WINNIPEG - Back in brown and gold for her fifth and final year, University of Manitoba Bisons goaltender Amanda Schubert stopped all 23 shots she faced from the Mount Royal Cougars Saturday night at the Wayne Fleming Arena.
 
The shutout earned the Bisons their first victory of the 2019-20 season after dropping their first two games last weekend on the road in Lethbridge. Despite many quality-scoring chances throughout the game, the Cougars see their record fall to 1-2-0-0.
 
Schubert faced a flurry of shots near the end of the game with the visitors on the power play but stood tall to earn the win.
 
"Her compete level is huge for the younger players on this team," said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel, commenting on the play of his veteran goalie. "When you see her put on a performance like she did tonight you can't help but be energized as a player."
 
It took until two minutes remaining in the opening period for the two teams to open the scoring. With a defender on her hip, Bisons forward Emilie Masse found space on the short side of Cougar goaltender Zoe De Beauville. Masse's third goal of the season gave the home side the 1-0 lead heading to the first intermission. Mount Royal failed to capitalize on a glorious scoring chance earlier in the period. While on the power play with a wide open net, a loose puck hopped over the stick of Cougar defenseman Cassidy Trotter and slide out of the Bison zone.
 
Thanks to strong performances from De Beauville and the Bisons' Schubert, neither team was able to find the back of the net in the second period. The best scoring chance came when a Bison turnover resulted in a two-on-one for the visitors but the shot from Mackenzie Loupelle went wide. Each team had a total of six shots on goal in the middle frame.
 
37 seconds into the third period the Bisons extended their lead to 2-0 off a shot from the stick of Jenai Buchanan. Mount Royal missed several opportunities to get on the scoreboard including back-to-back power plays late in the game. The goal in the opening frame from Masse proved to be the game winner.
 
De Beauville finished the game with a total of 17 saves for the Cougars.
 
The two teams face a quick turnaround and will hit the ice again tomorrow at 3 PM at the Wayne Fleming Arena to close out the weekend series.