on goal, Alberta pressing in the offensive zone for most of the final minute to cement the victory.
 

Both teams went 1-3 on the night on the man-advantage.
 

Game two of the weekend series goes Saturday, November 29 puck drop at 6 p.m. MT.