WINNIPEG - The Manitoba Bisons men's hockey team played host to the UBC Thunderbirds on October 22 at the Wayne Fleming Arena. The Friday evening matchup marked the first time Manitoba has played on home ice in regular season Canada West action since February of 2020.

Tian Rask's goal for the Thunderbirds with 3:44 remaining in the third proved to be the game winner as the visitors took down the Bisons by a final score of 4-3.

"They had a shot go wide of our net and we had a bunch of guys buzzing up ice," said Rask. "It ended up being a 4-on-1, not something you see too often but I got a nice pass from Jonathan Smart that was just an open net tap in for me. Couldn't miss that one."

Manitoba lost their starting goaltender Liam Hughes to an injury in the third period, forcing Jeremy Link into action while the Bisons attempted a comeback from being down 3-1.

"I feel like we just ran out of time at the end," said Bisons head coach Mike Sirant. "The guys stayed in the fight and we had chances right until the very end."

The hosts got on the board first with a power play goal after UBC was called for hooking. Brett Davis fed his linemate Devon Skoleski a cross-ice pass and Skoleski slid it past UBC goalie Rylan Toth to give the Bisons an early 1-0 lead. Less than six minutes later at the 8:37 mark, the Thunderbirds answered with a power play goal of their own. With Manitoba's Nate Halvorsen in the box, UBC's Carson Miller came down from the point and fired the puck under the glove of Manitoba keeper Liam Hughes. The two teams continued to trade power play opportunities, but the score remained 1-1 for the rest of the first period.

Neither team was able to find the back on the net in the middle frame, but it wasn't due to a lack of effort. Hughes stopped Thunderbirds' captain Tyler Sandhu during a 2-on-1 and minutes later the Bisons were unable to convert on a 4-on-1 after a pair of UBC players got tied up in the neutral zone. The best scoring chance came with 8:12 remaining in the period. Manitoba's Colton Veloso picked up a loose puck in the slot but had his shot stopped by a sliding Toth to keep the game locked at 1-1 headed to the third.

After an extended break between the second and third periods due to an issue with ice maintenance, the two teams hit the ice for the final period. The Thunderbirds took a 2-1 lead after Quinn Benjafield beat Hughes with a shot from a sharp angle. Just over three minutes later UBC added to their lead with a goal from Sandhu at the 6:33 mark of the third.

Manitoba's Hughes was forced to leave the game with injury after the third goal leaving Jeremy Link between the pipes for the rest of the game. Bisons captain Keaton Jameson pulled his team to back within one after capitalizing on a power play opportunity midway through the period. Rask scored UBC's fourth of the night before Manitoba's Dylan Thiessen scored with his team's net empty. The visitors held on for the rest of the game to earn the victory.

Toth made a total of 29 saves on the night while Hughes and Link made a combined 28 saves.

Both teams will be back at Wayne Fleming Arena tomorrow at 2 p.m. to conclude the two-game weekend series.