WINNIPEG – For the first time all season, the University of Manitoba Bisons claimed victory in two straight games thanks to captain Jordyn Zacharias.
The leader of the Herd slipped a puck between the legs of Lethbridge Pronghorns goalie Alicia Anderson 48-seconds in the first overtime period to secure the victory for Manitoba.
"Jordyn played like a true captain this weekend," said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel, commenting on the play of his captain.
"She was a force every time she was on the ice, helped shut down their top line and was a leader. That is what you expect your captain to do and she showed that all weekend."
After the defeating the same Lethbridge squad the previous night, the two consecutive wins put the Bisons (5-10-0-1) back in the playoff fight when they resume their season in January.
Anderson stopped 30 of the 32 shots she faced, playing a major part in earning her Pronghorns team a point in the loss. The weekend sweep sees the Lethbridge record drop to 6-8-1-1.
Coming off another great performance the night before, Anderson picked up right where she left off. The Calgary native held the Bisons at bay with three key saves throughout the first period. Her counterpart, Erin Fargey also came up with a big save for her Bison squad to keep the game scoreless heading to the first intermission.
For the second straight game the scoring started in the second period. The Bisons grabbed the early 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Kate Gregoire just 2:41 into middle frame. Looking to extend the lead to two, Zacharias found herself in alone on a breakaway but was unable to beat Anderson. Minutes later the Pronghorns eventually tied the game with a highlight reel goal from Madi Porter. The first-year forward toe-dragged a Bisons defender and fire a shot over the blocker of Fargey to tie the game at 1-1.
Despite three straight power plays in the third for the Bisons and another for the Pronghorns with less than four minutes remaining, neither team could break the deadlock and found themselves headed to extra time.
The Zacharias goal in overtime claimed a weekend series sweep for the Bisons, concluding the 2019 portion of the schedule for both Manitoba and Lethbridge.
