WINNIPEG – A three-goal first period helped the Regina Cougars top the Manitoba Bisons 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at Wayne Fleming Arena.
With the weekend sweep, the Cougars (8-13-3) now have 16 points, tying them with UBC for the sixth and final playoff spot in the conference. They are also just one point behind Manitoba (9-12-3) for fifth.
Last night, the Bisons burst out to a 3-0 lead after one period. This time it was the Cougars who entered the first intermission with a three-goal cushion, with two of their markers coming on the power play.
Regina opened the scoring at 7:46 courtesy of forward Tanner Nagel. Bisons goaltender Riley Lamb had just made two unbelievable saves — the first with his glove on a Bryce Platt shot and the second with his left pad, sliding to stop Tyler King — however Nagel was in the right place at the right time and tapped in the third opportunity.
Two goals on special teams just over three minutes apart broke the game open.
Regina tallied their first power play marker with 6:47 to go, as forward Arthur Miller released a rocket of a wrist shot with space for his second tally on the weekend. Conner Chaulk then capped the scoring with 3:30 left, waiting out a mass of bodies in front of the Bisons net with a top corner shot.
Manitoba's best chance to score came with nine minutes to play, as forward Keaton Jameson delivered a nice pass into Jonah Wasylak at the right slot. He used strong hands to get past his man but couldn't solve Regina goal Brandon Holtby with a backhand shot.
The combination of Colton Veloso and Jeremey Leipsic provided Manitoba with a handful of chances in the second period. First, the latter found the former on a cross-ice pass near the crease, however Holtby got his pad out. Then, midway through the frame Veloso delivered a centring pass to Leipsic in front, but he couldn't get all of it.
The Cougars rewarded Holtby with two more goals entering the final 20 minutes.
Their fourth came seven minutes in on a shot from forward Ty Barnstable that went five-hole. The Cougars then made it 5-0 with 3:33 to go as Tate Coughlin cashed in from an odd angle.
A determined Bisons squad ended Holtby's shutout bid with 10:31 to go. Captain Adam Henry — who was a constant presence on both ends of the ice — deked out two players near the top of the slot and delivered a filthy wrist shot for his team-leading ninth goal of the year.
Forward Devon Skoleski then cut the Cougars lead to three with 8:01 to go, capitalizing on a Regina giveaway with a one-timer from his knees. The goal came right after Lamb made a stellar save on a two-on-zero rush.
Manitoba pulled their goalie with six minutes of play, looking to continue cutting into the three-goal deficit, however Nagel ruined their plans with an empty netter.
Ben Dalke capped a wild third period with a wraparound goal in the final minute, however it was too little too late.
"I think by the third period the game was pretty far out of reach, so you kind of relax a little bit and you're just playing to win the period and not over-thinking," Henry said postgame when asked about the three-goal showing from his side in the final 20 minutes.
"We kind of found some success and some confidence and then we really started going. We just ran out of time. When you get down 5-0 there's not much you can do."
Next up for Manitoba is a home tilt against Saskatchewan, while the Cougars will host Alberta.
