Box Score Shaq Merasty's game-winning goal at 18:34 of the third period gave the University of Manitoba Bisons a sweep of the #3 Alberta Golden Bears in men's hockey on Saturday, January 9 night at Wayne Fleming Arena, emerging on top 3-2. On the season, the Bisons have now taken seven out of a possible eight points against Alberta.

The goal came shortly after a Manitoba powerplay had just concluded, and was the culmination of Merasty's hard work in front of the net, using his big presence to his advantage to tap in the loose biscuit.

The biggest difference maker in the Herd's victory was goaltender Justin Paulic, who kept his team in the game all night long with 46 saves.

"It's pretty crucial beating those guys [Alberta] twice," Paulic said. "We've just gotta build off of it going forward and learn from it."

The first period was physical and fast-paced, as both teams carried the energy from last night's high-scoring affair.  

Jordan DePape picked up where he left off after yesterday's four-point night, netting a wrister top shelf on the Bisons first powerplay of the evening at 10:54 to open the scoring. With the goal, DePape now has a 13-game point streak that began on Oct. 25, and also leads the conference with 29 points.

Tensions flared at the end of the period, as Channing Bresciani and Stephane Legault got into a skirmish in the final minute. Bresciani was given the additional minor penalty and the visitors cashed in, as Kruise Reddick found the back of the net at 19:09 to tie the game. Alberta would seemly take the lead with 1.9 seconds left, however the goal was waved off due to another fight in front of the Herd's net.

The Golden Bears were the aggressors in the middle frame, taking the lead at 2:55 on a Riley Kieser unassisted goal, and peppering Bison goalie Justin Paulic with a total of 19 shots. The home-side's netminder stood tall though, keeping his squad in the matchup despite Manitoba managing just seven shots and frequently playing from their own end.

Even though they had very few quality chances in the second period, the Bisons were able to tie the score going into the third, as Warren Callis lofted a wrister over the right shoulder of Alberta goalie Luke Siemens at 4:27. The goal game just over a minute after Siemens had stoned Callis from in tight.

Paulic came up big yet again early in the third, denying Reddick on a slick one-timer where he slid from left to right to make the stop on Alberta's best opportunity of the period. The home side rewarded their goalie's clutch play with a minute and a half left, courtesy of Merasty – who finished with a goal and an assist.

Manitoba will stay home over the Jan. 15-16 weekend as they host the Mount Royal Cougars while the Bears at home against UBC Thunderbirds during the same weekend.

SCORING BY PERIOD
MAN: 1-1-1
AB: 1-1-0

SCORING LEADERS
MAN: Shaq Merasty (1G, 1A), Jordan DePape (1G, 1A)
AB: Kruise Reddick (1G)