CHARLOTTETOWN - It was a disappointing opening game to the 2019 U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship for the No. 6 seed Manitoba Bisons, as a second-period rally ended up not being enough in a loss to the No. 3 seeded Guelph Gryphons, 3-2.
The Gryphons' game-winner came 5:53 into the third period, as forward Nicole MacKinnon capitalized on a missed pass behind Manitoba's own net, stuffing it home to put Guelph up 3-2.
They were able to hold on to the lead despite thorough pressure from the Bisons, who out-shot the Gryphons 23-21 and were strong on the puck for much of the game after giving up two early goals.
"I thought we were the better team for 58 minutes, so I thought we deserved a better result to be honest with you," said Bisons head coach Sean Fisher. "They played their hearts out and played a really good game, but we spot them a two-goal lead and when you do that, it's tough."
The two early Guelph goals came very quick off the draw. The Gryphons' regular season leading scorer Kaitlin Lowy jammed home a loose puck in the crease just 41 seconds into the game. That was followed soon after by a goal from Sydney Davison, who at 1:41 found another puck in the slot and put it past Bisons goalie Lauren Taraschuk five-hold to make it 2-0.
From there, though, Manitoba rallied hard — led by their players who had already tasted play on the national stage in last year's title run. Fourth-year Jordyn Zacharias had a great opportunity at the five-minute mark, wristing a puck that bounced off Gryphons goalie Valerie Lamenta. Shortly after, Taraschuk made a great save on another messy play in her crease, sliding across the ice to make a pad stop on an open net.
Late in the period, the Bisons got on the board. After a drive through the middle by Megan Neduzak, fifth-year Alanna Sharman swung into the play from the right side of Lamenta, stuffing the puck in to make it 2-1.
Early in the second, Sharman one-upped herself. Coming in on a two-on-one, Sharman kept the puck herself, dragging and tossing a wrister off the top shelf to tie the game at two.
"That was a blur. Jordy [Zacharias] came in and made a really nice play to chip it past the D," said Sharman. "We were on a two-and-one and I was hoping to pass it, but the D took away Sheridan [Oswald] so it as just a last-second decision. It's hard to stop a top shelf so I was aiming for right corner and I'm glad I hit it."
Fisher recognized that his team was dominant early in the second period and initiated the pace of play.
"After the first, we had a great last minute and we were all over them. It actually could've been 2-2 after the first," said Fisher. "Our message was just to clean up a few things in the defensive zone, which I thought we did."
Shortly after tying the game, the Bisons went on successive power plays, but came up empty despite a few quality chances. The best one was on an Erica Rieder rush, but Lamenta was up to the task with another body save.
To start the third period, it was Manitoba who was stuck on the penalty kill. They succeeded, but the MacKinnon goal came shortly after on even strength, giving Guelph a 3-2 lead.
The Bisons responded hard, earning chances that included another Sharman rush midway through the period, but the puck was stuck in her skates. Manitoba pulled Taraschuk with under a minute left but were unable to get the equalizer.
"It wasn't what we were hoping for heading into this tournament, but we battled hard," said Sharman. "I'm really proud of this team — it sucks losing, but we're still going to battle hard for fifth and that's our next goal."
The Bisons now await the results of the other three quarterfinals games, played tonight and tomorrow, before they play their consolation semifinal on Saturday at either 10 a.m. AST or 1 p.m. AST.
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