CALGARY - Mount Royal University's men's hockey team held their first home game with the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday night. It was a fiercely played game on both sides, but the Cougars ended with a strong victory of 5-3.

As the game began, the Cougars were feeling the pressure as their defenses began to struggle against the Bisons' plays. It was a stalemate until the halfway mark, but the Cougars soon recovered control of the ice. Rebounding off a pass from Keegan Iverson, Mount Royal's Ryley Lindren scored the first goal of the night.

The two teams fought for an advantage for the remaining of the first period, but the Cougars led 1-0 into the break.

Soon after the second period began, Dylan Thiessen of the Bisons slipped through the Cougars defensive line to sink the puck into the net, bringing the game to a tie. Barely three minutes later, his teammate Nathan Halvorsen pushed Manitoba into the lead with another swift goal.

The second period heated up as the puck bounced from end to end, unable to find a steady influence. At the nine minute mark, Mount Royal once again stole the play as Mitch Lipon tied the game.

In the waning minutes of the period, one of Mount Royal's newest players Connor Blake scored his first two goals of the season just three minutes apart. With assistance from forwards Andrew Fyten and Ryley Lindgren, he pushed the Cougars into a strong lead of 4-2 as the second period closed.

Manitoba fought back against the odds, pushing Mount Royal onto a defensive play. Just three minutes in, Manitoba's forward Ben Dalke took a swift pass from Adam Henry and swept it past Cougars goalie Riley Morris.

Both teams were pushing hard as the game neared its finale. The Bisons were trying to find a path through to success to bring the game to a tie, but were unable to find an advantage. The Cougars managed to sneak in one final goal thanks to Connor Chartier sweeping a pass to Hunter Zandee to score his first of the season.

The two teams play against each other once more on Saturday evening at the Flames Community Arena. It will be broadcasted on CanadaWest.tv, presented by Co-op.