WINNIPEG — Fresh off a weekend series sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies and now ranked No. 7 in the nation, the Manitoba Bisons women's hockey team welcomed the Regina Cougars to Wayne Fleming Arena on Friday, November 5.
Vanessa Klimpke, Jessie Haner and Julia Bird all scored their first career U SPORTS goals in the second period as the Bisons offence exploded after going scoreless in the opening frame. Complemented by a goal from Kate Gregoire, the four-goal middle frame powered Manitoba to a 4-2 victory over Regina, improving their record to 6-1-0-0 on the season.
"It all started with that first goal," commented Bird. "That gave us the energy we needed to keep going and every other shift after that we were playing well and the goals were coming."
Down 4-0 with less than ten minutes remaining in the third period, the visitors made it interesting with a pair of goals from Olivia Leggett and Makena Kushniruk. Regina continued to push for the remainder of the game, but the hill proved to be too steep to climb for the Cougars.
"We didn't want to dwell on our second period, "said Kushniruk. "The team worked together, looked at the positives in our game and pushed back. The way we ended that third period is the way we want to start tomorrow."
Despite a penalty-filled first period that saw both the Cougars and Bisons each take three minor penalties, neither team was able to get on the scoreboard. The best chance for Regina came off the stick of Lilla Carpenter-Boesch who found herself alone in the slot but Manitoba's goaltender Erin Fargey was up to the task. With only 14 seconds remaining, the Bisons' Bird chipped the puck past the last Regina defender to create a partial breakaway but then fired her shot high and wide of the net.
In the second period Klimpke scored the first goal of the game by putting home a loose puck after the Manitoba entered the zone on a 3-on-1. Shortly after, Gregoire streaked into the zone and beat Cougars goaltender Katie Crowther with a shot on the short side and over the glove for a 2-0 Bisons lead. Haner recorded her first with a shot from the boards that deflected into the net off a Regina defender. Rounding out the scoring in the second was Bird who cashed in on a rebound with the initial shot coming off the stick of Ashley Keller.
Williamson and Crowther combined to make a total of 14 saves for their Regina squad while Fargey made a total of 24 stops on the night for Manitoba.
Both teams will be back at Wayne Fleming Arena tomorrow at 3 p.m. to conclude the two-game weekend series.
